Five Ways to Promote Your Church On a Tiny Budget

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May 27, 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 advertise 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 shareable notes and quotes so church attendees 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 okay.

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.

Original article appeared here.

UPDATE: They Said Yes: Abortion Soon to Be Legal in Ireland

By

Megan Briggs

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May 26, 2018

UPDATE

The results of the vote are in, with the votes in all constituencies accounted for. The Irish Times reports the final tally was 66.4 percent yes and 33.6 percent no. Only one county, Donegal in the northern part of the country, received a slim majority no vote, at 51.87 percent no and 48.13 percent yes.

An official declaration stating the outcome of the vote was made at 6:13 p.m. local time on Saturday, May 26th.

After months of campaigning, the pro-life movement in Ireland receives a crushing blow. After Friday’s vote, exit polls indicate the referendum in Ireland’s constitution that protects the life of an unborn child will be overturned.

National Broadcaster RTE’s poll shows 70 percent of people voted “yes” to repeal the 8th Amendment, which grants an equal right to life to the unborn and pregnant women and has been in place since 1983. While an official count of the votes started this morning, May 26, 2018, based on the exit polls pro-choice voters have already started celebrating. The Irish Times, which is tracking the votes as they are counted, show 18 of 40 constituencies counted so far, showing the “yes” side at 66.19 percent and the “no” side at 33.81 percent.

The Save the 8th Campaign, which organized rallies and canvassing efforts, issued a statement acknowledging the defeat.

What Irish voters did yesterday is a tragedy of historic proportions…Every time an unborn child has his or her life ended in Ireland, we will oppose that, and make our voices known… Abortion was wrong yesterday. It remains wrong today. The constitution has changed, but the facts have not.

Miriam Lord of the Irish Times described the victory for the pro-choice group this way:

The Irish people have taken ownership of their abortion issue. They have taken it out of the hands of unrepresentative lobby groups and celibate clerics and decided how they want to approach it.

Many have commented on the apparent sweeping aside of the church and the church’s views on life in this vote. In an increasingly secular society, the church was all but seen as irrelevant to the broader population.

This tweet is just one example of the celebration occurring on Twitter:

In favour:

50% – Divorce referendum – 1995
62% – Marriage equality – 2015
68% – Repeal the 8th – 2018

The slow disintegration of the church’s grip on Ireland.

Getting there… #RepealTheEighth #repealthe8th

— David Gibney (@davegibney) May 25, 2018

Despite the defeat, the pro-life movement has a very big task ahead of them. Abortion may be coming to Ireland, but pro-life supporters are determined to restrict the practice as much as possible. In particular, they are pushing for legislation that would ban abortions after 12 weeks of gestation.

“We will hold the [Prime Minister] to his promise that repeal would only lead to abortion in very restrictive circumstances. He gave his word on this, now he must deliver on it. No doubt many people voted for repeal based on the [Prime Minister]’s promises in this regard,” said Dr. Ruth Cullen, campaigner for the pro-life LoveBoth campaign, in a press conference Saturday.

Irish Minister for Health, Simon Harris, believes the law will go into effect in the fall.

7 Very Possible Reasons You’re Losing Your Audience When You Speak

By

Carey Nieuwhof

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May 25, 2018

If there’s one thing you never set out to do as a leader or communicator, it’s to lose the audience.

And yet everyone who communicates, preaches or even tries to persuade someone of an idea has discovered that sinking sense that you’ve lost them. You’re just not connecting and you have no idea why.

How exactly does that happen?

I’ve been communicating professionally since I was 16 years old in radio, law and for the last two and a half decades, preaching and speaking, and over the years have become a student of what engages people and what doesn’t.

I learned the principles below because at one point or another, I violated all of them.

Here are seven factors that disengage an audience that are so easy to miss if you’re not looking for them.

1. You Haven’t Understood or Empathized With Your Audience

There is no such thing as a ‘generic’ audience; you can’t connect with your audience if you don’t understand them.

Recently I spent some time with a friend talking about a conference we’re both speaking at.

Because I knew the audience better than he did, he spent 40 minutes asking me exactly who would be in the audience, what their hopes and fears are, what they struggle with, and how he should approach them.

I was amazed by this for a few reasons.

First, my friend is a multiple New York Times bestselling author and speaks to large influential audiences all the time. If anyone could just waltz in and speak, he could.

Second, even though he has far more offers to speak than he can possibly accept, he is infinitely interested in the audiences he speaks to.

The fact that he’s so in demand, so good at what he does and that he cares deeply about his audience is likely all connected.

The more deeply you care about your audience, the more deeply they’ll care about what you say.

2. Focusing on What People Need to Know, Not on What People Want to Know

There’s a tension for every communicator between talking to people about what they want to know and talking to people about what they need to know.

If you want to draw a crowd, it’s easy to focus on what people want to know.

But every communicator knows sometimes you just need to tell people what they need to know, even if they don’t want to hear it.

That’s an especial challenge for preachers.

If you always preach about what people want to know, you’ll likely miss what people need to know.

If you only focus on what people need to know, people have a way of tuning you out.

When people tune you out, it might not be evidence that you’re being faithful (as many preachers claim). It might just be evidence you’re being ineffective.

So what do you do?

Here’s where I’ve landed. I try to discern what people want, and then I deliver what people need.

For example, few people want to hear about what the Bible has to say about money or sex.

But as a communicator, if I drill down on why God gave us instruction in this area and look for the benefit God intends to bring to people’s lives through it, I’ve then isolated what people will want to hear and can better deliver what they need to hear.

3. You Haven’t Described a Problem People Want to Solve

The problem with a lot of communication is that it doesn’t start with a problem.

Too often, communicators or writers just start.

Your audience is asking one question: Why should I listen? Why should I read further? I have problems to solve and you’re not helping me.

Counter that explicitly.

If almost always start any talk I’m doing describing a problem people face—at work, at home, in their relationship with God or in their relationship with each other.

How do you do that? Describe the problem in detail: i.e., You’re so frustrated with God because He says he’s a God of love, but you read the Old Testament and beg to differ. And you wonder if you can even trust a God like that.

If you really want people to drill down on the issues, take the next step. Make the problem worse. Describe it in such detail that people are no longer sure there’s a solution to it.

If you want to see this in action, I spend the first 10 minutes of my message on violence in the Old Testament explaining the problem and then ‘making it worse’ before I address it.

You can watch that message here.

Pastoral Anxiety

By

Kevin DeYoung

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May 25, 2018

Second Corinthians 11:28 always seemed like a strange verse to me—until I became a pastor. Here’s Paul, rattling off all the ways he’s been beat up for Jesus—imprisonments, lashes, rods, stonings, shipwrecks, drifting at sea, sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, cold and exposure, danger from everyone everywhere (vv. 23–27). And then, as the cherry on top, Paul mentions one more trial: “Apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches” (v. 28). This is the mighty apostle, the one who counted it a joy to “spend and be spent” for his people (12:15), the one who was sorrowful yet always rejoicing (6:10). This is the Paul who faced every imaginable opposition and yet learned to be content (Phil. 4:11) and anxious about nothing (4:6). And here he is admitting that even with everything else he’s endured, he still feels pastoral anxiety for all the churches.

Making Sense of Pastoral Anxiety

Ever since I became a pastor, I have found unusual comfort in this verse. It’s not that I have accomplished what Paul accomplished or suffered what he suffered, but every earnest minister feels this burden for the church. And Paul had several churches to burden him. The churches were full of infighting and backbiting. They put up with false teaching. They were prone to legalism on one end and complete chaos on the other. Some of the church members were making insignificant matters too important, while others were too willing to compromise on Christian essentials. Paul loved these churches, and their struggles burdened him more than shipwreck or imprisonment.

Before I go any further, let me be clear: I don’t think pastors are the only ones with burdens. In many ways, we have the best job in the whole world. I certainly feel exceedingly thankful to do what I do on most days. I have no interest in comparing the difficulty of pastoral ministry with the difficulties of other vocations. All I want to do is to encourage pastors to keep fighting the good fight and encourage congregations to keep encouraging their pastors.

