Whole Church Care for the Elderly and Housebound

February 22, 2018

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With an aging population, many churches are struggling to care for all their elderly members. We asked Heath Evangelical Church in Cardiff to share some of the ways they seek to do so and hope that it will help other churches that may also be struggling.

Our church (Heath Evangelical, Cardiff) has a membership of just under 400. Seniors form an important part of what is a family church. Seven out of the 12 elders are aged over 60. The backbone of the church prayer meeting, Bible study and women’s Bible study are retirees. Similarly, this group provide invaluable voluntary help in the bookshop, coffee shop, Sunday School, children’s and youth meetings, visitation, catering and camps. However, the number of frail elderly members in residential homes and receiving care at home numbers over 20. As in society at large, loneliness can be a very real problem for those away from family and those with increasing frailty and mobility issues.

A safety net

Thankfully, many members kindly look out for their brothers and sisters in need in a very natural way. However, the pastor and elders recognize the importance of a planned approach to care in the hope that people do not fall through the net. The first item before prayer in the fortnightly elders’ meetings is ‘personalia.’ The elder employed part-time in a pastoral role brings us up to date with people in hospital and in particular need. Every week the elders are updated on this by email. The members hear of particular needs through the weekly church prayer meeting and women’s Bible study. A number of the ladies help the pastor and elders with visitation on a rotational basis.

Communication is key

In a large church, communication is vital. The membership is divided geographically into districts with a district leader responsible for distributing the bi-monthly church magazine. It is the district leader’s job to pass on to the church leadership the names of members in distress or need of any kind. Two or three districts combine to form the catchment area for the nine home Bible study groups each month, normally led by one of the elders. These start with a time of prayer and a further opportunity to share particular needs. Also, a Care for the Fellowship group occasionally meets to identify people with particular needs, e.g. someone needing food provided after surgery, help with shopping, etc. In our wish to help, we know it is important not to override the wishes and responsibilities of members of the person’s family.

Special arrangements

A weekly Seniors’ Coffee Morning takes place in the church’s coffee shop. As many as 20 come and in the course of the conversations, supportive friendships develop. Many of those who come are widows and widowers. Once a month a free Seniors’ Lunch is arranged in the Church Hall. Members and others from the local area come. Our pastor gives a brief gospel message between the courses. Between 80 and 100 seniors attend, and about half are from outside the church. At Christmas time plants are given to our elderly members. Each year, in the summer, a week’s Seniors’ Holiday is arranged at a seaside hotel in England or Wales. Each day there is a short service and a time of informal fellowship. A range of day trips are publicized and car drivers ensure those without cars have a lift. Once a month a team of about eight members takes a service at a nearby residential home. In addition, a number of our men preach at the Sunday morning services at Bethel House, Dinas Powis.

Some observations

Here are some observations which are likely to have application elsewhere:

With improved health, people are typically living many years after retirement. These people are a great resource for the church, but ultimately the needs of those who are frail and housebound will also continue to grow.
The local church acts as a wonderful counter-cultural haven where people of all kinds and different generations can mix freely. Recent studies have shown how elderly people thrive when in the company of caring youngsters. It is no wonder that Christian old people generally live longer and happier lives compared with those deprived of varied company.
Jesus gives us a perfect example of how we as Christian people should live. He went about doing good. He healed the sick and had compassion on the poor, marginalized and vulnerable. He helped the weak. What a contrast with contemporary Western society with its wish for abortion on demand and the trend toward legalizing euthanasia. We should follow our Lord’s example and care for those who can no longer care for themselves.
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Our society in the West is becoming increasingly individualistic, materialistic and selfish. Older people are often seen as ‘past it’ and a drain on society. It is no wonder that abuse and neglect are on the increase. As Christians, we should not be dominated by our culture and instead follow a biblical path in respecting age and experience.
Most people want to stay in their own home as long as possible. Sadly, with mental and physical frailty, one’s home can cease to be a place of peace and security and become more akin to a prison. Fortunately, today there are a range of ‘sheltered’ options that retain a good deal of independence, including one’s own front door. There are homes that specialize in the care of elderly people with mental illnesses such as dementia. Finally, there are nursing homes which give a level of care not possible in a domestic setting.
One of our members who is over 90 takes a weekly Bible study in the care home where she lives. Other members give her a lift to church on Sundays.
The choice about if and when to move will be for the individual and his or her family. You may be quite right in discerning the need for a better place to live for an elderly church member. But beware! Do not overreach your caring brief! Efforts to help by the local church should be sensitive to individual needs and wishes and those of their family. It is significant that Paul urged churches to prioritize those without family support (1 Timothy 5).
Where church members are engaged in the care of physically and mentally frail relatives, they may well appreciate and need a word of encouragement and the offer of practical support, including respite cover.
Full use should be taken of statutory provision. The local authority ‘Attendance Allowance,’ for example, can help people to live comfortably in their own homes while buying in the care needed. It can be a great help to publicize and facilitate access to this and other grants.

This article originally appeared here.
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Mr. Fix It

Gary Thomas

February 22, 2018

[Note: The last post began a three-part series helping wives understand the way their husbands think. You can read that post here: Understanding the Mind of the Man You Married. All these posts are adapted from Gary’s newest book, Loving Him Well: Practical Advice for Influencing Your Husband. This post also has much relevant information for husbands, so I hope both genders will take advantage of this information.]

One of the most common frustrations in marriage is that some wives think their husbands are nearly robotic when it comes to emotions, and some husbands may think their wives are overly emotional. Stereotypes aren’t always true and can even be destructive, but in this instance, when it is true, it really is “a brain thing.”

Every man has been told that women want us to “listen” instead of trying to solve their problems, and that’s a fair request. But wives need to know that holding back from problem solving is literally (that is, physiologically) painful to a man.

Dr. Louann Brizendine, a neuropsychiatrist who studied at Yale and Harvard and is now on the faculty of UCSF Medical Center, offers the following common interplay between a husband and wife:

^DANIELLE: “I just want Neil to listen, give me a hug and tell me how he knows I feel. But he goes into robot mode and starts telling me what I should do.”

^NEIL: “That’s not how I see it. I already told her I feel bad about all the pressure she’s under. She wants me to listen to her and be sympathetic, but then she won’t listen to my suggestions… Seeing her cry and not being allowed to help her is torture to me.”

Wives, will you please consider Neil’s last sentence: “Seeing her cry and not being allowed to help her is torture to me”? You think he’s being insensitive; to him, not trying to make her feel better is what seems insensitive.

