How Do I Trust Christ With Healing Those I’ve Wounded?

August 13, 2018

thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

I battle depression. I haven’t really kept that a secret. One of the things that I’ve learned over the years is that on occasion the reason for my season of despondency isn’t merely chemical or the result of a stressful season. My depression likes to blame others, circumstances or my own biology for the trial I’m going through. In truth, my depression is often due to stubbornness and unrepentance.

What I do, then, in order to combat this is take a bit of a sin-inventory. I will gather a sheet of paper and write out all the things I’m feeling crummy about. I write out ways in which I feel like a failure. At times it’s sin. Often it’s simply shortcomings. At the bottom of this paper (or papers) I try to rehearse the gospel. I remind myself of Psalm 103. I preach the gospel to myself. The depression doesn’t always immediately lift but it usually sets me on a more helpful trajectory.

But I had something interesting happen the other day. As I was doing this none of these gospel truths were really working over my heart as they usually do. It felt a bit cold and informal. It wasn’t hitting home. And I realized that what I was struggling with was not a cleansing in my fractured relationship with God. I knew that the blood of Jesus covered me and that my sin was not hindering my relationship with the Father.

I was grateful for the gospel applied to my own life but something was missing…

Then I realized what really had my heart all in knots was the impact my sin had upon others. I didn’t feel right simply walking away from this thing and declaring myself having clean hands. My sin was impacting others. What I wrote at the bottom of my paper was this: I don’t pay for these, but they still hurt people. How do I live with that?

And that was my question. That is what had me all torn up. How do I trust Christ with healing those I’ve wounded. I asked myself a few other heart-probing questions. Am I really grieved over this sin, or do I just want things “better” with no relational consequences for my sin? After exploring that a bit I dove into studying an answer to my question. Here is what I’ve come up with. Here are six ways we can trust Christ with healing those we’ve wounded:

1. Remember that I’m not their Savior. Part of the reason I was having a hard time trusting Christ with healing the wounds I created was that I wanted to be seen as a Savior not as a causer of wounds. But that’s simply not the biblical narrative. While I at times get to be the hands and feet of Jesus, I’m also a finite and sinful human being. I’m going to wound others. I’m not the Savior. I have to remember that Christ is their portion as much as he is mine. The same truths which I proclaim over suffering in my own life I must believe over them. What Christ can do with Romans 8 in my life he can do in theirs. I must trust him with bringing glory to Himself and good to others even if it’s my expense…exposed for the faulty savior I am.

2. Pray for their rescue from bitterness. Satan will look for an opportunity to use my sin against others to gain a foothold in their life. I prayed that bitterness will not creep into their hearts, not so much for my own benefit, but for the sake of the kingdom.

3. I cannot control responses and that isn’t my responsibility. I am not responsible for any sinful responses which might occur due to my own sin. That is not my guilt to bear. My duty is repentance and faithfulness. This is important because so often when we are sinned against we respond with sin of our own. This can create an awful spiral and create a bit of a fog of conflict.

4. Use this as an opportunity to truly grieve sin. How many people has God rescued from drug addictions and such because they finally opened their eyes to the impact they were having on their children? When we begin to feel the weight of our sin and we see how it impacts others, we are in a position to truly see God’s grace mortify this particular sin. I want to use this as an opportunity to loathe the sin that has caused this pain. But also use it as an opportunity to trust the Spirit for healing and increased sanctification in my life. May I never forget how hideous sin is, and how every sin aims to destroy me and all those around me. I loathe it.

5. God can restore the wasted years. When I was studying this I was reminded of a great article written by Colin Smith. It’s a tremendous reminder from the book of Joel that God is able to fully restore the years that our sin has wasted. He can fully heal not only us but also the wounds we’ve created in the life of others. He can replace beauty for ashes.

6. Someday we will be as Christ and Peter. I have always loved the story of how Jesus restores Peter. I love the scene of Peter hopping out of the boat and running through the water, losing all inhibition. That’s what reconciliation looks like. And there is a day coming when not only will our sin be wiped away from our account but its hellish impact on others will be healed. Let us hope such a day is drawing near.

We need Christ to be our Savior and we need him to be the Savior of those we’ve sinned against as well. He is mighty. He can handle all the weight of our sin. Oh, what a Savior!!

This article originally appeared here.

10 Warning Signs a Servant Leader Has Become the ‘King’ of His Kingdom

Chuck Lawless

August 13, 2018

As Christian leaders, we are called to serve others even as we’re completely reliant on God. Too often, though, a leader who was once a servant wrongly transitions into being the king of his own kingdom. Here are some signs that a servant leader has become the “king”:

1. Even if he invites discussion from church leaders, he does not change his mind. The “discussion” is in name only, as his decisions are already made.

2. He sees everyone else as expendable. If he’s worried about church members leaving, you’d never know it. In fact, he can usually hyper-spiritualize the reasons that others leave.

3. He is seldom, if ever, wrong. Kings somehow convince themselves that nobody can do things as well as they can. Everybody else still has something to learn.

4. Staff members tend to stay for only a short time. Kings are good at recruiting strong staff members, but not so good at keeping the best of them. Kings want dependents more than co-laborers.