I’m not surprised Paul felt daily pressure for the churches. His work never seemed to let up. He had letters to write, visits to make and a collection to gather for the saints in Jerusalem. He had to send people here and there, and manage the affairs of his churches from a distance. He had to respond to myriad criticisms, often conflicting criticisms. Some people thought he was too harsh. Others said he was too weak. Some people in his churches were ascetics and thought Paul was worldly. Others were licentious and thought Paul was too ethically demanding. They questioned his credentials. They compared him negatively to the original apostles. They thought him lame compared to the false apostles. They didn’t like his preaching style. They didn’t like his discipline. On some days, they just didn’t like Paul anymore. All this for the man who led them to Christ, loved them like a father, refused their money and risked his neck for their spiritual good. No wonder there was no weight for Paul like the weight of caring for God’s people.

Ask any pastor who really takes his work seriously and he will tell you of the pressures he feels in ministry—people in crisis, people leaving, people coming, people disappointed by him, people disappointing to him. In the midst of this work, the pastor is trying to find time for study, prayer, preparation, and family. He’s trying to improve himself, train up new leaders, meet the budget, get to know a few missionaries, champion important programs, provide for deep, accessible worship and preaching, be responsive to new ideas, listen to new concerns, and be ready to help when people are in trouble.

And most pastors feel a burden for all the other things they could be doing: more evangelism, more for the poor, more for missions, more to address global concerns and more to address social concerns. There are pastors reading this who wonder if the church is still responsive to their preaching; if the leadership will ever be responsive to their leading; and if the congregation will ever grow like the churches they hear so much about. On top of all this, every pastor has his own personal hurts, his own personal mistakes and his own spiritual health to attend to. We are all weak.

But be encouraged. God uses weak things to shame the strong (1 Cor. 1:27). His grace is sufficient for you; His power is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9). For the sake of Christ, then, be content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities. For when you are weak in pastoral anxiety, then you are strong (v. 10). Paul had pressure. You have pressure, too. But God can handle the pressure. And He looks good when you can’t.

This article about pastoral anxiety originally appeared here.

The Hope of Forgiveness

By

Nicholas Batzig

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May 25, 2018

I recently asked a group of church members if they had ever struggled with assurance of salvation. There was an overwhelming affirmation that all had struggled in the quest for that sweet subjective assurance for which believers often long in their souls. This is not at all a strange thing in the history of the church. Many of the Reformers, Puritans and other Reformed theologians wrote volumes to address the intricacies of this important subject. For instance, John Owen’s The Forgiveness of Sin, William Guthrie’s The Christian’s Great Interest, John Colquhoun’s Spiritual Comfort, David Dickson and James Durham The Sum of Saving Knowledge, Gisbertus Voetius and Johannes Hoornbeeck’s Spiritual Desertion, and D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones’ Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cure were all products of pastoral concern to help believers gain and maintain the assurance of salvation.

Many who have trusted in Christ struggle deeply in their consciences over their post-conversion sins. How can a true believer commit a particular sin—sometimes repeatedly—after he or she comes to Christ? How do I know whether I have really repented of my sin if I have committed it on a recurrent basis? Have I really and truly repented if I fall into it again? How do we reconcile the fact that the Apostle John says “whoever is born of God does not sin” (1 John 3:9) with the fact that the Apostle James says, “We all stumble in many ways” (James 3:2)? These and a myriad of other questions are bound up with the issue of the subjective assurance of salvation.

God has redeemed us so that we would walk in paths of righteousness. Jesus died to both the guilt and the power of sin so that those for whom he died can walk in newness of life. “The grace of God, which brings salvation,” writes the Apostle, “teaches us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present age” (Titus 2:11-12). Paul reminds believers, “You were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” The Apostle Peter explains, “If you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:17-19). We should have the singular goal of pursuing holiness since Christ has set us free from “the guilt of sin, and condemning wrath of God, the curse of the moral law…this present evil world, bondage to Satan and dominion of sin; from the evil of afflictions, the sting of death, the victory of the grave and everlasting damnation” (Westminster Confession of Faith 20.1).

While no serious-minded Christian will ever dismiss the severity of the sin in his or her life, the reality of indwelling sin is something with which he or she will have to grapple throughout the entirety of life. The greatest saints have been the first to acknowledge the greatness of their sin. David, on more than one occasion, admitted the multi-variegated dimensions of his sin. For instance, in Psalm 31:10, he wrote: “My life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away” (Ps. 31:10). When considering just how much sin he had committed, David concluded, “My iniquities have overtaken me, and I cannot see; they are more than the hairs of my head; my heart fails me” (Ps. 40:12). And, when he finally came to confess his post-conversion sin of adultery and premeditated murder to the Lord, in Psalm 51, he confessed: “I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me” (Ps. 51:3). The Prince of the Puritan theologians, John Owen, wrote, “As no man had more grace than David, so none had a greater instance of the power of sin, and guilt upon the conscience.”

This Is Why This Televangelist Needs a Fourth Private Jet

By

Megan Briggs

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May 25, 2018

private jet — Screengrab Youtube @NBC News

Jesse Duplantis has owned three different jets. But he needs a new one, he claims—for the sake of evangelism and economy.

The very first jet Duplantis “purchased for the Lord” was in 1994. The plane Duplantis is currently using was purchased in 2006. Duplantis wants a new Falcon 7X “so we can go anywhere in the world nonstop.” He also says the new plane will allow him to fly cheaper because without needing to refuel he can utilize his “own fuel farm.” Jet fuel prices all over the world are “exorbitant,” Duplantis explains in a video to supporters. In the past, Duplantis has spoken about the rough conditions one encounters flying on commercial airlines. Conditions which sometimes include encountering demons and being shaken on a soul level.

The televangelist says God told him to believe for Falcon 7X. When he asked God how he was going to pay for it, Duplantis says God told him, “Jesse, I didn’t ask you to pay for it. I told you to believe for it.” You may be wondering how much Duplantis has to “believe for” in order for this forth jet to materialize. It’s about 54 million according to the SherpaReport.

Duplantis admits he is a “blessed man” and he claims he doesn’t hide anything from his supporters. He anticipated some might criticize him because of his request, but says, “I really believe that preachers ought to go on every available voice, every available outlet, to get this gospel preached to the world.”

The televangelist said he doesn’t ask for anything he and his wife don’t give themselves. He also wants to emphasize that he doesn’t personally own the plane. It belongs to the ministry, he explains.

“All it’s going to do is touch people. It’s going to reach people. It’s going to change lives.” Additionally, Duplantis really believes “if Jesus were on the earth today, he wouldn’t be riding a donkey.”

And while he doesn’t want to tell anyone to do something they don’t feel comfortable with, he says, “If you pray about it, I believe God will speak to you about something, and you’ll be blessed by it.”

Duplantis certainly isn’t the only preacher who utilizes a private jet “for the Lord.” When he’s not telling people they will be responsible for every baby aborted if they don’t vote, Kenneth Copeland has also talked about his need for private transportation.

The Subtle Schism Forming in the Southern Baptist Church

By

Bob Ditmer

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May 25, 2018

The headlines reveal there is a change underway in the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation’s largest protestant denomination.

Just about everyone involved agrees there is a schism to some degree among Southern Baptists leaders, but nailing down what is at the heart of the divide is harder to pin down.

Malachi O’Brien, a former second vice president of the SBC, describes the tension as a “generational disagreement.”

He says younger leaders in the SBC feel a need to acknowledge past wrongs and acceptance of new sensibilities. “We’re in an identity crisis in an ever-changing world that’s requiring higher accountability,” O’Brien told churchleaders.com. “We live in a day and age where we have to be careful of everything we say and do. No matter how far back it goes. The world is watching.”

To correct those wrongs, younger pastors emphasize a host of social issues; racial equality, poverty, the #metoo movement.

The SBC institution that is driving that agenda is the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.

Ken Hemphill comes from a different generation. He has pastored several churches, he’s the former president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and now special assistant to the president for denominational relations at North Greenville University. He is also a candidate to become the next president of the SBC.

He says while there may be some generational gaps, “they aren’t as wide as some people want to make them.”

He’s worked across generations for years as a pastor and seminary president and finds most in the younger generation value their relationships with the older community and want good mentorship.

Social media bringing Southern Baptist differences to light

Hemphill believes there always have been generational tensions in the SBC but are magnified today by the growth of social media and the fact that most churches now minister to five generations rather than just two or three.

He agrees that there is some division over cultural issues with younger generations more focused on basic issues of justice and mercy. But he says the disagreements are not “should we be engaged but how to go about it.”