There are two emotional systems that work through our brain. Bear with the technical lingo for a moment, but basically women tend toward the MNS (the mirror-neuron system), and men toward the TPJ (the temporal-parietal junction). A woman expresses empathy by mirroring a person’s distress and concern because her brain clicks toward the MNS form of emotional processing. The male brain expresses empathy by a process called “cognitive empathy,” which focuses brainpower on stopping the problem instead of understanding the problem. It’s still empathy, though it may not feel like it for you. In order to solve a problem, other areas of the brain have to be stilled, which in this case is the MNS. The TPJ system works to protect the male brain from being “infected” by other people’s emotions so it can fully focus on solving the problem (Dr. Brizendine discusses the brain science behind this in her book The Male Brain).

Two days after writing about this concept for my book Loving Him Well, Lisa requested special prayers. She had a very bad reaction to a very bad antibiotic and was still suffering some side effects of neuropathy. Almost immediately after she described her numb lips and a few other effects, my first words were, “Maybe I should take you to the Mayo Clinic this summer and get everything checked out by experts.”

Totally wrong thing for me to say/do!

Number one, we live in Houston. Anything you can find at the Mayo Clinic you can find here. Number two, Lisa simply wanted me to listen, empathize and pray for her. And because I was researching brain differences, I knew that’s what she wanted. I had been duly warned by Dr. Brizendine and had even put some of this in writing, but my default brain response remained, “How can I fix this?”

We men can and should learn to listen first, but maybe God knew what he was doing when he wired this “fix-it” mentality into the male brain. At the very least, you might want to give your husband the benefit of the doubt. Instead of seeing him as insensitive, consider the fact that his response is what seems most sensitive to him. He’s trying to be sensitive, and it’s confusing to him when you won’t let him be that way. It’s like having an adolescent son who is hurting, and you instinctively reach out to touch him—and he acts like your physical touch is repulsive and pushes you away. You can’t imagine that he doesn’t want to be hugged, and it’s both hurtful and confusing to you that he doesn’t. You want to show that you care, and he won’t let you! That’s how your husband feels when you resent him for wanting to get involved or offer advice.

I’m not saying you have to give in and let him fix things; I’m saying it’s important to learn to understand him, talk about this dynamic and figure out a way for the two of you to address this together. You may well know how to fix the problem even better than your husband does, and it’s completely legitimate for you to just want to talk about it.

I’ve learned (though I’m far from perfect in living this out) that when Lisa shares a frustration, my first and only response is to be understanding and empathetic. Several hours later, it’s all right for me to come back to her and say, “I’ve been praying and thinking about what you shared with me earlier. Have you thought about maybe doing this?” If there are hours between her sharing and my “solution,” she typically receives it a lot better. I suggest talking over this solution with your husband. You may not want to hear his suggestions, but in stopping them, you are asking him to shut down the empathy function in his brain. That’s risky. Instead you can set up a win-win by explaining, “Honey, when I share a hurt, what I really want is for you to hear me, understand me and show empathy. There’s a time and a place for problem solving. When I first share the problem with you isn’t that time or place. Wait at least a few hours.”

This article originally appeared here.

Tribute to a Faithful Servant Billy Graham

Greg Laurie

February 22, 2018

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“Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.” —Matthew 25:23 NKJV

As you’ve probably heard, Pastor Billy Graham went home to be with the Lord yesterday morning at 99 years of age.

Years ago in Portland, Oregon, I had the opportunity to accompany Billy Graham to one of his crusades. On a night of what would be a record attendance, I drove over with him to the event. As I recall, Billy’s long-time friend T.W. Wilson was driving. I sat in front, and Billy and his son Franklin were in back.

When we arrived at the stadium and Billy made his way to the platform, I was struck by the expressions of awe on people’s faces. It was as if Moses were passing through their midst.

Billy, however, seemed completely unimpressed with all the adulation. He got up and delivered a powerful message, and then, when he was done, we all piled into the car to drive back to the hotel. As a fellow preacher, I felt like I should say something nice about his message that night. So I turned around in my seat, looked at him in the back seat, and said, “Billy, that was a great message tonight.”

“It’s just Gospel,” he replied.

I turned back around, thinking to myself, I was just trying to offer him a compliment. Maybe I should say something more specific. I turned to the back seat again and said, “I really liked the part where you said, ‘He can re-sensitize your conscience.’”

He looked at me and said, “Well, He can.”

I turned back around again and thought, Okay, fine, I’m not offering him another compliment!

How can a man be in the position he is in and not have that go to his head? It’s been said that it takes a steady hand to hold a full cup, and God has trusted him with so much responsibility through the years. In all my memories of him, Billy just liked to sit around and chat and be a regular person. He would be as interested in you as you were in him, which didn’t make any sense at all to me. Why would he want to ask my opinion or listen to what I had to say? If there’s one word that sums him up, it would be gracious—but I would have to add humble, too. Billy has always been gracious, not just to a noted person like a president or a celebrity, but just as gracious to a person he just met in a restaurant or on the street. He always seems to take a great interest in individuals, and I think that has been one of the secrets of his success.

A person once wrote that if you ever see a turtle on a fencepost, you know someone put him there; he didn’t get there by himself. I think Billy Graham has always recognized that. When it was all said and done, he was just a farmer from Charlotte. He was raised on a dairy farm, and he would say, “I’m just a country preacher.” People would dismiss this as though he didn’t mean it, but in reality he did. He was just a country preacher who was elevated by God to a level that very few others have ever been to, if any.

I remember spending some time with him after attending a Board of Directors meeting for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. It was just prior to the release of a major biography on Billy, and he was concerned about what had been written about him—as anyone would be. After all, you never know what the author will write about you, who they have talked to, or even if they’re going to be completely truthful.

At one point in this discussion I said to him, “Billy, you have lived a life of integrity. You are a man of God. You have nothing to be embarrassed or concerned about. I know this biography will be fantastic, because you’ve lived a wonderful life as a follower of Jesus Christ.” And sure enough, it was. But the fact that he’d even have this concern showed that he had his insecurities just like anyone else. Nevertheless, he had no skeletons in his closet to fear, and he has maintained a sterling reputation through all his years of ministry.

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One time, after one of his crusades, we drove over to his hotel. We were sitting around, and Billy disappeared for a few moments. He came back into the room wearing his pajamas and dress shoes. (I guess he didn’t bring his slippers.) Someone had given us some roast beef sandwiches to eat after the service. At that point, they were hours old and stone cold, but we took them out of the bag and just sat around munching on them, talking about this and that. I watched Billy eat his sandwich, completely content in his pajamas and dress shoes in a room with people he was comfortable with. He wasn’t one of those people who would want to have a big party, a big celebration, or a fancy dinner. Billy was just happy to eat his cold sandwich and be around friends.

As I’ve reflected on it, I feel that he is the most Christ-like person I’ve ever met—though not without his human foibles and shortcomings. He would be the first to admit those.

