Rich Stearns: World Vision Is the Emergency Room of the Planet

July 25, 2018

???????????????

Rich Stearns is the president of World Vision United States, a Christian relief charity based in Federal Way, Washington. He is the former CEO of Parker Brothers Games and Lenox. Rich holds a Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Following the calling he felt from God, he resigned from Lenox in 1998 to lead World Vision U.S., after more than 20 years in corporate America.

Key Questions for Rich Stearns:

– Why does World Vision focus on a long term view of helping those in need?
– What are some of the most important leadership lessons you’ve learned over the years?

Key Quotes from Rich Stearns:

“You can characterize our work as talking about relief and development. Most people understand emergency relief, it’s kind of like the emergency room of the world. A little bit like the world’s firefighters we rush into the traumas of our world…we try to help people in their desperate hour of need.”

“World Vision has become one of the largest relief providers in the world. In fact last year we responded to more than 150 humanitarian disasters all over the world.”

“We like to say we don’t give people handouts we give people a hand up.”

“Communities that are poor have been poor for centuries so the causes are deeply ingrained in the culture. The solutions are also long term.”

“Water wells and schools are important but they’re not nearly as important as what goes on between the two ears of the people who live in the community. How they are working to solve their own problems.”

“A church that is ready to go the long haul with a community is the church that will see change and impact.”

“World Vision is one of the few organizations that wants to say goodbye.”

“Our goal should be to have the communities we work with be fully functioning and no longer need our help.”

“Leadership is like trying to drive a car in a blizzard at night with no lights or windshield wipers.”

“As a leader, surround yourself with wise, godly, smart people and give them permission to disagree with you.”

“Never believe that the outcome of your ministry depends on you.”

Links Mentioned by Rich Stearns in the Show:

World Vision

Matthew 25 Challenge

Rich Stearns on ChurchLeaders:

Arbiter for the Poor: Rich Stearns and World Vision

This is Your Greatest Asset

Jonathan Pearson

July 24, 2018

Sometimes, we’re best known for what we didn’t have to do.

We all have responsibilities. Let’s face it, adulting is tough work. There are bills to pay, children to care for, responsibilities at work, volunteer responsibilities, and the list goes on and on. However, much of that stuff is expected. It’s maintaining, not groundbreaking. It’s keeping things going, not necessarily moving ahead.

Often times, the thing that makes the great people great and the thing that makes the world-shapers the way they are isn’t the day to day stuff, it’s the stuff they don’t have to do. It’s the extra mile when they could have stopped. It’s going from just being a parent keeping their children alive to being a purposeful parent instilling values in the home. It’s going from being an employee that wants to keep their job to figuring out a new and more efficient way to do what you do.

Our greatest asset is what we do after we do what we’re supposed to do.

Take for instance, Thomas Edison. Edison is always credited with inventing the light bulb. That’s partly true. He did invent the modern light bulb and deserves credit. What we often don’t know about Edison is that he wasn’t the first. He was just the first to perfect the filament that was used to make the bulb light up. Before Edison, the light bulb burnt out so fast, it was useless. Edison went the extra mile. He went beyond what was common and known and still gets the credit for it. We’re still using his work every day.

What can you do?

What does it look like for you to go the extra mile today? Maybe you change how you do what you do. Maybe you chase a dream you’ve been putting on the back burner. Maybe you start something over, with more purpose. Maybe you reschedule your day for more margin.

Your greatest asset is what you don’t have to do… but you’ll be glad you did.

The original article appeared here.

8 Attributes of Spiritually Safe Environments

Jenny Funderburke Smith

July 24, 2018

At the end of a special event, a Christian dressed as a superhero calls for kids to come forward if they want to know Jesus. Dozens and dozens of kids, primarily preschoolers, come forward. They are counted and the church celebrates the high number of “salvations” from this event.

Following the traditional VBS gospel presentation, an opportunity to pray to receive Christ is given, and then kids are asked to respond by raising their hands and then coming forward. A couple of fourth graders respond. Others notice their friends are moving forward and they go to the front as well. Soon the majority of the fourth-grade class is standing there. They are given a card to fill out and the church celebrates the number of decisions.

If you’ve been in church for a while, it is possible that you’ve seen similar situations. These are actual situations that I observed many years ago. I believe with all my heart that children can understand and receive the good news of Jesus. That’s why I am in kids’ ministry. However, I also know that right after Jesus told His disciples that “whoever welcomes one child like this in my name welcomes me,” He also warned with very strong language of the danger for those who cause kids to fall away from Him (Matthew 18:6). It is critical that we create spiritually safe environments for every kid who enters our church.

We talk a lot in next generation ministry about creating environments that are physically safe, as we most certainly should. Thankfully, background screens and two adult rules have become the norm. We give attention to bullying and making sure we have emotionally safe environments. These are important topics, but since our number one mission should be to train children spiritually, it is imperative that our environments are spiritually safe.

What do spiritually safe environments look like?

The gospel is primary. In spiritually healthy environments, kids are consistently taught that Jesus died for their sins and rose from the dead, providing a way to Heaven through faith alone. When we implicitly or explicitly emphasize anything else, we are potentially harming kids spiritually. If kids leave our classrooms with the impression that they only have to be “good” kids or they have to work to earn salvation, we are setting them up for spiritual harm.
The gospel is communicated clearly. I believe that Jesus is clear that a child is capable of saving faith, and in fact uses a child’s faith to define what saving faith is like (Matthew 18:3). Our responsibility is to communicate in ways that they understand. We do this by explaining church-y or theological terms in kid-friendly and age-appropriate ways.
Decisions for Christ are not made based on guilt, fear or peer pressure. It is the Holy Spirit’s job to convict and draw kids to God. It is our job to share the gospel. Years ago I asked my friend and associate pastor to talk with a child about salvation. He used a popular evangelism tool that just happened to highlight a large picture of fire. Yes, hell is a biblical reality and kids need to understand that separation from God has eternal consequences. However, guess what that unchurched kid was totally freaked out about? It is our responsibility to share the gospel in a way where kids are responding to the grace of Christ, not trying to please adults or do what their friends are doing or because they are scared of the fire picture.
Kids are not pressured or put on the spot to make a spiritual commitment A well-meaning volunteer once went around his circle of kids asking each to say out loud whether or not they had trusted in Christ. His intentions were good, but unfortunately, his methods made kids feel uncomfortable and put on the spot to respond like he wanted them to. We owe kids the honor of letting God work in their hearts privately. Following a gospel presentation, we do not have kids make public commitments. Instead, we allow them opportunities to respond privately via a card that they fill out or by encouraging them to approach their leader to start the conversation.
The emphasis is on gospel conversations, not counting decisions. Every child who expresses an interest in following Christ has a one-on-one conversation with a decision counselor. As often as possible we include the parents. The purpose of the conversation is to walk through the gospel again and try to gauge the student’s understanding and interest. We are not the judges of kids’ salvation, but it is our responsibility to help make sure they have a clear understanding.
Every effort is made to make sure concepts are understood, not just repeated. Kids can repeat a prayer. Kids can answer yes or no questions. Kids can parrot back what you’ve said. Salvation through Christ is more than repeating words. Kids need to understand what sin is, that they are sinners in need of forgiveness, that Jesus came, died and rose again to provide a way to heaven. They need to understand that salvation comes only through Him.
Salvation is not a prayer of magic words. I believe we have raised generations that have equated salvation with just saying a prayer and you get zapped into heaven. I also believe that this practice has led to lots of spiritually confused adults. Salvation is believing in Christ and confessing Him as your Lord. Repenting of sin and making Him the Lord of your life is a lot bigger than just saying some words. In spiritually healthy environments, kids understand that salvation is a surrendering of one’s life to God. In kid-terms we say God is the boss of their life and we do things his way instead of ours.
Kids are loved unconditionally regardless of their background or their behavior. We model who Christ is by loving kids as He loves us. Kids know that the people who are sharing Christ with them are legit and truly care about them.