Dr. Jeremy Roberts, lead pastor of Brushy Creek Baptist Church in Taylors, S.C.,and an adjunct professor at Liberty University and Midwestern Seminary has a more nuanced view of the divide, which he describes as “definitely present.”

He calls the division more soteriological and less generational.

“I think of it as two political parties. One is younger and one is primarily older but there are mixes in both. It’s more of an issue of Calvinists vs non-Calvinists rather than older vs. younger.”

Accusers to Willow Creek: No Reconciliation Without Repentance

By

Megan Briggs

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May 25, 2018

Betty Schmidt, who served as an elder at Willow Creek Church for over 30 years, says she will not participate in efforts at reconciliation between herself and the current Willow Creek elder board. Schmidt first expressed her concern over the way the elder board was handling the allegations against Bill Hybels in April. Now she is speaking up again, raising alarm over the board’s choice in mediators to handle the conversation between Willow Creek and the women accusing Hybels of sexual misconduct.

“Before reconciliation can be attempted, Willow Creek elders and leaders must focus and address their own actions and failings, which have been accruing since the unfortunate family meetings of late March and for the four years prior,” Schmidt writes on her site VeritasBeTold. The family meetings Schmidt refers to are the ones the elder board held with congregants following the Chicago Tribune’s breaking a story about Hybels and the women accusing him of sexual misconduct. Until that story was published in March, the broader congregation at Willow Creek (and the broader public) was unaware of any such allegations. Only the elder board and other key leaders of the Willow Creek Association knew of the allegations and the investigation that was underway.

Following these family meetings in late March and early April, Schmidt released a statement saying the current elder board misquoted her testimony to them about a situation involving Hybels and Vonda Dyer, a former staff member at Willow Creek.

In her most recent statement, published May 25th, Schmidt is imploring the elder board to “acknowledge and apologize for the untrue and damaging statements” they made about the women disclosing allegations against Hybels. The elder board did seem to listen to the outcry that arose after their initial family meetings addressing the allegations. On May 9th, the elders, led by Pam Orr at the time, apologized for some of the “sweeping statements” that they made about those accusing Hybels. Orr admitted, “We do not believe the stories were all lies or that all the people were colluding against him.”

Apparently, Schmidt does not consider this apology adequate. Additionally, she voices her concern over the elder board’s choice of hiring Crossroads Resolution Group to facilitate discussions. Schmidt writes:

David Schlachter, of Crossroads Resolution Group, and formerly an officer in Peacemakers Ministries, was hired by the elder board in 2006, during my 30 years of continuously serving as an elder, to help mediate a reconciliation between Senior Pastor Bill Hybels and the volunteer elder board. He was joined by two other mediators, one a psychotherapist and the other a former Willow Creek elder.

After a day and a half of intense, guided discussion, the final session was attended by only five of the participants: the three mediators, Bill Hybels, and one elder, who, as it turned out, became the scapegoat for the fracture that had developed between Bill and the elders. I vehemently protested this meeting and demanded that all of us, but minimally I, be allowed in, but was denied entry…by David Schlachter. The result was tragic, and Bill was never called out for sin of abusive powering up on certain staff members and others who had raised complaints about him to the elders.

Mr. Schlachter seemed bent on distributing the fault equally among all of us, continuously impelling us to look within and identify the “idols” we were harboring. His was an extremely narrow, simplistic, reductive approach, one that held no understanding of personality disorders or power imbalances. I cannot recommend that anyone sit down to a table of reconciliation set in this matter with Mr. Schlachter in charge.

David Schlachter has previously given Bill Hybels a pass on other sinful behaviors, so there is little reason to believe that he will display impartiality in this current matter or come to any different conclusion than he did in the previous situation.

However, in a family meeting held May 23rd, the elder board’s new Chairperson, Lane Moyer, described Crossroads Resolution Group as “an independent, neutral third party” brought into the situation by the church “to listen to the women involved and discuss with each of them their requests and desired process outcomes.”

While Schmidt takes issue with the particular mediator chosen, Dyer takes issue that a mediator of this kind was even chosen in the first place. On her website, Dyer writes:

It appears that you are treating this like a relational dispute that needs to be resolved, rather than a 1 Timothy 5 situation of a leader being accused by two or more parties of patterns of sin. This is not an issue of relational reconciliation, it is an issue of dealing with the sin of a leader. This latest step by the elder board only further communicates to me that you either don’t understand the nature of the problem, or you collectively have no intention of discovering the truth and holding Bill accountable for whatever he has done.

Echoing Schmidt’s statements, Dyer believes “transparency, accountability and repentance must occur before the process of reconciliation or resolution can begin.”

This is very similar to how Nancy Beach responded to the elder board’s apology earlier in May. Beach writes of her attempts to communicate with the elder board during its initial investigation into the allegations (before the Chicago Tribune article was published) in a blog post. She describes being sidelined and, since going public with her accusations, “maligned” by the elder board. She also is hesitant to enter into reconciliation attempts. Beach writes:

The path to healing requires a sequence:

Truth leads to Repentance which can then maybe lead to Reconciliation.

Why do I say “maybe?” about Reconciliation? Because it does not always happen and in some cases may be harmful and not advisable. In situations of abuse, reunion is not usually the result. However, there can still be forgiveness so that we can be free of the bitterness poison.

According to Beach, two of these steps have not been completed by the elder board, and they are stalling the process of reconciliation.

Bill Hybels resigned from his position in April, six months before he was planning on retiring in October. The elder board is currently conducting a 45-day initiative to reach out to hear from Hybels’ accusers and also examine the church’s policies and procedures “to ensure we continue improving our culture.”

Millennials, Women Driving LGBT Growth in US

By

Bob Ditmer

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May 25, 2018

The percentage of Americans who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) continues to increase and is now at its highest point since Gallup began tracking the group in 2012.

The increase has been driven almost totally by millennials.

According to a Gallup poll released this month, 4.5 percent of U. S. citizens identify as LGBT, up from 4.1 percent in 2016 and 3.5 percent in 2012.

Gallup’s estimates are based on those respondents who say “yes” when asked, “Do you, personally, identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender?” Extrapolation to the latest census estimate of adults 18 and older in the U.S. suggests that more than 11 million adults identify as LGBT in the country today.

The survey found millennials to have the highest percentage who identify as LGBT. The age group is defined as those born between 1980 and 1999. According to Gallup, 8.1 percent claim they are LGBT up from 5.8 percent in 2012.

Other age groups are static or slightly declining. The LGBT percentage in Generation X (those born from 1965 to 1979) was up only .2 percent from 2016 to 2017. There was no change last year in LGBT percentage among baby boomers (born 1946 through 1964) and traditionalists (born prior to 1946).

The other group driving the numbers are women.

Overall, 5.1 percent of women in 2017 identified as LGBT, compared with 3.9 percent of men. The change among men over time has been minimal, with the LGBT percentage edging up from 3.4 percent in 2012 to 3.7 percent both last year and this year. On the other hand, the percentage of women identifying as LGBT has risen from 3.5 percent in 2012 to 5.1 percent today, with the largest jump occurring between 2016 and 2017.

In its conclusion, Gallup says one contributing factor for the increase is a greater comfort among respondents to identify as LGBT.

Five Reasons God May Not Be Answering Your Prayers

By

J.D. Greear

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May 24, 2018

Every Christian I know struggles with the reality of unanswered prayer. If you don’t, then either (1) you’ve been a Christian for about 10 minutes or (2) you’re lying.
In general, unanswered prayer is a tension we need to accept, allowing it to move us to deeper trust in God and greater persistence in prayer. But in specific cases, there are a host of reasons God might not be answering your prayer.

Here are five reasons God may not be answering your prayers (this list isn’t exhaustive):

1. You are not right with God.
There are many beautiful promises in Scripture that God makes about the power of prayer. But all of them apply only to those walking in fellowship with him. Nowhere in Scripture do we find God say that he will hear and answer the prayer of an unbeliever. Quite the opposite: Psalm 66:18, for instance, says that if we cherish sin in our hearts, the Lord will stop up his ears when we pray to him.

Does God sometimes hear and answer the prayers of unbelievers? Yes, I believe he does, because his compassion and graciousness are astounding. But the only people he promises to hear are his children.