5. He seldom allows others to preach. The pulpit becomes his platform, and he rarely gives up that position, even for a single Sunday. He’s most unwilling to share that space with gifted speakers he might perceive as more gifted than he.

6. He treats others as “subjects.” That is, people become a means to an end: tools to help him build his kingdom more than brothers and sisters in Christ.

7. He demands unquestioned loyalty. Even the slightest sign of disagreement is considered rebellion.

8. He expands his kingdom broadly, but not deeply. After all, deeply-developed kingdoms require serious discipleship—and genuine disciples would recognize the problem with a king’s leadership style.

9. Often, those who know him best question his spirituality. That’s not a surprise, though. Kings depend on themselves, not God.

10. He does not consider leadership succession. He might talk about retirement at some point, but it’s often just talk. Kings don’t give up their position easily.

Lest we judge the “king” servant leader too seriously, though, all of us are susceptible to moving in this unhealthy direction. Pride is always a temptation for Christian leaders.

Pay Attention to What Your Teenager Is Trying to Communicate—Not What They’re Saying

Brian Orme

August 13, 2018

Teenagers have a tendency to exaggerate. Whether this tendency comes out in harsh words or sulky behavior, it is something most teenagers struggle with.

For instance, has your teenager ever said something like “I hate you!” or “I’m going to kill myself!”? These phrases are on the extreme end of the spectrum, and hopefully your teenager has not uttered these words. But have you heard other things like “You don’t understand,” or “I just don’t feel like hanging out with anyone”?

Kris Vallotton shares how a savvy parent might respond to a teenager who is at his or her whit’s end. The key is to “listen past [their] words” to what they’re actually trying to communicate.

“Our homes should be a place where we can actually have safe communication,” Vallotton says in the video below. So, for instance, if your beloved teenager tells you “I hate you,” it will help to try to understand where that statement is coming from. When kids use words like hate, never or always, Vallotton explains that means, “This is how big it feels inside of me…I feel like my world’s coming apart.”

It’s hard for teenagers to see the bigger picture of life during this particular stage of their development. Sometimes it’s also hard for them to open up. Maybe you wish your teen would say some super exaggerated thing—at least they would be talking to you! If this is your situation, don’t quit trying. More often than not, your teen wants you to pursue. For tips on getting your teen to open up, check out this article by Jonathan McKee.

The next time your teenager tells you something really extreme, remember Vallotton’s advice to listen past what he or she is actually saying, to what he or she is trying to communicate.

Pray for a Prosperity Gospel

Paul David Tripp

August 13, 2018

The Bible encourages us to pray for prosperity.

No, not the modern “health and wealth gospel” prayers for prosperity. Those appeals have one fatal flaw: They’re selfishly hoping for the prosperity of the person praying.

There’s a different prosperity gospel which we should be praying for:

May it please you to prosper Zion,
to build up the walls of Jerusalem.
Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,
in burnt offerings offered whole;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.
(Psalm 51:18–19, NIV)

What’s the difference with this prosperity prayer? It’s asking for the glory and delight of the Lord.

When God prospers people who are no longer living for their own selfish desires but are living for his will, the result is the furtherance of his kingdom purposes on earth, which results in his glory.

Give wisdom to a man living for God’s kingdom and he’ll use that wisdom to advance God’s kingdom. Give influence to a woman living for God’s kingdom and she’ll use that influence to advance the name of Christ. Give popularity to a teen living for God’s kingdom and they’ll use that popularity to share the Good News with their peers.

Give money to a family living for God’s kingdom and they’ll look for ways to invest that money in eternal causes. Give property to a group living God’s kingdom and they’ll use those facilities for hospitality, love and ministry.

In this Psalm, David shows us why and how to pray for prosperity—not for our glory, but for the glory of our God.

But there’s more.

When people are blessed by the Lord, they turn to him in humble, sacrificial worship. In moments when we are coherently aware of God’s forgiveness and gratefully aware of his undeserved blessing, we willingly offer to him what we would have once held to tightly.

God delights in the sacrifices of his people because when they are worshiping him in this way, they are doing the thing for which they were created. When we’ve quit looking for satisfaction in the created world and begin to find our satisfaction in the Lord, then we’re willing to hold loosely to the things that once held us.

So is it right to pray for prosperity? It is and you should. Not for the sake of your kingdom, but for the success of his. Not for the sake of your delight, but for his.

When God flourishes people who are living for him, they use that blessing to serve him all the more.

For this he gets glory and in this he finds great delight.

God bless

Paul David Tripp

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

What’s currently on your “blessing wish list”—that is, how are you asking God to prosper you right now?
Look at your list. Are there ways in which your desires for potentially good things are at risk of turning into bad things because they have becoming ruling things in your heart?
List the blessings that God has currently entrusted to your care.
How tightly are you holding on to these blessings, for personal gain? How can you hold on to them more loosely and be a generous steward?
How can you adjust your “blessing wish list” and pray for prosperity with God-honoring intentions?

This resource is from Paul Tripp Ministries. For additional resources, visit www.paultripp.com. Used with permission.

How to Effectively Plan a Year of Preaching

Mike Edmisten

August 13, 2018

For many pastors, these words are like giant mosquitoes, sucking the lifeblood right out of them. After all, we didn’t go into ministry to be planners and administrators. We chose this profession because we love people and we want them to meet Jesus. We want them to experience Jesus in every message we preach. That’s the stuff that gets our juices flowing!