Sharing the greatest news in the world is a high responsibility, but what an incredible privilege! My prayer is that God uses each of us to spread His gospel to this generation with much integrity and much care so that this next generation grows up with a rock solid faith.

This article originally appeared here.

How to Break Free From Church Politics

Dan Reiland

July 24, 2018

Workplace politics are frustrating.

Steve and Jennifer were up for the same promotion and Jennifer was clearly more qualified for the position. But Steve got the job. It turns out that Steve’s father-in-law was the CEO of the company. Enough said.

Workplace politics is the process and behavior within human interactions involving power and authority.

When this influence is used to promote personal agendas over the mission, it divides the organization’s mission. Divided interests cause the organization to become “political” in nature, and its effectiveness quickly declines.

Churchplace politics are similar and equally frustrating.

A church of about 500 in attendance was in a building campaign. Everyone had agreed on chairs in the worship space instead of the pews they had always known. Except for one board member who had personally pledged an amount equal to all the rest of the pledges combined. The board member threatened the pastor and board to remove his pledge if they didn’t install pews.

Not all politics are negative. In a positive nature, politics are how you get things done in your church. Politics are the lubricant that oils your church’s organizational gears. It’s about people working together and setting their preferences aside for the greater good.

When this process becomes corrupted, that’s when trouble begins, and your culture can become divided and even toxic.

Indicators that the climate has become political:

People work hard, but sideways energy wastes time and erodes progress.
It’s difficult to get a decision because of divided interests.
Gossip overtakes open and honest conversations.
Trust is low.
Perspective overtakes truth.
Personal agendas compete with the purpose of the church.
Staff begin to look out for themselves and volunteer leaders become discouraged.

Politics are agenda driven, meaning somebody wants something.

The major complication is that the agendas are often personal and sometimes selfish, but get communicated as if they are purely about the cause of Christ.

This is further complicated because it’s rarely malice that drives the personal agenda. It’s more often good people who genuinely believe that what they are doing (what they want) is right.

The problem is those good people who are attempting to do good things can lose sight of the big picture and begin to justify their idea (their part of the mission) as the entire mission.

5 things you can do as a leader help break your church free from politics:

1) Never put your leadership up for sale.

It’s obviously not always about money, but “selling out” is easier than it may appear.

The pressure may come related to hiring someone, starting or stopping a ministry, or looking the other way when it comes to one of your biblical convictions. The possibilities are endless.

When the leaders around you sense that you don’t hold firm to your convictions, you open the door to church politics because options are now up for grabs. When you stay firm, even if leaders don’t always agree, trust increases because they know where you stand.

2) Insist on a culture of no pretense.

The founding and senior pastor at 12Stone, Kevin Myers, has done an incredible job to lead the element of no pretense into the culture of our church.

If you or I pretend to be something or someone other than who we really are, we present a divided authenticity. Let’s assume pure motives; we still must burn energy to keep up two fronts.

The same is true with the church. When reality is covered up, and you pretend everything is fine, the church is no longer real. This invites a divided agenda. One that invests energy into communicating everything is fine, and the other frantically working to make things better.

We know there is no such thing as a perfect leader or perfect church, but it’s startling how many attempt this pretense anyway. This divided energy is a door to side agendas taking over.

The first step is authenticity among the key leaders.

3) Refuse to engage in gossip.

If you refuse to gossip, others around you will get the message. You don’t have to be militant about it. Kindness is always appropriate.

You can lead the way or at least be a significant influencer toward a gossip free culture.

The first step is that you don’t take part in any gossip. Second, you gently but firmly call it out when it happens. Just say something like: “Hey I’m not sure that’s true, and if we’re going to have this conversation, we need to go have it with the person you’re talking about.”

It need not be more complicated than that. This also increases trust and a healthy culture.

4) Commit to being part of the solution.

Solve the problem rather than make it worse.

Gossip is like gas on a fire; it makes the problem bigger. A solution not only helps you put the fire out, but it’s also the foundation for regaining progress.

Anyone can spot a problem, and unfortunately more than enough people can cause a problem, but leaders solve problems.

The unity required to solve problems, get things done and make progress shuts down the time-wasting effect of politics.

5) Remain fiercely aligned to the mission.

It’s healthy and natural for people to have different opinions, ideas and passions for specific ministries. But you won’t make progress unless the church and staff agree and fully align together in one direction.

This begins with a shared commitment to God, then to each other as a community of believers, and finally a willingness to practice mutual voluntary submission (MVS).

MVS essentially means that individuals set aside their personal agendas for the sake of the greater good, seek alignment as a team, and ultimately measure success by reaching more people for Jesus.

This article originally appeared here.

Can Your Soul Survive Facebook and Twitter?

Russell Moore

July 24, 2018

I sometimes post pictures on Instagram of books that I’m reading, usually just a stack on my table to let my followers know what I’m thinking about at the moment. The stack is almost always very heavily redacted. It’s not (necessarily) a list of recommendations, but a real-time rundown of what I’m consuming. Even so, I would never include in the stack Why I Don’t Believe in God or Beyond Good and Evil or Why Country Music Is Awful, for fear that some might think I agree with those ridiculous arguments. There was one book that I didn’t post on Instagram though for an entirely different reason; I didn’t want to be thought a hypocrite. I still don’t, but the case was so compelling that I’ve decided I don’t care.

The book, Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now, by Silicon Valley scientist and entrepreneur Jason Lanier, was, in some ways, dealing with predictable issues familiar to the genre: on addiction, attention spans, bullying and so forth. What caught my attention though was the section dealing with something approaching a disturbing account of human nature, an account that rings true with what I’ve seen both in the digital and the real ecosystems.

We all know that social media platforms amplify the voices of “trolls,” those extraordinarily wounded psyches who seek out such venues to vent their inner demons with anger. Lanier’s argument, though, is not just that social media give a hearing to trolls but that these media are making us all, a little bit, into trolls. He uses a word that is less-than-evangelical-friendly, but that is synonymous with a boorish, mean-spirited jerk, and says that social media actually can make us into people like this.

PERSON OR TRIBE?

To make his case, Lanier compares human nature to that of wolves, arguing that in every human personality there is the mode of the solitary and that of the pack. When our “switch” is set to “Pack,” he contends, we shift into emergency mode, to the protection of the real or imagined “tribe.” This mode is necessary, he contends; think of when individuality should essentially evaporate into the larger collective, say, in a time of military attack. This should be rare, though, and the “switch” should usually be kept in the “Solitary Wolf” mode.

“When the Solitary/Pack switch is set to Pack, we become obsessed with and controlled by a pecking order,” Lanier writes. “We pounce on those below us, lest we be demoted, and we do our best to flatter and snipe at those above us at the same time. Our peers flicker between ‘ally’ and ‘enemy’ so quickly that we perceive them as individuals. They become archetypes from a comic book. The only constant basis of friendship is shared antagonism toward other packs.”

This is why, he argues, nonsense is a more useful tool of building online “viral” content than is reason or imagination or truth. When “truth” is defined by what is useful or “memeable,” one’s embrace of that “truth” is a signal not that it is based in reality but instead that it makes one part of the digital “pack.” Those who fall repeatedly for what are self-evidently absurd concepts they latch onto on the Internet are not necessarily stupid (though they may be). They are looking for a place to belong, and that’s the price.

Lanier argues that capitalism and democracy cannot survive while the “Pack” mode is permanently switched to “on.” He writes: “Tribal voting, personality cults and authoritarianism are the politics of the Pack setting.” The solitary wolf is forced to care about the larger reality more than the perceptions of the tribe. That leads to the qualities of the scientist or the artist as opposed to what happens when social status and “intrigue” become more important, a situation that forces one to act more “like an operator, a politician or a slave.”

INDIVIDUALS IN COMMUNITY

He’s right not only about the economic or democratic conditions around us, but also about a reality he doesn’t examine at all: that of the church. The church requires a balance between individuality and community. When individuality becomes disconnected from community, one refuses to submit to one another or to serve one another. But the opposite is also true. If I find my identity in the community, or in the community’s perception of me, I am no longer free to serve the community.

