7 Signs Your Church Is Honestly…Mediocre

August 1, 2018

One of the problems many churches face these days is that they’re neither great at things or terrible at things.

They’re honestly just…mediocre.

Facebook Live has made watching other churches’ services easier than ever, and as I’ve scrolled through my Sunday morning feed or visited different churches over the years, I’ve been a little amazed at what I’ve seen.

Unfortunately, there’s a lot of mediocrity out there.

That probably sounds judgmental, and I’m sorry if that’s how it feels. But there’s a lot at stake here. When your church is mediocre, it should be no surprise unchurched people aren’t lining up to join you and that you’re not attracting and keeping the amazing leaders who might attend your church but don’t want to get involved because things are so sub-par.

And don’t be discouraged. Every leader and every church can be great at something, regardless of size, budget or location.

So it’s not a question of being a large church or having a million dollars. It’s a question of discovering what you can do well, how you can best express the mission of the church at the local level.

It’s a question of doing the best you can with what you have.

So, how do you know your church is mediocre? Here are seven signs to look for.

1. You Have Non-Singers Singing and Bad Players Playing

One sure sign you’ve settled into mediocrity is that on your music team, you have non-singers singing and bad players playing.

We’ve all seen that happen. Singers are regularly off key or flat. Musicians are struggling to keep up with chord changes or can’t quite get the rhythm right, all the while being glued to their music stands.

And the only people who seem to be enjoying it are the people on the music team. Everyone else is wincing or zoned out, or has become so used to it they’re now part of the problem.

So why does this happen?

First, too many church leaders value inclusion over gifting.

You ask a few questions and you hear things like:

Well, he really wanted to sing.

She really loves the keyboard.

He’s so passionate about music.

Yep, except they don’t have the talent to match their enthusiasm.

Drill a little deeper, and you soon discover the people who realize this is a problem are far too scared to do anything about it.

They feel paralyzed.

How do I tell them?

I’ll hurt their feelings.

Hey, they LOVE doing it. How can I tell them they don’t have the gifting?

And so we let the concrete of mediocrity harden and set because we’re too scared to do anything about it.

Instinctively you know you’ve caved into cowardice, but you just can’t muster up the nerve to have the hard conversation.

If you recognize yourself in this scenario, just know you have to make a choice.

You either choose the feelings of three people who can’t play or you choose the future and the dozens or hundreds of people you might reach if you actually improved your music.

Your call.

If you want more, here’s some further help on this very tender subject.

Today’s Teens Are Always in the Hallway

Chris Martin

August 1, 2018

In early 20th century America, a revolution in formal public education swept the country. It wasn’t the introduction of the blackboard or the creation of standardized tests.

It was the invention of “secondary education,” known today as “high school.”

Since its introduction into the American educational system about a hundred years ago, the American high school experience has been as defined by its social phenomena as its educational effectiveness.

The high school experience is as defined by what happens in the hallways that connect classrooms as it is by what happens inside the classrooms themselves.

To the average high school student, the high school hallway is as high pressure a performance environment as the catwalk is to a fashion model or the weight room is to the football player.

We live in an age in which the high school hallway is no longer limited to the corridors between classrooms on campus.

Today’s high school hallways are the always-on social media platforms that occupy the pocketed phones of America’s teenagers.

Phones in Hand, Always on Stage

Recently, I’ve been reading Hit Makers: The Science of Popularity in an Age of Distraction by Derek Thompson. The purpose of the book is to look at what makes things popular.

Why do some songs explode and some songs fizzle?

Why has Fifty Shades of Grey sold over 150 million copies? (It’s not just because of the content.)

In the book’s “interlude,” Thompson gives a brief history of teens. Studying Millennials is fascinating to me, but studying teens of any generation is just as fascinating. Teens are on the forefront of popular culture. As go teens so go their parents (see every social media platform).

(FYI: Current teenagers are not Millennials, but are part of iGen, or Gen Z, those born after 2000.)

Perhaps the most interesting part of this interlude on the history of teens was on the effect phones are having on teens and their relationships with each other. After explaining that the logos on teens’ clothing once defined them, Thompson writes:

In a new age of cool, the smartphone screen has displaced the embroidered logo as the focal point of teen identity. It was once sufficient to look good in a high school hallway, but today Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram are all high school hallways, where young people perform and see performances, judge and are judged. Many decades after another mobile device, the car, helped invent the teenager, the iPhone and its ilk offered new nimble instruments of self-expression, symbols of independence, and better ways to hook up.

This paragraph just breaks my heart for today’s teenagers. I was a teenager only eight years ago, which seems both like it was yesterday and it was long ago, but even we didn’t have it this bad. The iPhone was released when I was a junior in high school and even then few students had such phones. We often “performed” in online spaces like Myspace and AOL Instant Messenger, but we weren’t carrying those platforms around in our pockets, thankfully.

In an article published earlier this summer in The Atlantic titled “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?” Dr. Jean Twenge makes her readers aware of what’s at stake for a generation of young people glued to their phones:

What’s at stake isn’t just how kids experience adolescence. The constant presence of smartphones is likely to affect them well into adulthood. Among people who suffer an episode of depression, at least half become depressed again later in life. Adolescence is a key time for developing social skills; as teens spend less time with their friends face-to-face, they have fewer opportunities to practice them. In the next decade, we may see more adults who know just the right emoji for a situation, but not the right facial expression.

(Dr. Twenge just released a book called iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy—and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood—and What That Means for the Rest of Us, which is now on backorder at Amazon.)

Today’s teens are always in the hallway because the 21st century adolescent catwalk is the smartphone and the terrifying worlds it holds.

It’s depressing teens and keeping them from spending real time with their friends.

Whether you’re a parent of a teen, a boss of a teen or a pastor of a teen, please be aware of the sad fact that teens today feel as though they are always performing—perhaps they’re even performing for you. Be a person in the lives of the teens you know who doesn’t require them to perform. Be a person teens can approach with their real selves.

The original article appeared here.

What Is the Core Reason Kids Leave the Faith?

Sean McDowell

August 1, 2018

There has been a lot of discussion recently about why kids leave the faith. People have rightly drawn attention to the role of poor theology, the importance of kids owning their faith, the significance of intellectual issues such as the apparent tension between science and religion, and more.

But there seems to be a core issue that is often overlooked—to develop a lasting faith, kids need to grasp their need for God. Let me explain.

C.S. Lewis and the Four Loves

In his book The Four Loves, C.S. Lewis makes a distinction between “Gift-love” and “Need-love.” As for Gift-love, he gives the example of a father who works and plans for the future well-being of his family, even though he will die without seeing them benefit. As for Need-love, Lewis gives the example of a lonely and frightened child who comes to its mother’s arms for comfort and protection. Such love is neither selfish nor improper, because children are intended to have nurturing mothers, and mothers are intended to care for their kids.