How to Effectively Plan a Year of Preaching

But preaching requires planning. Ministry requires administration. Expecting to preach well without planning well is like expecting to harvest a crop that you planted yesterday. Seeds take time to grow. So do sermons.

So how do we plan well? Specifically, how do we plan sermons well for a calendar year? What I’m going to share isn’t the only right way. It’s simply my way. Here are some key principles that I always follow.

1. Never plan your sermon calendar alone.

For far too long, I assumed that since I’m the preacher, I should be the sole sermon planner. This is D-U-M-B, DUMB! My life changed (and I mean that sincerely) when I realized that I needed to bring other people into the process.

Every October, I meet with a group of three to five people to plan the next year’s sermon calendar. They are men and women who are staff, elders and core volunteers. I keep the group purposefully small so everyone can be a major contributor.

I bring plenty of coffee and donuts for the group. Once we’re sufficiently caffeinated and sugared up, we go to work. We begin at 9:00 am and we usually have the entire year planned by noon.

We hang an old-school desk calendar on the wall, and we’re armed with Post-It notes and markers. We write the sermon series ideas on the Post-Its and stick them on the calendar. It’s a great way to visualize the year as a whole, and the Post-Its make it easy to move stuff around.

To give you an idea of what it looks like, here’s a picture of our 2018 calendar. It’s blurred out to preserve a little bit of anticipation and mystery for our church. If you want to see an unblurred pic, email me at mike.edmisten[at]connect.cc.

2. Evernote is everything.

OK, that’s a bit of an overstatement. But Evernote should be in every preacher’s toolbox.

I created a folder in Evernote called Sermon Ideas. Throughout the year, whenever an idea hits me, it goes into that folder. It may be an idea that comes from something in culture. It may be a series idea that was preached at another church (don’t ever apologize for this!). Or the idea may simply come from reading the Bible (you’re doing that, right?).

Wherever the idea comes from, I throw it into that Evernote folder. I don’t bother to organize it. Clip it, save it, move on.

Then, when it comes time to plan the next year’s sermon calendar, I open up that folder. After filtering the contents, the folder usually yields at least six months of messages. That means our team only has to plan six months of messages instead of 12. Talk about making sermon planning easier!

Bonus note: I also have a folder for sermon illustrations. I add stuff to that folder almost daily, tagged by topic. Preaching every week is a grind, and sometimes the creative well runs dry. It’s so helpful to open up that folder and immediately have a ton of illustrations at the ready.

3. Ask the right questions.

When our sermon planning team meets, we review some key questions. We read the questions before we begin. We refer to them throughout the process. And we review them again when we’re finished.

Here are the questions we currently use.

Is Jesus present in every message?
Is there a mix of Old and New Testament, leaning heavier toward the NT?
Is there a mix of theological teaching and “felt needs”?
Is it balanced for men and women? Young and old?
Does it speak to pressing issues in our time?
Is there a balance of topical and expository series?
Is there a variety of voices preaching?
Are there creative hooks, without being gimmicky?
Is there a series on marriage and a series on money?
Did we recognize the necessary holidays/cultural events?
If a person heard and applied every message in 2018, would they be more like Jesus on December 31 than they were on January 1?

Your Faith Could Keep Your Child Safe From Suicide

Bob Ditmer

August 13, 2018

Kids are less likely to think about suicide or attempt to kill themselves if religion or spirituality is important to their parents, a new study suggests.

And that is true even if the kids themselves didn’t think religion was important, according to the results published in JAMA Psychiatry.

It’s an important finding at a time when the suicide rate for children and teens between 10 and 17 was up 77 percent between 2006 and 2016, according to the latest data analysis available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The lower suicide risk among those raised in a religious home is independent of other common risk factors, including whether parents suffered from depression, showed suicidal behavior or divorced.

The new findings came out of a 30-year, three-generation family study conducted by the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University. At the beginning of that study, researchers rounded up two groups of volunteers: one composed of people who had suffered major depression and the other included people who had not experienced depression. The new study focused on the adult children (generation two) and grandchildren (generation three) aged 6 to 18 years of those initial volunteers.

The feeling that religion or spirituality is important suggests “an inner strength,” said senior study author Myrna Weissman, a professor of epidemiology and psychiatry at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. “It isn’t about how much time you spend at church, or which particular religion you are, it’s having an inner belief that gives you some kind of strength that manifests in your behavior. And it is independent of your children’s opinion of religion.”

When the researchers analyzed their data, they found that for girls, but not boys, feeling that religion or spirituality is important was tied to 52 percent lower odds of suicidal behavior. Religious attendance was also linked for girls but not boys with 36 percent lower odds of suicidal behavior compared to those who did not attend.

For both girls and boys, however, higher importance of religion/spirituality in parents was associated with a 39 percent lower risk of suicidal thoughts and attempts. The same was not true when it came to parents’ attendance at spiritual services.

An Answer to Soaring Teen Suicide Rates?

Approximately 12 percent of adolescents in the United States report having thoughts about attempting suicide,” said study authors Connie Svob and Priya Wickramaratne of Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute.