2. Something in you needs to change.
James writes, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions” (James 4:3 ESV). In other words, sometimes God doesn’t grant us our request because we ask with the wrong motives. Even if the thing we’re asking for may be good—in its own right—God doesn’t want to honor a heart asking from the wrong motivation.

As an example of this, I was talking with a couple in our church who had an estranged relationship with their son. They had prayed for years that he would change and return to them, and they couldn’t understand why God wouldn’t answer their prayer. But the longer they prayed, the more God revealed to them that they had pushed him away. To reconcile the relationship, God had work he wanted to do in the people praying, not in the people being prayed about.

Unanswered prayer can be one of God’s tools for purifying us. We think we need deliverance from our circumstance. But God knows that what we need most is Christlikeness. To get us there, he often has to tell us, “No.”

3. Your prayers do not align with God’s will.
The prayers that start in heaven are the ones that are heard by heaven. Or, as the Apostle John put it,

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us…and we know that if he hears us, we have the requests that we have asked of him.
(1 John 5:14-15)

Simply put, sometimes God doesn’t answer our prayers because we are praying for the wrong things. And we may not be doing this out of malice, either, so much as out of ignorance. Perhaps we don’t know enough of God’s Word to know his will. Or perhaps we simply don’t have the wisdom to discern his desires for a certain situation.

Whatever the reason, we have to recognize that we aren’t omniscient. If God isn’t answering, we have to develop the trust to respond with, “Not my will, but yours be done.”

4. Your prayer circumvents God’s processes.
This may seem rather obvious, but it’s surprising how rarely people admit it. God has set up our universe to run according to ordered laws. This means that miracles are, by definition, rare. Don’t get me wrong: God performs miracles, and it honors him when we faithfully pray for them. (I continue to do so, and you should, too.) But we have to recognize that prayer isn’t a magic charm that manipulates God.

An example may help here. Americans may not be a people of prayer usually, but we are when our favorite sports team is involved. But let’s be honest: Is God concerned about governing the outcomes of sporting events? I suppose it’s possible (though even then, I doubt he’s as invested as the average UNC student). But coaches generally win games not based on the prayer strategy of their fan base, but by the more mundane method we call “practice.”

Here’s a more spiritual example. What if you prayed, “God, for everyone in Afghanistan, I pray that you would make them believers in Jesus.” That seems to align with God’s will, broadly speaking, but it’s unlikely to be answered just like that. Why? Because it defies the processes God has set in place. God uses his church to preach the gospel. God allows us the legitimate choice in accepting the gospel. And God won’t suddenly suspend those truths because you asked him to “save everyone.”

5. He delays his answer until his return.
I suspect that most of our prayers aren’t as trivial as asking for UNC to win the national championship or as naïve as asking God to save everyone in Afghanistan. Usually, when we are experiencing unanswered prayer, it’s because we are in the midst of intense struggle. Perhaps, as I mentioned above, God has something to teach us in the struggle. But I never want to imply that he listens to our cries of distress with apathy. One of my favorite titles for God in Scripture, in fact, is Jehovah Shammah, “The God Who Hears.”

In the book of Revelation, there is a beautiful image for prayer. God says that “the prayers of his people” are like “golden bowls full of incense,” rising up before him (Revelation 5:8). He stores them up, waiting to answer them when he comes to restore all things.

That means that the prayers you’ve offered for relief, for healing, for restoration—good and right prayers—may not be answered in this life, but they will be answered in eternity. On that final day, God will wipe away every tear from every eye, which means that all of the pain we experience from broken bodies, broken desires, and broken relationships will be mended.

Knowing we pray to a God more compassionate and more powerful than we can comprehend, should we not endure unanswered prayers with patience and hope? “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).

This article originally appeared here.

3 Things You Must Do With Every Point You Make in Your Sermons

By

Lane Sebring

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May 24, 2018

You make points in every sermon you preach. You try to communicate at least one point. One idea. One bottom line. You may have one major point but a number of supporting points. The point is, you make points. Get the point? So, what do you do with every point you make? Is it enough just to say the words. “My main point is _________. OK, let’s close in prayer.” Well, we both know that would be insufficient.

We have to do more than just say a point for it to stick. But how do we do this? How do we develop sticky points that land on people in powerful ways? I suggest doing at least three things with every point you make in your sermons. Using these as a base line allows you to do more if you’d like, but make sure you’re at least doing these three things:

1. Teach the point. When you teach the point you are explaining the concept and providing the biblical backing. In other words, you are showing how you derived the principle from the Scripture as you connect it back to the text. This is an important part of making a point. You want to be able to demonstrate that it is not just your musings, but it comes from Scripture.

In this step you teach the concept of the point. In other words, you should answer the question your listeners will have when you introduce an idea: “What do you mean?”

If this is murky, let me use an example of a super simple point you could make in your sermon. Let’s say your point is: God loves you. You may teach this point by referencing John 3:16 and showing your listeners that God loves them so much he gave his one and only son so that they could have eternal life by believing in him. Perhaps you elaborate a bit on this idea and dig into the theological and biblical truths of the doctrine of God’s love for people.

Teaching the point is great, but if you only teach concepts and ideas you’re missing two more important steps that put flesh and blood on your points: illustrating and applying.

2. Illustrate the point. When you illustrate your point you are answering the question, “What does this look like?” You are providing a vivid visual which helps your listeners see it and feel it for themselves. How can you get your listeners to feel the emotions of the truth and not just “know” it? You have to make it come alive with illustration. An illustration could be a story, a metaphor, an analogy, a movie clip, news story or something trending on social media. Really anything that helps you clarify the concept of the point and give people an opportunity to feel the weight of it.

Remember our example point: God loves you? One of the best demonstrations of illustrating this point with a story is actually a set of three parables Jesus told about the love of God for those who are lost or wayward in Luke 15. Side note: Jesus often used stories, or parables, to illustrate his points. In fact, it is rare in Jesus’ teaching to see him merely teach a point without a vivid illustration usually in narrative form. So be careful if you think storytelling is a lower form of teaching and the elites and sophisticated preachers stick to exposition alone. If this is your assumption, you’re missing a powerful tool Jesus used.

Let’s say you decide to focus on the last of the three parables Jesus tells in Luke 15 and you tell the story of the prodigal son. In this story, a son took his inheritance before his father died effectively communicating to him: “You’re dead to me!” Then he went into a foreign land, squandered his wealth on hookers and booze, and desperately came crawling back. There is much to be said about this story, in fact I highly suggest you check out Tim Keller’s book, The Prodigal God as it looks at this story from the perspective of the reckless love of the father and the older brother’s legalism.

But for our purposes of illustrating our simple point that God loves you, we will focus in on the crux of the narrative. The story hits home when we see the prodigal decides to come home hoping to plead with his father for mercy and to be allowed to serve as one of his hired men. Instead, his father ran to him, embraced him, kissed him and threw a massive party for him. How many of us feel the love of the father for us when we consider this story? Your listeners will too if you. This is the power of illustration.

This illustration came straight from the pages of Scripture. As I mentioned above, it’s also helpful to use illustrations from all different aspects of life. So perhaps you could build on the story of the prodigal and personalize it to your own experience of when you strayed from God, but as a loving father he took you back.

For more helpful tips on how to use illustrations including where to place them in the sermon, check out The 4 Must Do’s of Using Illustrations.

This takes us to our final way to use a point, applying it.

3. Apply the point. When you apply the point you answer the question, “How does it work?” A point in a sermon is just information until it takes on flesh and is lived out. Your listeners need to know how this truth can be activated in their lives. This is also where you take the concept, what you’ve taught and illustrated, and make it useful and practical. In this post, I reveal three tools of giving application in a sermon. Two of those tools are asking questions and extending challenges. Often people can sit through an entire message and not realize it is for them until a question is posed or a challenge is extended.

Revisiting our point one last time: God loves you. You may ask the question, “Do you truly believe God loves you or do you still feel unlovable?” Or “What could you do this week to allow yourself to embrace God’s love for you?”

In addition to questions and challenges, application could also simply be you touching on several life situations and circumstances and acknowledging the various ways your listeners struggle with embracing this truth.