According to Lewis, God’s love for mankind is entirely Gift-love: “The Father gives all He is and has to the Son. The Son gives Himself back to the Father, and gives Himself to the world, and for the world to the Father, and thus gives the world (in Himself) back to the Father too.”[1] God does not need our love or worship. Rather, He freely loves us as an extension of His grace.

But our love for God is different.

While we may be able to offer God Gift-love, our love is primarily need based. Lewis explains: “But man’s love for God, from the very nature of the case, must always be very largely, and must often be entirely, a Need-love.” We desperately need God in both this world and the next.

And then Lewis makes an additional (and helpful) distinction—while our objective need for God will never change, our awareness of that need can. And if our awareness of the need for God fades, then so may our faith. Thus, Lewis says:

There seems no reason for describing as hypocritical the short-lived piety of those whose religion fades away once they have emerged from “danger, necessity or tribulation.” Why should they not have been sincere? They were desperate and howled for help. Who wouldn’t?

In other words, if someone believes in God because of an immediate need for safety or comfort, then as soon as the danger or pain ends, so may the faith. How does this relate to students? Think about it. If a young person believes in God for social or relational needs in the family, church or school, then when those needs fade, so will his or her faith. If belief in God fulfills some external need, then as soon as that need fades, or another venue provides satisfaction of that need, the student will likely abandon his or her faith (or minimally, have a marginalizedbfaith).

Young People and the Need for God

As a child, I remember asking my mom why I really needed a Heavenly Father. After all, my earthly dad spent time with me, and cared for me, as a father should. I simply didn’t feel any further need for a Heavenly Father that I couldn’t see, touch or talk to.

It wasn’t until I matured, and came to a personal realization of the depth of my own sin, that I grasped how deeply I personally needed a savior. My faith in God became real when I understood the gravity of my own sin, and experienced the grace that comes from embracing Jesus as my Lord and Savior.

Young people today ought to go on mission trips. They need mentoring. They need space to ask tough questions. And they need good theological training. But if these experiences are to make a lasting impact on their faith, young people (and really all people) will need to realize that their brokenness requires a savior, and experience God’s forgiveness and grace.

When students understand their personal need for God, and experience God’s grace firsthand, they can develop a faith that lasts.

The original article appeared here.

Meet the Doctor Who Found Jesus After Asia’s Most Infamous Sex Scandal

Bob Ditmer

August 1, 2018

Hayden Kho’s simple social media post containing a Bible verse triggered quite an avalanche of criticism, and with it, a reminder of God’s gracious gift of forgiveness for those who call on him.

The verse was 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”

The person who posted the verse was Dr. Hayden Kho—and that explains some of the critical responses.

Meggie Sy’s response on Instagram represented most of the criticism: “This coming from you is a joke.”

To understand the critique you have to know something about Dr. Hayden Kho, a celebrity in the Philippines but not very well known in the West.

Kho went to Christian schools but was a self-avowed atheist. He is a plastic surgeon to the stars who worked in the Philippines’ largest cosmetic surgery business. He became famous as a television actor, earning the moniker “Doctor Hunk” for his stunning good looks.

But in 2008, his idyllic life disintegrated. He was embroiled in a series of sex videos of himself with other local and foreign celebrities. The videos showed up on the Internet without his knowledge and consent.

He was tried publicly on national television as part of a senate hearing. He was also taken to court in both criminal and civil cases.

His case was dubbed the most controversial sex scandal in Asia.

The Professional Regulation Commission deemed Kho “immoral” and unfit to practice medicine and stripped him of his license to practice in 2012.

The fall was great and Kho turned to drugs and alcohol to ease the pain…and finally to attempt suicide, twice.

“When the (sex) scandal happened, it was like being caught in a flood,” said Kho. “Every problem that came my way before was like a downpour. Since I’ve been underwater for so long, what was another downpour? But when they took away my license…it was a totally different experience.”

In the scandal’s aftermath, Kho said, “I lost my name and my so-called friends.” No one came to his defense.

Hayden Kho Meets Ravi Zacharias

Instead, he went in search of answers. The journey took him to a private talk by Ravi Zacharias in Manila.

This Is Why Bethel Church Is Turning Away Evacuees of Carr Fire

Bob Ditmer

August 1, 2018

The Carr Fire near Redding, California, has burned more than 112,000 acres, an area roughly the size of Denver, since igniting on July 23. Flames have destroyed more than 960 homes in and around Redding, a town 200 miles north of San Francisco and home to 90,000 residents. Carr is now the seventh most destructive fire in state history.

The fire has killed at least eight people, and more than a dozen are reported missing. Carr is so large and so hot, it has created its own weather system. Residents reported seeing fire tornadoes, and the rising smoke and ash created towering, dark pyrocumulus clouds. As of Wednesday morning, the fire is only 30 percent contained, and firefighting costs have already reached $24 million.

The disaster has people worried, desperate and, sadly, quick to falsely attack others.

That’s what’s happened to Bethel Church in Redding, California.

Church leaders took heat on social media from people angry that the church didn’t open its doors to victims evacuated by the fire.

My alma mater has opened its doors as an evacuation center for the Carr fire in Redding, but Bethel Church directly across the street hasn’t. I just have to wonder why.

— Merry Rebecca (@sonrisacolor) July 29, 2018

Did Bethel Church In Redding CA, Openly Refused To Be An Evacuation Site!??!!? https://t.co/VmztN1bUUF

— TOBChurch (@TOBChurch) July 30, 2018

Bethel Church during the #CarrFire pic.twitter.com/v68frkaFG7

— javier (@DEPOSlT) July 28, 2018

Bethel Church Poorly Situated to Be an Evacuation Center for Redding Fire

Lauren Vallotton, operations director for the church, said they didn’t open their doors because the building was considered unsafe for large crowds when a fire is raging nearby. The church sits on a hill at the end of a long, narrow road. With only one road in and out, it would be a disaster if the flames moved in on the church.

The Red Cross told ABC10 Sacramento that the church offered its facilities as an evacuation center but the church was too close to the fire line to have people stay in it overnight so they have partnered with the Salvation Army to be a distribution hub instead.

Jordan Pacilio, Bethel’s director of global response, said the church will be feeding people as they come through the building. Bethel has also set aside its sanctuary as a “cooling center” for those who need a break from the intense heat caused by the fire.

Meanwhile, church volunteers are separating food and other donations given to the Salvation Army to pass out to those in need.

Bethel recently took ABC10 Sacramento on a tour of their response efforts to show viewers they really care about their community.

Many of the church staff are in the same situation as those they’re helping, they’ve been evacuated or have lost homes to the wildfire.

Ken Shigemetsu: Pastor, Here’s How to Protect Your Soul

Jason Daye

August 1, 2018

Ken Shigemetsu is the Senior Pastor of Tenth Church in Vancouver, BC, one of the largest and most diverse city-center churches in Canada. He is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal awarded to Canadians in recognition for their outstanding contribution to the country. Before entering pastoral ministry, he worked for the Sony Corporation in Tokyo and draws on both eastern and western perspectives in his writing and speaking. Ken is the author of God in My Everything.

