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How to Pray for Syria Now

By
Bob Ditmer
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pray for Syria
Adobe Stock

Please pray for Syria. Syria’s 8-year-old civil war keeps flaring up in different regions. The latest is Eastern Ghouta, just 10 km from Damascus, the nation’s capital, trapping nearly 400,000 civilians between government forces and its allies on one side and dug-in rebel fighters on the other.  The area is of strategic importance to both sides because of its proximity to the capital.

Six days of airstrikes have killed more than 450 people, 99 of them children.  The area is being held by rebels, and there is no access in or out for medical evacuations, aid, or food deliveries. Open Doors USA calls the conditions for those trapped as “hell on earth.”

Russian warplanes are carrying out the airstrikes in support of the Syrian government.  Last Saturday, the UN Security Council, including Russia, voted in favor of a resolution calling for a 30-day ceasefire “without delay.”

Those in the region are in desperate need of help and prayers.  Open Doors is in contact with local partners in Syria and has developed 14 ways you can pray with believers in Syria. We’ve summarized their prayer points below. Please visit their site to read the more detailed version.

PRAY FOR SYRIA

  • Pray for the many women in Syria who are now on their own, especially for the elderly and the ones with children at home. Many men in the army died in the war or left the country.
  • Fighting continues. Although Syria might not be in the headlines anymore every day, the war is not over. Fighting continues in various places in the country, even very close to the capital city of Damascus and the city of Aleppo. Pray that those involved in the conflict will stop the bloodshed and will work together towards peace.
  • Elderly people in Syria are an extremely vulnerable group. Many have weak health because of their age. Their children have relocated outside the country, leaving behind their aged parents with almost no support. Thank God for the churches and local organizations who continue to help those people.
  • Pray for those who have lost everything. –“I lost everything in the war,” Father Ghassan Ward of the Greek Orthodox Church in Aleppo says.. “My bishop was kidnapped, my church and my house were ruined by rockets, and I lost my wife two years ago to cancer. I lost my two sons who had to leave the country to stay out of the army. I lost two close family members to a bomb. So you can say I am like many Syrians who also lost everything.”
  • Pray for the future livelihood of Syrian Christians. Father Sami, a Jesuit priest in Syria says: “We need to prepare the people for the future.” Pray for the efforts of Open Doors and others who are creating new opportunities for Syrians to provide for themselves.
  • Thank God for over 21,000 Syrians that were able to participate in various trainings in 2017. Most of the trainings were offered through indigenous churches Open Doors partners with. Many focus on discipleship; additionally, Syrian Christians were trained in leadership, trauma awareness and trauma care. Specific discipleship training also was offered, focusing on believers coming from a Muslim background.
  • Pray for the plans of several churches in Syria to open Centers of Hope supported by Open Doors. These centers will equip local partner churches to care for their people and serve the wider community through gospel ministry, servant leadership, biblical discipleship, job creation and trauma counseling. In 2018, we hope to have 20 of those centers (each center serving 500 to 1,000 families) spread across Syria. Pray that these places and the teaching and activities they provide will indeed bring hope to the Syrians
  • Pray with Father Sami, a church leader in Aleppo, who believes the church has an important task. “We want to create understanding between the different religious groups in the country,” he explains, adding that the church has started a clinic, distribution and educational center in Eastern Aleppo. “It is the first time the church has a presence in this Muslim environment,” he says.
  • Pray with churches in Aleppo for the return of two Christian bishops, Yohanna Ibrahim and Boulos Yazigi. April 22 will mark five years since they were kidnapped; to date, there has been no sign of their whereabouts. Join their churches who continue to pray in hope that their church leaders will return.
  • Thank God for the Christians who stayed in their country–for the priests and pastors, for the church members who made the choice to remain in Syria and to serve God in their native land. Pray that God will give them the strength to stay and that He will impart wisdom to all involved in helping the people and Church of Syria.

More than 465,000 Syrians have been killed in the fighting, over a million injured, and over 12 million, half the country’s pre-war population, have been displaced from their homes since the civil war began 8 years ago.

 

This Is What Eugene Peterson Thinks Is Wrong with the Church Today

By
Bob Ditmer
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state of the church
Screenshot YouTube @NavPress

Eugene Peterson, the creator of The Message, was also a pastor for 29 years at Christ Our King Presbyterian Church in Bel Air, Maryland. He founded the church. He has some thoughts on the state of the church today, how pastors should talk to their church members and how all of us should talk to God. He shared this perspective on a ChurchLeaders podcast.

The State of the Church Today

In many ways he is disappointed with the state of the church. His dissatisfaction began when he started his church outside of Baltimore in 1962.

In an effort to get the church off the ground he attended several seminars on church growth. He welcomed them but soon realized those leading the sessions didn’t understand what a church or pastor does.  He laments that they ended up pushing consumer driven churches. The way to grow, he was told, was to find out what people wanted and then dish it up to them.

He knew the advice was ill-informed when he was told by the seminar’s leader, “The most important thing you can to do to have a good church is to have a big parking lot.”  He told podcast host Jason Daye,  “That was the end of it for me, I just quit.”

The seminars coincided with the beginning of the megachurch years in North America and Peterson doesn’t hide his disdain for the movement saying, “the most disappointing thing was that it worked.”

“It didn’t seem to me to be like a church. I thought pastors were supposed to know their people, know their names, being in their homes and encouraging them and showing them the way of Jesus.”

Instead, Peterson says the consumer-driven churches were built almost entirely on business and consumer models.  They promised numerical and financial viability but offered not even a footnote on the nurture of souls.

Peterson says his model for building a church starts with a pastor getting to know his people and learning what they think a pastor is. He says that’s hard work but shows the pastor is invested in the lives of his people.  Peterson worries that today many enter the ministry as a means of satisfying their desire to be important and effective.  Sadly, he says they “have no idea what it means to be a pastor.”

Besides getting to know the church members, his advice to pastors is to do more listening.

A pastor is not in the business of putting things out there and have people try it out. They’re smarter than we think they are. They know something is missing but they don’t know what it is, and neither do you.  Conversation needs to be developed.  Instead of telling people what to do, ask them what they’re doing– listen and fill in the blanks. We don’t need more words, we need accurate words.

Peterson believes listening is also the key to prayer. As a pastor, he often heard people complain about prayer. He believes the problem is that we treat God like an answer man, “but we don’t know enough about God to know what to ask.”  His advice, “listen” to what God says.

He also suggests God’s people memorize the Lord’s Prayer and the Psalms.  Even though the Psalms don’t always look like prayers, they can saturate our lives with words of Scriptures and are a way for us to talk to God.

The Nine Types of Christians You Meet on Facebook

By
Stephen Altrogge
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communicating with the unchurched

Meet the nine types of Christians you meet on Facebook! See anyone you recognize?

Note: This post is NOT written at anyone in particular. It’s all in good fun. To paraphrase the song, you’re so vain you probably think this post is about you. It’s not. Please refrain from sending me angry emails.

9 Types of Christians on Facebook

Awesome Andy:

Andy wants you to know just how awesome every part of his life is. God is totally into Andy. Andy frequently likes to use the hashtag #Blessed, as in, “Just got a $10,000 raise at work! Gonna buy that jet ski! LOL #Blessed”. If things are really awesome, Andy may employ #DoubleBlessed, or the rarely seen, most heavenly of all hashtags, #Blezzed. Andy is definitely living his best life now.

Venting Vanessa:

Vanessa uses Facebook as a way to “get things off her chest”, which is somehow different from complaining. If she has a bad day at work, she will definitely let you know, usually with multiple exclamation marks!!!! And perhaps a link to a music video which makes her feel better. Her friends will commiserate with her in the comments, even though they secretly wish she would just stop complaining about her First World problems.

Overly Spiritual Owen:

Owen exclusively posts Scripture verses and John Piper quotes. If you post a picture of you enjoying a steak, he will comment, “Think of how many orphans could be fed with that steak.” If you mention that you are enjoying the new Mumford and Sons album, he will passive-aggressively correct you by posting the Scripture about being in the world but not of the world. Owen gets “unfriended” quite frequently.

Overly Opinionated Olive:

Olive has very strong opinions about every possible subject, and she will share them with you. All. The Time. She is constantly sharing incendiary articles written by rather shaky sources about vaccines, common core, paleo eating, vegan eating, paleos eating vegans, flu shots, and juice cleansing. The world is her soapbox, and she never steps off it.