By the way, this is usually best in the order I gave. However, you should avoid approaching this process in a formulaic way of thinking, “First I teach, then I illustrate, then I apply.” You, and your listeners, will eventually tire of such a stilted approach. Instead, sometimes you may decide to begin with application before you ever teach the concept. This is a great way to make your listeners care about it because they feel it before they know fully what the concept is. This is called building tension, and you can read more about it here.

Other times you may begin with a story that will provide as an amazing illustration to clarify your point once you teach it. The point is there is more than one way to make a point. Get the point?

Here’s my point. You want to do everything you can to whimsically and enthusiastically communicate your message because, after all, you have the most important message in the world. If you want more help writing and delivering powerful messages, check out my book: Preaching Killer Sermons: How to Create and Deliver Messages that Captivate and Inspire

One last thing: The three questions I used: What do you mean? What does it look like? and How does it work? are derived and slightly modified from a great book by Howard Hendricks called Living by the Book: The Art and Science of Reading the Bible

What other things can we do with the points we make in a sermon?

This article originally appeared here.

6 Ways to Keep VBS Volunteers Energized

By

Corinne Noble

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May 24, 2018

This year, I had the privilege of putting on my first VBS ever and learned about what works to energize VBS volunteers. It was hard to prepare for, having not seen a VBS since I was a child, but I think it was great to come at it with a fresh approach. I was unsure about how I would keep my volunteers excited about five back-to-back nights full of kids following them around, but somehow they loved every minute of it. We even had new volunteers each night because our volunteers would tell their friends to come join us.

Here are six ways we have found to be successful at keeping our VBS volunteers energized:

1. Communicate Vision to VBS Volunteers

I think we often get tired of hearing the vision for our ministry long before we have communicated it enough to our volunteers. It is not enough to share the vision one time and assume everyone heard it or caught it. Figure out what your vision is for VBS, and communicate it with passion every chance you get. I gave my vision for VBS in adult service, in team meetings, in one-on-one conversations, via email, etc. I’ve learned it is much more likely that we are under-communicating than over-communicating with our volunteers.

2. Give Ownership to VBS Volunteers

VBS is one of the hugest kidmin events out there. You cannot possibly do it alone. Delegating as much as possible to volunteers will help you keep your sanity, and give them more ownership of the event. We placed a lot of importance on every leadership position on our team. Our small group room leaders owned their rooms from decorating before the event, to tearing down on the last night. Many of our room leaders ended up owning their rooms to the point of purchasing extra items for the kids that I hadn’t thought of myself. The color group leaders were placed with a specific age of kids for all five nights. By mid-week most of them wouldn’t dream of missing a night, fearing disappointing their team. Find ways to give every volunteer ownership and a purpose for showing up each night.

3. Share Wins With VBS Volunteers

One of my favorite things that we did with our volunteers at VBS was getting together as a team an hour before the kids arrived each night. I would share wins, spiritual and funny, from the night before, cast vision for the night, open up the floor for others to share wins, and pray over the night before going to individual stations. As the Children’s Pastor, I hear a lot of wins from kids, volunteers and parents, but if I don’t share them with my team, they will never know all the positive, life-changing things that are happening because of their hard work.

4. Feed Them

I feel very strongly about always providing food for your VBS volunteers. I know budget, or lack thereof, can be a real issue for many of us in kid’s ministry. However, I believe that feeding your volunteers is so important that you find a way to pay for it out of your own pocket, find donations or make it yourself. I wasn’t able to work out feeding my VBS volunteers a full dinner each night, but I always had waters, sodas and snacks available. I also brought in lunch and dinner for the team that helped decorate and tear down VBS.

5. Provide Encouragement to VBS Volunteers

Encouragement can be given in a group setting, but is most effective when done on an individual basis. Every night I would go around to the different small group rooms and color teams to encourage different leaders. I looked for opportunities to compliment them on their leadership and share positive comments from parents and kids about their area. We all need to hear that someone sees that we are doing a good job and making a difference.

6. Lead by Example

This could be the hardest but most important way to keep your volunteers energized all week. No matter how excited and passionate you might be about VBS, even the strongest of leaders will start to get tired and question their sanity by day four. Your volunteers need to see your excitement and passion about being there for the kids, not how tired you are. If you walk in yawning and dragging your heels, it will bring down the whole team. Show your team that you are on the front lines with them, willing to do anything you would expect them to do.

What are some of the ways you have found to be successful in keeping up the energy of your volunteer team?

If you are looking for more ideas to help you direct your own VBS, check out this post: Surviving VB-Stress.

This article originally appeared here.

Jesus’s Compassion for Those Who Love Porn

By

Mo Isom

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May 24, 2018

For more than a decade I silently wrestled with a fixation on pornography and sexual exposure. From 8 to 18 I quietly sought out and filled my eyes, my mind, and my heart with shameful things. I learned to please my own body, sought out others to please it for me, and ultimately worshiped lust and lonely pleasure at a shadowy and anonymous altar.

But at the root, I knew it was empty. I knew it was debasing. I knew it was temporary and unfulfilling and demoralizing. I felt void of actual love. I didn’t think I was worth much to any man unless he first knew I was valuable sexually.

What my eyes had taken in for years and years, my heart had translated into feelings of insufficiency, into dependence on affirmation from others consuming the same perspective-warping things.

But then Jesus collided with my story.

His Compassion

At 19 I met a King who stared right at my sexual brokenness, filth, and defiled body, and then picked up my heart and called me redeemed. It was radical love, radical grace that changed everything. Just as Jesus met the woman at the well and offered her living water. Just as he cast no stone at the guilty adulteress.

Just as he used Rahab, the prostitute, in the lineage of the Messiah—he met me in my wandering. The fact that he stood amid my filth—mercy outstretched and immovable—began to peel back the scales from my eyes in understanding how God responds to sexual sin.

All throughout Scripture we see Jesus traveling from town to town, place to place, having compassion on the afflicted, the sick, the lame, the suffering. And all throughout Scripture we see his love and mercy colliding with their trust in him to bring about miraculous and life-changing healing.

The culture in which Jesus was carrying out his ministry, and the religious culture we live in now, are different in detail but unbelievably similar in the big picture. A culture plagued by unrealistic expectations and rigid rules enforced by religious leaders that motivated behavior modification rather than renewed and reverent hearts that longed to serve a loving God. And as a result, people were—and are—weighed down by shame, guilt, desensitization, and ostracism. People pumped full of rules but robbed of guidance toward the greater why will always be dehydrated of love and afflicted with desperation, addiction, and a lack of direction in their lives.

We see a more beautiful way in Scripture: “When [Jesus] saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matt. 9:36).

Jesus saw the desperation of impure hearts that didn’t even know the depth of their own depravity, and he was overwhelmed with compassionate pity. His love for them revealed the deep mercy of God—and if that was Jesus’s heart toward the people then, I must believe it remains his heart toward people now.

We’re living in a society that is feeding off our sin inclinations, our easily addicted natures, and our naïveté. We, the masses, are harassed by overexposure to sexual material. We’re drowned in constant visual content that battles for allegiance and infatuation in our hearts. And we’re blinded by images that muddy the clear vision of God’s desire for purity. We’re sheep without a shepherd, addicted to our lost wandering.

But even here Jesus meets us with compassion. His grace extends salvation to us and, in the same breath, refuses to leave us the same. The compassion of a God who sees us in our filth and washes us clean has the power to alter our perspective. Because when we invite the Holy Spirit to censor our lives and make sensitive our eyes, his response changes our vision.

Reclaim Your Sight

One of the most detrimental effects of sexual overexposure is that it changes the way we think about people—far more than we even realize. Humans become objects; humans become body parts. Individuals made in the image of a holy God ultimately become things to be used rather than people to be loved, valued, and seen. And when we reach a place where we’re capable of dehumanizing others for our own sexual fulfillment, we’re not only harming others but also draining our own soul of vitality.

If we want to understand the root of so many of our sexual issues, we’d be wise to pay attention to what we see and watch and read and how we’re being desensitized. Our prayer must become, God, give me eyes to see the world as you do. Then we will actually think about what we’re consuming.

When the naked man on your screen is seen as an image-bearer of the King being exploited for sexual reasons, your vision is renewed.

When the sex scene in the movie is seen as another cheap attempt by the box office to make money, your vision is renewed.

When you realize the reality TV show about singles willing to compromise just about anything to get a rose and a ring looks nothing like a pure and holy and God-honoring reality, your vision is renewed.