Key Questions for Ken Shigemetsu:

– Why are pastors challenged by the notion that they should always be doing more?
– What are some of the warning signs that pastors are too focused on achievement?

[SUBSCRIBE] For more ChurchLeaders podcasts click here!

Key Quotes from Ken Shigemetsu:

“We can say that God loves us irrespective of what we produce yet for many of us our self esteem is still dependent on our success.”

“Greatness of a ministry shouldn’t be measured by its size but by the love it offers for God.”

“Within each of us we have a striving Adam or Eve, we have a soulful Adam or Eve. Our society puts a spotlight on the ambitious Adam or the ambitious Eve.”

“If you notice that a pastor down the street seems to be flourishing the way yours isn’t and you start to feel envy instead of joyous, that could be a sign that you’re pursuing something that God doesn’t have for you.”

“Sometimes we say that we’re doing it for the Lord but sometimes we’re also doing it for ourselves.”

“We’re not the primary builders of the kingdom. It’s Jesus and the Holy Spirit and when we realize that we can relax.”

“At any given time I can feel like there are 1008 chimpanzees jumping on my head so I find it really helpful to just sit and breathe deeply.”

“Sometimes when I’m sitting in silence in the presence of God I feel like I’m surrounded by this mysterious beauty that upholds me in love.”

“Most of the time my meditation doesn’t feel dramatic but when I’ve done 20 minutes I feel a bit more relaxed and aware of Jesus.”

“If a person will meditate for 20 minutes over six weeks on a compassionate God, they will be 100 times more likely to respond to someone who walks into the room with a disability.”

“My hope and prayer for pastors is that they would know God is alive and well in every part of their life.”

Links Mentioned by Ken Shigemetsu in the Show:

Survival Guide for the Soul

10 Things Church Visitors Never Want to Hear

Ben Reed

August 1, 2018

There are 10 things church visitors never want to hear, so why not help our church folks learn NOT to say them?

You’ve been a church visitor at some point, right?

Ever heard something you wish you didn’t hear, right off the bat?

I’ve got a few nobody really wants to hear. Some I’ve heard personally. Others I’ve heard as they were told to someone else.

Church visitors never want to hear:

1. Our pastor isn’t normally this ________.

Insert whatever you want in this blank: loud, obnoxious, offensive, long-winded.

If you have to explain part of your pastor’s style because you know outsiders won’t like it, you’ve got a problem. Talk with your pastor about that.

2. We’re full. Sorry.

Always have a backup plan. Always.

If someone sees your service is full once, they’ll deal with it. But they probably won’t come back if they don’t see a plan you have in place.

**3. What are you doing here?**

Never say this. Never. Your shocked, open mouth reveals your judgmental spirit…at least in the eyes of visitors.

When you say this, all they can think is, “God couldn’t really love someone like you.”

4. You can’t serve now…you’ve got to be a member first.

Why would someone want to become a member if they’ve never had the chance to serve?

5. We don’t believe in serving coffee on Sunday mornings.

If you say this, I can only assume you are leading a church in the pit of Hell.

Creating a Service for Kids to Process Their Faith Out Loud

Brandon Horst

July 31, 2018

Two of the biggest reasons kids walk away from their faith as adults are: 1) they were never given a space to express and process their doubts in church and 2) they were never pushed to personally own their faith (they went to church because they felt pressured to by others, not because they actually wanted to).

At our church, as we thought about how we could provide opportunities and spaces for kids to express doubts and take personal ownership of their faith, we began to experiment with what we call experiential services.

In these services, we begin with a five- to 10-minute lesson on topics like “Why It’s Okay to Have Questions About Your Faith,” “How to Hear From God,” “Why Personal Repentance and Forgiveness Are So Important,” etc.

After the lesson, each kid gets a sheet of paper with sections for four to five stations, which we make available for kids to then personally explore their faith.

Once our students have completed all the stations, we collect the papers to give to parents at checkout, so parents can continue to help their kids process the information outside of church.

And at the end, we bring everyone back together corporeally to worship God as the united body of Christ.

Here are stations we’ve done in the past:

Question Station

Kids come to ask questions about God or their faith.

Depending on the kids’ age, they or a leader will write down the question(s).

Then a leader walks through each question with the kids.

The leader begins by asking what the kid thinks (they may already have a good idea of the answer, and just need an adult to confirm that it’s right).

If the kid has no thoughts about what the answer may be, the leader then answers the question using examples from the Bible (if they know the answer).

If the leader isn’t sure of the answer, we encourage him or her to be comfortable saying, “I don’t know, but I’ll try to find an answer for you.”

At this point, the question will be passed off for someone on staff to follow-up with the kid and his or her parents.

Prayer Station

Kids come to this station to receive prayer from a volunteer leader for anything they want.

We encourage kids to not just think about personal prayer requests but also others they know who need prayer.

Depending on the age, the kid or leader writes down the request.

Then a leader prays with the child.

Afterward, the leader may encourage the child to read a certain passage of scripture or talk to a wise adult as they seek the answer to their prayer requests.

Forgiveness Station

Here kids can either ask God for forgiveness or ask God to help them forgive someone else.

Depending on age, the kid or leader will write down responses.

After the response has been written down, we’ve done several different things: We’ve had the kids pin their responses to a cross, tie them to a helium balloon and release them into the sky, give them to a leader to burn, or put them on a long string with everyone else’s to show that everyone needs forgiveness.

Journal Station

We’ve done this one a couple of ways as well.

The first is to simply tell kids to take a few minutes to listen to God, and then write down or draw what God impresses on them.

The second way is to do a guided journal by having them finish sentences like “My favorite thing I did with my family this summer was…” or “I want my parents to help me become a better follower of Jesus by…”

Worship Station

At this station, a leader talks with kids about different ways they can worship God.

He or she tells kids they can worship by singing out loud, listening, journaling, drawing, standing, sitting, kneeling, going on walks in nature and many other ways.

Then we give them an opportunity to worship how they feel comfortable.

Afterward, we have them write down how they feel most connected to God, so parents know the ways in which their kids feel most comfortable and most connected worshipping.

Have you done anything similar at your church? What are some stations that have been really powerful for kids?

This article originally appeared here.

If I Could Change One Thing in My Church, It Would Be…

Thom Rainer

July 31, 2018

I put the statement on social media. The responses were voluminous. After a couple of days, I had to stop counting and tally the results. There were hundreds of them.

In an effort to simplify my reporting of the results, I put the responses into several categories. I have to say, I was more encouraged than not. Sure, we got the usual complaints about other people and the worship services. But I was surprised to see how many respondents said the greatest change needed to be themselves. Pastors said it. Elders said it. Deacons said it. Other laypersons said it. That response, among others, greatly encouraged me.

My question was about one thing, so I had to disregard those who gave two things, or three things, or 14 things (seriously). Keep in mind, each tallied respondent could only say one thing. So, when you read that three percent wanted a greater emphasis on prayer, it doesn’t mean 97 percent did not want a greater emphasis on prayer. It just means three percent put it at the top of their list.