I can only do that if I bring to the community the gifts God has given to me, anchored in an identity that is found in Christ. That’s why the Spirit uses the analogy of the body and the organs of the body for life in the church—organically connected but distinguishable. Indeed, when the personal is absorbed into the raw rush to the collective, we end up with angry tribes within the church (“I am of Peter; I am of Apollos…” 1 Cor. 1:12). Those who do so are not selflessly serving the whole; they are instead seeking to selfishly find themselves, in a tribe they can war against another. This leads, the Apostle Paul tells us, to an animalistic biting and devouring of one another (Gal. 5:15).

Church splits and Twitter wars aren’t really all that different. Joining a cult and spending time wondering what people think about you online are different in degree, but maybe not that much in kind.

I’m not arguing that we all should delete our social media accounts. I am, though, wondering if you should spend some time asking whether your social media account is leading you places you can’t handle. Do you find yourself given over more to anger or to anxiety or to envy or to pack thinking? Then maybe it’s time to step back, or even to leave for a while.

After all, you weren’t created for a hive or a pack. You were created for a church. And, for that, you need more than a tribe. You need a soul. Your church needs that from you, too.

This article originally appeared here.

One Size Does Not Fit All – Background Screening Policies are a MUST

Daniel Raley

July 24, 2018

One size DOES NOT fit all!

Background Screening Policies Are a MUST for Churches.

When I talk or visit with a church, one of the first things I ask is whether or not they have a background screening “policy” in place. I often receive a look of bemusement and an, “Of course!” response. As we talk further, I find that they really have some type of Child Protection Policy but not necessarily a Background Screening Policy. There is a difference.

My goal today is to lend some advice on creating a background screening policy that everyone in your organization can utilize and share. Let’s start by considering the key elements in the policy or strategy for effective screening.

WHO to screen is always the first criterion. Many churches think in silos when thinking about who to screen. An example of this would be to only screen the nursery, children’s ministry and student/youth ministry volunteers. My recommendation is much broader in nature.

Screen everyone that represents your organization in any capacity.

Right now many of you are thinking about the cost, resistance from staff and volunteers and possibly scoffing at the suggestion because you’ve known everyone forever! My suggestion comes not from distrust of those that work with you, but of protection of your organization in a legal sense. One misstep by any staff member or volunteer can result in a huge financial impact on your church when you can’t prove you’ve conducted your due diligence. There are many ways to offset the cost of background screening and overcoming objections, however, if screening everyone is not supported, consider the impact of those that have a position of trust or power with a child, student or any vulnerable adults:

Pastors, greeters at the front door, anyone with a name tag or “uniform” of any kind (i.e. flower, cloak, button, etc.), janitorial staff, along with the worship/music members and team (critical and exploited opening for sex offenders). You should also include minors working with children and outside contractors/vendors.

WHAT is the second criterion. What should be considered diligent in terms of a proper background screening for each person? That really depends on their roles and responsibilities. Do they work with children? Do they handle money? Do they have keys to the building? Do they travel as a chaperone? One size does not fit all! You must tailor your screening program to their roles. You may need to order a driving history (MVR) for chaperones that drive; or a credit report on those that handle finances. Consider Federal Court searches for crimes like embezzlement, trafficking, drug charges, and kidnapping to name a few. Consider the responsibilities for each title, thinking about each area of your organization they will be involved in to decide on the appropriate services for each. A company with a sound reputation and knowledgeable staff, such as Protect My Ministry, will have recommendations to provide.

HOW often? I have always recommended that churches run annual searches on their staff and volunteers and now many insurance companies are making it mandatory for coverage. Many things can happen in a 12 month period, at home or away. It is your responsibility to ensure the staff and volunteers are always clear of potential risk to your church. The only way to ensure your volunteer is still “clear” is to re-screen on a consistent basis. If budget is a concern, know that Protect My Ministry is one of the only background check companies that provides a FREE re-verification of records from the national criminal database for volunteers.

The last thing to consider when creating your policy is a screening provider. One Size Does Not Fit All also applies to background screening providers and their services. For the last 3 years, Protect My Ministry has been partnering with churches to help them effectively screen their volunteers and staff. Now serving over 25,000 churches, schools and nonprofits, we have become the go-to source for background checks and child safety training, online training, and instructional videos.

Our background check services include:

SSN Verification
National Criminal Database Search
National Sex Offender Search
Re-verification of criminal records
Alias names

(1) county or statewide criminal court search (plus mandatory fees)

Our integration with Elexio, ShelbyNext, FellowshipOne, ParishSoft, and many other Church Management platforms streamlines your screening process. Our approach to customer service, screening services and technology is not a One Size Fits All. We take a holistic approach to background screening that promotes confidence and peace of mind.

Daniel Raley is a Marketing Director for Ministry Brands, a software company dedicated to empowering faith-based organizations in a digital world.

Why I Don’t Always Give People an Answer

Ron Edmondson

July 24, 2018

I have a theory, which I practice often.

I’ve been using it for many years—as a leader, father, a friend and a pastor. It’s not always what people come looking to me for, but I think it’s the best practice.

I don’t always give people answers.

As a pastor, people came to me for answers.
As a dad, my boys, now grown, often still come to me for answers.
As a friend, people come to me for answers.
As a counselor, people came to me for answers.
As a leader of a team, people come to me for answers.

In either case, I don’t always give people answers.

I don’t try to solve their problems for them. I know that seems hard to understand, maybe even cruel of me, unless you understand why I don’t.

Now, if there is a clear biblical answer for their problem or issue, I give it to them, as I understand it. And, there are certainly things which are my responsibility and I have to make a decision. I make dozens of these type of decisions every day. I’m not afraid to be the deciding voice when one is required of me.

I’m talking about decisions which are the responsibility of other people to make. These are the issues more difficult to discern. Things such as career choice decisions, the calling in life decisions, who to marry, how to respond to a marriage conflict, how to deal with difficult parents or children or friends, etc.—the unwritten answer type decisions. When there are multiple, seemingly good options available, I don’t try to solve their problem.

For those type of issues, I probably have an opinion, but I almost never “have” the answer.

Instead…

I help people discover a paradigm through which to make the decision.

I help them see all sides of an issue.
I ask probing questions to spur bigger picture thoughts about an issue.
I share Scriptures, which may speak to both sides of a decision.
I serve as an outside voice and become an objective listener.
I connect them with people who may have experienced similar issues.
I often diagram the problem, as I hear it, so they can see an issue on paper. (This is one of my favorites.)
I help them learn to pray and listen for the voice of God.

And then I release them to make a decision.

Here is my reasoning…

If I solve the problem for them (or attempt to):

I’m just one opinion—and I am often wrong.
They’ll resent me if it proves to be a wrong decision, and trust me less the next time.
They may never take ownership of the issue.
They’ll likely do what they want anyway.
They won’t learn the valuable skills of listening to the voice of God.
They won’t learn from personal experience. (And, that’s the best way we learn.)
They will only rely on someone giving them the answer next time, failing to develop real wisdom, which comes through years of wrestling through the hard decisions of life.

My advice—for leaders, parents, pastors and friends:

Don’t always have an answer—or at least not THE answer.

Help people form paradigms through which to to solve problems and make wiser decisions.

Ideally we want people to develop healthy decision-making skills. We want them to gain dependence on God and the acquired ability to seek and discern wisdom. If we always make the decisions for them—if we always tell them exactly what they should do—they become too dependent on others and may never develop fully into who God has designed them to be.

Are you too quick to have an answer sometimes?

This article originally appeared here.

Vatican Warns of Prosperity Gospel Spreading Like a Noxious Weed

Bob Ditmer

July 24, 2018

The Vatican is warning about the perils of the prosperity gospel, the belief that true followers of God are rich, healthy and happy.

The prosperity gospel has been around since the 19th century but the continuing global growth of Pentecostalism, especially in Catholic dominated regions of the world, could be one of the reasons why the Vatican is being more vocal about this “pseudo-gospel.”