If Billy Graham had a weakness—and of course we all do—I think it would be his excessive kindness, allowing people to exploit his goodwill to their own benefit. He was a very intelligent man, but he was sometimes so accepting and loving toward others that people would take advantage of that. But if you’re going to have a human weakness, that’s a pretty good one to have, all things considered.

Billy Graham preached about love, and he lived it. He loved his wife, Ruth, with all of his heart. I’ve never seen a husband and wife more in love than Billy and Ruth, yet they would have their little disagreements like any couple. The way they would speak to each other, however, was just utterly charming and fun to watch. Ruth was in every way his equal, with a great wit and sense of humor, and you could tell he loved to be around her.

When Ruth was very ill and dying, I remember being in their home. Ruth was in a wheelchair, and Billy was seated next to her. A friend of ours, Dennis Agajanian, an amazing guitarist who appeared at many of Billy’s crusades, came by to visit, and was asked to play the Hallelujah chorus from Handel’s Messiah. As he played, I found myself watching Billy and Ruth. Ruth’s face was radiating light, and Billy was just looking at her, smiling. They didn’t say anything. But after it was done, Ruth said, “That was a song they played on our first date.” As it turned out, on their first date they saw Handel’s Messiah.

That was a special moment I’ll always remember between two people who were completely in love with each other.

I thank God for Billy Graham and his legacy, and pray that God comforts his family during this time.
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5 Lessons That Billy Graham Taught Us

Shane Pruitt

February 22, 2018

On February 21st, 2018 heaven gained another mighty worshipper of Jesus, and earth lost a great man of integrity, William Franklin Graham, Jr. More affectionately known as Billy. He was America’s Pastor, and lived 99-years as a shining example to us all.

I had the honor of hearing the legendary evangelist preach live one time. It was the 2002 Dallas Crusade at Texas Stadium. The stadium was filled to the brim with people, energy, and the Holy Spirit. Billy Graham, at 83 years young, stood up and preached the clear gospel with boldness, followed by hundreds, if not thousands, pouring onto the field to profess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

As a young man at the time, I was captivated by this living legend. But even more so, I was captivated by the Savior he proclaimed. It inspired me to watch this great man from a distance for the last sixteen years. Although I never met him, he still taught me many things about preaching, walking in integrity and constantly pointing people to Jesus. In fact, I believe this great pastor has ministered to an entire nation and has taught us all many things.

5 lessons that Billy Graham has taught us:

1. Live a focused life.

Whether people believed in the Jesus that Billy Graham preached or not, everyone believed that he believed it. He had one focus to his life: to preach the love of Jesus to a world that desperately needed it. He once said, “God proved His love on the Cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, ’I love you.’” He focused on the essentials, and was distracted by secondary issues. Many times it’s easy to be distracted by things that won’t matter a hundred years from now. If we were to be honest, most of the things that distract us don’t really matter in that very moment. If the enemy can’t make you fall into sin, he will distract you with silliness. We are here on the earth to know God and to make God known.

2. Stand with boldness.

For many years, Billy Graham would preach to thousands while standing under a huge banner that quoted the words of Jesus, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” There is a lot of cultural pressure to kneel to political correctness. However, in the midst of a changing culture leaning more and more toward pluralism—a belief that there are many paths that lead to God—Billy Graham never kneeled or buckled to the pressure. He boldly stood and proclaimed that Jesus was the only way. As Christians, may we be emboldened by this same conviction!

3. Practice what you preach.

Billy Graham was the epitome of integrity. He routinely preached, “If evil were not made to appear attractive, there would be no such thing as temptation.” It was no secret that he constantly surrounded himself with safeguards and accountability. There are numerous stories of him having the television removed from his hotel room. People were sent in to check his room, before he would enter. In over sixty years of ministry, there were no scandals attached to him. Conservatives and liberals both recognized that his ministry was always in line with his message. He taught us all that our calling is too important and the cost is too high to fall into sin. Nothing hinders the ministry more than hypocrisy.

4. God does extraordinary things through ordinary people.

It’s easy to look at Billy Graham as a larger than life figure. Words like legend, spiritual giant, and super-Christian come to mind when you think of him. However, his daughter Anne Graham Lotz describes her daddy in a different way through a statement she released after his passing: “When I think of him, I don’t think of Billy Graham, the public figure. I think of my Daddy. The one who was always a farmer at heart.Who loved his dogs and his cat. Who followed the weather patterns almost as closely as he did world events. Who wore old blue jeans, comfortable sweaters, and a baseball cap. Who loved lukewarm coffee, sweet ice tea, one scoop of ice cream, and a plain hamburger from McDonald’s.” God is not looking for all-stars. He already has an all-star, named Jesus. He is just looking for ordinary people who will follow the all-star, Jesus, with unwavering hearts.

5. There are no perfect people.

When you look up the word “Christian” in a dictionary, you would expect to see a picture of Jesus followed by a picture of Billy Graham. However, although Billy Graham was a godly man, he was not a perfect man. Dr. Graham often shared about his greatest regret, and that was not spending enough time with his children. He estimated “that he was gone approximately 60-percent of his children’s growing up years.” Preaching crusades and doing ministry would often pull him away for weeks and months at a time. This is a great reminder that the Savior Billy Graham preached about was the same Jesus that he himself needed. This should be an encouragement to us all. No one is perfect, and everyone needs Jesus.

What a great man Billy Graham is. (Yes, I intentionally said “is” instead of “was.”) The greatest lesson he taught us all is that he is not dead today. He is actually more alive than we are. Not because he was a great man, but because he worshipped a greater Savior. He spent his life walking in integrity while pointing people to Jesus. Today, he is getting to stand in the literal presence of the very One to whom he spent his life pointing.

Well done, good and faithful servant. Well done.

Text SHANE to 444999 to receive my FREE downloadable Devotional eBook

Understanding the Unique Ways Your Group Worships God

Roger Carr

February 22, 2018

Do you expect all your small group members to have a certain type of quiet time? Do they get as excited as you do about certain ways to worship God?

Preference on Ways to Worship God

I feel closest to God when I am outdoors or serving others. I have friends who experience this when they are with a group of people celebrating with music. Other friends prefer a very disciplined, traditional approach.

Am I less spiritually mature because I prefer to pray and worship God outdoors rather than in a closet? Or that I prefer to express my love to God through helping others rather than singing?

This is an important question for you to answer. It affects how you perceive your members. It can also affect what you do in your small group gatherings. Churches have become stronger, weaker or split based on their response. I want your small group to be stronger!

Sacred Pathways

God created each of us to be unique. So why is it difficult to believe that Christians have spiritual temperaments that are also unique?