Here are the top 10 results. The numbers do not add to 100 percent, because there were many responses that did not fit any of the top 10 categories.

If I could change one thing in my church, it would be…

Other people (16 percent). No big surprise here. Other people need to get their acts together. The pastor needs to visit more. Other people need to attend more frequently. The essence of these responses is that everyone else is the problem.
Me (13 percent). I was incredibly gratified to see this second highest response. So many of the respondents acknowledged the plank in their own eyes rather than the splinter in others. Indeed, this response was both a surprise and a great sign of hope for churches.
A greater emphasis on evangelism (10 percent). Again, I was heartened by these responses. The second and third most frequent responses were “change me” and “share the gospel.” That’s very hopeful.
The worship services (9 percent). No surprises here. It’s just hard for me to imagine that someone would say the greatest need in the church was to turn down the volume. Of course, there were the expected responses: more hymns; more contemporary music; more blended music, and on and on and on.
The church facilities (6 percent). There were a number of concerns about church buildings. It seems like this problem is becoming more pronounced. Deferred maintenance is growing in churches. Then again, some of the responses were, well, strange: “If I could change one thing in the church, it would be light bulbs that are too high.” Now that’s important.
The pace of change (5 percent). Almost all the responses in this category expressed a desire for increasing the pace of change. As one church member said: “We are moving slowly, and we are slowly dying.”
A greater emphasis on prayer (3 percent). As I monitor church trends, I am seeing this type of response with a greater frequency. That’s healthy, very healthy.
A greater emphasis on discipleship (3 percent). Again, as I read these responses, I was hopeful. Church leaders and members desire to return to greater emphases on evangelism, prayer and discipleship.
Our church polity (3 percent). Though a frequent response, there was no consistency on desiring any one type of polity. The theme was, for the most part, whatever our polity is now needs to be changed.
Greater diversity (2 percent). “When I look around our church, I see nothing but white faces. When I look into the community I see diverse ethnic groups and races.” That pretty much says it all.

Out of the hundreds of responses, there were many memorable, some for good, and some not so good. One of those: “If I could change one thing in my church, it would be the toilet paper brand.”

There you go. That’s Kingdom thinking.

This article originally appeared here.

5 Ways to Promote Your Church on a Tiny Budget

Church Fuel

July 31, 2018

Do you want to invite more people to visit your church service or church event? Are you looking for the most cost-effective ways to promote your church?

Here are some ideas for how you can promote your church.

And these ideas won’t cost a lot of money. In fact, most of them are free.

Idea #1: Share local events or helpful information on Facebook.

Take a look at the content you share on social media.

Is it all about you?

Chances are, you’re doing a pretty good job getting the word out about your services and your events.

It might sound counter-intuitive, but the best way to promote your church is not to promote your church at all. Stop posting selfies, and flip the camera around. Use your promotional resources to talk about things already happening in your community.

In other words, make it about them—not you.

Gwinnett Church does a great job with this with the hashtag #ForGwinnett. Go ahead and search that hashtag.

Sure, you’ll see a few pictures of church services and church events. But you’ll see a lot more stuff about the community.

Here are a few examples illustrating how Gwinnett uses their Facebook page to be about the community.

When you talk about local businesses, local schools and local events, people notice (and often share). You remind people that you’re not just interested in the growth of the church but the good of the community.

Idea #2: Equip your people with tools to invite.

I’ve said this before, but churches do a great job asking their members to invite others.

“Don’t forget to invite your friends next week” is a common encouragement at the end of many church services.

But we don’t just need to ask them to invite, we need to equip people to invite. We’ve got to give them the tools they need. Remember, the easier you make something, the more likely someone is to do it.

Simple invite tools are not expensive.

It could be a few creatively designed invite cards printed from Next Day Flyers.
It could be pre-written social media posts (with pictures) that people could cut, paste and post.
It could be car stickers, flyers or graphics people can easily share.

Create simple tools and take the time to teach people how to use them. Here are 19 ways you can encourage your church to invite.

Idea #3: Leverage social media on Sunday morning.

Carey Nieuwhof says it’s time to stop welcoming people like it’s 1999.

What’s he talking about?

Most people in church have smartphones in their pockets. That’s not something to fear; that’s something to leverage.

Here’s what we mean.

We’ve seen churches put creative signs on the floor, so people can take pictures of their feet and let people know they are at church.

I’ve seen churches encourage people to take out their phones during the welcome and let everyone know they are at church.

I’ve seen churches create sharable notes and quotes so church attenders can share a little about their experience.

The main idea here is to recognize the collective influence of your congregation and find ways to help them leverage those relationships.

Idea #4: Go old school.

Maybe most people in your church don’t use social media. That’s OK.

There are plenty of non-technological ways you can get the word out about your church or a church event.

In fact, in a digital age, it might even be easier for something counter-culture to get noticed. There are plenty of old school, grassroots methods that still work in addition to new methods.

Printing flyers and handing them out might seem outdated, but if that’s what you can do, go for it.
Printing road signs and putting them out on the weekend can help you get some positive attention.
You can hang door-hangers in neighborhoods.

Be creative and be fun. And promote relevant events. But you don’t have to abandon traditional methods just because someone says everything is going digital.

Idea #5: Join outside-of-church community groups.

This won’t cost you a lot of money, but there could be a significant long-term impact.

If your community has civic groups, join one.

If your church has more than one person on staff, divide and conquer.

Can you imagine how many relationships and opportunities would happen if every civic group in town had a representative from your church? Someone should be at every Chamber of Commerce meeting. Someone should join the Kiwanis club. Someone should show up at the Young Republicans meeting or the Young Democrats meeting.

Be present in your community and look for ways to help. Your church just might be a solution to a problem some group is trying to work through.

Those are five ideas for how you can promote your church on a tiny budget. Some of these don’t involve any money at all.

But we’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment with what you’re doing and share what’s working in your church.

Take a Next Step

Want to read even more about how we help other church reach more people and increase the growth and health of their churches?

This article originally appeared here.

Should Worship Be Emotionally Expressive?

Glenn Packiam

July 31, 2018

Several weeks ago, I wrote a post called “Should worship be physically expressive?” I thought it may be helpful to explore emotional expressiveness in worship, drawing on some of my research reading from earlier this year.

I. Why Do Emotions Matter?
Contemporary worship is framed within a paradigm of encounter: We gather to sing and to meet with God. In fact, many scholars have remarked that in charismatic worship, singing is the place of encounter. It ought to be noted, however, that Christian worship has in one sense always been about an encounter, which historically was God meeting us in the bread and wine.

The paradigm of encounter is significant because encounter involves emotion. What we mean in modern worship when we say that we ‘encountered God’ is that we were able to truly express our hearts to Him and that we are somehow in a mysterious way able to experience His presence. Both expression and experience have emotional qualities to them. This is not to say that they are solely emotional; only that they include and perhaps even rely upon emotion in order to occur.