In the latest edition of the Vatican-approved Jesuit journal La Civilta Cattolica, two of the pope’s communication advisers wrote an article about the damage caused by the prosperity gospel, “a well-known theological current emerging from the neo-Pentecostal evangelical movements.”

“The risk of this form of religious anthropocentrism, which puts humans and their well-being at the center, is that it transforms God into a power at our service, the Church into a supermarket of faith, and religion into a utilitarian phenomenon that is eminently sensationalist and pragmatic.”

Antonio Spadaro and Marcelo Figueroa trace the history of the movement in America, its spread globally and its relationship to the “American Dream.”

The authors point out that such a theology makes God “in the image and likeness of the people and their situation, and not according to the biblical model” and causes its adherents to view poverty, sickness and unhappiness as a lack of faith.

They contend that such beliefs foster pride in those who have succeeded materially or physically and condemnation of those in poverty or poor health.

“On the contrary, poverty hits them with a blow that is unbearable for two reasons: first, the person thinks their faith is unable to move the providential hands of God; second, their miserable situation is a divine imposition, a relentless punishment to be accepted in submission.”

Prosperity Gospel Harms the Church

They warn the belief can “overshadow the Gospel of Christ.”

Spadaro and Figueroa also see the “heresy” infecting the church. They quote Pope Francis who told the bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean that “a sort of prosperity gospel” at the level of pastoral work creates churches “concerned with efficacy, success, quantifiable results and good statistics. The Church ends up being run like a business in a misleading way that keeps people away from the mystery of faith.”

In Korea, the pope told bishops, “The devil must not be allowed to sow these weeds, this temptation to remove the poor from very prophetic structure of the Church and to make you become an affluent Church for the affluent, a Church of the well-to-do—perhaps not to the point of developing a ‘theology of prosperity’—but a Church of mediocrity.”

While the authors point out that the origins of the prosperity gospel are complex, they see its roots in America, specifically in positive thinking, exceptionalism and admiration of those who have success stories over compassion for the poor.

Priests Tie Prosperity Gospel to Evangelicalism

While Spadaro and Figueroa acknowledge that the prosperity gospel has been harshly criticized by most Evangelicals, they suggest evangelicalism as a whole has been infected with the theology by mixing it with economics and politics. The claim also helps them differentiate evangelicalism from catholicism.

“One of the conclusions made by exponents of this theological tradition is geopolitical and economic in nature, and tied to the place of origin of the prosperity gospel. It leads to the conclusion that the United States has grown as a nation under the blessing of the providential God of the Evangelical movement. Meanwhile, those who dwell south of the Rio Grande are sinking in poverty because the Catholic Church has a different, opposed vision exalting poverty. From political connotations, it is even possible to verify the link between these positions and the integralist and fundamentalist temptations.”

Meanwhile, in many parts of the world, where Pentecostals are gaining in number to Catholics, the Catholic church is attempting to appeal to people by mixing in charismatic components of Pentecostalism that have more emotional elements and catchier music but devoid of the dangers of the health and wealth theology.

They Used to Be a Christian Band. And Then Christians Failed Them

Megan Briggs

July 24, 2018

Editor’s Note: This video contains a curse word at about the 2:22 mark. We still feel the video provides valuable insight into someone who is “done with church” over an issue of community (or lack thereof) and therefore recommend you watch it, despite the inappropriate language.

“If I were still a Christian, I’d probably be dead,” Spencer Chamberlain says at the beginning of a short video interview. With bandmate Aaron Gillespie at his side, the Underoath frontman shared his view of the “unwelcoming” nature of the Christian community.

“Everything that Christianity was built on was essentially rebellious,” Gillespie explains, noting the “fringe” nature that has been a hallmark of Christianity since its inception. Consider the facts, Gillespie says, that Jesus was “not a white man. He was not a Christian—he was a Jewish man. He essentially got thrown out of his home town, and then he was murdered.” However, Gillespie says, somewhere along the way “modern Christianity became synonymous with being conservative,” a fact that Gillespie has a hard time understanding.

No Longer Christian

Underoath is a heavy metal band that once was Christian and whose songs explored issues of faith through metal music. Disbanded in 2015, the band made a come back in 2018 with their album “Erase Me”. However, they no longer consider themselves a Christian band. And lead singer Chamberlain does not consider himself a Christian anymore. In another interview, Chamberlain says the change was good for the band. “Erase Me” represents the most “blunt and transparent” album the band has created.

Chamberlain believes modern Christianity feels like a sales pitch more than anything else. “It’s like they’re selling a product: The really good looking pastor with his wife and his beautiful kids and they seem so happy…It’s almost like they’re selling ‘If you buy into these rules and you do what we do, you can also be like this.’”

Gillespie believes that the reason religion is so fragile is because it’s manmade (all modern religion is, he argues). Because of this fact, the only thing religion has to offer, essentially, is “the rules”. “Which you’re not allowed to question,” Chamberlain interjects. Furthermore, when a Christian starts questioning his or her faith, that person is seen as lost.

“When you believe in the rules and not the reason [behind them], then you got an issue,” Gillespie agrees.

Spencer Chamberlain Feels the Christian Community Failed Him

“The Christian community is what ruins Christianity for me,” Chamberlain says. Recalling his own experience with drug addiction, Chamberlain says inside the Christian community it’s very alienating to be a leader or role model with a problem. It’s hard to talk about these issues with the people who are supposed to be looking up to you as an example. Alluding to his own experience, Chamberlain says the people he confided in while on the road touring with the band were the non-Christians who also struggled with things. On the other hand, the Christian community were writing articles pointing to Chamberlain’s addiction as the reason for the band’s decline and break up. He did not find an understanding, accepting community in the church. And so he left. Now, after 10 years of drug use, Chamberlain is sober and ready to sort through some things.

“Doesn’t that seem opposite?” Chamberlain asks about the fact that he was able to receive support and help from non-believers than believers.

Concluding the interview, Gillespie appears to be clarifying what the pair are trying to say: “Belief isn’t the prison; expectation is the prison.” By expectation, one has to assume that is the expectation placed on Christians to know what to do when they are in trouble and, perhaps more pointedly, to avoid that trouble in the first place.

The Pastor’s Dilemma With Email

Josh Weidmann

July 23, 2018

I remember when email first came onto the scene. Wait, I can send this message and my friend will get it right away? It’s like writing letters, but without the lag-time!

Fast forward to now, and there are few pastors, including me, who don’t wrestle with how to manage email in a way that prevents it from controlling our lives.

Think about it, we can get in the rut of doing nothing but responding to hours of emails every day. It can rob us of our sermon prep time, our staff nurture time and all around productivity. As fast as I return one email, two to three (literally) come in to replace it before I push “send”—often requiring some action on my part. Or, if they don’t “require” it, it is frequently “expected” due to the nature of being a pastor.

The Pastor’s Dilemma With Email

A few years ago I came across a website calling for a disciplined way of dealing with email. I took the challenge. The idea was simple: keep email replies to five sentences or less. Short replies are the way to keep up with the onslaught of emails we receive in a day. While some emails require many more than five sentences, the majority can be kept short-and-sweet to save time for both the sender and the receiver. I implemented this system for a while, but have since gotten away from it, only to find my previous email overwhelm quickly return, so I’m re-implementing this system into my life and encourage you to give it a try too!

I realize that sometimes short can seem impersonal and not pastoral. I try to be sensitive if the reply calls for a more personal (and longer) dialog. However, I know that if I stay in my email all day I will neglect my primary calling to be with people and to study my Bible well.

Here are some reasons I recommend short replies for most pastor emails:

1. Short emails allow you to give people the “bottom line” quickly. Most of the time people just need a quick piece of advice or an approval of some kind. To keep the momentum moving, get to the bottom line and allow yourself and the recipients to keep moving forward.

2. Short emails don’t feel overwhelming to read or write. When you see over 200 actionable emails in the inbox (which often happens in a week), you’ll be more able to sit and knock them out in an hour or so.