“Moreover, suicide is a primary cause of death among females 15 to 19 years of age. In an attempt to gain more insight into this problem and its potential solutions, we wanted to investigate whether a parent’s religiosity might be associated with a lower risk for suicidal ideation/attempts in their children.

“Furthermore, that parents’ belief in religious importance was a stronger predictor than parents’ religious service attendance makes one wonder whether religious importance might be more strongly associated with teaching and beliefs about suicide within the home than is service attendance, or whether some other mechanism might be responsible,” the researchers said.

“Taken together, the findings suggest that, among potential protective factors for suicidal behavior in children, parental religious beliefs should not be overlooked.

“As religiosity is often overlooked in clinical practice, we suggest in our paper that clinicians consider conducting a brief spiritual history with parents of children being brought in for psychiatric consultations, as well as assessing the children’s own religious beliefs and practices,” the authors concluded.

The study is titled “Association of Parent and Offspring Religiosity With Offspring Suicide Ideation and Attempts.”

As Saddleback Celebrates 50K Baptisms, SBC Numbers Dwindle

Bob Ditmer

August 13, 2018

baptisms — Screengrab Facebook @Pastor Rick Warren

Saddleback Church reached a milestone this past Sunday that demonstrates its dedication to the gospel and evangelism.

The church, started by pastor Rick Warren 38 years ago, recorded its 50,000th baptism.

On his Facebook page, Warren thanked church members for their role in reaching the milestone.

“I’m often asked: Why has this church, by God’s grace, been able to bring so many unbelievers to Jesus?

“Because of your LOVE!

“YOU genuinely love people and you want them to go to heaven with you! Every day, you bring your friends, co-workers and family to Jesus. Honestly, I’ve never seen a group like you anywhere else in the world. I’m humbled to be your pastor, and I could not be more proud of you.”

50,000 baptisms in 38 years is quite a feat. Warren did the math and found that since Easter 1980, the first service at Saddleback, “we’ve baptized almost four changed lives every single day. (Precisely 3.7 people every day.) YOU’RE PART OF A MIRACLE!”

Saddleback’s Milestone Comes as SBC Baptisms Fall

The milestone comes as the Southern Baptist Convention, of which Saddleback is a member, reports a decade of declines in baptisms.

At its annual meeting in June, SBC congregations reported baptizing 254,122 people—26.5 percent fewer than in 2007. The ratio was one baptism for every 59 church members.

“It’s heartbreaking to be baptizing fewer people for Christ, even though Southern Baptists have nearly 2,900 more churches than we had a decade ago,” said LifeWay President and CEO Thom S. Rainer.

“Yet a quarter million baptisms is not an insignificant number. We praise God for every individual who has come to Christ and followed Him in baptism. It is my prayer that God would embolden Southern Baptists to share the gospel with their friends and neighbors.

“We know conversion is only by the Holy Spirit, but we also know God begins most of these conversions with gospel conversations.”

Warren wrote that according to Acts 2:47, the first Christian church (in Jerusalem) baptized someone every day. “Think about that. Daily!” Warren wrote on Facebook, “That means, at the very least, the first church baptized at least 365 new members annually! Not many churches have ever matched that kind of growth. But YOUR CHURCH has!”

This weekend’s services also included an acknowledgment of all of those in attendance who had themselves been baptized at Saddleback. A photo montage was displayed with images gathered from throughout the decades at Saddleback.

“Why is baptism such a big deal?” Rick Warren asked while standing in the baptism pool. “There are two reasons. First, Jesus commanded it. Second, he modeled it…this is the way I say to the world ‘I’m in! I’m a part of the family of God…there is no reason to wait!’”

One Measure You Can’t Afford to Overlook in Your Ministry

Robby Gallaty

August 12, 2018

You may have heard this saying before: “What gets measured, gets accomplished.” You might have heard it put another way: “What doesn’t get measured, gets overlooked.” But what if I told you that you might be measuring the wrong things?

Let’s remember the goal of the local church. Jesus’ last words to His disciples before departing were, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” Sadly, through the years we have reduced disciplemaking to decisions, baptisms or converts. Even church leaders get confused with the mission.

Joey Bonifacio speaks of this confusion in his book The Lego Principle. In teaching a room full of pastors, he walked them through an exercise to prove his point: “I’m going to say a brand name or a popular trademark. I want you to answer, with only one word, the business the company represents. Are you ready?” He started with an easy one: “Starbucks.” The audience responded, “Coffee.”

Next, he said, “Toyota.” They all chimed in, “Cars.”

“Rolex,” he stated. Again, without hesitation, the pastors replied, “Watches.”

Up to this point, everyone responded immediately. But the final trademark stumped the audience of pastors: “What about the word Church?”

The room was silent. Minds were whirling, “What is the ‘business’ of the church? What is the church’s ‘one word’?”

What would you say?

While there are many potential answers, I would say making disciples should be the response.

ABCs of Church Growth

In churches, we have measured success with the ABCs of church growth: Attendance, Buildings and Cash. All of these may be indicators of growth, but none of them can be changed after the fact. Once attendance is counted, once buildings have been built, once offerings have been gathered, you have what you have. These metrics are what is commonly referred to as lag measures.