In Sacred Pathways: Discover Your Soul’s Path to God, Gary Thomas describes nine categories of spiritual temperaments along with examples of each from the Bible. Each of us falls into one or more of these temperaments.

Here are a few of the spiritual temperaments identified by Thomas:

Spiritual Temperament	Short Description
Naturalists	Loving God outdoors
Traditionalists	Loving God through ritual and symbol
Enthusiasts	Loving God with mystery and celebration
Intellectuals	Loving God with the mind

Application to Your Group Gatherings

When it comes to expressing love, Gary Chapman is the expert. In The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts, he explains that we each have a preference for how we want love expressed to us. The problem is that most people express love based on their own preference, not the needs of the other person.

As a leader, there is a danger of you doing the same thing when it comes to the ways you have the small group worshiping God together.

How can you apply this new appreciation of your members’ spiritual uniqueness?

Learn about all the spiritual temperaments. Consider studying the topic with your small group. There is a free study guide available at http://www.garythomas.com/free-resources/study-guides/.
Find ways to meet your members’ preferences from time-to-time.

It doesn’t have to be difficult. You just need to be deliberate.

Here are some examples:

Hold a meeting outdoors for the naturalists.
Include music and song for the enthusiasts.
Help others for the activists and/or caregivers (yes, these are two more of the spiritual temperaments).

Mix it up!

Question: What is your spiritual temperament? What are some more ways small group leaders can mix it up?

This article originally appeared here.

7 Things the Church Can Learn From Disney World

Jeremy Roberts

February 21, 2018

I grew up going to Disney World quite often, and my family is filled with Disney fanatics. My family and I are going there soon, and we are going to have a blast. Of course, I have a hard time not looking at things from the perspective of leading a local church, and even going to Disney World is no different.

Boiling down what I learn when I go there, I see seven key things churches can learn from Disney World:

People Crave Excellence

Everywhere you turn, excellence is present at Disney World. No paint is chipping. No sign is crooked. Everything is spelled correctly. They start events at the precise time they advertise. There is no trash anywhere on the ground. People are greeting you everywhere you go.

The place is just filled with a culture of excellence.

Church leader: If Disney World has excellence, shouldn’t church leaders demand it even more? We exist not for entertaining customers, but for leading more people to Christ! Excellence in all things and all things to the glory of God!

Cast a Big Vision and Creatively Tell Your Story

There’s no doubt that Walt Disney was a visionary. Tons of books have been written about Walt and his visionary creativity. Something cool about Disney World is that they not only have a big vision, but they communicate it creatively.

John Maxwell says we need to communicate our vision consistently, creatively and clearly.

Let me give you an example of this: When you enter Magic Kingdom, and you walk down Main Street, the epicenter of the park is Cinderella’s Castle, with a big statue right in front of it. You can see the statue below. This is a creative way to tell part of the story.

Church leader: We need to cast a big vision and creatively tell the story.

Create Photography Opportunities

There are photographers all over Disney World. For real. They’re seemingly everywhere. Why? Because people are more obsessed with taking pictures of themselves and their families than ever before.

Church leader: Why don’t we as churches think about this? Create photography opportunities at your church through two avenues: (1) Create photo booths; (2) Have amateur photographers who attend your church take a lot of pictures.

At our church, we created a photo booth for Christmas, and families and friends love taking pictures every Sunday this Christmas season. Check out my family in the photo booth at Church of the Highlands:

Use Consistent and Bright Colors

Doesn’t it drive you crazy when churches have boring colors in their logo? Even worse, they don’t have any key colors…they just throw together random colors for whatever.

At Disney World, almost all of their signage has purple backgrounds. Their theme is consistently bright. Why? Because they want it to be family friendly and fun. Churches should be family friendly and fun!

Church leader: Analyze the colors you use. Are they consistent? Are they bright?

When in Doubt, Put Up More Signage

The sign department at Disney World must be huge because they have a lot of signs. I love good signage. Click here to read an entire post I’ve written about church signage.

Disney has figured out signage. People would rather be told too much about when to turn right to get to Space Mountain than having to ask people.

Church leader: This week, make a commitment to yourself that you’ll walk through your entire church campus(es) and look at every angle of signage (or lack thereof).

Accurately Communicate What to Expect

When planning a Disney trip, you can look up the busiest and least busy times for the various parks. When you arrive at a park, you’re immediately given a map and list of when various shows take place.

When you arrive at a ride, there is a big number that indicates the estimated wait time. In order to make sure they’re accurate, they often give a lanyard with an attached card to give to the cast member when getting on the ride to indicate the exact time (down to the second) one had to wait.

Church leader: People who attend your church want to know what to expect. They don’t want to know what you wish they’d expect, but instead desire to know a real perspective—with complete accuracy.

Change With the Technological Times

When I was a kid, you’d simply show up at one of the parks at Disney World and wait in long lines. Then, they developed “Fast Passes” with slips of paper. These fast passes allow you to jump nearly to the front of the line. Now, they have a combination of things: magic bands (bracelets) that contain your ticket and fast passes.

Their app allows you to reserve fast passes months in advance. You can even buy your Disney World tickets on the app. You can look up wait times for rides on the app. You can look at your family’s pictures on the app.

What’s my point? Disney World has changed with the technological times to get better.

Church leader: What is some technology you and your church need to adopt to get better at leading more people to Jesus? A better website? An app? Live streaming? Podcasting?

If people fly from all over the world to see a castle and a mouse with red pants because it is all presented so well, I pray we can take something with significance—the message of Jesus Christ—and tell people about Him the best ways possible.

Have any extra thoughts?

This article originally appeared here.

Your God Is Too Small

J.D. Greear

February 21, 2018

Almost all of our spiritual problems—things like doubt, apathy, unhappiness and insecurity—come from a view of God that is too small.

This is the big idea behind my new book, Not God Enough, and it’s one most of us can probably relate to. As Americans, we prefer a God who is small—a God we can manage, predict and control. That kind of God feels safe to us. We can understand him. We can explain him. He doesn’t embarrass us, confuse us or disappoint us.

But this is simply not the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible is the opposite of small and manageable. He is big. He is not just big; he is bigger than big. He is bigger than all the words we use to say “big.” He defies our abilities to categorize or describe him.

Most Americans want a God who is only a slightly bigger, slightly smarter version of us. But the God of the Bible is something altogether different. And here’s the irony: Only a God like that is capable of sustaining our faith, igniting our passions and giving us the confidence that we need to face suffering and the hardships of the world. It’s like the British philosopher Evelyn Underhill famously said, “If God were small enough to be understood, he would not be big enough to be worshipped.”