Thus a worship paradigm of encounter places emotion as a key player in the process. The question, then, is not so much whether or not worship ought to be emotionally expressive, but rather, what sort of emotional expression is appropriate—and, furthermore, who decides?

II. Emotion as Perception and Motivation
First, we briefly explore what emotions are, beginning with what emotions are not. Emotions are not moods. Moods have no object; they are undirected feelings. Emotions are aimed at something.

That’s why Bob Roberts (Baylor) argues that emotion is a kind of perception—it is a way of seeing the world. Based on a concern, we construe a situation in a particular way. If you had hoped to go on a picnic (your “concern”), you will see the rain (your “construal”) as a negative thing. But if you were nervous (your “concern”) about wildfires in the summer, you will see the rain (your “construal”) as a blessing. The emotion—either of disappointment in the first example, or of relief in the second—is a clue to your construal and, deeper down, to your grounding or orienting concern. So emotions are ‘interpretative perceptions’; they help make sense of a situation. However, emotions also have a kind of ‘perceptual immediacy’—they happen some times before we realize why, pre-reflectively.

Emotions are not just a way of seeing; they are a reason for doing. They are not simply perceptional; they are motivational. Because they are concern-based, they are affected by what the subject cares about and can move the subject to “action in a way that is suggested by the concern that is basic to the emotion” and “along the particular way of construing the situation that the emotion involves” (Roberts).

The False Reality of Social Media

Elizabeth Wann

July 31, 2018

We live in a world of false realities. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest all offer an alternate view of who we are as individuals. We can tweet spiritual tweets and show off our immaculate houses or perfectly cooked food on Instagram. We can either judge or feel judged as we scan our Facebook timelines, and Pinterest shows us how far we fall from perfection.

Even posting “real photos” like a messy room or a not so flattering selfie are a far cry from showing the multifaceted and emotional life of a human being. We’ll never give a true taste of our imperfections from a bad hair day or unfolded laundry.

The “reality” photos and statuses published are just as much a mask as the perfect happy posts we broadcast. Neither show our cyber friends who we really are. We are safe from vulnerability and risk of failure, and have complete control of the image we portray of ourselves.

A Humble Balance

In reality, people experience us and feel affected by us, and their experiences of us might be vastly different from what we would like to convey about ourselves. The people around us are like mirrors bouncing back the real image of ourselves to us.

What would our spouse say about us if he or she were off the iPhone? How would our children say we treat them if their mouths could talk in our Instagram photos? What would the telemarketer and saleslady Tweet about us? Would our flesh and blood neighbors say we are as good as social media says we are? Whether on social media or in real life, we tend to seesaw back and forth between false realities of ourselves. We either put on the mask of thinking too much or too little of ourselves. And in turn we portray this image to others.

On the low end of the seesaw we view ourselves as constant failures, we condemn ourselves, feel depressed about our lives and are ashamed of who we are. The high end of the seesaw is boastful arrogance, self-righteousness, self-sufficiency and selfish ambition. Trying to correct one side with the other side is self-defeating, because both sides are rooted in pride and self-focus.

Humility comes in embracing the reality of the middle ground. Only when we embrace the true reality of ourselves in Christ will we achieve a humble balance. Humility is best described as a balancing of reality. Let’s stop the extreme high and low of the seesaw and meet Christ in the middle.

The Grace of God in You

Before social media, the apostle Paul was well acquainted with the humble reality of himself. He found his middle ground in the grace of God through Christ. In 1 Corinthians 15:9–10 Paul says,

“For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.”

Paul didn’t think less of himself for his past failures nor did he condemn himself for being a horrible person and then get depressed. But he didn’t self-correct himself by going to the other end of the seesaw by thinking too highly of himself. Instead, Paul saw his entire life through the lens of grace.

It was grace that stopped his persecuting and it was grace that made him an apostle. Grace working through him made him work hard and grace made him who he was. He could accept who he was—strengths and weaknesses, past, present and future—through the reality of God’s grace through Christ. He could only accept his true self once he humbly embraced the grace of God.

Christ purchased this grace for us at the cross where the ugly reality of ourselves met with the beautiful reality of Jesus. He took away the penalty of our ugly reality and transposed the grace of his beautiful reality onto us. Who we are in Christ is now our ultimate reality. We can say with Paul, “I am what I am through the grace of God.” Now that’s something to tweet about.

22 Must-Read Books for Preachers in 2018 (Recommended by Preachers and Church Leaders)

Brandon Kelley

July 31, 2018

Looking for some must-read books for preachers because you are a preacher/pastor/church leader?

I recently asked other pastors in our Facebook group and on my Twitter account what must-read books they would recommend other pastors/preachers to read this year. These books are not necessarily new books in 2018, but they are recommended books this year.

These books for preachers aren’t all preaching books, but books that other preachers and church leaders find to be important for us to read.

Books are vital for our development as leaders and preachers. If we aren’t reading, we likely aren’t growing. But when we regularly expose ourselves to new ideas, new angles and new thought processes, we open the door to growth.

So here is the list of must-read books for preachers in 2018 as recommended by other preachers and church leaders.

22 Must-Read Books for Preachers in 2018 (Recommended by Preachers and Church Leaders)

Power in the Pulpit by Jerry Vines and Jim Shaddix

From Amazon:

“I would not be who I am and I would not be doing what I do if it were not for God’s grace toward me through the reading and applying of this book.” —David Platt.

It’s still used in Bible schools and seminaries today, and it shows no signs of slowing down: Power in the Pulpit is an ideal introduction to preaching.

Dr. Jerry Vines and Dr. Jim Shaddix have achieved a balanced approach to sermon preparation in Power in the Pulpit. This primer combines the perspective of a pastor of 40 years with that of someone who devotes daily time to training pastors in the context of theological education. It offers practical preaching instruction from a tradition that sees biblical exposition as a paramount and frequent event in the life of the local church.

Get Power in the Pulpit

Progress in the Pulpit by Jerry Vines and Jim Shaddix

From Amazon:

“Progress in the Pulpit is a master class in preaching, written by two most-qualified authors. Dr. Jerry Vines is truly a Prince of the Pulpit.” — Dr. Albert Mohler Jr., from the foreword

Like musical instruments, preachers get better over time—unless, of course, they neglect maintenance. Progress in the Pulpit is for seasoned preachers looking to refresh their craft and receive guidance for contemporary challenges to preaching.

Get Progress in the Pulpit

Small Church Essentials by Karl Vaters

From Amazon:

Do you lead a small church?

Big churches get all the love. Articles, books, conferences—they mostly feature leaders of large congregations. Yet big churches are a small part of the ecclesial landscape. In fact, more than 90 percent of churches have fewer than 200 people. That means small churches play a big part in what God is doing.

Small Church Essentials is for leaders of these smaller congregations. It encourages them to steward their role well, debunking myths about small churches while offering principles for leading a dynamic, healthy small church.