A lag measure is the metric that results from something put into place days, months or years ago. The ABCs of church growth are prime examples. When a church falls below budget, it’s the result of something that happened in the past. When attendance is dropping today, it’s the result of something that took place weeks or months ago.

A lead measure, on the other hand, is something we can engage in today that will affect change in the future.

Dave Worlund, who was the president of the National Christian Charity Foundation, oversaw the assets of millions of dollars from Christian philanthropists. He had a meeting with the one of the leaders of Campus Crusade for Christ while they were having trouble with dropping attendance and seeing a decrease in salvations during their weekly meetings. Expecting a quick fix, the leader asked Dave what he should do about it.

Surprisingly, Dave answered with a question: “How many lunches are your leaders having with students every week?” The Campus Crusade leader responded that he had no idea, and asked why that was important.

“When your leaders start having weekly meetings with students, they can build rapport with them, which leads to open doors for Gospel conversations. A Gospel conversation will open the door for an invitation to a weekly gathering, and attendance at a weekly gathering will provide an opportunity to hear the Gospel. Your problem is that you’re gauging lag measures, which you can’t control. What you can control are the lead measures you’re beginning now that will affect change in the future.”

If you are trying to shape your ministry based on gauging lag measures, you will find yourself frustrated. We cannot directly influence budget problems or drops in attendance in any sustainable way overnight.

Instead, focus on what you can change today that will affect your ministry positively in the future. Here are four lead measure drivers you can begin immediately that will reap positive benefits in the weeks, months and years to come:

Intentional inviting: Every staff person (or volunteer leader) will invite three people to a small group every Sunday before, in between and after worship services.
Dropout connecting: Every staff person (or volunteer leader) will have one lunch per week with someone who used to attend small group but no longer does.
Leadership modeling: Every staff person (or volunteer leader) will share a testimony of the impact of a small group in their life with three people every week.
Responsive follow-up: Our team will respond to 100 percent of “connect card” small group requests within 24 hours.

While these lead measures can seem lofty, you set the goal and gauge as you proceed. Examine your own ministry. Have you been spending most of your time examining lag measures, which are the result of actions from weeks that have past, or lead measures, which can affect change tomorrow? If the church’s primary mission is to make disciples, now is the time to start implementing the changes that will help you carry that mission out for years to come. Cultivating a healthy disciplemaking focus in your church is the lead measure that will help your church—and the Kingdom of God—grow in a way that pleases Him.

This article originally appeared here.

Is Your Church Part of Convenience Store Christianity?

Chuck Lawless

August 12, 2018

I’ve recently been with believers from another part of the world, and I was again reminded that our brothers and sisters around the world often pay a heavier price than we pay to follow Christ. I don’t want to overstate the case here—as I really do believe that many, many believers I know truly love the Lord and have dedicated their lives to Him—but much of North American Christianity seems to be what I call “Convenience Store Christianity.” I’ll let you determine the comparisons:

What the customer wants is first. A primary aim of a convenience store is to increase its traffic by offering almost everything a customer might want or need. In some cases with drive-thrus, the customer doesn’t even need to get out of his car to get what he wants.

Customers seek what they want quickly and efficiently. Hence, the stores are called “convenience,” and they show up on about every corner. The goal is to make shopping easier for the consumer.

Customers stop in according to their schedule and wants. Twenty-four-hour convenience stores say, “Come whenever you want.” Conversely, if you don’t have a need, there’s no reason to stop in.

Relationships might exist, but they’re not deep. Some convenience stores have become “third places” for those who just want to hang out there—and those folks are on a first-name basis with the workers—but the relationships are hardly strong and self-denying.

Store loyalty is about location, habit and reward rather than ideological agreement. Nobody I know thinks, “I really need to do my convenience-store shopping at __________ because they believe ___________.” People shop where they shop because it’s quick and easy—and rewarding for those shoppers whose store offers rewards for frequent purchases.

Breadth more than depth is the norm. Convenience stores often offer some of a lot of different things (I’ve seen stores that now offer gasoline, hot food, clothing and even automobile oil) rather than a lot of any one thing.

Even in a convenience store, customers still watch for sales. It’s not enough to have the convenience of shopping quickly; folks also like saving time and money. “Sacrifice” seldom enters the vocabulary of this world.

Immediacy matters. For many shoppers, convenience stores offer immediate options to meet a need; in fact, that’s one of the reasons for being a convenience store. The terms “waiting” and “convenience” are contradictory terms.

Any other characteristics that come to mind?

This article originally appeared here.

Fortnite…What You Can Learn From the Video Game That’s a Cultural Phenomenon

Dale Hudson

August 12, 2018

There’s a culture phenomenon that you need to be aware of. It’s wildly popular among kids.

It’s a video game titled Fortnite Battle Royale. The game has become an obsession for millions of kids.

How popular is it? So popular that parents are hiring coaches for their kids to help them get better at the game. Parents are paying up to $50/hr. for game mentoring.

And you can be sure of one thing—the reason parents are paying for coaches is because their kids are in their ear about it. Kids are facing peer pressure at school to be a great Fortnite gamer.