3. Short emails can help you get to “Inbox Zero” quickly. Personally, it is my goal to get a cleaned out inbox every day. That doesn’t mean that every email is replied to, but it is filed correctly (I have a “24 Hour Response” and a “25-72 Hour Response” folder that I use primarily). I strive to reply to emails I can handle in two minutes with five sentences or less, never filing them for a later reply.

4. Short emails will keep you out of your inbox. You need to be out working on things proactively, not just responding to things reactively. If you keep the emails short, you will spend less time in your inbox and more time leading, shepherding and preparing to preach.

Five or Less

To uphold these ideas, you may have to free yourself from a few mental roadblocks, as I have had to do. Here are a couple of the mental roadblocks I faced when I finally accepted that “Five or Less” would be my new norm:

Your reply doesn’t have to match the length of the original email received. Sometimes I receive very long emails. I used to feel like my reply had to match the length of their original email. I don’t feel that way anymore. That was probably a people-pleasing expectation I put on myself. I’ve never had someone say, “Your reply was way shorter than my original email.” As long as they get what they were looking for, they are happy.
You can’t feel that “short” is harsh or mean. I make sure to say, “I am not trying to be terse, but efficient…” in my auto signature for “Five or Less” replies. I had to release the personal pressure to be fluffy and long for the sake of avoiding being sharp. I can be kind and quick at the same time (it is a good discipline and challenge). I was typing thousands of words of fluff just to say something I needed to say in a few sentences; this needed to stop.
So here is what my email signature looks like for “Five or Less”:

Simple and to the point. Strive to keep moving and not let the urgent replace the important things in your daily life.

If you want to create a signature like this, you are welcome to link to this post or use http://five.sentenc.es

So here’s to getting out of our inboxes and using our time to lead, counsel, shepherd, sermon prep and pray for the people in our sphere of care.

This article originally appeared here.

Jesus More Than Likes You

Jared C. Wilson

July 23, 2018

Christian, God takes pleasure in you.

It’s such a simple claim, but such a difficult thing to believe, isn’t it? Especially when it seems nobody else does.

Words sting. I have trouble to this day remembering encouragement given to me, even though I know I receive it regularly. I don’t think this problem is all that rare. You likely suffer from it too. I can list quite easily the words that still haunt me:

A female classmate in my elementary school days calling me a “stuttering wimp” on the playground. A bully demanding I meet him after school to fight. A ministerial superior who once suggested that I wasn’t cut out for pastoral ministry. A worship leader at a conference where I was speaking informing me for some reason in the green room before I went out to preach that I wasn’t the first choice for speaker. I could list an entire catalog of insults, accusations and false claims accumulated from my 15 years writing online.

And then there are the ones that really hurt. Some are too painful to share publicly. Some are too profane. Some are water under the bridge and forgiveness in these instances means not reminding people who may be reading of the pain caused. Some are just none of your business. But there’s lots more, lots worse. And I’m sure you’ve been thinking of some things said to you too.

Some of the painful things said to us are malicious and some are not. Some are true things, some half-true, some not-at-all true. But they all hurt in their own ways, don’t they? And the devil does one thing with these words: He turns them into fear and shame. The devil can turn even constructive criticism into a false accusation.

And then comes along this simple declaration from the one whose voice ultimately and sovereignly matters:

[B]ut the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,
in those who hope in his steadfast love. (Ps. 147:11)

The gospel clears the air. The gospel overturns the lies. The gospel wipes away the accusations. They may sting, but his word will endure forever.

The idea, in fact, that the holy God of the universe, the only one who has the absolute right to condemn us and dismiss us, declares his approval over us because of Jesus’ taking our sin and shame is so wonderful, so hope-giving, so steadying. The almighty God takes pleasure in me. And you too. He more than likes us. He delights in us!

Let them come with their words, then. Let the devil come with his barrage of lies, even his truths-turned-lies. We rebuke him. We confound him. We throw Psalm 147:11 at his sniveling little face.

The enemy comes with his wounding, haunting words, and I stand behind my advocate, Christ the Lord. He gives me more words, better words, truer words.

As Luther reminds us:

The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

Christian, the Lord’s favor is on you. Ever and always. I won’t tell you that what others say doesn’t matter. You feel on the welps of your skin and the pain in your heart that they do. But we do know that ultimately, God’s word matters more. And he will have the final say. He takes pleasure in you.

This article originally appeared here.

Baby Boomers Are Returning to Church

Thom Rainer

July 23, 2018

The rebellious generation may become the religious generation.

Baby boomers, those born between the years 1946 to 1964, are becoming more involved in church.

One of the most significant longitudinal studies (a study over many years) ever done provides a treasure trove of information for church leaders.

And one of the most significant findings is the increasing number of baby boomers becoming more involved in religious activity like churches.

Baby Boomers Are Returning to Church

This discovery is the major finding from the latest wave of data collected from the Longitudinal Study of Generations, which was originally developed in 1970 at USC by then-assistant professor Vern Bengston. His successors have collected a ninth round of data in this 45-year study. The research was funded by the John Templeton Foundation.

It is amazing. Absolutely amazing.

Here is the gem in the study: One in five boomers have increased their religious and church activity in the past few years.

Don’t take that statement lightly. Among the boomer generation, 20 percent are becoming more receptive to faith and church. That’s approximately 19 million boomers when the percentage is applied to the entire generation.

The study cited three major reasons for this shift:

Boomers have more time, and they want to use that extra time pursuing a more meaningful life, including church.
Boomers are becoming more aware of the brevity of life and are seeking answers to questions they had not previously asked.
Boomers are more aware of the fragility of life. They don’t have the young and healthy bodies they once had. Such an awareness is driving them to find more meaning in the lives they do have.

Please, church leaders, don’t take this information lightly. I can’t recall a generation in my lifetime potentially returning to church in such numbers. The opportunities are incredible (maybe they are “groovy”).

How can we respond to this opportunity before us? Specifically, what can your church do to reach these more receptive boomers?

Let me hear your thoughts and ideas.

This article originally appeared here.

Gideon and the Need for Volunteers

Matt Morgan

July 23, 2018

There is one thing that every ministry has in common—volunteers. And most of us share the struggle to find more!

Our children’s ministry team has been recruiting year round and really ramped it up between May and August. We personally invited, had multiple church-wide campaigns, and shared a vision for why current volunteers should re-up in the ministry. God has really blessed us by sending 491 people to volunteer on our team! Even as I type that sentence, I’m overwhelmed by what God has done.

So, why do I feel worried, frustrated and defeated by the handful of volunteers I still need?

Do you ever feel that way? Do you find yourself focusing on the need, the problem or the failure? It’s easy to fall into the trap of letting those things keep our attention and steal our joy.

I was wrestling with this when God taught me a lesson through Gideon. As I tucked my daughter in bed and opened our devotional book to the day’s devotion (story of Gideon), what God was doing for the Israelites hit me like a ton of bricks.

Judges 7 tells us that as Gideon went up against the Midianites, he went with 32,000 soldiers. Who knows if that was enough, but it surely gave the Israelites a fighting chance.

But then God told Gideon to shrink the army.

God knew that a victory would lead people to boast in their own ability and their own strength. So Gideon shrunk the army. First from 32,000 to 10,000, and then the army went down to just 300 men. Gideon went up against the Midianites with less than 1 percent of his army! God decreased the size of the Israelite army so that He could increase their dependence on Him. God wanted them to see God’s power and boast in Him alone.

As I thought about what God did, I realized that I was looking at volunteers the wrong way. Could it be that God was decreasing our “army” so that He could increase our dependence on Him?

I quickly wrote down this prayer and I’ve been praying it since:

Lord, increase my dependence on you. Make Your strength visible through my weakness. Help me to boast in nothing but You and what You have done.

If you have a volunteer need or some other daunting task ahead of you, are you delighting in it? I know that sounds like the craziest question ever, but listen to the words of Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:8-10:

⁸Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it [thorn in the flesh] away from me. ⁹But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

In the end, God provided the victory for Gideon and the Israelites in such a way that only He could do. I’m not sure how or even if God is going to provide volunteers for our ministry, but I will continue to pray this prayer and know that He is in control.