But most notably, when you begin to see the beauty of God’s design for sex, you begin to understand why sexual sin breaks his heart.

We’re called in Scripture to guard our eyes and guard our hearts fiercely. May we have the commitment of David, who promised, “I will set no worthless thing before my eyes” (Ps. 101:3).

If we are what we see, may we fight to reclaim our sight and set our gaze on things that are true and holy (Phil. 4:8). May we fix our eyes on Jesus—the One whose love has the power to give us new eyes, new hearts, and new vision toward a world that is hurting.

Editors’ note: This is an adapted excerpt from Sex, Jesus, and the Conversations the Church Forgot (Baker).

This article originally appeared here.

7 Actions for When You Can’t Respect the Leader

By

Ron Edmondson

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May 24, 2018

It’s not uncommon I receive a message from a staff member of another church struggling with the current leadership. (And, I’m not naive enough to believe other senior leaders have not received similar emails from our staff at times.) The question is usually how they can continue to be where they don’t support the vision and direction of the pastor. They want my advice on how to respond during this season of ministry.

This situation is obviously not unique to churches, but also happens frequently in other organizations. I don’t believe all hope is lost during times like this. An individual can continue to grow even with a leader he or she cannot respect—sometimes even more.

Here are seven actions I suggest when you don’t respect the leader:

Talk to God

That’s seems to be an obvious answer from a pastor, but sometimes it’s the thing we do the least. We complain faster it seems. Or, perhaps that’s just what I do.

Ask God to reveal to you His purposes for your life during this season. It could be He’s preparing you for something, stirring the nest so-to-speak, or you are in a time of testing. Don’t assume God is absent during this time. I assure you He’s not asleep at the wheel and has a plan. The closer you are to Him during this time the sooner you’ll understand His plan and the next steps will be revealed.

Keep working

Most of us need a paycheck. Be grateful while you have one. Unless you know for certain you are to quit, it is destroying you or your family, or you sense something immoral is happening, there’s nothing wrong with working until you find something else. (Provided you do the remainder on this list, as well.)

Do your best

While you are there, be above reproach in your work ethic. Make it your aim to prepare for your successor and to leave your area of responsibility better than you found it when you arrived. This keeps you as a person of integrity.

Respect the leader

I know. That’s the tough one. It is actually why I am writing this post, but as long as you’re there you must respect authority. We have this as our biblical command. You may not respect the leader as a person, but you can respect them as an authority figure and their position.

Again, this is assuming there is nothing immoral taking place. You don’t have to respect those things, nor do you have to turn your head either. There may be other things you need to do or people who need to know. I’m writing in a professional and organizational sense—more about people who you don’t respect stylistically or personally, not illegal or immoral activities.

Watch what you say to others, what you post online and how you handle your disagreements. Don’t become the sarcastic, negative voice in the room.

Learn all you can

The fact is we learn more during the stressful and difficult times, so be a sponge. You may gain all the wisdom of what not to do when you are in control, but you will learn something if you try.

Be thankful for the connections and experience

You will be gaining connections in the church (work) world—or at least you have or should look for the opportunity. It’s easier to network when you’re in the field than it is once you are no longer working. Be thankful for the opportunity.

Be a cheerleader for life.

You may not enjoy your work setting, but you can still be a positive life influence for those around you. Use your smile and your pleasant disposition as an encourager for others. You’ll feel better about yourself after you eventually leave, and you may be just what someone else needs who is feeling as you do. Never burn a bridge with your attitude. That’s a hard stigma to overcome later—and, it’s not who we’ve been called to be as followers of Christ.

Keep watching

Be open to what God will do next in your life. It may not be what you are expecting. Chances are good it will stretch you and require a leap of faith. Prepare your heart, family and attitude for an opportunity when it arrives.

Keep this in mind. I firmly believe we are called to a person—Jesus—more than any location. Even any other leader. At the end of the day, your biggest concern is to be faithful to your call to Jesus.

Have you ever been in this position? What happened?

What advice would you give?

This article originally appeared here.

What Is Your Small Group MVP? (It’s Not What You Think)

By

Mark Howell

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May 24, 2018

What is Your Small Group MVP?

What is your minimum viable product? Ever thought about your small group ministry that way?

In this article I want to do three things:

introduce and define the term minimum viable product (for small group ministry),
provide a simple explanation for why you need to know your minimum viable product, and
give you an assignment

My definition for minimum viable product for small group ministry

Here’s a definition of minimum viable product for small group ministry:

Whether you are launching a new small group or a new small group ministry, what features are sufficient to satisfy initial users and accomplish its basic mission (what you will call success). See below for the term’s origin.

Some example features would be:

What is the minimum training a new small group leader must have in advance?
What are the minimum standards required to be the leader of a group?
What promises do you make to both the leaders and members of new groups?

Why you need to know your minimum viable product

Determining your minimum viable product for small group ministry is helpful because it clarifies essentials.

In my mind, determining your minimum viable product produces conviction and provides peace of mind.

Determining your minimum viable product produces conviction about what you must provide in order to connect the greatest number of unconnected people with the least delay. This conviction provides clarity for decision-making and the answers you will need as you explain your philosophy to other leaders.

Determining your minimum viable product provides peace of mind in carrying out the strategy you have chosen. Having made the necessary choices, you will be able to confidently move forward.

Here’s your assignment:

Take a stab at determining your minimum viable product for small group ministry.

Begin your process by determining the minimum viable product for a single new small group.

Use the comment feature below to share your MVP definition or ask a question.

This article originally appeared here.

7 Things Jesus Would Say to the LGBT Community

By

George McGuire

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May 24, 2018

Note: This article answering “What would Jesus say to the LGBT community?” originally appeared here at the Aquila Report.

The Bible affirms the importance of human relationship and provides wise guidance on how we can be healthy and happy people here and in eternity. God as our creator made us as we are, knows what is best for us under all circumstances, and made the guidelines clear in his Word. He also knows what will wreck our lives and bring destruction of body, soul and society.

Was there ever a country taken over as quickly in our lifetime as Crimea was? So quickly did that annexation come that the world could not even get its diplomats in place when for all practical purposes it was over. I cannot recall anything happening as fast as that since studying the sinking of that great ship, the Titanic. Down she went to the bottom in a matter of hours.

We in the Christian Reformed Church have neatly tucked away a very fine denominational position statement on homosexuality, affirming that love, support and encouragement should be given to those who experience same-sex attractions, while maintaining that homosexual practices are “incompatible with obedience to the will of God” as are all other sinful practices.

Our statement is clear, but what are we as a church body and as individuals in that body doing to address the cataclysmic shift taking place in our culture on these matters and to actually embrace for ourselves the responsibilities that our statement calls us to, namely addressing with the life-changing gospel those overtaken in “explicit and overt homosexual practices”?

One might wonder just how fast is our culture changing?

So quickly is this wave overcoming us that only two years ago no major national candidate could win an election who endorsed the gay agenda [New York Times for 4/6/14], and now the reverse is true.

The church as a body and we as individuals have a scriptural obligation to speak to the world on moral issues and not give our silent consent to evil.

I write this simply wanting to begin another denominational conversation, for I have read a great deal, thought and prayed long and hard on this, and still do not see clearly either the biblical norms and how they actually apply or the way to really reach out in love and effectiveness to those caught within these sinful practices.

What Would Jesus Say?

Pastors have training in handling the other sexual sins, but the sexual sins becoming so dominant today bring in their wake very little counsel so far for helpers and many undiscussed problems to work out. Yet we are biblically commanded “to speak out to warn the wicked to turn from their wicked deeds and lifestyle so that they may live” (NET, Ezek. 3:1). We also hopefully can follow in the steps of Jesus who was able to treat first the heart and then tell his listeners to go and sin no more.

May the following seven things begin to move us to thinking and action. The Lord seems to say in his word to all sinners (and that includes those in the LGBT community):

1. What would Jesus say? I love you because I created you and came to save you!

(Ps. 86:15; Jo. 3:16; Rom. 5:8; I Jo. 4:8-10)

How to Clear the Toxic Culture in Your Church

By

Ryan Rice

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May 24, 2018

One Sunday after church I stopped for gas. As I walked into the gas station to pay for my fuel, I decided to purchase a taquito. Now, I should have known better, but how can you pass up five taquitos for a $1.00? I made my purchase and went along my way. The next morning I woke up preparing to go to work, when suddenly sharp pains began to invade my stomach. The pain got so intense that if death would have come my way I would have welcomed it. It didn’t take me long to self-diagnose that I had food poisoning.