Maybe Saved Mike:

Mike goes to your church. Mike says he is a Christian. Mike posts things on Facebook that make you raise your eyebrows. Like photos of him doing keg stands.

Really Right Wing Rick:

Rick somehow manages to connect every problem to the Democratic party. Was it this cold when Bush was President? Thanks Obama! Rick writes posts on his Xanga blog about how the Democrats are ushering in the rule of the Anti-Christ. Rick also owns a lot of firearms. My transmission blew out today. Never had the problem when Reagan was in office!

Quiz Quentin:

Thanks to Facebook, Quentin has discovered that she looks just like Taylor Swift, is most like the Apostle Paul, would be Wonder Woman if she were a Marvel Superhero, and is best described by the word “compassion”. Quentin really needs some affirming friends in her life.

Homeschooled Harry:

Harry isn’t on Facebook. He’s homeschooled.

Guilt Trip Gina:

Gina regularly posts photos which say, “I love Jesus. REPOST IF YOU AGREE.” This puts you in a rather difficult spot. The photo is of a super cheesy, caucasian, long, flowing hair Jesus. You have no desire to post the photo. But if you don’t post it, does that mean you don’t love Jesus? SO MUCH GUILT!

This article about the types of Christians on Facebook originally appeared here.

7 New Rules for Raising Money in the Church

By
Church Fuel
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communicating with the unchurched

When pastors and church leaders approach the subject of stewardship, they often do so from one of two perspectives.

There are churches who rarely talk about money. It may be because they fear the repercussions. Or they claim that God will provide without any action steps. But either way, money is taboo. It’s a subject to be avoided.

On the other hand, there are churches who talk about money all the time, often using guilt to motivate people to give. Heavy handed tactics become powerful weapons in the name of making the bottom line.

In the middle of either of these approaches are the people in the pews.

Maybe you wonder…

  • Are people turned off and turned away when the church talks about money?
  • Is it true millennials are no longer giving to churches and religious organizations?
  • Can you get an older congregation to embrace new giving technology?

These questions, and a lot more, are hot topics among church leaders who wrestle with the principles of biblical generosity and practical church leadership.

Raising money in the church is a complicated issue, but it’s not an issue to avoid.

In this article, I want to talk about seven stewardship principles, while encouraging you to take practical action steps to lead your church to generosity.

Rule #1: It’s OK to ask people for money. 

One of the big reasons pastors avoid the subject of money isn’t a bad reason at all. It stems from caring for people and not wanting them to step away from the church, thinking it’s all about money.

This is actually a good tension to embrace.

But most people are not surprised to learn operating a church takes money. And they are not offended by being asked to participate in something important.

It’s HOW we ask that matters.

If you want people to give, you have to ask people to give.

Not with guilt. Or with a heavy hand.

But with clarity.

Too many times in churches, we make people aware there is an offering. But we don’t clearly ask them to participate at some level.

In this way, awareness becomes the enemy of action.

Awareness: “We’re about to receive an offering.”

Action: “We’re going to pass the offering and I would like to invite you to participate.”

If God has called you to lead a church and if your church is doing eternally significant work, you don’t have to apologize for talking about money or asking people to fund the vision.

Five Questions for Storytellers to Connect With the Bible Story

By
Dan Scott
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communicating with the unchurched

Ever have a storyteller who has great storytelling skills, yet can’t seem to connect with the audience?

This happens on the TV show The Voice. A singer can execute a technically perfect performance and have zero judges turn around for them. The judges often inform these vocalists that they failed to connect with the song and convey that to the audience.

The same goes for your storytellers. Ideally, they will have excellent storytelling skills and connect relationally with the kids But of the two, the ability to connect is more important. A flawless Bible story isn’t what connects kids to the message; it’s a kid’s relationship with the storyteller.

The most important thing a storyteller can do is be authentic with how their own story connects to the Bible story. This authenticity allows them to become more vulnerable with how they share the Bible story and connect with their audience. And it’s through that vulnerability that kids will pay closer attention, knowing they can trust that what the storyteller is sharing is true.

To help storytellers make this important connection I suggest they practice immersing themselves in the Bible story.

Here are five questions a storyteller can ask as they immerse themselves in the story and make it their own:

What do you learn about God/Jesus through this story?

The story, Proverb, Psalm or principle you are sharing was placed in Scripture for a reason. What does God want the church to learn about Himself through the passage? Now make it personal. When you read the Bible, you bring everything you’ve experienced up until that point in your life. Figure out what is God wanting to teach you. Just because you’ve read the David and Goliath story dozens of times already doesn’t mean you have nothing left to learn. You are a different person each time you read a passage of Scripture because your personal story develops over time and so do you. Allow yourself to read these stories like you’re reading them for the very first time.

Of the characters in the story, who do you connect with most? Why?

Don’t just think about the main characters. Picture yourself as a bystander listening to Jesus teach or watching Him heal. You might see yourself as the one being rescued from Egypt and walking across the Red Sea on dry ground more than Moses leading the people. The more you can place yourself in the Bible story, the easier it will be for you to connect with the message God is telling through the story.

How does this story intersect with your life now or in the past?

It could be that the story doesn’t connect with you at this moment. Think back to a time when it did or how it might in the future. Or think about your friends and family. How have you seen something similar in their lives? How did they respond? What did they learn from the experience?

If someone was using this story in a sermon, what would you want them to say?

Try and think objectively about the Bible story as if someone was telling it to you. What would they emphasise if you were the one needing to hear that message? What can you learn from the Bottom Line of the Bible story? How can you personally live differently as a result of hearing it?

How can you use that to inform how you’ll communicate this story to kids?

Be careful not to share too much of your own story. These are kids, and not all details are appropriate for them. However, you can use how this story intersects your life—when appropriate—to speak to them. What parts of the story get you excited or scared or make you feel loved or forgiven? Whatever it is, use those emotions as the motivation for how you tell those parts of the Bible story.

The Bible is the primary way we encounter God. We have a responsibility to share those stories with care and excellence, but also with honesty and authenticity. We get to bring these stories to life by how we communicate. And that communication starts with connecting our story to God’s.

To help make this easier on your storytellers, I’ve created a simple worksheet with these questions. Fill out the form below with your Name and Email Address to download it.

This article originally appeared here.

4 Reasons the Potential of the Church Is Stronger Than Ever

By
Dan Reiland
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communicating with the unchurched

Attendance is one of the most talked about subjects in the church today.

What do changing attendance patterns mean? Where is the church headed? What’s the best Kingdom strategy?

Is the church in trouble? No. Not if we are willing to continue to change. In fact, I genuinely believe our best days are ahead.

However, the changes we make should not be reactionary. Defense alone never wins the game. We must take risks to stay on the offense to take new territory.

We may become less concerned with the size of the church and become more focused on the strength of the church.

That idea has been stirring for a long time. Strength leads to growth. A refocus on church strength rather than attendance only would change how we lead and what we do.

Don’t get me wrong; we will always care about attendance because it matters. And church leaders are beginning to measure outcomes differently. Measuring different outcomes leads us to emphasize different ministries in different ways.

The reason I will always care about attendance is that I want to reach more people with the good news of Christ in a way that changes their life! My hunch is that you feel the same way.

We need small, mid-sized, large and huge churches.

One method doesn’t work if our goal is to reach all peoples.

Reach and impact are more important than size, but we can never let that become an excuse for lack of zeal or drifting into a comfort zone. Life change has always been the true measure.

The church is changing, but its potential is greater than ever.

How we think and lead will impact our outcomes.

4 reasons the church has great potential:

1) It’s never been about the organization.

It’s always been about the body of Christ, not an organization. However, the church as we know it was God’s idea. God allowed the supernatural realm to invade the natural realm. He knew that was necessary to reach people where they are.

God allowed us to “organize” so we could worship Him, care for one another and reach others who don’t believe.

The church as an organization is flawed. We can neither escape or excuse that. We are to embrace it and make it better. The churches in Ephesus, Corinth, Galatia, Thessalonica, and so many more, were all flawed. That didn’t stop the early church.

We get to get up every morning and lead change in order for the church to become more effective.

How is your church changing and improving because of your leadership?