The Bible speaks of something called “the fear of God,” and Proverbs says that it is necessary for any proper relationship with God: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7a CSB). This means that without a trembling awe before the majesty of God, we’ll never really develop the ability to know him, love him or trust him.

This is the step that, for years, I tried to skip in my faith. Throughout my life, I’ve struggled with my doubts and have had to be honest with them. There are so many questions I have, like:

Why is there so much suffering in the world?
How does the concept of hell align with a view of a loving God?
If Christianity is true, then why do so few people believe it, relatively speaking?

A couple of summers ago, as my family and I worked with a group of Syrian refugees, my 8-year-old daughter asked, “Dad, if God loves these people so much, why doesn’t he fix all this?” I told her, “He is, sweetheart. He’s using us to do it.” Not satisfied with my standard pastor answer, she pressed back, “But why doesn’t he do something about it himself?”

I think it’s a fair question. Why not send that army of angels we’ve heard so much about and make the war in Syria go away? Maybe you have had some of these same questions. Maybe you’ve had others.

Before, the fact that I can’t understand or explain these things made me wonder if God even exists. Eventually, I realized that there really was no other explanation for the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ other than the fact that he was who he said he was.

But even after coming to that conviction, I had trouble really loving God. How could I love and feel close to a God who confused and bewildered me so much? I wanted to love him, and I knew other people who seemed to love him. I know a woman in our church who tears up every time she starts talking about God’s grace. I wanted to be like that. I knew how to fake it; I knew how to shake my head and squint my eyes and grunt affirmative things that communicate, “I’m spiritual.” Can you relate? I acted the part, but a lot of times the emotions weren’t there.

My conception of God was too small. I thought of God as just a slightly bigger, smarter version of me, and I believed that if he’d just take a minute to explain himself to me, I could understand it all.

That sort of conception of God is just not able to sustain faith. It’s only by grappling with the size of God that we’re able to develop the ability to really believe. And when we see him for who he really is—the God who is big enough to handle our questions, doubts and fears, who is worthy of our worship—it will change everything about our lives.

This article originally appeared here.

Preparing for What You Can’t Prepare For

Jenny Funderburke Smith

February 21, 2018

I have always said that one of the unique things about ministry is that you have absolutely no idea what a day may hold. My weirdest ministry day happened over 10 years ago when a non-custodial parent from Canada showed up at our church in Alabama with his children whom he had taken from the mother. (That whole story would be an entire blog post all on its own!)

One of my takeaways from that incredibly strange day is that somehow in ministry we have to be prepared for situations that can not be prepared for. Easy, huh?

I have been in ministry for over 15 years and have a seminary degree. Never in any of that experience or education was I trained on identifying, reporting and participating in the arrest of a kidnapping suspect. After this many years serving in the church I could probably come up with an extensive and entertaining list of all of the things I did not learn in seminary. So could you.

That’s my point.

I am a big believer in learning. I believe everyone in leadership should actively pursue opportunities to be better at what they do. Leaders should read A LOT. Leaders should attend conferences, listen to podcasts and study leadership in any avenue possible. The wider your base of knowledge is, the more prepared you will be. But, again, not every situation will be addressed in those sources.

What do you do when your town erupts into crisis?
How do you handle the extreme situation that unexpectedly presents itself on a random Wednesday night?
What do you say to the parent who is a mess before you and is sharing things you never expected to hear?
How do you handle the unexpected emergency and everyone is looking you to lead the way?

Proverbs 4:7 says, “Wisdom is supreme—so get wisdom. And whatever else you get, get understanding.”

You will encounter ministry situations that you cannot Google and find an answer to. The only way to prepare for the things you can’t prepare for is to seek God’s wisdom now before the crisis hits.

We can read all the blogs, all the books and know lots of information, but if God doesn’t give us wisdom we won’t have it. Period. And to do ministry well, to be prepared for the things you can’t be prepared for, to serve people in all of their awkward and unexpected situations, we desperately need wisdom.

Ask God. A lot. James 1:5 says, “Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God.” That is not complicated, but are we intentional about it? Yes, we ask God for wisdom in the moment and as we are making pressing decisions. But are we seeking Him to fill us with His wisdom so that we are prepared for those situations we could never anticipate? Proverbs describes seeking wisdom as seeking precious jewels. That is not a one and done thing. That is a hunt and a process.
Study Scripture and not just to write a lesson. You can’t expect God to give you wisdom apart from consistently absorbing His Word. Matthew 12:34 says, “The mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.” When you are in pressure situations, it is best for your heart, mind and soul to be filled up with Scripture so that the words, thoughts and actions that overflow out reflect God’s Word and His wisdom.
Continue to value learning. Make it your own responsibility to expand your knowledge base both widely and deeply.
Hang with wise people and ask wise questions. Identify people in your world who you see functioning in wisdom. Spend time with them. Ask questions about how and why they handle situations in their lives.
Don’t ever presume you’ve got it all together. I think a sure sign that we are lacking wisdom is when we start believing we have all the answers. Be confident only in the Provider of wisdom. Be confident in your reliance on Christ and not your own wealth of knowledge. True wisdom produces humility.

This article originally appeared here.

The Importance of the Simmer Day in Sermon Preparation

Brandon Kelley

February 21, 2018

Have you ever had a time when you’ve written Sunday’s sermon and at some point, before you preach it, God grabs your heart and wrecks you? Have you ever had a moment when God reveals someone to you who is in the midst of a storm and really needs the truth of that week’s text to seep into their heart? It’s in those moments that we realize that this Sunday’s message isn’t just another sermon, it’s life or death, freedom or bondage, hope or despair. But…

I don’t know about you, but my experience has been that when I’m behind and rushing to get Sunday’s message done, those moments happen less. My hunch is that when I’m rushing and just trying to get something written out, my head and heart have the volume turned to the max and the pedal to the metal. In those weeks, it’s hard to take time to reflect. It’s hard to take time to listen in prayer, to be still and know that He is God. When I’m rushing, prayer is a pleading for something, anything. But there is a better way.

The Importance of the Simmer Day in Sermon Preparation

I have come to realize that I need margin in my sermon preparation process. I need a day after the message is written when I can put it away, not look at it and not think about it consciously. For me, that day is about to change because we are launching a Thursday service (identical to our Sunday services—it will be the first one of the weekend), but for now, my simmer day in sermon preparation is Friday.

I have my own deadline: I get my message manuscripted by Thursday. This gives me Friday to keep the sermon put away and not look at it. Saturday night, I revisit it, review it and put together my preaching notes.

But you may be wondering…

What does the simmer day actually do?