There is not much treatment for food poisoning. Your body actually begins to do the work for you, expelling the toxins in your system until they are all removed. Needless to say, this is not a pleasant process, but it is necessary to the health of your body.

I often wonder if we accept the toxic environments of our churches because it is easier to accept what is toxic rather than the pain that often comes with becoming healthy. John Mark Clifton, author of Reclaiming Glory says, “A dying and dysfunctional church robs God of glory.”

How many of us have served or are possibly currently serving in a church with a dysfunction or a toxic culture? The toxic church culture can lead many faithful men to quit ministry or leave a church before they should. The sad reality is there are some churches that actually love the toxic culture they are steeped in. Toxic words that often float around these settings: “We have always done things that way,” “Why do we have to have those people join our church?” “If we change that paint color I am leaving the church,” “I won’t give another penny until they change back the pulpit to where I like it.”

However, the call of an overseer is to:

Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly. (1 Peter 5:2)

If God has called you to a toxic church, it could be that the joy of what can be is greater than the pain you are facing. Here are three ways to start the process of clearing the toxic culture around you.

1. Preach the Word.

The Apostle Paul told his protege Timothy,

Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.

In a toxic environment we must trust the Word of the Lord to clear the air. As leaders we are called to trust the Lord and stand on His word. Point people back to the glorious truth of the Cross. It could be that the toxic person has forgotten that it is about Jesus not about them, money or property. This may mean you preach on specific issues, such as the function of the church, living on mission or discord. It may also mean your Sunday school or small groups take a break from curriculum for times of prayer for the church.

2. Don’t be afraid to confront.

If I am honest, I dislike conflict. Praise God as He is helping me grow in my leadership I am much better in dealing with conflict. However, one thing I had to learn, not all conflict is a bad thing. In fact, healthy conflict can cause change for the good.

Is there a toxic person you need to address directly? Matthew 18 is clear that we are to go to our brother if we have a fault with them. In any conflict, the only one we have to fear is God. People may get mad with you, but they don’t give you value, worth or identity. Our identities come from the Lord. We should not allow toxic people to destroy others within our local church. So, confronting in love needs to be direct, immediate and clear, leaving no room for misunderstanding or questions as to what you are saying.

3. Evangelize, disciple and pray.

The hard thing about a toxic environment is people don’t want to be part of it. However, what if the breath of fresh air needed is new people coming to faith in Christ?

I love new Christians. They are not concerned about who left peppermint paper on the back pew on the left side of the sanctuary—it isn’t a life or death issue the church must address. The new follower of Christ wants to do just that: follow Christ and help others do the same. As leaders, let us pray, trusting that God can change the hearts of people.

Thom Rainer said it best, “Change is urgent because the gospel is urgent.” Let us seek gospel change to the glory of God, allowing the air to become clear of a toxic culture.

This article originally appeared here.

10 Powerful Church Statistics on Social Media Use

By

Andrew Conrad

-

May 24, 2018

As churches grow and adapt to the era of omnipresent Wi-Fi and smartphones, social media has become one of the most effective — and necessary — ways of reaching new members.

Some church leaders are reluctant to completely welcome technology (and all of its complications) into the sanctity of their church. Learning how to effectively and comfortably use church technology and software can be a long process.

It’s more important than ever, though, for churches to utilize social media, but the percentage of those that do remains alarmingly low.

As a church leader, you need buy-in not only from your leadership team but also from your congregation as a whole to enact church-wide change.

10 Powerful Church Statistics on Social Media

Let’s take a look at 10 statistics that illustrate just how crucial social media is to church growth, how badly churches currently utilize it, and key takeaways to help you build (or fix) your social media strategy.

1. In 2017, more than half of Bible readers used the internet (55 percent) or a smartphone (53 percent) to access biblical texts, a significant increase from 2011 (37 percent, 18 percent respectively). (Source: Barna Group)

Takeaway: Your followers are using the internet and social media as part of their worship routine in ever-increasing numbers. You need to have an active social media presence to take advantage of that fact since that’s where your audience is. Here’s a guide on building your church website, and one on building your church social media strategy.

2. Almost 70 percent of churches offer Wi-Fi for staff and guests. A 2017 LifeWay Research study found that 68 percent of Protestant churches offer Wi-Fi for both groups. (Source: LifeWay Research)

Takeaway: If your church doesn’t offer Wi-Fi, you’re in the minority and could be driving guests away. Here’s a guide from FaithEngineer on upgrading your church’s internet situation.

3. More than 70 percent of nonprofit communicators consider social media one of their most important communication channels. According to Nonprofit Marketing Guide’s 2016 report, 71 percent of nonprofit communication professionals consider social media one of their most important channels, second only to their website (80 percent). (Source: Nonprofit Marketing Guide)

Takeaway: If you want to successfully market your church and increase membership, social media is no longer a “nice to have” but an essential line of communication. Here are some great examples of church social media campaigns from pro church marketer Brady Shearer to get you started.

4. Almost 85 percent of churches use Facebook. In 2017, 84 percent of Protestant pastors reported that their church uses Facebook as their primary online communication tool. (Source: LifeWay Research)

Takeaway: Facebook is the king of church social media tools. If your church doesn’t have a Facebook profile set up, make that your first priority. A Facebook page doesn’t just give your members a place to interact with each other, it also gives you access to a network of active, online communities where you can get ideas and ask questions. Here are 14 great church Facebook groups to join, recommended by church communications expert Katie Allred.

5. Only about 15 percent of churches are using Twitter and Instagram. In 2017, only 16 percent of Protestant pastors surveyed reported using Twitter. Even less (13 percent) were on Instagram. (Source: LifeWay Research)

Takeaway: Just because most churches are late to the Twitter and Instagram game doesn’t mean you should be among them. According to Statista, Instagram has more than 800 million users, and Twitter had about 330 million as of the end of 2017. That’s an enormous audience to tap into. Start with this Instagram guide for churches, and this one for Twitter.

6. The average click-through-rate is 115 percent higher for church emails that include at least one social media link. (Source: Anthony Coppedge| Focused on Church Health)

Takeaway: This stat is a few years old, but email marketing has been around for almost 40 years so it’s still relatively young. The advice here is straightforward: email communications that include a social media link are way more effective at generating clicks from readers. Don’t leave them out!

7. Approximately 51 percent of churches claim that at least one staff member regularly blogs or posts on social media. According to Christian-centered digital advertising agency Buzzplant, in 2012 74 percent of churches did not have a paid staff member updating their church’s social media pages. (Source: Buzzplant)

Takeaway: Consistent posting is crucial to social media success, but this task often falls to an unpaid volunteer (especially at smaller churches). The good news is that social media posting is easy; virtually anyone can do it. Give whoever runs your social media pages some guidance, such as these c hurch social media mistakes to avoid.

8. Fifty-four percent of Christian millennials watch online videos about faith or spirituality. A 2013 Barna survey found that more than half of Christian young people watch religious videos online. Among all U.S. millennials — Christian and non-Christian — the number was 31 percent. (Source: Barna Group)

Takeaway: Cisco predicts that by 2021, 82 percent of all consumer internet content will be video. The number of young people watching religious videos online will only increase. To take advantage of this, incorporate video into your social media plan. Here are seven church videos you can learn from, and five tips on creating professional church videos from church media expert Jeremy Poland.

9. Sixty-two percent of churches use social networking to connect with individuals outside of their congregation. While an even larger number — 73 percent according to LifeWay Research — use social media to interact with their congregation, the majority of churches with an online presence are already using social media as a growth tool. (Source: Facts & Trends)

Takeaway: Social media is a lifeline to your outside community, and one you need to use if you want your church to thrive and grow. As Efrem Smith, co-lead pastor of Bayside Church, Midtown in Sacramento, said, “To stay relevant, the church must diversify.” Use tools like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to share pictures and news with your own church members, and attract new members by promoting events (use hashtags!).