2) Digital is here to stay, but it will never replace soul-level relationship.

We are learning. Churches are getting better at digital-first connections. We’re catching up. Couples have found each other and become married starting with a digital connection for nearly 20 years. Technology also helps us stay connected.

Digital is the new relationship—a new kind of relational. But at some point, in relationships, human beings are designed to make contact.

Technology may help us get connected and stay connected, but there is a space in relationship where human beings need a soul connection. The local church is really good at that.

Technology has its limitations too. Who knew that software development and equipment could cost as much as the buildings we worship in? Millions! There will be a day when we need a better answer even within our better answers.

The good news is that you can still get a cup of coffee for a buck and there is something deeply meaningful about face to face conversation.

The church does that well.

3) Current culture needs real answers more than ever.

There is no need for detailed social commentary here. It’s obvious. We’ve lost our way. That’s not remotely a political rendering; it’s just reality. We’ve lost a shared connection, a unifying cause and a true north.

Every person for himself never works. People are hurting, some quietly and some overtly, and the overall needs are great. We need each other now more than ever.

The opportunities for practical partnership are abundant. Your church can partner with schools, food co-ops, medical clinics, recovery agencies, shelters for the homeless, businesses and the list goes on.

No one church can or needs to partner with all of them; you can choose a few or just one. Your attendance might not immediately increase, but your impact will, which will strengthen your church and in time cause growth.

And as always, the most significant and potentially eternal impact is one to one.

The church is the greatest force on earth to positively impact current culture. In what ways are you taking advantage of your opportunities to impact your community?

4) There is great momentum in the church today.

When we look at the Christian church worldwide, there is great momentum. We know this in part because there is resistance. Wherever there is progress, there will always be resistance.

That’s a great question for your church. Where is your resistance? Is it about taking new Kingdom territory or conflicts inside?

People turn to the church when they are hurting, and they can’t find answers anywhere else.

It’s up to us to not only be ready, relevant and available to help meet needs but also to step outside our churches to find those who need the love of God.

Momentum requires leadership, but our expression of God’s love is the foundation of the church.

This is what we were designed for and releases our great potential.

This article originally appeared here.

5 Hard Truths About Healthy Church Growth

By
Carey Nieuwhof
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communicating with the unchurched

Most church leaders I know would love to be growing healthy churches.

Similarly, most leaders I’ve met want their church to grow for what we might call the ‘right’ reasons: They sincerely want more people to encounter the love of Jesus Christ.

That’s amazing.

We All Want Growing Healthy Churches…Right?

And yet there’s a strong reaction against growing churches by many leaders.

For some reason, many people love to take pot-shots at growing churches and large churches.

Some are categorical denouncements.

I don’t know what to do with those. Sometimes I sense that underneath the anger are jealousy and resentment on the part of leaders whose churches aren’t growing.

Conversely, I also know many church leaders of small and even stuck or declining churches who don’t define themselves by attacking other churches that are growing. There’s a beauty and a grace in that kind of security. Someone else’s success should never make you feel like a failure.

Other times, I sense the critics are those who have been hurt by an unhealthy growing church. I have a lot of empathy for that. Read on below.

Inevitably, someone in the discussion will say what we need are not growing churches, but healthy churches.

Agreed.

But in the midst of it all is a polarized and often unhealthy conversation about church growth.

So here’s my bias: When you see baptism after baptism and hear life-change story after life-change story, it’s hard to be against church growth. Why would you stand against the expanding mission of the local church?

4 Keys to Doing BIG Ministry in a SMALL Church

By
Todd Jones
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communicating with the unchurched

Youth ministry in a small church can sometimes feel like an uphill battle. You want to build something awesome and grow the ministry, but the environment isn’t always the best to make that happen. A small (or nonexistent) budget, limited space, no one to volunteer, not many students in the church, not a lot of visitors, are just some of the many obstacles that smaller church youth ministries face. But being in a small church does NOT mean that you cannot do big ministry!

My first full-time position was a church of about 100, or that’s what we said. But to be honest there were probably about 75 on a Sunday, including the five in the youth ministry when I got there. I experienced firsthand the struggles and obstacles facing small church youth ministries. But I also learned a lot about doing youth ministry in a small church, and how not to be stuck in a small youth ministry just because it was a small church. Check out these four keys to doing BIG ministry in a SMALL church…

  1. Don’t let the size of the church determine the size of your ministry

When I was hired at my first full-time position I had a choice to make. My choice was either accept the fact that I was in a small church so I would have a small youth ministry, or decide that just because the church was small didn’t mean that the youth ministry had to be as well. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but I determined that the size of our church would not set the size of the youth ministry.

We are the biggest limiter of what we can do. Change your mindset to something bigger and better, push the limits of what you can do. Of course, everyone says they want their ministry to grow, but don’t just say it, actually believe it! Believe it enough to do what it takes and make it happen.

2. Go outside your walls

If you desire to see your ministry grow, it is essential that you go outside of just the students in your church. If it is a small church, chances are there is a small population of students, which means that if you want it to be bigger than what the church has to offer you then you need to go outside your walls.

Stop doing ministry for the students in the church and start doing ministry for those outside of the church. Be outwardly focused, do events for those students that have not yet come to your ministry. Go on school campuses, go where students are, get outside of your walls to reach students.

(NOTE: The same thing may apply for volunteers as well. If there are no good choices at the church you may have to recruit outside the church. My first volunteer was an awesome guy that I met while surfing and recruited him to serve in the youth ministry!)

3. Be creative!

Chances are you do not have a very large budget or may not even have one at all, so be innovative and creative! Come up with creative ways to do things to reach students. Obviously creativity is needed across the board in youth ministry, but I had to rely WAY more on creativity at my first church of 75 people than I did at my next church with a budget of $25,000. And to be honest, it was more fun and sometimes even better quality at the small church. Be creative!

4. Change the culture

You have to be the one to set the culture. A culture of inviting, one where everyone cannot wait to bring their friends and everyone they meet, is a new potential invite. Talk about it, preach on it and encourage it often. Make your ministry outwardly focused, think more about the students outside of your church and focus on reaching them for Christ!

Set the standard of excellence in your ministry and do things well. Break the mold and change the culture of your ministry!

The journey is not an easy one, but that is why God chose you! Don’t get penned into a stereotype of youth ministry because you are in a small church. I have been there, and trust me, if you don’t let the size of your church limit you, before you know it you will have a youth ministry that is challenging the church’s attendance!

This article originally appeared here.

7 Ways Pastors Can Help Shepherd Children

By
Chuck Lawless
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communicating with the unchurched

We who serve as pastors often think about ministering to adults, but we don’t spend enough time thinking about how we can minister to the children in our congregation. Pastors, consider these possibilities:

  1. Learn their names. Calling them “brother” and “sister” when we don’t know their names simply won’t work with children. Respect them enough to call them by name, and you’ll gain some friends.
  2. Get to eye level when talking with them. If we want them to look up to us, let it be because they respect us—not because they literally have to look up to get our attention. Get down on one knee, and look children in the eye.
  3. Spend time with them outside the pulpit. Stop by their children’s church or Sunday school classes. Walk the children’s department hallway prior to the service (paying attention to security rules, of course). Hang out with the kids during a churchwide fellowship. Go to the annual children’s camp. These children will listen better to your preaching if they know you personally.
  4. Pray for them by name. Some children in your church probably have no one consistently praying for them, including their parents. So, you might be the only adult interceding for some children in your church.
  5. Invite them into your sermons by using illustrations that capture their attention. Intentionally draw them in first with simple statements like, “Kids, I really want you to listen to this story.” To be honest, an illustration that grabs the children will grab the adults as well.
  6. Hang out at their sporting events. I know that’s a time commitment, but kids and parents alike are excited when their pastor comes to watch a game. Plus, few things are as fun as watching a t-ball game…
  7. Train their parents well. Too often, our parental training is reactive as we try to help parents who are facing tough issues—rather than proactive as we help train them to love and lead their children. If we’re only responding to concerns, though, we’re not leading well.

Pastors and parents, what would you add to this list?

This article originally appeared here.

Where Are You Taking Your Team?

By
Danny Franks
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communicating with the unchurched

As I type, I’m away from home at a conference. In a couple of days my wife is going to join me for a quick getaway in a city we both love.