The simmer day allows me space to get out of “sermon mode” and trust that God will do what He wants to do. It allows me to have some relief from the pressure that comes with preaching. And what I’ve found to be the difference maker is that the margin invites the Holy Spirit to work on me in a deeper way as the time to deliver the sermon draws closer.

The simmer day functions very much like a Sabbath for the preacher. It’s the day to put it all down, to go and spend time with family, friends or the community. To be sure, the message is on our mind throughout the day, but it seems that after this important day, the message begins to seep into our hearts.

The Preacher’s White Space

Good design includes white space. It’s the margin on a paper where no words live. It’s the logo design that includes more than words.

White space is breathing space. White space is praying space.

We need it in our days to stay fresh and we need it in our weeks of sermon prep to keep from hijacking the sermon—making it ours and not God’s.

But how can we make room for this?

Well…

4 Tips to Get Ahead in Sermon Preparation

In order to be able to have a simmer day, we must get ahead in our sermon prep. Not only for the week coming up but for the weeks and months ahead.

Here are some tips to get you on the right track so you can create margin in your week.

Be intentional – Block off sermon prep time on your calendar. Don’t schedule meetings during these times if you can help it. And many times, you can.
Plan ahead – We’re big advocates of mapping out your entire year.
Build a team – You don’t need to do sermon preparation alone, building a team can be a tremendous blessing.
Give yourself a deadline – Don’t let it be Sunday.

We’ve got something really exciting coming your way soon. One of the things it’s going to help you do is get ahead in your sermon preparation. We’ll be releasing more details in the weeks to come. Be on the lookout.

Do you already have a simmer day built into your week?

This article originally appeared here.

How to Handle Conflict in Ministry

Chris Wesley

February 21, 2018

Conflict comes in so many shapes and sizes. We all need to know how to handle conflict in ministry. Sometimes it finds you and other times you need to create it. No one really wants conflict because it causes us to slow down and address something that’s messy.

4 Ways Of How To Handle Conflict In Ministry

1. TAKE CARE OF IT IMMEDIATELY

The tendency is to hide from conflict, but all that does is create gaps in communication. If the relationship isn’t solid then suspicion will fill in.

To take care of conflict immediately means:

Acknowledging that there is a problem.

Communicating with all who are involved.

Creating a plan to address the situation.

If there is a delay, the tension will grow along with the problem.

2. REMOVE EMOTIONAL TRIGGERS

When emotions take over, it’s easy for the rationale to go out the door. While you want to be authentic in your feelings, you need to make sure they don’t consume the conversation.

Change the focus from you and put it on resolving the issue. Think about what’s best for the relationship. Slow down the process, listen to the whole story, and ask God for guidance and wisdom.

3. PARTNER UP

In conflict, you need accountability and an outside perspective. An outside party will be able to hear things that you might miss. They’ll be able to explain the situation in a new light.

Partnering up is also important when meeting with someone of the opposite sex. It removes any misinterpretation and can diffuse any discomfort on the other person’s part.

4. ONCE RESOLVED, LET IT GO

Keep short accounts. Don’t keep a tally of how many times a certain person places in conflict in your life. Try to move on after a resolution is found. In the end, you’ll be happier.

You might find that someone is a reoccurring problem. Again, in those situations, it’s important to have accountability. Bring any conflict you have to your pastor or supervisor so that they can help you create safeguards.

Conflict is not fun, but it is necessary. It’s going to help you stop, slow down and think about what you are doing. Instead of ignoring it, address it and move through it. In the end, it will make you stronger.

What other tips would you offer when it comes to facing conflict?

Do You Suffer From ‘Bible Anorexia?’

Keri Folmar

February 21, 2018

Our souls can starve, just like our bodies. Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). Our souls require regular meals from the Scriptures. And notice the word “every” in Matthew 4:4. We need all of God’s Word to keep us healthy, not just verses here and there. A.W. Tozer was right: “Nothing less than a whole Bible can make a whole Christian.”

I had a friend in high school named Julie who had anorexia nervosa. Anorexia is a disease that ravages some women, causing extreme weight loss from a refusal to eat. This leads to abnormal blood counts, fatigue, thinning hair, irregular heart rhythms and low blood pressure. The scary thing is that girls and women with anorexia can’t see how thin they are. When they look in the mirror, they don’t notice the bones protruding. In fact, they may even think they see fat.

Christians can have Bible anorexia. I attended a women’s Bible study that had a workbook with quite a bit of homework in it. We would do the homework and then meet together to talk about it. One friend told me she was frustrated with the study. My friend replied, “I like coming to Bible study, being with other women and opening my Bible. But then I like to shut my Bible and go home.”

This woman was busy with much serving in the church. She was part of the music team and helped in the children’s ministry, but she didn’t realize she needed the Scriptures for regular and personal spiritual nourishment at home. To her, Bibles were for church meetings. She thought a meal here and there would sustain her. She was unhappy in life and couldn’t see that she was thinning out spiritually, even in the midst of all her serving. She had Bible anorexia.

FUEL FOR THE SOUL

God calls his Word bread, milk and honey. He has graciously given it to us to keep us alive and enable growth. Second Peter 1:3 says, “[God’s] divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.” Notice that God’s divine power works through knowledge of Christ. This is why the Bible is the main course on our spiritual menu.

Paul also repeatedly exhorts his readers to grow in their knowledge of Christ. In his letters, he teaches about Christ and encourages others to teach about Christ. He prays in Philippians 1:9 “that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment.” In the modern world, we think of love as simply a feeling, but God wants our love to abound in knowledge. As our knowledge and discernment grow, our love is purified and we bear fruit that redounds to the glory of God. Just as we eat to fuel every cell in our bodies, we read and hear to power our hearts and souls.

OFF THE MENU

Just as individual Christians can have Bible anorexia, churches can starve too. Cutting-edge music, artistic videos and clever illustrations can build a crowd, but God’s Word is what the Holy Spirit uses to build a church. Sadly, the Bible is being sidelined today in many church gatherings. Even “Bible-believing” churches no longer read substantial portions of the Bible when they gather. Perhaps because they consider it too boring. Biblical truths in hymns and songs have given way to more emotive expressions of how we feel about Jesus, or how he makes us feel. As for the sermon, too often it has been relegated to 20 minutes of moving stories and cultural commentary to break up the monotony of the “preaching.” After all, we now live in a digital age and our attention spans, we’re told, are shorter than those of goldfish.

In contrast, here’s what Paul tells the church: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Col. 3:16). God’s Word reverberates through a church that gathers to read, pray, sing and hear the Word of God. That Word dwells deeply and spreads inside and out. The church grows strong, truly becoming “a pillar and buttress of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15).

If only more churches reverberated with open statements of the truth (2 Cor. 4:2) to produce Christians who are growing and mature. The Bible alone, empowered by God’s Spirit, is sufficient for this work. Individual Christians and their churches must fill themselves with the Scriptures.