Lord, increase my dependence on you. Make Your strength visible through my weakness. Help me to boast in nothing but You and what You have done.

This article originally appeared here.

9 Reasons Some Pastors Stay Too Long

Chuck Lawless

July 23, 2018

Yesterday, I posted on “Indications that a Pastor Has Stayed Too Long,” with particular attention on leadership of declining churches. Today, here are my thoughts about why some pastors stay too long.

They don’t want to end a ministry on a negative note. Nobody does. Thus, they hang on, hoping that the next evangelistic program or the next new member will finally make the difference.

They don’t sense a strong calling to leave. At least, that is, they don’t feel the same kind of pull that brought them to this current position in the first place. They’re waiting for clearance from God to leave.

They genuinely believe that God still wants to use them to turn the church around. They believe that God called them there, and they’re willing to press forward in the midst of decline and still trust that God has plans for them with that congregation.

They’ve grown comfortable with the position. Even if they don’t like the fact that the church is not growing, they’ve grown content with the work. And, because most churches don’t cut a salary, they’ve grown accustomed to their salary even while the church is in decline.

Their family is fully settled in the area. In some cases, their spouse has a more secure job with better benefits than they have. Their kids feel at home in the area. To think about leaving now would be too disruptive.

They have no one to speak truth to them. They serve alone, or they have no friends whose voices they hear well. When you serve by yourself, both staying in a hard situation or leaving when things aren’t going well can be difficult.

Their church has no system in place to evaluate their ministry regularly. Thus, the church has quietly tolerated its leadership and decline, and no one feels the right to speak up about any concerns.

Their church is large enough to decline slowly. Sometimes, the church has enough attenders that any slow decline is hardly noticeable. My experience is that pastors, however, most often know the reality of the situation—and some still choose to stay for any of the reasons listed here.

They’re simply waiting for another church to call them. They’ve sent their resumes, and they’ve notified everybody they know about their availability. As soon as the door opens elsewhere, they’re gone—but they’re still serving where they currently are in the meantime.

What would you add to this list?

This article originally appeared here.

A Response to Christians Who Are Done With Church

Carey Nieuwhof

July 23, 2018

You hear it all the time.

I’m done with church.

I don’t really need to go to church …my relationship with God is personal.

I’ve had it with organized religion.

The church is a man-made invention, not God’s idea.

I completely understand why a growing number of people are bailing on church. Even people who used to lead in the church often stop attending (here are nine reasons why church leaders do that).

We’ve spent a lot of time working through the issue of declining church attendance (and growing disillusionment with the church) on this blog and in my leadership podcast. (For a summary of the issues, here’s a piece on the 10 reasons even committed church attenders are attending church less often).

I get it.

The church is far from perfect. Life is complex. There are growing options. And the post-modern mind distrusts most things organized or institutional.

But as trendy as the idea of writing off the church may be, it’s a mistake.

While writing off the church passes as sophisticated thinking, it’s actually the opposite; what if it’s a simplistic and even reductionist line of thinking that leads nowhere constructive?

The church isn’t even biblical, is it?

People argue the idea of church isn’t even biblical.

So let’s start with the basics.

First, if you’re a Christian, church is not something you go to. It’s something you are.

You can’t disassociate from church as a Christian any more than you can disassociate from humanity as a person.

You don’t go to church. You are the church.

Second, the church was not a human invention. Half-reading the New Testament with one eye closed will still lead you to the inescapable conclusion that the church was God’s idea.

In fact, most of the New Testament is not about the teachings of Jesus. It’s about the work of the church that Jesus initiated and ordained. I won’t fill this post with scripture verses that prove my point, because, quite frankly, you’d have to get rid of the majority of the New Testament to argue that the church was a parenthetical, made-up organization.

If you want to get rid of the church, you also need to get rid of Jesus.

You can’t have one without the other. He created it.

Maybe what bothers you should actually amaze you.

I understand that the idea of the church being imperfect makes some people despair.

But rather than making us despair, the fact that Jesus started the church with imperfect people should make us marvel at God’s incredible grace.

That God would use ordinary, broken human beings as vessels of his grace, and delight in it, is awe-inspiring. He’s proud of how his grace is beating through your imperfect-but-redeemed life and through the church (have you ever read Ephesians 3:10-11?).

The idea that God would use you and me is pretty amazing. He had other options.

Louie Giglio: I Came Back and So Can You

Bob Ditmer

July 23, 2018

You could call Louie Giglio the “comeback kid”—especially if you know his entire story. ChurchLeaders podcast spent time with Louie recently.

Are you at a place in life where you think God is done with you? Maybe you feel that way because of your sin, someone else’s or for no logical reason at all.

Louie Giglio said he’s been there.

The founder of the Passion Conference and Pastor of Passion Church in Atlanta, Georgia told his story on the ChurchLeaders podcast. He also shared it in his book, The Comeback.

Giglio said he’s actually had two comebacks in life. The first was when he accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior, saying “I was dead but now alive ever more.”

That first comeback set him up for a second because being a child of God, Giglio said, “allows us to say God can still work with this.”

A Second Comeback for Louie Giglio

In 2008, Giglio was hit with a series of life altering storms and fell into a hole of depression and anxiety that lasted several months. He said he found himself in a dark tunnel. The depression attacked him physically and emotionally. Giglio removed himself from the world and needed medical help. He doubted that he would ever preach or sleep again.

Giglio doesn’t know why it happened acknowledging that a lot of our stories don’t have neat, tidy, everything changed answers. But he now has some insight into what is needed to get out of a spiral of depression.

First, Giglio said, “You have to hit the zero point. Rock bottom. If you’re still managing the crisis then you’re not in a position for God to help you.”

Giglio reached that point when he found himself flat his back, in tears, “done and finished.” It was then that God gave him a song of praise.

Media Critical of Church That Expects Members to Attend

Bob Ditmer

July 23, 2018

church discipline — Screengrab Facebook @Cave City Baptist Church

When a person joins Cave City Baptist Church near Bowling Green, Kentucky, he agrees to attend worship services regularly.

But when the church enforced that agreement, it found itself in the middle of a media frenzy.

Last week, the church sent letters to approximately 70 members saying they were being removed from the church membership roles for not attending services “habitually,” giving “regularly” or participating in the congregation’s “organized work,” as is required of members per the congregation’s bylaws.

The letter added, “The doors of Cave City Baptist Church will always be open to you.”

The media pounced on the story after an image of the letter was shared on Facebook by some members expressing anger over how they were delisted.

“I don’t ever want to go back to that church,” Samantha Esters told WBKO-TV. She has been a member of the church since she was a kid.

Pastor Responds to Media Critical of Church Discipline

Cave City Baptist Pastor Ryan Broers told Baptist Press he is “weary of the media circus” and that “lots of lies and half-truths are being told.”

“A lot of the people that the letters were sent to are not attending church anywhere, and this was kind of a wake-up call to them, ‘You’ve broken fellowship with God, you’ve broken fellowship with this church, you need to come back and repent and get your relationship with Him,'” Pastor Broers told WBKO-TV.

He said the letters were only sent to members who had not attended the church in, at least, the past year.

“These are people that we haven’t heard from, they’ve received multiple letters inquiring about their membership,” he said about those who received the letter.

The church roll purge is supported by Southern Baptist Theological Seminary administrator Hershael York.

“Church membership is a covenant relationship. We are accountable to the Lord and to one another. Worship attendance, service, communion, the ministry of the Word, submission to the elders and holiness are not arbitrary requirements of membership but mandatory commands of Jesus,” York tweeted Saturday.

The Lexington Herald-Leader wrote a story about the controversy with the headline: “Kentucky Church Sent Letters Kicking Out Members Over Common Transgressions”.

York asked the paper via social media “if the Rotary Club dismissing members for non-attendance and non-payment of dues is noteworthy?”

Cave Creek Baptist is also getting support from other Baptist churches in the area. David Prince, who pastors Lexington’s Ashland Avenue Baptist Church, defended Broers, tweeting that the Herald-Leader was “outraged a church would care about its members enough to hold them accountable.”