If you’re not familiar with the game, gamers compete in 100-player groups to be last character standing. The game is available for PC, Xbox One, Playstation 4, iPhone and Nintendo Switch.

Players can purchase accessories like gliders and pickaxes to help them win. The items are purchased with a game currency called V-Bucks.

Stats show that over 125 million people are playing the game and it’s on track to bring in 2 billion dollars this year.

Anytime something is this big of a hit, it is important to ask “Why?” What elements does the game incorporate that are such a big draw for kids? What can we learn from this as we seek to connect with today’s kids?

Let’s take an inside look at what elements of the game are drawing so many kids in and see how we can translate some of those elements into our ministries.

Creating a personal story. Each person’s avatar is immersed in a world of travail and adventure. Kids often share with their parents what happened in the game. The fact that kids can create their own story and see it unfold in the game is a big draw.

Children’s Ministry – God has a special story for each child’s life. We can prepare them for the adventure God has planned for them now and as they grow up. Encourage kids to pursue and step into the story God has for them.

Part of a community. The game is designed to be played collectively. Kids can play with other gamers.

Children’s Ministry – Kids long to belong. You have the opportunity to help kids experience community through your classes and small groups. While high-energy, exciting large group times are important, it is not enough by itself. Kids also need to be in a small group where they are known, loved and invested in.

7 Warning Signs You Are Drifting From God

Stephen Altrogge

August 12, 2018

Most Christians experience drifting from God instead of suddenly falling into terrible sin. A guy doesn’t simply wake up one day and say to himself, “Boy, today is a great day to start a raging heroin habit,” or, “You know what, I’m in the mood to commit adultery today.” That’s not how it happens.

Big sin is always the sum of a thousand tiny choices.

That’s why the author of Hebrews says:

Therefore, we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. (Hebrews 2:1)

One of our greatest temptations as Christians is simply to drift away from Christ. We’re not actively running away, just slowly drifting along with the lazy, warm, comfortable current of the world. And the scary thing is we don’t usually notice when we’re drifting. We raise our heads and suddenly realize that we’re a mile away from land.

7 Warning Signs You Are Drifting From God

You spend little, if any, time reading God’s Word and praying: “I’m just too busy right now to read and pray.”
The gospel doesn’t affect you like it used to: “I’ve heard it a thousand times before…it just seems a little old.”
You don’t spend much time fellowshipping with other Christians: “I’ve worked hard, I’m tired, the last thing I want to do is go and be with other people.”
The sins that used to bother you don’t really bother you anymore: “This show isn’t that bad. It doesn’t really tempt me too much.”
You find yourself quieting your conscience more frequently: “I know it was wrong, and I’ll pray about it tonight.”
You keep promising yourself that you will stop: “OK, this is the last time I look at porn.”
You find yourself making excuses for things: “I’m only chatting on Facebook with the guy; it’s not like we’re sleeping together.”

The good news is if you find yourself drifting, you can put a stop to it! God loves to help us stop drifting. He loves to give us the power to change. If you find yourself drifting, there are three things to do.

What To Do If You Feel Disconnected to God

Repent of your sins and receive the wonderful, complete, free forgiveness from Christ. Christ delights to forgive drifters.
Tell a close friend of what has been going on.
Return to the things you used to do, and don’t let condemnation stop you. Go to God’s Word, prayer, fellowship, fighting temptation and listening to the promptings of your conscience.

Don’t let yourself drift. Drifting is dangerous. Sometimes, it’s lethal.

Dallas Willard: The Secret to Ministry Satisfaction

Dallas Willard

August 12, 2018

In my early days of ministry, I spent huge amounts of time absorbed in Scripture and great spiritual writers. The Lord made it possible for me to spend whole days—without any issue of preparing for something or taking an examination—soaking up the Scripture. I literally wore out the books of great spiritual writers. This focus was foundational to my spiritual journey, to finding satisfaction in Christ.

Experiencing God in that way leads me to satisfaction in Christ and to speaking to others out of that satisfaction. There is no substitute for simple satisfaction in the Word of God, in the presence of God. That affects all your actions.

Characteristics of Dissatisfaction

Men and women in ministry who are not finding satisfaction in Christ are likely to demonstrate that with overexertion and overpreparation for speaking and with no peace about what they do after they do it. If we have not come to the place of resting in God, we will go back and think, Oh, if I’d done this, or Oh, I didn’t do that. When you come to the place where you are drinking deeply from God and trusting him to act with you, there is peace about what you have communicated.

One of my great joys came when I got up from a chair to walk to the podium and the Lord said to me, “Now remember, it’s what I do with the Word between your lips and their hearts that matters.” That is a tremendous lesson. If you do not trust God to do that, then he will let you do what you’re going to do, and it’s not going to come to much. But once you turn it loose and recognize we are always inadequate but our inadequacy is not the issue, you are able to lay that burden down. Then the satisfaction you have in Christ spills over into everything you do.

The preacher who does not minister in that satisfaction is on dangerous ground. Those who experience moral failure are those who have failed to live a deeply satisfied life in Christ, almost without exception. I know my temptations come out of situations where I am dissatisfied, not content. I am worried about something or not feeling the sufficiency I know is there. If I have a strong temptation, it will be out of my dissatisfaction.