A banquet of Christ awaits us. Let’s not starve but enjoy the feast!

* * * * *

Editor’s note: This has been adapted from Keri Folmar’s new book, The Good Portion: The Doctrine of Scripture for Every Woman.

This article originally appeared here.

3 Dangers of Self-Improvement

Rusty George

February 21, 2018

Think about all the things we are supposed to do to be a successful and thriving person: exercise three times a week, eat right, journal, work on your past, plan for your future, invest in your retirement, set goals, work hard, build relationships, always be learning, try to relax and the list goes on and on. Yet, despite all these things, we are lonelier, more insecure, more depressed and more anxious than ever before. We talk to friends, read books, seek counseling, listen to mentors, experts and life coaches, and the result is still the same—we feel stuck. With all the emphasis on self-improvement, most of us continually feel even more empty and lonelier than ever.

To complicate things even more, when we turn to the Bible it says we’re supposed to “die to self.” And the way we do that is to capture every thought, produce fruit, share our faith, renew our minds, forgive those who have wronged us and the list goes on and on.

Sometimes I feel like I’m even more consumed with me when I’m so focused on trying to die to me. So how am supposed to die to myself when I’m constantly thinking about myself?

Recently I found myself in a particularly stressful few months filled with disappointments and unmet expectations leading to a heightened sense of anxiety. I often find that my life would be a lot easier if everyone (including God) would just do as I say, which is never the case. So I decided to take a shot at self-improvement to ease the anxiety.

I first began by getting a counselor. We met regularly to help me process my thoughts and give me some direction. Then I wondered if the problem was medical, so I met with a psychiatrist to see if I needed medication. I scheduled an appointment with my doctor for a physical, my chiropractor for an adjustment and even my dentist edmonton south for a cleaning (you never know). I also worked on my physical health. I joined a gym, met with a trainer, downloaded diet apps, switched to bulletproof coffee, counted carbs and even took a shot of wheatgrass once in a while. I listened to podcasts from the wiser people than I, watched videos from experts, read countless books on fear, anxiety and personal development, and even tried meditation. And though I lowered my cholesterol, raised my self-awareness and everything brought about a small amount of relief—I still felt stuck.

Then, one day I woke up and had a bit of a Solomon revelation, “Meaningless, meaningless—everything is meaningless. In all of my work to fix myself, I had lost myself.”

Here are some unintended destinations with self-improvement if we are not careful:

1. Self-improvement can lead to self-consumption.

My obsession with fixing me led to an obsession WITH me. I began to live what some refer to as a self-hyphenated life of self-consumed and self-righteousness all for the sake of self-improvement. Now, as a pastor, I discourage this type of selfish behavior, but I felt that since this would ultimately help my ministry, then surely the ends would justify the means. But it didn’t and I was just selfish.

2. Self-focus can lead to loneliness.

The more I discover about myself, the more I realize “no one is like me.” Because of all the personality tests, strength finders and temperament assessments, I felt like I was put into a pretty narrow category. Which made me realize that in my attempts to find myself, I lost myself.

3. Self-obsession can reduce God.

Since I was on this self-improvement trip, even my daily devotional time became focused on what God could do for me. I only read what I thought would help me. I picked devotionals promising to renew joy and facilitate closeness with God. I’d dust off books from desert fathers or buy books from new pastors all of who offered titles that would be fuel for my soul. But I was just seeing God as the wonderful counselor, and not the Mighty God.

At the end of the day, I came to this startling realization—in my attempt to find myself, I lost myself. Maybe that’s what Jesus meant when he said, “Whoever seeks to find himself will lose himself, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Maybe this is why Jesus saw community as being so valuable. He understood the reality that I am now beginning to discover. Self-improvement can’t be done in a vacuum—self-improvement is better together.

If you would like to know more, check out my latest book, Better Together; a surprising truth for introverts, extroverts, control freaks, free spirits, people persons, curmudgeons and especially you.

This article originally appeared here.

Kathie Lee Gifford Gives the Best Billy Graham Tribute

Bob Ditmer

February 21, 2018

Billy Graham Tribute — Screengrab Youtube @Today

Billy Graham lived his life sharing the good news of Christ, and even in news of his death the gospel is being shared.

On a segment on NBC’s Today Show, Kathie Lee Gifford gave a clear and convincing explanation of Christ’s salvation to a national audience while sharing her stories about Billy Graham.

Gifford said her whole family came to faith in Jesus thanks to Billy Graham. Her mother and sister accepted Christ while watching a Billy Graham Crusade on television. Gifford said she came home to find her sister and mother on their knees and crying in front of the television. “And I asked ‘who died’ and it was, no, who was born.”

Gifford says she met God in a movie theatre watching a production by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association titled The Restless Ones.

Segment host Megyn Kelly asked Gifford about the “joy of belief” she shared with Graham.

“What just happened for Billy happened for my husband, it happened for my mother, for my father, everyone who dies in Christ goes immediately into the arms of Christ for eternity,” Gifford responded. “That is the hope of the Christian faith… It gives us the peace that passes all understanding, and if there’s anything we need in this world now it’s peace.”

She told Kelly she was sharing the Gospel at 4:30 that morning on Twitter with a man who was struggling. Gifford told him his hope was in Christ. He asked her, “How can I know your Jesus?”

“People ask me why I’m so bold, about my faith. I say, ‘If you had the cure for cancer would you keep silent? I have the cure for the malignancy of the soul, and he has a name and it’s Jesus.’”

Gifford said she feels privileged to share the good news, telling the national audience “and I’m not talking about a religion, I’m talking about a relationship with a living God. We don’t need more religion, we need more Jesus.”

And while she talked about the unique person that Billy Graham was and his love for God and the people around him, she reminded the viewers that God has his people everywhere who are talking about the salvation that is available through belief in Jesus Christ. She told them, “The good news is the doctor is in and he conquered death for all time for every one of us and it’s free.”

Gifford also told some humorous stories about Graham, who she had come to know well. She said he appeared on her first Christmas special on CBS back in 1995 reading the Christmas story from Luke. The program was taped in her home. Before the filming began, Frank Gifford, Kathie Lee’s late husband, asked Billy if there was anything he’d like before they got started. Graham asked, “Anything?” Yes, he was told. “I’d like a Big Mac,” the evangelist responded.

Frank Gifford went out to a neighborhood McDonalds and bought Big Macs for Graham and everyone on the set. Kathie Lee said, “He was human like everyone else.”