Because of my conference schedule, I’m not able to meet Merriem at the airport. She’s going to have to fly in, take a shuttle to an offsite car rental location, rent the car, drive across the city through multiple toll stations, and meet me at the hotel.

You should know that my wife is a seasoned traveler. She’s dealt with rerouted flights and unexpected cities on mission trips around the globe…and I wasn’t anywhere close by. I’m not worried one little bit about her ability to pull off all of the steps above without breaking a sweat.

But she is.

We’ve had a few conversations around this great unknown that’s coming up. Most of them have ended with something that sounded a little bit like “If I get kidnapped and have to live with gypsies I’ll never forgive you.” I think she’s joking. Maybe.

So in an effort to maintain marital harmony, I tried to map the route for her.

When I arrived at the airport this morning, I snapped photos as I was getting off the plane. I took note of exactly which terminal she needed to go to, exactly which elevator she needed to take, and exactly which shuttle bus she’d need to get on in order to go to the rental car place. And with all that info in hand, I put together a multi-page document—complete with photos—so that she has step-by-step, turn-by-turn directions to get her from the airport to the hotel with nary a scratch.

(Don’t put me up for Husband of the Year status just yet…let’s make sure that aforementioned kidnapping-via-gypsies doesn’t happen.)

Let me repeat myself: I didn’t do that because I don’t think she’s capable (she is). I did it because she’s unsure of the destination. It was easy enough for me to go ahead of her, snap a few pictures and jot a few notes along with snarky husband commentary. Giving her an eyes-on-the-ground perspective reorients her perspective so she knows where she’s going.

Now, that’s easy enough in a marriage, when everything lines up just right and we’re taking the same route two days apart. It’s not always easy in leadership, when you need to inspire your team to get to a destination you haven’t been to yourself. So how do you nudge people into a still-unknown-to-you place? I think there are at least three simple ways:

  • Lead with vision. Even if you’re not sure of the exact destination, you can paint a compelling picture. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said, If you wish to build a ship, do not divide the men into teams and send them to the forest to cut wood. Instead, teach them to long for the vast and endless sea.
  • Lead with collaboration. I didn’t say consensus. Great visions don’t always come with everyone being 100 percent on board. But do collaborate with your fellow travelers. Seek input and counsel.
  • Lead with humility. Be prepared for course corrections. Be willing to admit that you may have misjudged some of the finer points of the journey. That doesn’t mean you cave every time someone disagrees, but it does mean you take a posture of listening.

How do you lead when you don’t know the final destination? Comment below.

This article originally appeared here.

Mentoring vs. Counseling: What’s the Difference?

By
Brad Hambrick
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communicating with the unchurched

“What is the difference between counseling and mentoring?” This was an excellent question posed to me recently that I thought merited a more thorough examination.

First, let’s start with a few things that are not the defining mark of what is different in these two types of relationships.

  • Topic of Conversation: You can’t make a list of subjects that should be “mentored” and a separate list of subjects that should be “counseled.” Any life struggle that could benefit from counseling could also benefit from a mentor (if a good fit can be found).
  • Quality of Impact: It is not that mentors are more effective than counselors, or vice versa. Either mentoring or counseling can be very effective (or non-effective).

Second, what are some important differences?

  • Type of Relationship: Mentoring is an informal relationship. Counseling is a formal relationship. You meet with a mentor in a variety of settings (i.e., meals, phone calls, planned meetings). Sometimes there is an agenda (i.e., goal to set or problem to solve), while other times you meet just as friends. You meet with a counselor by appointment, in an office, to discuss the next phase of accomplishing a particular goal(s).
  • Duration of Relationship: Mentoring is intended to be a long-term relationship. Counseling is intended to be a short-term relationship. You select a mentor because you value their character and want their perspective on a variety of life challenges (both small and large). You select a counselor because they have a background in a particular area of life struggle. This difference accounts for the varying duration of the two relationships.
  • Focus of Relationship: Mentoring tends to be more holistic. Counseling tends to be more problem-focused. Due to the duration of the relationship, mentoring tends to focus on character formation represented in the challenges and choices discussed.
  • Basis of Advice: You value the advice of a mentor because of their character. You know them personally and, therefore, admire how they care for their family or manage their professional-personal life balance. You value the advice of a counselor because of their training and the number of individuals in similar situations with whom they have worked.
  • Cost: Counseling, in most settings, requires some form of compensation because it is the vocation of the counselor. Mentoring, as an informal relationship, is free.
  • Ease of Access: You can get a referral to a counselor. It is harder to find a mentor. This may be the biggest reason why people elect to pursue counseling over a mentor. If you wait until a crisis hits, it will feel impractical to try to identify a good mentor. Finding a mentor tends to be either preventative care (before a crisis) or after-care (solidifying progress and preventing new crises).

Third, how would someone find a mentor and create a good mentoring relationship?

  • Socialize Cross-Generationally: Peers that you respect can be excellent accountability partners and encouragers. But mentors are not usually from your same generation. Find settings in your church where you can serve alongside older believers. Mentoring also requires that two people “click” as friends if the relationship is going to endure—essential to benefits of mentoring.
  • Define the Relationship: Once you’ve found an older believer, respect their character and “click” with a friends, ask them to be your mentor. Tell them you value their experience and friendship, and that you would like to commit to meeting regularly if they would be willing. Mentoring rarely happens by accident.
  • Be Intentional About Growth Goals: If mentoring is going to be more than having an older friend (it should not be less than this), then you are going to need goals. What are the challenges you commonly face? What does the next season of life hold that you are uncertain how to handle? What areas of your faith are weak? What roles are you in that you want to fill with greater excellence?
  • Supplement Mentoring With Educational Material: Your mentor doesn’t have to be an expert in all of these areas. When your mentor doesn’t feel proficient in an area you want to grow, find a good resource to study together. Your mentor knows you, and you value their character. These are immense assets in discerning how to make good application of even the best resources.
  • Be Consistent: The value of a mentoring relationship exponentially grows the longer the relationship lasts. Even if you don’t have “a reason” to meet, continue to get together. There should always be an answer to the question, “Where do I want (or need) to grow next?”
  • Don’t Lose the Friendship: If mentoring becomes too purposeful, it can begin to feel negative. This is one of the problems with counseling—the conversation always focuses on a problem. Stay invested and interested in one another’s lives as friends. Take time to share memories, stories and interests that are meaningful simply because of the shared relationship.

I hope this post helped you understand how mentoring differs from counseling and how to form a good mentoring relationship.

If this post was beneficial for you, then consider reading other blogs from my “Favorite Posts on the Church and Counseling” post which address other facets of this subject.

This article originally appeared here.

Isaiah’s Signature and Significance Found in Jerusalem

By
Bob Ditmer
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communicating with the unchurched

Archaeologists believe they have found evidence of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah. Not that there was much doubt he lived—after all, we have a 66-chapter book in the Bible with his name on it—but the discovery sheds light on his significance in eighth-century BCE Jerusalem society.

Archaeologist Eilat Mazar believes she has found Isaiah’s signature on a small piece of clay. The signature would have come from an impression left by a seal and reads, “Isaiah the prophet.” The evidence is small, just 0.4 inches long, and was unearthed as part of excavations of a previously undisturbed pile of debris at the Ophel excavation in Jerusalem.

The dig, headed by Mazar, uncovered figurines, pottery fragments, pieces of ivory and some clay seal impressions, known as bullae. These impressions were created when the owners of the seals stamped their seals into the soft clay and include the mark of King Hezekiah.

The discovery bolsters the Bible’s depiction of Isaiah’s significance. Not everyone who had a seal was of elevated high status (as they were a means of solidifying identity), but the Bible describes Isaiah as a counselor of the king to whom the monarch would turn for advice. The discovery of his seal impressions in close proximity to that of King Hezekiah confirms the picture of a court prophet that we get from the Bible. “We found the eighth-century B.C.E. seal mark that may have been made by the prophet Isaiah himself only 10 feet away from where we earlier discovered the highly-publicized bulla of King Hezekiah of Judah,” Dr. Mazar of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, said in a statement.