10. Sixty-five percent of Americans prefer an in-person preacher to a video sermon. About one third (35 percent) have no preference between live or video sermons, but less than 1 percent prefer a video sermon over a live sermon. (Source: LifeWay Research)

Takeaway: Don’t worry, video isn’t taking over (yet). Don’t scrap your physical location for an online-only campus, but consider live streaming your services for those who are unable to attend, traveling, or deployed. Here’s a beginner’s guide to getting your church’s livestream set up. Know your congregation; run a survey to determine your church’s needs before diving in.

Your church stats?

Have you stumbled across any interesting church technology research lately? I’d love to hear about it. Share it with me on Twitter @CapterraAC, or drop it in the comments below!

For additional insight on church outreach techniques, keep an eye on Capterra’s church management blog.

Hey Church — Here’s Why You Might Not Have Enough Volunteers

By

Mike O’Brien

-

May 24, 2018

Over the past couple of years, I’ve served 50-plus churches as a worship team trainer and guest worship leader. I’ve noticed some interesting trends in worship ministries that are healthy, growing and happy. This article has little to do with the quality of liturgy or congregational worship experience, but it’s more a peek under the administrative hood. It is not exhaustive; it’s just a list of markers I have noticed.

Here are four behaviors of thriving worship ministries:

THEY CONSISTENTLY (and uniformly) SCHEDULE THEIR VOLUNTEERS

Most churches have multiple worship leaders. If you have three worship leaders and three different ways of administering bands, you will drive your volunteers crazy. There should be one system that everyone adheres to. If possible, try to implement the SAME system across the board for all volunteers so families can serve in multiple areas of the church without confusion.

Pick a System — There are several ways to let people know when they are serving at church. Planning Center Online is the king; however, you can also look at worshipteam.com and others. You might use a mix of online tools and simple PDF attachments to email. Your system should have a way to communicate seasonally (one to four months at a time), weekly (hey, you’re on this week), and the day of service (hey, you’re on today). Provide schedules at least one month before the start of the schedule. (i.e., the January schedule is emailed November 30).
Do not avoid creating a system because one volunteer doesn’t use email or Facebook. Those people either need to yield to the agreed method or you can build a secondary system for them. Either way, there should be a system to reach everyone.
Once a healthy method for communication is in place, don’t constantly change your methodology. You will build trust with consistency, which is measured in years, not months.
Raise heck when your system is ignored or amended by well-meaning, creative people. Consistency breeds faithfulness (and more drummers).

THEY HAVE SYSTEMS FOR SONGS

Every local church is marked by the songs they sing. In this day and age, the song is the most prominent means of gospel delivery and discipleship. There is a virtual sea of thousands of worship songs for the choosing. Instead of pulling from that potential sea, great worship leaders work from a pool of songs. New songs are added with care and intentionality and are not adopted via the affections of one particular worship leader. Your pool of songs can live on a Google Doc or similar online database. It should be editable and list active, potential and retired songs.

Instead of pulling from a bottomless sea of songs, great worship leaders work from a small pool of songs.

Churches that sing the same songs over and over again have a more active engagement in worship than churches that have no congruent songs week-to-week. If worship leaders and musicians are bored to tears with songs, that means the congregation is just getting to know them. Keep in mind many people only come to church once a month!

THEY HAVE COMPELLING AND ORGANIZED ENVIRONMENTS

“Where is a sharpie?” “Are we seriously out of 9-Volts?” “My mic stand is holding on by a prayer!” The stage, backstage and soundboard areas should be clean and labeled so a variety of workers can function with ease. Growing organizations are constantly inviting new people to “play,” and there should be physical spaces that are hospitable to newbies. Your faithful volunteers too should have what they need to do what has been asked of them.

All areas (seen and unseen) should be stripped, cleaned and reorganized throughout the year. Old moldy cups of coffee and nests of cables communicate that you don’t care, and you will repel some creative personalities.

The quality of the church drum set and vocal mics will tell me all I need to know about the value of worship in any given church. Great gear attracts great servant artists.

THEY SAY “THANK YOU” IN A VARIETY OF WAYS

In the heart of every volunteer (and staff member) is the question: “Does what I do matter?” Great leaders are consistently encouraging and rewarding those that are serving on their teams. Everyone has a different language of love and you might need to ask your volunteers directly, “How can I say thank you?”

Here are the essential methods:

Public Praise (from the pulpit, from a Facebook post) — AND IT’S FREE A Written Note — ALSO FREE

A Thoughtful Gift

A Gathering (quality time and/or fun) A Speci c Word of Encouragement to each person on the team — YEP: FREE Healthy volunteer cultures are immersed with recognition, thanks and encouragement.

She Raised the Alarm. Hollywood Actually Listened This Time

By

Bob Ditmer

-

May 24, 2018

You’ve heard about the power of the pen. Here’s an example of the power of the byte.

A Hollywood movie studio is taking its already released movie “Show Dogs” back to the editing room after For Every Mom writer Jenny Rapson criticized the movie for grooming children for sex abuse.

“Max’s success is riding on whether or not he lets both his partner (for practice) and a stranger (the competition judge) touch his private parts. IN A KIDS MOVIE. WHAT??? Newsflash, folks: THIS IS CALLED GROOMING and it’s what sexual predators do to kids!”

The new PG-rated film, which stars Ludacris as the voice of a talking police dog named Max who has to infiltrate a prestigious dog show, includes a subplot that involves Max becoming comfortable with strangers touching his genitals. The scenes showed the dog didn’t like being touched but was “told to go to a ‘zen place.'”

The National Center on Sexual Exploitation, the group previously known as Morality in Media, also condemned the film.

The group’s executive director Dawn Hawkins told CNN:

“Disturbingly, these are similar tactics child abusers use when grooming children — telling them to pretend they are somewhere else, and that they will get a reward for withstanding their discomfort,” Hawkins said. “Children’s movies must be held to a higher standard, and must teach children bodily autonomy, the ability to say ‘no’ and safety, not confusing messages endorsing unwanted genital touching.”

In a statement, the film’s producers agreed to make changes to the movie that opened in theaters on May 18th.

“Global Road Entertainment has decided to remove two scenes from the film ‘Show Dogs’ that some have deemed not appropriate for children. The company takes these matters very seriously and remains committed to providing quality entertainment for the intended audiences based on the film’s rating.”

The company added: “We apologize to anybody who feels the original version of ‘Show Dogs’ sent an inappropriate message.”

“I am very surprised, and yet thrilled that Global Road Entertainment listened to the voices of concerned parents and made edits to the film,” Rapson said of the decision to make changes to the movie. “Honestly, I expected them to double down and leave the film as-is, and I greatly appreciate that they took action so quickly. I am also thankful that so many parents joined with me to use their voices to effect change for our kids.”

Meanwhile, one of film’s two credited writers, Max Botkin, denied involvement in crafting the controversial scenes, telling CNN that while the film was based on his original script, he was not part of the rewriting process, which involved 12 uncredited writers.

“I absolutely condemn any suggestion or act of non-consensual touching in any form, as well as disassociation as a coping mechanism for abuse of any kind,” he said in a statement. “I understand and empathize with the parents’ and groups’ concerns regarding the message the movie may impart.”

The revised version of the film will be available for viewing nationwide starting this weekend.

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.

1. You Haven’t Understood or Empathized With Your Audience

2. Focusing on What People Need to Know, Not on What People Want to Know

3. You Haven’t Described a Problem People Want to Solve

Making Sense of Pastoral Anxiety

Social media bringing Southern Baptist differences to light

Here are five reasons God may not be answering your prayers (this list isn’t exhaustive):

Here are six ways we have found to be successful at keeping our VBS volunteers energized:

1. Communicate Vision to VBS Volunteers

2. Give Ownership to VBS Volunteers

3. Share Wins With VBS Volunteers

4. Feed Them

5. Provide Encouragement to VBS Volunteers

6. Lead by Example

His Compassion

Reclaim Your Sight

Here are seven actions I suggest when you don’t respect the leader:

What is Your Small Group MVP?

What is your minimum viable product? Ever thought about your small group ministry that way?

My definition for minimum viable product for small group ministry

Why you need to know your minimum viable product

Here’s your assignment:

What Would Jesus Say?

1. What would Jesus say? I love you because I created you and came to save you!

1. Preach the Word.

2. Don’t be afraid to confront.

3. Evangelize, disciple and pray.

10 Powerful Church Statistics on Social Media

Your church stats?

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