Get Small Church Essentials

Secrets of a Secret Shopper by Greg Atkinson

From Amazon:

Secrets of a Secret Shopper is a book on the ministry of hospitality, first impressions and guest services for the local church written by Greg Atkinson for pastors and church leaders. The book covers 10 areas of focus including online presence, parking, signage, children’s ministry, security and others.

Get Secrets of a Secret Shopper

How Do Churches Change?

Markus Watson

July 31, 2018

How does change happen?

How do organizations and institutions change? How do churches change?

The world has changed dramatically—and churches have noticed! There’s no getting around it. The way we’ve done ministry in the past—strategic planning leading to lots of felt-needs-based programming—doesn’t seem to cut it anymore.

Something has to change. Exactly what needs to change is hard to pin down, partly because the specifics of what needs to change varies from church to church. (Maybe I’ll write some reflections about the what sometime soon).

What I want to look at in this post is how change begins to happen.

The Source and Soul of Change

One of the best books I’ve read about organizational change is a book titled Surfing the Edge of Chaos. Here’s what the authors say about institutional change: “Conversation is the single most important business process when the goal is to shift what people believe and how they think.” While the church isn’t a “business,” per se, the principle holds: Conversation allows people to be part of the change process. To put it even more dramatically, “conversation is the source and soul of change.”

Because churches are made up of people, and each person has their own thoughts and ideas, it almost never works in the long run to make top-down decisions without involving the congregation. They might go along with the decision, but that doesn’t mean they believe in it or have truly bought in.

Congregations have to have a voice in the process. They have to have the space to reflect on why change is necessary. What options are available? How they might be personally affected by a particular development, and other implications of a change? Only with room to reflect does lasting change have a chance.

Asking Good Questions

So how do you help people process and reflect? You get them around a table and start asking questions. Asking thoughtful and incisive questions is a key component in the change process. In regard to the learning and discovery process, Michael Marquardt writes, “Questions will always be more powerful than statements.” This is because asking questions first helps a group to better understand the challenge it is facing. And second, questions draw the group’s attention toward possible solutions.

According to Peter Block, the power of asking questions lies in their ability to “create the space for something new to emerge.” They open the group up to new possibilities and allow them “to recognize and reorganize their knowledge.” By recognizing their assumptions and reorganizing what they know, church members can position themselves to be more open to the new way God may call them to be the church in the world—and it may look very different than it did in the past.

Questions are absolutely necessary for deep learning to take place. Marquardt puts it this way: “Deep and significant learning occurs only as a result of reflection, and reflection is not possible without a question.”

Where in your context is God calling you to invite people into rich conversation? How might you get people around a table and start asking great questions?

This article originally appeared here.

This Summer, Make the Most of Ministry Photo Opportunities

Yvon Prehn

July 31, 2018

Anyone with a relatively new smartphone can take great pictures, but you need to do more than just take a ton of pictures and keep them on your phone if you want to use them for ministry. This summer you can be intentional about taking pictures, improving them and using them for your church communications. There are plenty of tools.

Edit Your Photos

In the same way that you must edit and refine your writing, you need to edit with your photos. Here’s how to start:

Shoot intentionally – Think ahead of time what you want your photos to say. Before shooting, select a theme, like: “I want to show how involved our church is with the community.” It will help you take pictures of your outreach teams in action, the people volunteering, the locations where they do ministry.
Group photos don’t tell a story – Group photos (the kind that portrays a bunch of people standing in a line, facing the camera) say nothing beyond, “This is the group that served the homeless in our city.” Take one group photo to remind the people of who went on the trip and give it to them, but publishing it online says nothing more than showing the people involved. There is no motion, no action, no emotion, no story. Instead of group photos, take pictures of individuals interacting with the people they help. Show them loading up the van with supplies. Show your pastor hugging a homeless person, or two volunteers praying together before leaving to minister.
Almost every photo will be better if it is tightly cropped. You can do that to some degree when you shoot an image, but usually, you need to do more. Just like a well-edited story is far more powerful than one that rambles all over, a tightly cropped photo that zeros in on something essential is always more powerful. (You can do simple cropping right on your phone, but below I provide a list of sites you can use on your computer at the church office.)
Caption your photos. This is essential. No picture is self-explanatory. It may be very meaningful to you, but if you don’t caption it your audience will learn nothing from it and they may come to a totally incorrect conclusion of the meaning of the picture. This is especially important with ministry pictures where your audience may not know the people or the setting.

Create Your Own Photo Bank

You usually don’t have time to take a picture or plan a photo shoot when you need a picture and are on a writing deadline, but if you’ve planned ahead and you have your own photo bank of pictures to draw from you will create much more effective communications. This can be a lot of work, but you will be glad you did it later on during the year when you write about ministries, ask for volunteers or post on social media. Here are some tips for how to create your photo bank:

Think through ahead of time all the groups and ministries you’d like to have pictures of. Then during the summer, not only take pictures of mission trips and special events but also be strategic about putting together a collection of photos that you can use during the year. Assign members of a team to help get all you need.

Take pictures of your church, the outside, various departments at different times of the day and from different angles. Take abstract shots from various angles of the pulpit, the lighting and the cross, whatever distinctive features of your building you have. Take pictures of the kitchen and fellowship halls with and without people. Some of these can later serve as great backgrounds for social media messages.

Take pictures of the staff — not formal, posed pictures, but pictures of them involved in ministry. Get a picture of the senior pastor involved with children at VBS, of the church secretary and the group that puts together the bulletin, of the key committees and leadership that meet at the church. Take shots close-up and from various angles.

Take pictures of the various ministries of the church — capture everything: the children’s ministry, the music ministry (practicing as well as performing), outreach ministries serving with a ministry like Habitat for Humanity, teachers teaching classes (from the students’ viewpoint and over their shoulder): whatever catches your eye.

Take pictures of “found objects” that can be used for spiritual purposes: Bibles owned by members with lots of scribbled notes; the rocking chair in the nursery, crosses or statues around the church, signs or markers of various kinds, local images that have meaning to your congregation. Think about backgrounds for social media, like sunsets behind the church, and make them specifically your own.

Tech Tools to Modify Your Photos

There is no need to learn Photoshop in order to crop and modify your images. Though there are many free and low-cost options out there, here are three I like a lot. The first has a minimal cost; the next two are free.

PicMonkey is my favorite. It’s $7.99 a month, or $71.88 a year, but you can do an incredible amount of image editing, applying lots of different filters and effects. They have a seven-day free trial to test it out.

Ipiccy.com — This program is similar to PicMonkey and it is free. It doesn’t have all the features but it has a lot of them, and the ability to make some great collages very easily. (It does have advertising, but it isn’t very intrusive.)

Paint.net – Another free program that has more advanced image manipulation.

If you only have the time to try one and no money, go with ipiccy.com — it’s lots of fun and very easy to use.

Here’s a free, short course on How to make the most of mission trip photos that illustrate a number of the tips talked about. Now that you know what to do, get out there and start taking photos that will make your church communication ministry more effective all year long!