The fantastic discovery of the possible Isaiah seal impression brings to life some of the biblical narratives of Jerusalem’s First Temple period. The Bible records in 2 Kings 18–19 that King Hezekiah trusted the prophet Isaiah’s counsel to protect Jerusalem from the Assyrian siege. It was Isaiah who encouraged the King to fight the Assyrians who had attacked Jerusalem in 701 BC, rather than allow them to surrender. Isaiah promised that God would not let Jerusalem be captured. No other figure was closer to Hezekiah, who reigned from about 727 to 698 BCE, than the prophet Isaiah. In an article in Biblical Archaeological Review, Dr. Mazar writes, “The names of King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah are mentioned in one breath 14 of the 29 times the name of Isaiah is recalled (2 Kings 19–20; Isaiah 37–39).

The half-inch wide oval-shaped piece of clay is inscribed with the name Yesha’yah[u] (Isaiah) in ancient Hebrew script. This is followed by the word nvy, the end of which is slightly damaged. As a result, experts do not know whether the word ended with the Hebrew letter aleph. That letter “would have resulted in the Hebrew word for ‘prophet’ and would have definitively identified the seal as the signature of the prophet Isaiah,” explained Dr. Mazar. “The absence of this final letter, however, requires that we leave open the possibility that it could just be the name Navi.”

“The name of Isaiah, however, is clear,” she added.

Could Displaying ‘In God We Trust’ in Schools Make a Difference?

By
Megan Briggs
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communicating with the unchurched

On Wednesday, February 21, 2018, Florida’s House of Representatives passed HB 839, a measure to display the words “In God We Trust” “in a conspicuous place” in schools across the state. The bill passed as students and activists calling for stricter gun control rallied outside the chamber building.

HB 839 was sponsored by Rep. Kimberly Daniels, a Democrat from Jacksonville and a ministry leader. The phrase “In God We Trust” is the nation’s motto as well as the state of Florida’s motto.

Before the sweeping 97-10 vote in favor of passing the bill, Rep. Daniels addressed her peers and explained her reasoning behind it.

“What would happen if we remove God from our public forums and things we do every day?” Daniels started. When we do this, she says, “we remove hope. Few would disagree with me that God is positive. He’s not a Republican and he’s not a Democratic. He’s not black and he’s not white.”

Daniels was not deaf to the activists outside the chamber, either. She said, “It is not a secret that we have some gun issues that need to be addressed. But the real thing that needs to be addressed are issues of the heart.”

She conceded she believes assault weapons “in the hands of young people” are “deadly.” However, “What’s more deadly—and we have to get to the heart of things—are video games, that children watch all the time… They literally become virtually trained to be assassins.” Daniels agrees we need to “deal with the gun issues,” but she also feels getting to the heart of the matter would be to also “deal with the things our children are continuing to watch every day.”

Daniels visited a prison the day before and shared an insight with the House. Walking up to the gate, she saw the phrase “In God We Trust.” “Does a child have to wait until they get to prison to see ‘In God We Trust’?” she asked. Further, she noticed these same state prisons have chaplains to serve the spiritual needs of the inmates, yet our schools don’t have similar things in place for students.

Daniels also got personal with her fellow representatives, arguing that if they rely on the support of the church to get elected, they cannot then take God out of the equation once they get to the legislative floor and attempt to represent the people who elected them.

“We cannot put God in a closet when the problems that we’re having are bigger than us,” Daniels said, commenting on the sheer complexity of the gun control debate the nation is currently embroiled in.

Finally, Daniels shared a vision she experienced in which she believes God spoke and said, “Do not politicize what has happened in Florida. And do not make this a thing of division. This is a time for the Republicans and this is a time for the Democrats to meet because there is an issue.”

However well-intentioned Daniels’ bill may be, some are not happy. A lot of criticism has been levied at the sentiment of “thoughts and prayers” for those affected by the shooting.

Student Emma Gonzalez said at a rally on Saturday, February 17, 2018, “If all our government and President can do is send thoughts and prayers, then it’s time for victims to be the change that we need to see.”

Rep. Daniels is also getting called out on social media for pushing this bill instead of doing something more tangible like pushing for stricter gun control measures.

As believers, we know that faith without works is dead, which is why we can’t stop at prayer. We need to move on the convictions God gives us in prayer. And, more than anything, we need to humbly admit, as Rep. Daniels suggested, that the problems we face are too complex for us to face on our own. We need God’s help.

So far only Florida’s House of Representatives has voted on HB 839. In order to pass into law, it must also pass in the Senate. If the law passes, it will come into effect July 1, 2018.

5 Ways Crappy Internal Church Communications Can Slow Down Your Church’s Growth

By
Rich Birch
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communicating with the unchurched

“The art of communication is the language of leadership.”

– James Humes

How can I make this clear? If your church is crappy at communicating, you won’t grow! In fact, communication is at the core of how your church will (or will not) grow.

The art and science of ensuring that the right message gets to the right people at the right time is at the core of seeing your church impact more people. You can’t just “wing” this aspect of your leadership; in fact, communication is your leadership. It’s core to what you “do” in the church.

Here are 5 ways that poor communication might be holding back your church …

Fuzzy Focus Leads to Vision Drift

“You or I could deliver a mind-blowing, God-honoring, pulse-quickening vision talk on Sunday that leaves everyone revved up to go change the world, but by Tuesday, many people have forgotten they were even in church the previous weekend. Unbelievable, huh? Vision leaks.”

– Bill Hybels, Founding Pastor, Willow Creek Community Church

Over time if your church doesn’t consistently keep its vision in front of people, the reason for your existence will become fuzzy. If your people aren’t clear why your church exists they will just fill in the “vision blanks” and assume the church is about them. The church is the only organization in the world whose total existence is for the people outside of it! If you don’t remind the people time and again that the reason your church exists is to reach out to other people with the timeless message of Jesus, the church will drift into ineffectiveness.

4 Signs Vision is Leaking at Your Church

Below are some sure signs that vision is leaking at your church. Do you see one of these happening at your church? If yes, then you would need to clarify the church’s vision to the people. If you’re experiencing all four of these, it’s time to articulate the vision in a massive and repeated way at your church!

  • Petty Infighting // Are people worried about the color of the carpet at your church? (Or some other really petty stuff?) We tend to make mountains out of molehills when it’s not clear what we’re called to as a church.
  • Everyone Agrees With You // I once had a mentor who told me that if 10% of the church isn’t upset with something you’re doing, you’re probably not taking new ground. I think that sentiment is accurate!
  • It Seems Boring // We are engaged in a massive human drama, the outcome of which is literally global in scale. If you’re not picking up on some of that excitement, then vision is leaking.
  • Fiefdoms & Sideways Energy // Are there leaders in your community that seem to divert people to a vision that is not quite aligned? Are there aspects of your ministry that are pulling away from the overall direction of the church?

Fewer Volunteers = Fewer Inviters

The more people that volunteer at your church, the larger your church will grow. A growth in volunteer engagement seems to precede attendance growth. This makes sense because the level of vision casting that is required to move someone from not volunteering to being a fully engaged member of the team means that those people are brought in. A natural outflow of being totally sold out on what’s happening at a church is to tell your friends about it. Prevailing churches are attempting to grow the percentage of people serving in part to see more people reaching out to their friends and family about being a part of the church.

The ⅓ Rule of Church Health

How many people attend your church? How many individual people do you have serving in the teams at your church? If you aren’t seeing 33% of your people volunteering at your church, then you’re missing out on something and are probably not growing. Prevailing churches look for ways to grow this percentage because they know that the more people they get to serve on teams, the more those people will “remark” about their church, and, in turn, the more “remarkable” the church will become. Use this rule of thumb to gauge how your church is doing. If your church has less than ⅓ of your people serving then you need to grow your service teams! If you are privileged to have more than that number, see how much past the ⅓ mark in volunteers that you can grow as a precursor to growth.

Unclear Communications Means Lower Financial Resources

The late (and great) Howard Hendricks once asked his seminary class “How much ministry does $100 buy?” He paused, and his class considered the question. He went on to answer “About $100 worth!” As church leaders, we need to be thinking about the funding of the mission that God has called us to lead. If you have unclear communication around the funding of the mission of your church, it is bound to suffer financially. When churches begin to struggle financially they take fewer risks and in turn don’t impact as many people. If your church isn’t fully funded, it probably means that you are lacking some basic communication around generosity and giving.