The moral failures of ministers usually are over one of three things: sex, money or power. That always comes out of dissatisfaction. Ministers are reaching for something, and they begin to feel, I deserve something better. I sacrifice so much and get so little. And so I’ll do this. The surest guarantee against failure is to be so at peace and satisfied with God that when wrongdoing presents itself, it isn’t even interesting. That is how we stay out of temptation.

Reflections of a Female Seminary Professor

Sandra Perkins

August 12, 2018

Sipping on coffee, I was sitting in the café of a church in a Dallas suburb where I’d just spoken, when I noticed a man’s military boots in front of me. As I lifted my eyes, I saw the desert fatigues. And then my pupils met his. I knew this man! “Justin!”

The soldier standing in front of me was someone I had loved and mentored in my job as a seminary professor. He was one of my artistic geniuses, eating up every word I’d had to say about how to tell a story. I jumped up to greet him. What a wonderful surprise!

But what I had assumed was a random intersection of our lives was actually a planned meeting. He was headed out on his first tour of duty to Afghanistan, and he’d tracked me down to say goodbye. But first he had something additional to say. It went something like this:

“You believed in me from the start, nurturing my dreams, and modeling for me what a godly woman looks like. Like a spiritual mom. Thank you, ma’am.”

I had no words. It was too much.

“I didn’t want to deploy without first . . .” he stammered, “making sure I said those words to you.”

Gulp.

Isn’t that just like the body of Christ at its best—providing mothers and fathers for “kids” and children for the childless. Because who doesn’t need more love and support and nurturing to thrive?

* * *

I had not set out to be a seminary professor. In fact, I didn’t think seminary was a place for a woman….

I had always dreamed of having a large family—I’m the fourth of five kids. But seven early pregnancy losses and an ectopic pregnancy told my husband and me that we would never have biological children. So we pursued adoption.

Meanwhile, career doors kept opening for me, but all I wanted was motherhood. I had devoured the classic complementarian-on-the-traditionalist-end-of-the-spectrum manhood/womanhood book and quoted it frequently. The woman’s role was in the home caring for children, right? I had the gift of teaching—and wasn’t that what 1 Timothy 2 taught? That a woman’s teaching gifts should be directed not to helping mature the body of Christ but to strengthening her nuclear family?

So we pursued adoption. I took birthing classes with the birth mom we linked up with. But she changed her mind. And then another birth mom changed her mind. And another.

“Why, God?” I begged. “Why would you take a woman committed to what you value and keep her from becoming who you made her to be?”

Meanwhile, my husband—a seminary grad—and I took ministry trips abroad, and we saw for the first time how much our views of man and woman and what the Bible teaches about them had been shaped by American, white, middle-class culture. While people in churches back home were arguing over whether (mostly white) women had God’s permission to work outside of domestic space, women in less developed countries did not have the luxury of even raising such a question. They just wanted their children to go to bed with bellies at least half-full. And maybe own a pair of shoes. How could I reconcile these two worlds? Surprisingly, through Proverbs 31. A fresh look revealed a woman who contributed to the economics of her household in every way possible, enabling her husband to do work that did not appear to be income-producing but that was community-building. That chapter even had a bunch of war imagery applied to that strong woman (e.g., valor, prey, strength), as if women are supposed to engage in warfare or something.

Is the Church Bulletin a Sacred Cow?

Bryan Haley

August 12, 2018

I’ve seen it all when it comes to church bulletins. I have been in churches that have a 25-page book as their weekly bulletin. I’ve seen others that are a half sheet. Still, others print theirs less regularly to look like a slick, well-designed magazine. The church we’re a part of now doesn’t even have a bulletin (and that drives my wife crazy).

I’ll often start talking to a church about all the different ways they communicate. We talk through the different methods they use, and what works well for each area of communication. Then we get to the bulletin. Most churches utilize a bulletin — but mostly because it’s what they’ve always done. I often get asked what should be in the bulletin, how they can design it better so people will actually read it, or how they can get rid of the bulletin altogether without upsetting the congregation.

I think it’s important for us to take a step back. Before we start talking about how to design the bulletin better, what should be in it, how often to print it, or how to get people to read it more, let’s ask a couple questions about the very foundation of the bulletin.

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE CHURCH BULLETIN?

How is your church bulletin playing a role in your overall communication strategy? Think through what this looks like, or what you would like it to look like. Talk through its purpose and role with your team and figure out the specific role the church bulletin takes in your church’s ministry.

IS THE BULLETIN HELPING YOU COMMUNICATE MORE EFFECTIVELY?

Creating, editing, and printing the bulletin each week can be time-consuming. How does your church bulletin help you communicate more effectively? It may be time to think through what you’re communicating and how the bulletin supports that strategy. If it’s just adding more noise, then maybe it’s time to rethink the role of the bulletin.

It’s time we stop doing things in the church simply because that’s what we’ve always done. Let’s start trying to use our resources as effectively as possible. You have a lot going on, and you don’t need to be wasting more time. So take some time and figure out if the bulletin plays a quality role in your church’s communication plan and if the bulletin helps you communicate effectively. If you think your church bulletin is valuable, then you can decide how to design it better and lay it out so that people will read more of it.

The original article appeared here.