Steph Curry: Point people toward the man who died for our sins on the cross…

Christine Yount Jones

July 31, 2018

Steph Curry on Jesus

Steph Curry isn’t shy about sharing his faith in Christ. Read more…

Here’s What Actually Happened at Revoice

Bob Ditmer

July 31, 2018

The controversial Revoice conference garnered a lot of attention before it even began. Now that it’s over, what actually was said at the gathering?

The conference’s three general sessions are available on YouTube. The theme for session two was “lament.”

Ray Low, a pastor in New York City, lamented the church excluding LGBTQ people from being pastors.

After seminary, Low served for three weeks as a youth pastor before being fired when another church in the area publicized his homosexuality. Low said although he is attracted to men, he is committed to a life of obedience and agrees with the church’s teaching about sexuality.

Still, he lost his job when church members spread rumors about him being a pedophile. Although he told other staff members about his homosexuality, “the church saw me as a liability,” Low told Revoice attendees. “I would challenge the church in a new way and force the church to confront the issue and not run from it.”

Low said he is celibate but doesn’t see anything wrong with his same-sex attraction. “Everyone is called by God to a purpose. That purpose was taken away,” Low said of his firing. “It’s hard for us to fit in without being judged, given a litmus test regarding our beliefs.”

Low was followed by conference organizer Nate Collins who lamented “the way the church treats homosexuals.”

Revoice Speaker Calls LGBTQ Christians ‘Prophets’

In his message, Collins likened LGBTQ Christians to prophets, pastors who refuse to hire homosexuals to “false teachers,” and the nuclear family to idolatrous “sexual pleasure.”

“Is it possible that gay people today are being sent by God like Jeremiah to find God’s words for the church to eat them and make them our own? To shed light on contemporary false teachings and even idolatries, not just the false teachings of the progressive sexual ethic but other more subtle forms of false teaching? Is it possible that gender and sexual minorities who have lived lives of costly obedience are themselves a prophetic call to the church to abandon idolatrous attitudes toward the nuclear family, toward sexual pleasure? If so, then we are prophets.

“But to embrace this calling, we also embrace the lament. For we will be persecuted… We have suffering and injustice to endure… Jeremiah’s primary ministry was to call Judah to repentance. Jeremiah experienced enormous suffering as a result of faithfulness to his calling.”

The comparisons brought criticism on social media.

So, Nate Collins considers himself, & other “Gay Christians,” to be modern day prophets to the church to call us to repentance for our idolatry of the “nuclear family?” It’s somehow “idolatrous” for the church to embrace & uplift God’s created design of the nuclear family?

7/9

— Tom Buck (@TomBuck) July 28, 2018

I’m wondering why a Christian conference that is “committed to historic Christian sexual ethics” would be preaching about a supposed corporate idolatry of the “nuclear family” in a culture where the nuclear family is utterly despised already #Revoice18

— Summer White Jaeger (@SummrWrites) July 29, 2018

Discerning Your Next Ministry Move

Mark Dance

July 30, 2018

Some of you may be worried that I am writing this post to you or about you. Yes, I definitely am.

We all have a call to follow and want to hear clearly from God. This time of year in particular is flush with requests for resumes and recommendations. Perhaps it is because we are fast approaching the end of our school and church calendar year.

It is normal to wonder if you are ready to move on to the next ministry assignment. Nobody wants to stay too long or leave too early, so we end up playing resume roulette by dropping hints and resumes. It is impossible to always resist the occasional ministry wanderlust. The next time you find yourself daydreaming about a better church in a better location, keep this in mind:

Sometimes finding God’s will is easy, but usually it is not.

Sometimes our current ministries are fulfilling, but sometimes they are naturally frustrating.

Sometimes search committees are awesome, but most are awkward, if not downright awful.

If you have recently pulled up to the proverbial traffic light to ask God for discernment about your next ministry move, you are wise to proceed with caution. You are understandably asking the Lord to give you a green light to GO, or a bright red light to STAY. What are you going to do when Jesus gives you an unbearably boring yellow light to WAIT?

The next time you pull up to a ministry yellow light, consider these options.

Accelerate before the light changes

You can ignore everybody and just put your pedal to the metal. Some ministers get so frustrated and exhausted by their ministries that they do not want to wait for the light to change colors. If that describes you, I implore you to resist the temptation to play resume roulette. Instead, forge some time this summer to deepen your walk with Jesus. Rest in him until your soul is restored. Make sure your identity is tied more to the Groom than his Bride. If you expect a church to fill a void in your life that God has already filled, you are are in for more disappointment.

Honk mercilessly at the other cars

Yellow lights are important, but temporary. As you wait on God’s direction, guard your heart and tongue from burning bridges with those around you. Discerning God’s will is a tough spiritual discipline. I assure you it won’t help to rush or push others as you wait on the light to change.

A foolish heart publicizes stupidity. Proverbs 12:23 CSB

Turn around and go home

Finding God’s will is rarely fast or fun, so some just react by quitting. That may bring you short term relief, but you will certainly regret a hasty exit later.

I will instruct you and show you the way to go; with my eye on you, I will give counsel. (Psalms 32:8 CSB)

I recently spent a season of prayer and fasting about a tempting ministry opportunity, which I ended up passing on. I do not enjoy fasting—at all—but it works! Fasting with prayer is God’s proven cure for spiritual attention deficit, as well as spiritual immaturity.

Slow down and wait for the light to change

Your ministry yellow light this summer might just be God calling you to himself afresh. My season of prayer ended with a flood of peace that I will never forget. I came to a much greater appreciation for God’s gifts and calling on my life. I pray that you will find that same peace as you try to discern your next ministry move.

You will keep the mind that is dependent on you in perfect peace, for it is trusting in you. (Isaiah 26:3 CSB)

This article originally appeared here.

Killing the Clergy/Laity Caste System

Ed Stetzer

July 30, 2018

“Laypeople” is a common word we use around churches but I don’t like it. The word actually can be applied to any non-professional population as it relates to any profession (doctors, lawyers, etc.). But most often it is applied to church, including its primary definition. Today I begin a blog series about laypeople and the mission of God. I hope at the end of the series you will see and do things differently for His mission.

Killing the Clergy/Laity Caste System

The image that such terminology creates is of two classes of people inside the church. The first class (emphasis on “first”) is the professional clergy, referred to as “ministers” by some churches. The second class (I meant to say that) is the laypeople. I also see something that is not only unbiblical but I believe it sabotages the mission of God intended for ALL God’s people and teaches “lay people” that they are the ones who do nothing or are worth very little.

A closer look at the origin of the word “laity” reveals an issue at the root of the word itself. The word comes from a French word that comes from a Greek word that is pretty common to some of you. “Laos” was one of the first Greek words we learned, for those of us forced to study such in seminary. You know what it means? … “People.” Now, the laity that we have made second class citizens over the years strikes back. So, if we call our non-clergy “people” I guess the clergy would be called…not people? You get my point, I hope.