“Where’s their outrage over other groups that have standards?”

Mark Dever, senior pastor of the Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., and the president of 9Marks, has written that removing existing members who live in the area is one of the toughest decisions for churches to make. He said movement on that group must be slow but he adds non-attenders have a toxic effect on the church by making evangelism harder, confusing new believers, discouraging regular attenders and worrying their leaders.

Baptist Press notes some commonly cited Bible passages on church discipline over the issue of attendance including Titus 3:10-11.

Paula Faris Leaving ‘The View’ and ‘Good Morning America’ To Report on Faith

Bob Ditmer

July 23, 2018

ABC’s The View is losing one of its more vocal advocates for Christian values…Paula Faris.

Faris is leaving The View and the weekend edition of Good Morning America for a new position at ABC—she’ll be handling breaking news and reporting at ABC News. According to the network, she’ll also start a podcast focusing on faith and what unites people in divisive times.

On Wednesday, Faris announced her departure from The View and GMA on her twitter account.

“Thank you to the gracious teams at @GMA Sat./Sun. and @TheView Not going far but I’ll miss you,” she tweeted. “However, I won’t miss that 3am wake up on weekends! ;)”

Excited/grateful for the opportunity to cover big stories & talk to the people at the center of them. Thank you to the gracious teams at @GMA Sat./Sun. and @TheView Not going far but I’ll miss you. However, I won’t miss that 3am wake up on weekends! 😉 https://t.co/TlWagcRjpS

— Paula Faris (@paulafaris) July 18, 2018

Faris said the later hours will also allow her to spend more time with her family.

Faris told People she had a wake-up call about her health this past year, and it made her rethink her career.

“What kicked it off is that I had a really tough miscarriage,” she told the magazine. “I feel like it was in that moment that really repositioned my priority compass and our family’s priority compass. I realized that my kids need me in the stands and on the sidelines, my husband and I need that time to reconnect.”

“I’m excited to get my life back,” she said, according to People magazine. “I have three kids (Caroline Grace, 10, JJ, 8, and Landon, 4,) and working at GMA Weekend and The View has been awesome, but I’m so excited to not go to bed at 8:30 or 9 p.m. on a Friday or Saturday night because my alarm would go off for work at 3:30 a.m. every Saturday and Sunday morning.”

Even though her pace will slow, her passion for journalism and the opportunities ahead will not.

“ABC has really rallied behind a passion project of mine, which is to launch a faith podcast,” she urged. “I’m a woman of deep faith and Christian, so I’m really excited to launch this podcast in September. We’ll be taking to people of all faiths and how their faith has shaped the direction of their life.”

Lifenews.com notes that Faris has referenced pro-lifers multiple times on The View and has applauded Christians on Good Morning America like football player Russell Wilson for “holding on to core values” like sex abstinence.

Can Discipleship Go Digital? 11 Intentional Steps To Get You Started

Brandon Kelley

July 22, 2018

2.19 billion. That’s the number of monthly active Facebook users worldwide. As the amount of time people spend online continues to increase, the Church has to leverage this space to make disciples. The very thing Jesus told His Church to do was to make disciples, and if people are spending their time online, the Church should be there making them into disciples.

What is Digital Discipleship?

Digital discipleship is just that — discipleship that happens digitally. It’s where the Church leverages technology for the sake of spreading the Gospel and helping followers of Jesus grow in their faith and knowledge of God’s word.

Most churches are, at the very least, recording audio of their sermons and posting them online and on podcasting platforms like iTunes. If you aren’t doing that and want to find out how, give Nate Smoyer’s article on how to do so a read. But that’s only one small part of digital discipleship. In fact, that’s just scratching the surface of the possibilities.

While I will be giving you a number of ideas on how to do digital discipleship, the key is having a strategy. Because without one, you’ll end up with a jumbled mess.

3 Questions to Shape Your Strategy

We often shape the purpose around a sermon series and even an individual sermon by asking ourselves some variation of these questions:

What do I want them to know?

What do I want them to do?

What can we do to create the next steps?

These same questions can be used to frame your digital discipleship strategy. As you create content, what is the theological truth or truths that you want people to walk away from their device knowing? What is it that you want them to go and do? What could be their next step once they go through this specific experience?

At our church, The Crossing, we have a cyclical discipleship model (which translates well to our digital discipleship strategy) that is focused on connecting everyone to a relationship with Jesus. We do this by focusing on three things:

Bringing people in

Growing people up

Sending people out

So as people go through the discipleship journey, they will be brought, grown, and sent. As this happens, they will begin bringing others, growing others, and sending others.

When you are thinking through your digital discipleship strategy you should ask yourself, what are we trying to accomplish as a church and how can that be leveraged digitally?

11 Ideas to Utilize in Your Strategy

Once you have your strategy locked down and you know what your goals are, you can begin creating content or repurposing existing content to be utilized in your digital discipleship ministry.

1. Put Your Sermon Audio Online

If you use WordPress for your church website, a free tool to make sermon audio into a podcast that can be submitted to iTunes, Stitcher, and other platforms is Blubrry. It’s a plugin that is easy to use and easy to set up.

2. Put Your Sermon Video Online

This is going to cost some money, but it’s worth it. You’ll want to choose the right video camera, edit the video, and publish it online. If you’re not familiar with how to edit video, check out this behind the scenes video on editing.

3. Put Class Audio Online

If your church already has a form of classes, then utilize that content online in addition to in person. You’ll want to edit the audio appropriately and get a good audio recorder. Here’s a great one that connects to your iPhone.

4. Start a Blog for Your Church

Do you have someone on staff that can write? Have a volunteer in your church that can write? I’m sure you do. Employ a team of people to produce encouraging blog posts that further your strategy.

5. Encourage Staff to Start Their Own Blogs

People connect more to people than they do brands. Whether you like it or not, your church can be perceived as a brand even though there are people behind its content. If you are in a multi-staff environment, encourage other staff members to start their own blogs.

6. Start a Monday Morning Vlog Connected to the Sermon

If you’re not a preacher, allow me to let you in on a little secret: most times what was said in the sermon wasn’t everything that could have been said. What I mean is that there was probably a story, illustration, or angle that your pastor could have taken in his message, but didn’t due to time. Utilize that unused content in vlog form to give people encouragement on Monday morning.

7. Start a 30-day Challenge Through Automated Email

Email is powerful. People pay attention to what comes into their inbox. So why not leverage that to help grow people’s faith? Create 30 short and to the point emails devoted to challenging your congregation in some specific way and then tell people what is happening. Give them the chance to opt-in (online and in-person) and utilize automated email marketing through Mailchimp (it’s free for up to 2,000 subscribers) to deliver the 30 emails over a 30-day period. Email automation does cost $10/month. Here’s how one church is doing it well!

8. Create Video Shorts from Sunday’s Sermon

Instead of only posting the entire sermon video online and on social media, edit down a short clip that addresses a single idea. Life.Church (formerly LifeChurch.tv) does a great job at this on their Facebook page. We’ve recently begun doing this as well on our YouTube page and Facebook page.

9. Create Encouraging Visual Graphics for Social Media

Never underestimate the power of a picture. Never underestimate the power of a short statement. It just may be the encouragement someone needs to approach God anew in the midst of a tough situation. I love Canva for this. It’s one of the 20 great tools and apps for pastors.

10. Record Video of Someone Telling Their Story

People resonate with hearing other people’s story of how God is working in their life. Story is powerful so use it. You’ll have to be on the lookout for opportunities to do this, but it’s worth it. Record the video, upload it to YouTube or Vimeo and then share it on your social media channels and in your church blog.

11. Write and Publish Original Worship Songs

I know. Easier said than done. But if you have the people to do it, why not?

Digital Discipleship Should Only Be a Part of Your Overall Strategy

Digital discipleship is only a thing because people spend time in the digital world. The great thing is, though, people are real and we can still have in-person discipleship as our normal vehicle for growing people’s faith. The key is creating a strategy that works alongside your overall discipleship strategy and then creating content that will help move people forward in their walk with God.