6 Generosity Systems Your Church Needs to be Fully Funded

These 6 “systems” are the starting point of what your church needs to see so that your mission is fully funded. Start with these and you’ll see your financial picture turning around.

  • Thanking & Acknowledging // Beyond just the annual tax receipt statement you need to generate to keep your charitable status, in what ways are you communicating with your donors to thank them for giving to the mission of your church?
  • For Not From // Your church needs a regular and systematic way to help people win with their finances. You’re not trying to get something “from” your people but instead, you want something “for” them. Check out Joe Sangl’s Financial Learning Experience and implement it in your church.
  • Offering Talks // The two minutes before your offering are vitally important to connect the vision of the church to people’s giving and to what God is doing in your church. Leverage this vitally important time every time you receive the offering.
  • Digital Giving // Moving people to give online and, in particular, to automated regular giving builds a financial foundation that helps to drive the church in the future.
  • Year End Strategy // A disproportionate amount of charitable giving is done during the last 45 days of the year. (In fact, 10% of all the giving is done in the last 48 hours!) Your church needs a clear plan for communicating during this important time of the year!
  • Core Donor Connections // There are people in your church who have the gift of giving. As with any other gift, you need to help people grow in using this gift too. Building a strategy around cultivating these relationships will fuel the ministry of the church.

 

Botched “New Here” Guest Process Misses Opportunities

Growing churches are “guest obsessed”. They go out of their way to ensure that when guests arrive they are doing everything they can to see those guests get plugged in. They spend a lot of time, effort, and energy crafting their “new here” process to move anonymous guests closer to the community. Most churches don’t have the problem of “not enough guests”; the problem they face is in getting those guests to stick and stay. When this process is muddy and unclear it hinders your growth in a few ways:

  • If guests are unclear on what their “next steps” are they are less likely to return.
  • People who are newer to your church are among the most avid “inviters”, and so, if you are leaving guests unconnected you are missing out on them inviting friends.

5 Resources to Help You Connect with Your Guests

No Clear Calls to Action Means Lack of Traction

Growing churches don’t shy away from making “calls to action” of their people. They ensure that people know the action that the leadership is hoping the people will take. What they expect the people to do next in order to grow in their relationship with God is not fuzzy or unclear. Growing churches don’t bombard their people with a lot of tasks, instead, they narrow down the focus to a small number of items designed to maximize the people’s engagement with the church. They use crisp and clear language to ensure people are crystal clear about what the church is looking for.

3 Principles of Clear Calls to Action for Church Communications

  • Time Sensitive // Use scarcity to communicate that people need to respond quickly.
  • Fewer Words // Use just as many words that are required to ask for the action; no more.
  • Remove Friction // Ask yourself, how can we make this even easier for people to respond? (Keep asking the question again … and again … and again.)

Help for Using Your Church’s Internal Communication to Grow

Are you ready to see your church impact more people than it has ever done before? Are you tired of church leadership books that are long on theory but short on practical help? Have you wanted to reach more people in your community but weren’t sure where to start? Are you worried that your church isn’t reaching its full potential? “Church Growth Flywheel: 5 Practical Systems To Drive Growth at Your Church” is full of practical insights to help your church reach more people, starting today!

This book wouldn’t be complete without a discussion of how the church “talks to itself”, so, I included a discussion on the connection between internal communication and the church’s growth. I attempted to boil down what I learned from leading in one of the fastest growing churches in the country and also from the over 200 interviews I’ve conducted with prevailing church leaders from across the country. In this section, we:

  • Consider the 3 types of people we’re trying to cultivate within our church to help us reach more people.
  • Outline the 5 steps your church needs to take for using communication to help “close the backdoor” and see your guests stick and stay.
  • Talk through how to leverage the 5 minutes you have every week during your church announcement time to help in the growth of the church.
  • Provide a list of quick action steps you can put into play right away to help with the church communications.

The book launches on February 13, 2018. However, you can read Chapter 1 now by visiting ChurchGrowthFlywheel.com and joining the interest list. You’ll get front-of-the-line access about the launch and a few other freebies along the way.

This article originally appeared here.

Don’t Be a Fundamentalist (Calvinist or Otherwise)

By
J.D. Greear
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fundamentalist christian
Lightstock #649562

Heresy can be what you believe, but perhaps just as often, heresy is the weight you give an issue you believe. If you give a certain issue too much weight, you will become a fundamentalist Christian. “Fundamentalism” might be understood, in part, as too much weight given to certain aspects of Christian doctrine or practice (the word fundamentalism, historically, doesn’t mean that, but in common parlance that is how it might be understood).

Don’t Be a Fundamentalist Christian

Some people give such enormous weight to minor issues that the gospel itself is obscured.

Calvinism is one such issue where person can be prone to being a fundamentalist Christian.

We only have so much “bandwidth” as a church, so I choose rather to be known for the gospel than for a tough stance on particulars of Calvinism that are less important than the heart of the message.

So at The Summit Church, I often say, “Calvinism is not an issue to me until it becomes one to you. But when it becomes one to you, it becomes one to me…and I’ll probably take whatever side you are not.” What someone believes about the finer points of Calvinism is not usually the issue; it’s how they believe it. We may have trouble achieving absolute clarity together on every one of the “five points,” but we can be absolutely clear on the fact that the Bible condemns a divisive and uncharitable spirit over something about which gospel-loving Christians have historically had trouble finding complete agreement.

In Martin Luther’s preface to his Commentary to the Romans, he pointed out that God unfolded the doctrines of election in Romans 9, not Romans 1. Luther says that the doctrine of election was intended to explain why Romans 1–8 worked like they did, not function as the only gateway for believing the gospel of Romans 1–8. Many Calvinists have, practically speaking, moved the doctrine of election from Romans 9 to Romans 1, making it the only door through which you can really believe the gospel.

Don’t hear me encouraging some kind of doctrinal reductionism. We should think deeply about election, as with all great biblical truths, and form deep convictions about it. Everything in the Bible is important, especially things that relate to salvation and evangelism. I have my own convictions. But we must learn to be comfortable with certain scriptural tensions, and live with grace and freedom in some places God has not bestowed clarity to the degree we’d prefer. As Alister McGrath says, the ability to live within scriptural tensions is a sign of maturity, not immaturity.

Supposedly Deuteronomy 29:29 was John Calvin’s favorite verse:

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of the law.

According to that verse, God has chosen to keep certain truths hidden from us. Most systematic theologians (myself included) don’t like the concept of “hidden things.” As a guy who minored in math in college, I want to resolve all tensions, remove all mysteries and try to bring every hidden thing to light. Moses prophesies our failure, and tells us sometimes we need to rest content with the revelation we have, going no farther than God has gone, which can mean pulling back from putting as fine a point on something—particularly as it relates to setting boundaries for fellowship—as we might typically like.

Systems, Part 9: Don’t Give to the Poor

By
Ethan Renoe
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communicating with the unchurched

I was in Australia when I first discovered the writing of Shane Claiborne, a Christian writer, activist and member of a group called the New Monastics. Someone had left a copy of his book The Irresistible Revolution on the toilet, so over the course of a couple weeks, I had finished it across daily visits to the throne. If you were to summarize Claiborne’s writings, mirrored and upheld by his own lifestyle, in one word, it would be along the lines of ‘radical.’

In short, Claiborne lived and studied under Mother Teresa (yes, that Mother Teresa) and worked in several other impoverished countries around the world after receiving his degrees from Wheaton College and Eastern University. He moved to Philadelphia a number of years ago where he founded The Simple Way, an intentional living community for people living in poverty.

Shane is a dude who practices what he preaches.

So if I were to summarize The Irresistible Revolution in one sentence, it would be, Live as Jesus lived and do what He did, literally.

But that’s a lot easier said than done, as highlighted by passages like this from Revolution:

“I asked participants who claimed to be “strong followers of Jesus” whether Jesus spent time with the poor. Nearly 80 percent said yes. Later in the survey, I sneaked in another question, I asked this same group of strong followers whether they spent time with the poor, and less than 2 percent said they did. I learned a powerful lesson: We can admire and worship Jesus without doing what he did. We can applaud what he preached and stood for without caring about the same things. We can adore his cross without taking up ours. I had come to see that the great tragedy of the church is not that rich Christians do not care about the poor but that rich Christians do not know the poor.”

or,

“I’m just not convinced that Jesus is going to say, “When I was hungry, you gave a check to the United Way and they fed me.”