My fear is that we have created a class system in the body of Christ comprised of the “called” and the “not so much called.” Nothing could be further from the truth. The ministry assignment of the laypeople is not to simply “lay” around and tell the called what they should be doing. Laypeople are not to be customers of religious goods and services served by the storekeeper clergy. We are all called although our current assignments may vary dramatically.

Jesus said to an ordinary group of people, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you” (John 20:21). These were not professionals, with the exception of professional fishermen and a professional tax collector. And if we hope to engage and evangelize the world with the gospel, we cannot possibly rely on professionals to do it.

Laypeople often think that this means their job is to pay, pray, get out of the way. To make sure we are not communicating a low, irresponsible view of laypeople one thing is critical. We must create an atmosphere of expectation.

In all of our research on churches, people in transformational churches were taught that they were responsible for the ministry of the church. This was a recurring theme that they perceived, rightfully so, that they were the owners of the ministry.

To do this, we must begin by declaring the two class system of ministry dead—we may even have to kill it. A new level of ownership must be given to the people of God, and the people of God must embrace what they are given. God’s desire is to have a church made up of every day Christians living like missionaries.

The clergy-laity caste system is killing churches and hindering the mission of God. Let’s kill it.

Next time I will talk about why some pastors should resign and become full-time Christians, but in the mean time, how is your church empowering ALL God’s people “for the training of the saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ” (Eph 4:12)?

This article originally appeared here.

A Ministry of the Mundane

Daniel Darling

July 30, 2018

I’ll never forget the quiet of the church building on my first day as pastor. I had previously served on a large church staff with many action-packed weekly ministries. The building was a beehive of activity. But in my new role as pastor of a small church, it was a different experience, one my Bible-college training and Christian upbringing didn’t quite prepare me for.

I suspect most of my ministry colleagues have made similar adjustments. I once heard Chuck Swindoll say to a gathering of ministers, “In ministry life, there are more moments of the mundane than the magnificent.” This is true, but why is it so hard to adjust to a ministry of the mundane?

Pastors are rightly motivated to see God do a grand work in their midst. After all, that’s why we surrendered to the call to ministry in the first place. We want to be vessels through which God changes the lives of the people we serve. We read the book of Acts and are inspired, again and again, by the way the Spirit of God builds Christ’s church. And we ask ourselves: Why can’t that happen here, in this community, through this local church?

We all want God to do something big, and we want that big thing to happen through our ministry. This isn’t necessarily a bad or carnal impulse. We should dream, as Paul did in Romans 10:1, for the salvation of those who are alienated from God. We should read the Great Commission and the words of the Lord in Acts 1:8 and the picture of the gathering of the kingdom from all nations in Revelation 5 and 7 as both a challenge to spread God’s name and a promise of Christ’s activity in this generation. Nobody should go into ministry with only a casual interest in seeing people moved from death to life.

God is in the whisper

However, this doesn’t mean we, ourselves, have to be overcome with frenetic activity. Sometimes God moves in big, catalytic moments like conferences and memorable worship services or large-scale events. Other times, however, God moves in the quiet, small things.

I’m reminded of Elijah, who experienced an adrenaline crash after his showdown with the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel. Many in Israel still worshiped Yahweh, yet still he was despondent because the big convert, Queen Jezebel, remained hardened in opposition.

As God ministered to his discouraged prophet in 1 Kings 19, he demonstrates God’s unwillingness to be held captive by our expectations. Elijah stood and watched a series of big natural phenomena: a strong wind, an earthquake and a fire. Each time, the text is clear that God was not in any of these events. God was in what came next: a whisper.

Does this mean God isn’t in control of earthquakes and fires and wind? No. Does this mean God doesn’t use big events to bring about his purposes? No. But the point God is making to Elijah and to us who speak and minister for God, is this: God is also in the whisper. He’s in the quiet, ordinary moments of life.

Gregory the Great wrote, “Purity of heart and simplicity are of great force with almighty God, who is in purity most singular, and of nature most simple.”

Most of our professional ministry training prepares us for the big moments. This is good. But I wonder if we go into the pastorate expecting every day to be Mt. Carmel, when more days are like Elijah’s solace under the juniper tree.

We have a natural restlessness. In part it’s a product of the culture in which we live, where we are constantly awaiting the next big thing. Our smartphones light up with alerts from social media, email, text and phones. Each one has the promise of something new: a new conversation, a new opportunity, a new news story. We are mastered by the moment.

I find it extraordinarily difficult to turn this off. It’s a constant battle that I don’t always win. I find it hard not to check my phone regularly, even when I should be present with people.

This is a symptom of not just a busy culture, but a busy heart. We are restless creatures because we are running from the solitude that allows us to meditate, to be quiet, to hear God speak, to repent. It’s uncomfortable to face ourselves, so we fill our time with distractions.

The way of Jesus is not just active ministry. It’s time away with the Father. It’s not just crisis and confrontation; it’s the ordinary, mundane and common. As much as we need to plan the next big event, we need to experience routines, and rest and renewal. At times, this might mean a sabbatical or time away with the family. Often it’s simply structuring our lives to include moments that are not big or consequential: breakfast with friends, a few hours to read and grow, or pursuing a life-giving hobby. I’m reminded of Thomas Carlyle’s statement that silence is “the element in which great things fashion themselves together.”

1. You Have Non-Singers Singing and Bad Players Playing

Phones in Hand, Always on Stage

But there seems to be a core issue that is often overlooked—to develop a lasting faith, kids need to grasp their need for God. Let me explain.

C.S. Lewis and the Four Loves

But our love for God is different.

Young People and the Need for God

Hayden Kho Meets Ravi Zacharias

Key Quotes from Ken Shigemetsu:

Links Mentioned by Ken Shigemetsu in the Show:

Church visitors never want to hear:

1. Our pastor isn’t normally this ________.

2. We’re full. Sorry.

3. What are you doing here?

4. You can’t serve now…you’ve got to be a member first.

5. We don’t believe in serving coffee on Sunday mornings.

Question Station

Prayer Station

Forgiveness Station

Journal Station

Worship Station

Idea #1: Share local events or helpful information on Facebook.

Idea #2: Equip your people with tools to invite.

Idea #3: Leverage social media on Sunday morning.

Idea #4: Go old school.

Idea #5: Join outside-of-church community groups.

Take a Next Step

A Humble Balance

The Grace of God in You

22 Must-Read Books for Preachers in 2018 (Recommended by Preachers and Church Leaders)

Power in the Pulpit by Jerry Vines and Jim Shaddix

Progress in the Pulpit by Jerry Vines and Jim Shaddix

Small Church Essentials by Karl Vaters

Secrets of a Secret Shopper by Greg Atkinson

The Source and Soul of Change

Asking Good Questions

Steph Curry isn’t shy about sharing his faith in Christ. Read more…

Revoice Speaker Calls LGBTQ Christians ‘Prophets’

Accelerate before the light changes

Honk mercilessly at the other cars

Turn around and go home

Slow down and wait for the light to change

Killing the Clergy/Laity Caste System

God is in the whisper

New Articles

New Podcasts

**3. What are you doing here?**