Love Hurts God the Most

Gary Thomas

August 10, 2018

I’m hurting. You’re hurting. Everyone, it seems, is hurting.

While we remain so sensitive to our own pain, let’s pause for just a moment to consider the pain God accepts when he adopts us as sons and daughters.

God knows that answering our cries for mercy and saving our souls will cause him more suffering than ten thousand women in labor.

We will betray him. We will resist him. We will fall away on many levels. He will pursue us, he will discipline us, accept us back and forgive us.

He will ache as we bring untold misery into our lives through our disobedience because now he is watching a daughter or a son ruin their worlds. Every act of rebellion, every unkind word we utter to others, every self-sabotage is like one more dagger thrust in his side. We’re his children. He can’t stop caring.

Still, he will be patient even as we blame him for the pain we brought into our own lives by going our own way. He warned us. We pretended we didn’t hear. And then we blame him for the fallout.

Still, he loves. Still, he pursues.

Knowing how much pain one sinner saved costs him again and again (not just to save us—that was paid 2,000 years ago—but to keep us), it’s amazing our Heavenly Father doesn’t say the quota is met and he can’t take it anymore, won’t pay it anymore. Adopting sinners has become too painful, too costly, it’s overwhelming. He’s reached his end. No more adoptions. No more salvations.

But that’s not what he says; not even close. He says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13).

Though the pain and cost to him for every saved soul is beyond measure God still calls and still saves and thus…still agrees to hurt.

God hurts for you, and keeps hurting for you, like you have never hurt for anyone else.

When your spouse breaks your heart, when your kids take you for granted, when your parents disappoint you and your friends betray you, you know love hurts.

Just remember, however, that love hurts our Heavenly Father most of all.

This article originally appeared here.

Church Members Must Watch Their Elders’ Life & Doctrine

Erik Raymond

August 10, 2018

Church members are called to honor, love and respect their elders (cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:12–13).

In this post, I want to consider a church member’s responsibility to hold elders accountable. The first area concerns what they teach, and the second area involves how they live (and lead). Paul’s exhortation to Timothy comes to mind: “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Timothy 4:16). Finally, I’ll conclude by remembering the precious commodity of trust in a healthy congregation.

WATCH THEIR LIFE

When considering elders’ qualifications), they’re largely made up of what’s expected of all mature Christians.

Simply put, an elder’s life should be characterized by maturity. Being “above reproach” (v.2) communicates not the need for perfection, but rather a mature progress in godliness that’s free from ongoing sins that would undermine his ministry.

But what do we mean by “watch”? It would be unhealthy if church members functioned as investigators, deputized to walk behind their elders and look for potential reasons to remove them. This is not the type of watching the Bible commands. Instead, the context for watching is built into the church so that members learn and are instructed by their elders’ manner of life.

Consider the author of Hebrews: “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith” (Hebrews 13:7).

There are many other examples where the leader’s life is to serve as an example for the rest of the church (1 Peter 5:3,2 Thessalonians 3.9″ data-version=”esv” data-purpose=”bible-reference”>9). This is why church members ought to spend time with their shepherds so they can watch, learn and emulate.

I’ve written before about what to do if an elder isn’t meeting biblical qualifications. But for now, it’s important to have this category in place and its corresponding biblical emphasis. Keep an eye on your elders’ lives. It’s a tool for your own growth.

WATCH THEIR DOCTRINE

Members must also watch the elders’ doctrine, their teaching. At first, this might seem overwhelming, How can I be in a position to evaluate an elder’s teaching?

This doesn’t mean we have to know as much about the Bible and theology as our elders. Rather, we must evaluate their faithfulness to teach the truth that binds you together as a church. Historically, this category of accountability means members ought to ensure pastors teach according to a church’s mutually agreed upon statement of faith. In most churches, whenever someone joins, they’re asked to read, consider and ultimately agree with this document. It’s a confessional document that articulates key truths we put forward as binding us together as a church.

Church members should regularly evaluate their church’s teaching ministry to ensure it’s maintaining the biblical standards.

For example, the noble Bereans examined the Scriptures to ensure the things spoken by Paul were accurate: “Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (Acts 17:11).

The Philippian church was commended along with their elders and deacons to strive together to guard and defend the gospel: “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel” (Philippians 1:27).

Conversely, Paul admonished the Galatian congregation for failing to defend the gospel. He reminds them of their need to examine and evaluate the content of the teaching, especially as it pertains to the gospel. Notice the strong language Paul used:

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:6–9)

These are just a few examples that show how the apostles reminded congregations to ensure they were doing their part to ensure the purity of doctrine and the preservation of the gospel in the church.

Much like evaluating elders’ lives, watching doctrine isn’t so much the work of a private investigator but of an invested and engaged member who loves the truth of Scripture and labors for it to be faithfully heralded.

AGENDA OF CHRIST

In a healthy church).

A healthy church will also realize there’s another leader above local church elders: the Lord Jesus Christ (Col. 1:18). Therefore, members along with elders labor under his gaze, longing for his approval. We all do our part to pay attention to what’s being taught and how we’re all living. This loving intimacy can only be achieved when we set aside ourselves, and put forward the agenda of Christ and his church.

This article originally appeared here.

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3. Ask the right questions.

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