I recall one argument built over the course of a few chapters which expound on Christians who are happy to give to the poor, or give to organizations which are helping the poor, yet none of that is in the same ballpark of what Jesus taught or modeled.

Jesus didn’t merely give to the poor. He joined them.

This is what led Claiborne to found The Simple Way: A tension between people maintaining their own comfortable social status while therapeutically giving to the poor, and the life and teachings of Christ. So Claiborne did just that, he joined the poor. He lived among them. He loved them and was loved by them.

And if I’m honest, this is a really scary thought for me to think: That Christ demands that I give up my social standing in order to follow Him. When I probe the depths of my heart, it becomes clear that things like status, car, home and friends are idols on a very high pedestal because of my resistance to relinquish them for Christ. My dreams are not His dreams, in other words, and that’s a scary thing. Am I longing for the kingdom, or am I longing for my own idea of what a good system is? Am I longing for visible, tangible things like a wife and a comfortable, well-funded life, or do I trust God that He both knows and will give me the desires of my heart in the fullness of His kingdom?

I have quoted David Bentley Hart in a previous Systems post, but it’s worth repeating. In his article Christ’s Rabble, Hart builds an argument that all of Jesus’ teaching is polarizing and in-or-out language, leaving little room for in-between living.

“Christ condemned not only an unhealthy preoccupation with riches, but the getting and keeping of riches as such. The most obvious citation from all three synoptic Gospels would be the story of the rich young ruler who could not bring himself to part with his fortune for the sake of the Kingdom, and of Christ’s astonishing remark about camels passing through needles’ eyes more easily than rich men through the Kingdom’s gate. As for the question the disciples then put to Christ, it should probably be translated not as “Who then can be saved?” or “Can anyone be saved?” but rather “Then can any [of them, the rich] be saved?” To which the sobering reply is that it is humanly impossible, but that by divine power even a rich man might be spared.”

Hart proceeds to list several more passages in which God proclaims good news to the poor, but scary woes to the rich. And let me remind you, if you’re reading this on a phone or laptop, you are ‘the rich.’

I have a friend who is an atheist and has told me in the past that he’s a ‘pretty good person’ because he gives to the homeless whenever he passes them begging on the sidewalk. What I’ve realized is that the message of Christ asks far more of us than this. It asks us not to hand out spare change to those beneath us on the caste system, thus perpetuating their situation of dependence and ours of Good Samaritans handing out alms, but to join them. To do life, not with those of the same social ranking as us, or in the same socio-economic class as us, but with those all across the spectrum.

Jesus didn’t just give handouts to the poor, but He broke bread with them. He made friends with them. And even He, Himself, did not have a home or a place to lay His head. He didn’t just toss medicine to the lepers, or even heal them from a distance, He touched the untouchable.

Think about it: What good do handouts do in light of affecting systemic change? Are you helping to overhaul the system of poverty by tossing a five-spot into the cup of a beggar, or are you merely perpetuating the very system you may think you’re healing? It’s a microcosm of rich nations doing more damage than good by giving handouts to poorer, needy third-world countries who are not then able to themselves.

Now, with all that said, it may be scary to consider abandoning all that you have and all that you cling to for comfort and security. And I myself am still wrestling with where the balance is between preaching a ‘poverty gospel’ and obeying God. That’s why I always refrain from giving specific imperatives and instead let you in on what I’m mulling over in my mind. So for now, I hope this gives you some food for thought, and more than simply thinking about them, I want to hear your thoughts! I want to know what you think about this sliding scale of systemic poverty and the uncomfortable teachings of Christ.

Until then, we pray for the equalizing power of a just King: Maranatha, come swiftly, Lord Jesus.

This article originally appeared here.

Click here to read the previous Systems post: Cursed Are the Happy 

The One Sentence Mantra That Could Change Your Ministry

By
Aaron Helman
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communicating with the unchurched

Who doesn’t want to change your ministry? I think we could all identify at least one thing to change.

I’ve taken everything I’ve learned about reaching super-busy students…

…and I think I’ve boiled it down into one sentence that, if applied, could radically change your ministry.

Now, I hate it when bloggers write headlines that make wild, exaggerated claims just to get clicks.

The headline to this article is NOT an exaggeration.

It’s one sentence, and it could fundamentally change your ministry forever.

Here it is:

Your ability to share God’s love with teenagers is not dependent on their attendance at your program.

 It hit me when I drove home from a one-on-one with a student who almost never comes to youth group. He’s got pretty intense social anxiety and our large group can intimidate him.

Good thing my ability to share God’s love with him isn’t dependent on his attendance at my program.

I don’t mean to diminish the importance of church attendance, and I do think it’s important for teenagers to experience faith corporately with one another.

But I also know that too many of us have gotten caught in a trap where we start to believe that we can’t do ministry if they don’t show up.

It’s ridiculous when a student plays video games all weekend, then skips youth group on Sunday night because he’s swamped with homework.

It’s more ridiculous when we believe that we can’t be in ministry to students who are procrastinators, but sometimes that’s exactly what happens.

My ability to share God’s love with teenagers is not dependent on their attendance at my program.

If you can read that sentence out loud, I’ve found that it’s actually incredibly freeing.

It’s freeing because so many of us spend so much of our time racking our brains trying to figure out how to get teenagers to show up at youth group because we’ve been conditioned to believe that youth group is the place where ministry happens.

And while that may be true, it’s time to get reconditioned because youth group isn’t the only place where ministry happens.

He didn’t even know he was a youth pastor…

I have a friend who’s a director at a camp that serves primarily low-income families. He plans and delivers nine weeks of summer camp, and that’s a lot of work.

But he spends the bulk of his off-season following up with the kids who attended his camps. In a typical week, he sees about 30 students either one-on-one or in very small groups of two or three.

He spends more time listening to and praying with students than any youth pastor I know. His ministry isn’t dependent on a student’s attendance at his program, and that’s a good thing, because for 10 months of the year, he doesn’t have one.

Now, I understand that it’s impossible for you—one person—to run a wide-ranging ministry and give dedicated one-on-one time to every student who never shows up. There simply aren’t enough hours in the week.

But this is absolutely a mindset that you can transfer to volunteers and other leaders too.

Just because they’re not here for youth group doesn’t mean we can’t somehow be in ministry with them.

Here’s your very basic action item…

 There may be dozens of students who fall on your “doesn’t really show up” list. That’s pretty common actually.

What I’ve noticed in most youth workers is that there are usually three or four who really haunt us. They stick out. It seems that God’s placed those students directly on our hearts, and so we work especially hard to invite and entice them to our programs.

It’s in these cases that I think oftentimes we’ve clearly heard God’s calling, but we’ve misinterpreted our next step.

If God has especially placed a student on your heart, it’s not because he wants you to invite them to your program, it’s because he wants you to be in ministry with them…

…and that’s something that is not dependent on their attendance in your program.

So, your action item is this: Write down the names of three students who don’t show up and who God’s placed on your heart.

Then instead of trying to figure out how to get them to come to youth group…

…start trying to figure out how you can be in ministry with them even if they don’t.