How to Talk to Your Drummer

Mike O’Brien

July 22, 2018

For many worship leaders communicating with your fellow musicians is a huge challenge. It can be very intimidating to give an opinion about an instrument you don’t play.

Since the drummer and the drumset play such a critical role in the overall sound of our bands, here are here are several ideas of how you can talk to your drummer.

1. Learn the Names of Drums and Cymbals

Throne – The stool the drummer sits on is called a “throne” — and no that’s not a joke! Most drum thrones are adjustable and you might suggest raising or lowering the throne if you have a new drummer or someone unfamiliar with your church kit.

Kick Drum (aka Bass Drum) – This is usually the biggest drum on the drumset. It is hit with a pedal that has a beater attached. This drum has the lowest frequency of the drumset. It is a very important part of the overall sound. The bass guitar should interplay with this drum.

“Let’s really lay into that kick drum on this song.”

“Don’t play the kick at all during the first verse.”

Snare – Equally as important as the kick, the snare drum is commonly what plays the backbeat (where you want to clap). Snare drums can be tuned high or low. Snare drums can be struck in the center and on the edge of the head for different tones. You can turn the snares (the metal strings that line the bottom snare head) on or off and they can be adjusted to rattle more or less. You can hit just the rim of this drum for a muted click sound that can be pleasing (this is technically called a “cross-stick” although some mistakenly call it a “rimshot” which is something else).

“Play the snare really loose on this section.”

“Maybe try a cross stick rim thing on this part?”

Hi-Hats – These two cymbals join together on a specialized stand that is hit with a stick or “chicked” by simply depressing the pedal with your foot. If your foot is pressed down hard these will have a quick, tight sound when struck, the more you lift your foot the louder and more wild they become when struck. How “open” the hi-hats are when hit will DRASTICALLY alter the volume and perceived volume of the drumset.

“Can you close the hi-hats a bit more?”

“What would it sound like if we just keep the hi-hat going during the chorus instead of ride?”

Tom(s) – These drums are powerful for creating transitions between song parts. They are the most melodic elements of the drumset and can create pleasing (or irritating) rhythmic patterns.

“Let’s do a tom fill going into that outro.”

“Lay off on the toms to open up space under that guitar solo.”

Floor Tom(s) – This is the larger of the toms and can be used to create low-end power and energy. If you have subwoofers in your sound system then should be rocking when this drum is hit.

“Can you play eighth notes on the floor tom instead of the hi-hat?”

Crash Cymbal(s) – These typically have shorter sustain and add an accent to song sections or transitions.

“I like that bigger crash on that intro.”

Ride Cymbal – This is a complex cymbal that can have a “ping” sound or “washy” sound. The sound changes depending on where you hit it.

“Maybe a little more wash on this part and less ping?”

Splash Cymbal – These cymbals are super small and provide a very high pitched and short sustaining accent.

“Can you take the splash cymbal home and never bring it back?”

Chime Tree, Tambourine, and Shaker – Random percussion can add pleasing elements to the song selections. It’s common for a drummer to use a shaker for a verse section or for the whole song. You could use a tambourine laying on a floor tom for accents.

“You can only rake the chime tree only two times in this song… thank you.”

“Let’s do a tambo hit on 2 and 4 instead of the snare for this section.”

2. Learn and Speak the LANGUAGE OF RHYTHM for Drummers

Kick, hi-hat, and ride cymbal rhythms are vital to the feel of the song sections. You might simply ask the drummer to “play busier” or “play simpler”, but if you know a more specific language, it would be helpful.

“What about just quarter notes on the kick drum?”

“Can you try eighth notes on the ride cymbal?” (quarter notes are simple, eights are busier, sixteenths are really busy).

“Let’s do sixteenth notes on the hi-hats.”

“Let do diamonds when the bridge starts (a diamond is when a drummer simply just “hits” the crash and kick once and then lets it fade.”

You can also communicate vibe through language like this:

“Play it straight.”
“Can we give it a little swing.”
“Let’s rush the beat.”
“Let’s drag the beat.”

3. Know the Names and Functions of DIFFERENT STICK Varieties

You wouldn’t know it visiting many churches, but world-class drummers use a variety of sticks. You might suggest a different kind of stick depending on the song or style. Here are some basic options:

Wooden Sticks – the most common device for striking the drums. They come in all kinds of sizes and with plastic or wooden tips. Drumsticks have a fast attack and can add a punchy sound.

Hot Rods (Bundle Sticks) – a popular option for helping bring down the volume or perceived volume of the drumset. These kinds of sticks can drastically change the tone of the drums depending on the player. Hotrods have less attack and “punch”. It’s common, especially with newer drummers to experiment with wooden sticks vs. hotrods to help find the right volume for a room.

“Do you mind trying hot rods on this song?”

Brushes – Mostly associated with jazz or ballads, brushes will produce a drastically different sound from regular drumsticks. In many worship contexts using brushes on one or more softer songs can be pleasing. Many drummers will be intimidated if they have not used brushes in the past, but you can always encourage experimentation.

“Let’s try brushes on this song, play them just like sticks.”

Mallets – These sticks have a soft ball of yarn wrapped at the tip of the stick and are great for cymbal swells and toms. They sound great on a snare drum if you turn the snare “off” (most snare drums have a clutch that releases the snares off the bottom of the drum head). Some songs might benefit from a groove or pattern played with mallets.

“Can we try a snare off the sound on this song?”

“Let’s do some mallet swells on this section.”

“Go to mallets on the end section.”

A Sampling of Language

The following are common phrases I will communicate with a drummer during a rehearsal.

“Drop out, but keep the hats going.”

“I like that kick pattern, but can you play something simpler?”

“Let’s start with a tom fill at the top.”

“Give me lots of energy on that bridge section.”

“Keep it really sparse and simple through this part.”

MY BEST ADVICE

This might seem like crazy talk, but consider taking a few drum lessons from a local teacher (even if you are very experienced on other instruments). Share with the instructor that you want to understand the language and basics of the instrument. For instance, if you learn how to properly hold the stick YOU can train up countless new drummers with confidence. Just a few lessons will increase your conviction and give you the authority to speak into the performance.

The original article appeared here.

Key Quotes from Rich Stearns:

Links Mentioned by Rich Stearns in the Show:

Rich Stearns on ChurchLeaders:

5 things you can do as a leader help break your church free from politics:

1) Never put your leadership up for sale.

2) Insist on a culture of no pretense.

3) Refuse to engage in gossip.

4) Commit to being part of the solution.

5) Remain fiercely aligned to the mission.

PERSON OR TRIBE?

INDIVIDUALS IN COMMUNITY

I don’t always give people answers.

I help people discover a paradigm through which to make the decision.

Don’t always have an answer—or at least not THE answer.

Prosperity Gospel Harms the Church

Priests Tie Prosperity Gospel to Evangelicalism

Spencer Chamberlain Feels the Christian Community Failed Him

The Pastor’s Dilemma With Email

Five or Less

[B]ut the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love. (Ps. 147:11)

The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him; His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure, One little word shall fell him.

Baby Boomers Are Returning to Church

So, why do I feel worried, frustrated and defeated by the handful of volunteers I still need?

But then God told Gideon to shrink the army.

Lord, increase my dependence on you. Make Your strength visible through my weakness. Help me to boast in nothing but You and what You have done.

Lord, increase my dependence on you. Make Your strength visible through my weakness. Help me to boast in nothing but You and what You have done.

Louie Giglio said he’s been there.

A Second Comeback for Louie Giglio

Pastor Responds to Media Critical of Church Discipline

1. Learn the Names of Drums and Cymbals

2. Learn and Speak the LANGUAGE OF RHYTHM for Drummers

3. Know the Names and Functions of DIFFERENT STICK Varieties

A Sampling of Language

MY BEST ADVICE

New Articles

New Podcasts

[B]ut the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,
in those who hope in his steadfast love. (Ps. 147:11)

The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.