10 Rules to Connect More People This Year

By
Mark Howell
-
communicating with the unchurched

Follow these rules and you will connect more people in 2018:

  1. Keep track. Begin the year by taking a snapshot of the total number of existing small groups and their membership. Depending on the number of groups in your system and the ease of updating rosters, this may seem daunting, but it’s worth getting an accurate picture. It will make progress more satisfying.
  2. Plan your year. Thinking about the full year ahead allows you to anticipate and take advantage of a wide range of connecting opportunities (and leadership training opportunities). If you’re a visual thinker, take advantage of a dry-erase wall calendar (it helps me to see the full picture). See also, How to Build an Annual Calendar.
  3. Leverage variety. In the same way different fish respond to different bait or a different lure, you won’t catch every unconnected person using the same strategy every time. A variety of connecting opportunities catches different groups of unconnected people. This is why we run a church-wide campaign every year (using both the “if you’ve got a couple friends” and small group connection strategies). We also hold a small group connection in late January or February, promote a menu of short-term on-campus studies after Easter, and often a “book club” approach in the summer. See also, Overview: Here Are Our Four Strategies for Launching New Groups.
  4. Leverage alignment. Take advantage of alignment possibilities whenever possible. Every opportunity to sync your connecting opportunity with the weekend message, church events or seasonal themes will make connecting people more natural and a no-brainer step. For example, when we learned our January ’17 series was called Margin, we added a short-term on campus study using Bill Hybels’ Simplify.
  5. Leverage Senior Pastor influence. Whenever possible, take advantage of the most influential person in your church to promote the step you are offering. Equip your senior pastor to include small group references into as many messages as possible. Help your senior pastor skillfully drop in message references that encourage unconnected people to sign up for their next step (this often includes scripting what you want them to say). See also TOP 5 THINGS EVERY SENIOR PASTOR NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT SMALL GROUP MINISTRY
  6. Leverage repetition. Never lose sight of the fact that unconnected people are almost always infrequent attenders. Their infrequent attendance requires promoting the upcoming connecting opportunity more than once (generally a two- to three-week minimum). See also, 4 Ingredients of an Effective “Ask” (That Recruits Small Group Members)
  7. Leverage a range of marketing tools. Promotion of the upcoming connecting opportunity should include as many of the following as practical/possible: (a) senior pastor mention in the message, (b) announcement during service, (c) inclusion in the bulletin/program, (d) website (ideally an above the fold graphic), (e) church-wide email to unconnected adults, (f) posters in strategic places.
  8. Leverage the power of story-telling. No form of marketing is as powerful as personal testimony. “This is what my group has meant to me and my family.” Look for the best life-change stories and best opportunities to tell them. Live testimony works very well (consider using an interview approach). Video allows the story to be strategically positioned on your website or embedded in a church-wide email (with a link to sign up for the upcoming connecting opportunity. See also, To Do List: Film Video Testimonies That Inspire Action
  9. Take advantage of word-of-mouth invitation. Two add-on strategies leverage the power of word-of-mouth. The “if you’ve got a couple friends” strategy allows people to personally fill their own group with friends, neighbors, co-workers and family (inviting even a couple of friends to “do the study” forms an organic group). Encouraging people who sign up for a connecting event “to bring a friend” increases attendance and makes attending less intimidating. See also, Saddleback Changed the Church-Wide Campaign Game…Again.
  10. Include designed follow-up every time. No matter the connecting strategy, including a designed follow-up process encourages more of your sign-ups to show-up. For example, signing up for a small group connection should generate an immediate “thanks for signing up” email with everything they need to know (when, where, what time to arrive, how long, childcare, etc.). A follow-up email can be sent three days prior. A quick personal phone call reminder the day before makes a difference, even if a voice mail is left.

This article originally appeared here.

Talking with Children About School Shootings

By
Dale Hudson
-
communicating with the unchurched

Today’s kids are growing up knowing they could be injured or even killed in a school shooting at any time.

Look at what has happened in just the first eight weeks of 2018.

January 22: Italy, Texas – A 16-year-old student opened fire with a semi-automatic handgun in the school cafeteria, wounding another student.

January 22:  Gentilly, Lousiana – An unknown person fired shots at students from a vehicle in the school parking lot. One person was injured.

January 23:  Benton, Kentucky – A 15-year-old student opened fire with a handgun, killing two and injuring 17.

January 25: Mobile, Alabama – A student fired a handgun during a fight with another student. No injuries reported.

January 26: Dearborn, Michigan – Shots were fired during a fight in the school parking lot. No injuries reported.

January 31: Philadelphia – A fight during a basketball game resulted in a shooting death outside the school.

And of course, the most recent shooting that resulted in devastating tragedy.

February 14: Parkland, Florida – A 19-year-old former student opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle, killing 17 and injuring 14.

As children see these shootings unfold on the news, it can be paralyzing. It’s critical, as children’s ministry leaders, that we are available to help children as they try to process these events. Just as important, if not more important, is our role in equipping parents to know how to walk with their children through these tragedies.

It can be difficult to know what to say and how to respond when kids (and adults) see school shootings unfold. Let’s look at some helpful tips on how to talk with children about this.

Start by finding out what they know. Listen carefully to find out what they believe happened. Listen for misinformation and misconceptions. Listen for fears and worries the child may have.

Protect them from too much information. Limit their exposure to media coverage. Remember, even when they are playing with their toys in the same room, they are aware of what is on the television, radio or social media you are engaging in. Exposure to disturbing images and conversations can heighten children’s distress.

Focus more on the child’s feelings about the event than on the event itself. The primary goal is to help children cope with their feelings in a healthy way.

An example is a child asking if it could happen at their school or their parent’s workplace. What the child really wants to know is if they are safe or not. Go over safety measures and plans you have in place and reassure the child of their safety.

Understand what they can process developmentally. The goal is to answer their questions without increasing their distress. It’s important to know what kids can process at their age level.

  • Preschoolers need adults to stay calm, use simple words and answer their questions honestly, but with limited detail. Reassure them that they are safe. Safety can be communicated not only verbally, but also by keeping them involved in normal, everyday activities. Children are less likely to experience distress when they keep a normal routine.
  • Elementary children obviously understand more than preschoolers and will want to talk about shootings at greater length. This doesn’t mean you should offer disturbing details. They need comfort and reassurance of their own safety. It is also important during this time to give them extra attention.
  • Pre-teens need adults to listen to their thoughts and feelings about the shooting. They highly value honesty, so it’s important to answer their questions that way. While pre-teens may not be as quick to ask for your help and support, rest assured they need it.

Find ways they can help and expose them to others who are helping. Children benefit greatly from being able to make a positive difference in the lives of others. When they see and hear stories of people helping those affected by the shooting, it can help bring healing and reassurance.

Model what you want to see in the children. Children not only listen to our words, but also model our behavior and emotions. Express sadness and empathy for the families involved. Share how you are coping with the tragedy. Model calmness. Model peace. Model trust. Model patience.

Don’t avoid the hard questions. Older children may grapple with questions like…

  • Why didn’t God stop this from happening?
  • Why didn’t God protect the children and adults who were shot?
  • If God loves us, then why do bad things like this happen?

These are questions that all of us have grappled with at times. It’s important to help guide kids through the hard questions that arise from tragedy.

Their future view of God may depend upon it. Studies show that Gen Z children need to work through these type of questions if their faith is going to be solid and last a lifetime. Help them find the right answers.

Emphasize the hope found in Christ. Help kids see that we live in a world that has been broken and messed up by sin. As a result, the human experience has pain, suffering, injustices, tragedy and heartbreak.

But in the midst of all of that, we can find hope, peace and encouragement through Christ. He can bring healing and forgiveness to even the worst of circumstances. And one day, all things will be made right and we will see and understand more clearly.

Seek professional help if needed. It’s common for children to feel anxious about a school shooting. They may have trouble with their behavior and concentration. It can even cause a change in their appetite or sleep routines. If this happens and reaches the point where it’s interfering with the child’s ability to function, you should seek professional help.

May God give each of us wisdom, grace and insight as we talk with children about school shootings.

This article originally appeared here.

10 Best Quotes From the Johnny Hunt Men’s Conference

By
Kris Dolberry
-
communicating with the unchurched
More than 6,000 men gathered over the weekend at First Baptist Church in Woodstock, Ga for the Johnny Hunt Men’s Conference. Some 20,000 from around the world joined in via simulcast. It was an incredible weekend of worship, training in the Word of God, confession and repentance. Here are some of Johnny Hunt’s best quotes:
  1. “God forbid anyone meet Jesus without taking someone with you.”
  2. “Two things happened when I got saved. God gave me a Father and a Family!”
  3. “Where are the men of God who are willing to say, ‘God is there anything in my life that is causing another man to stumble? If so, I’ll put it out.’”
  4. “If you’ll bring your past up to God, He’ll never bring it up to you again.”
  5. “The church pew has become one of the most comfortable places to go to hell from.”
  6. “When’s the last time you told your wife about the deficits in your life and asked her to pray?”
  7. “Every major battle that you win, you will win praying on your knees.”
  8. God fill me with the Holy Spirit and clothe me with humility.
  9. “What if we prayed, ‘Lord you know my future. If you see that I’m going to do something to hurt my family or destroy my ministry, would you, by your grace, take me to an early grave?’”
  10. “If you want to be a godly man, live in urgency!”

Did you join us for the conference? What were your favorite moments?

This article originally appeared here.

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