Matt Redman: Worship Is Not About a Small, Flimsy God

Jason Daye

February 21, 2018

Matt Redman is a worship leader, singer, songwriter and author based in Brighton, East Sussex, United Kingdom. He has been involved in a number of events for the Passion Conferences and worked with Hillsong London. Matt is married to Beth and they have five children. He has been a full-time worship leader since the age of 20 and this journey has taken him to countries such as South Africa, Japan, India, Australia, Germany and the Czech Republic.

Key Questions for Matt Redman:

How did you plan for weekend worship gatherings?

What was the impact of having the trust of your lead pastor?

How were you secure in what God was calling you to do as a teenage worship leader?

How has worship changed over the last 20 years?

[SUBSCRIBE] For more ChurchLeaders podcasts click here!

Key Quotes from Matt Redman:

“You’re going to be frustrated at times being a leader because God has given you a few steps ahead of everyone else so you can lead them there.”

“Sometimes we overestimate what we can get changed in a few weeks and we underestimate what we can get changed in a few years.”

“When I first started out I was leading worship 15 times a week…I am so grateful for that season. Lamentations says ‘its good for a man to bear the yoke while he’s young.’”

“If God is affirming your call in life, others will be telling you that too…..and not your mum.”

“One of the key ingredients that’s missing in many worship teams is kindness….it’s not a great environment for creativity.”

“When I started doing this i didn’t even know being a worship leader is a job…unless you played the organ.”

“When you look at the actual depth of the lyrics; have we gone backwards? The content in them is a little flimsy.”

“When it comes to worship we have to be in awe; we have to have wonder and mystery and reverence in the mix.”

“If you have a small, flimsy God what good is that going to be in the midst of a storm?”

“What I love about spontaneous worship is it tells us we’re in a conversation with a living, active God.”

Links Mentioned by Matt Redman in the Show:

Glory Song

YouTube acoustic videos

mattredman.com

Passion album 2018

Matt Redman on ChurchLeaders:

Matt Redman Turns Times Square into a Worship Room with ‘10,000 Reasons’

Louie Giglio and Matt Redman: Indescribable

Billy Graham Has Gone Home to Be With Jesus at 99

Megan Briggs

February 21, 2018

Billy Graham Death — Screengrab Facebook @Billy Graham

Evangelist Billy Graham has gone home to be with Jesus. On Wednesday morning, February 21, 2018, a spokesperson confirmed Billy Graham’s death to news sources.

The world-renowned preacher known for his tent revivals and ubiquity across denominational lines passed away at 8 a.m. Eastern, according to Jeremy Blume, spokesperson for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA). Graham, who had suffered from cancer, pneumonia and other ailments, ended his time on this earth at his home in Montreat, North Carolina.

Although Graham has been deteriorating physically for several years now, his legacy will endure as one of the most consequential preachers of the modern era. Graham was seen as the spiritual adviser to many U.S. presidents, including Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter. The nation looked to him when tragic events occurred and listened to his sermons on the radio, on television and in person. According to the BGEA, through radio, satellite television, podcasts and social media, Graham’s sermons have reached millions of people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The renowned evangelist made a public appearance in 2013 at a gathering in Asheville, North Carolina, to celebrate his 95th birthday. Eight hundred people traveled to see Graham and wish him a happy birthday. Among them were several big names, including Kathie Lee Gifford and Donald Trump.

During the height of his evangelistic career, Graham garnered the nicknames “America’s pastor” and the “Protestant pope.” Although ordained as a pastor in the Southern Baptist Church, Graham crossed many denominational lines. It’s no exaggeration to say thousands of Americans have come to Christ through his preaching. In fact, Louis Zamperini, the gentleman whose incredible life is portrayed in the movie Unbroken, traces his faith back to a Billy Graham Crusade in Los Angeles.

Graham’s preaching style was fiery and full of conviction. He was known for bringing every problem in life and every difficult situation facing the U.S. back to a need for moral and spiritual revival.

Graham was 99 years old when he passed away.

13 Ways to Train Volunteers in Your Children’s Ministry

Greg Baird

February 20, 2018

Next to “recruiting” volunteers, training is perhaps one of the most challenging elements of leading in Children’s Ministry. But our real job is to equip God’s people to do the work of ministry (Ephesians 4:12; see this post for more).

Here are a few ideas to help get you started :

13 Ways to Train Volunteers in Your Children’s Ministry

1. Annual Event

This can serve as a key vision-casting and team-building event—very important pieces to training which are often overlooked. I always try and get my Senior or Executive Pastor to at least make an appearance.

2. Regularly scheduled equipping.

Monthly or quarterly events designed to include the bigger picture elements, but getting more specific training for specific tasks and skills. This might be larger group (i.e., all of the elementary team), or more targeted groups (i.e., the first grade team).

3. Train the trainers

Regardless of your church size, when you begin equipping others to equip others, you will not only multiply the training that gets done, but in doing so you lessen the burden on everyone. Train others to train their teams, or to become general Children’s Ministry trainers with you. You might also focus on specifics—for example, if you have a great storyteller, have them train all age level teachers to tell great stories.

4. Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships are, perhaps, the most effective method of training. Simply have new volunteers work under more experienced leaders to learn how to do what needs to be done. This can be informal, but the more formal and intentional you get, the better.

5. Hallway moments

Hallway conversations can be some of the best ways to train because they are short and focused (if you make them that way). And, perhaps most important, they are specific to the equipping needs of that individual volunteer. But, as the leader, we have to be willing to be intentional about shaping these conversations, and have the courage and confidence to initiate them.

6. Coffee conversations

It’s great to sit down with an individual or small group of volunteers and talk over coffee (or whatever your choice of location might be). I especially like to meet with new volunteers or newly formed teams. As we know, ministry always happens best in the context of relationships, and this is a great way to add the relational element to the equipping process.

7. Cheat sheets

A half-page sheet of paper with tips on certain areas are a great way to allow volunteers to equip themselves. Limit the tips to one topic—discipline, for example—and make them visually appealing. Then hand them out randomly or once a month, or to individuals as you see the need (perhaps leading to that hallway moment). A brief conversation can be followed by them reviewing the tips on their own. Follow up later to see what they thought about them and how they are applying them.

Want to Start a Livestream: Here’s What You Need to Know

Bob Ditmer

February 20, 2018

Livestreaming of worship services is growing. No longer do churches have to buy expensive airtime from television stations for a one-time broadcast. Streaming allows churches to reach new potential members, seekers and shut-ins with their weekly service and rebroadcast it as often as they like by way of on demand.

But starting a streaming ministry can be intimidating. In this video from the Digital Pastor, you can get a lot of questions answered and some practical suggestions on equipment and companies to help you launch your own livestream.

First, the hardware.

Recommended Computer Specs:
Windows 10
Intel Core i7 Processor 3Ghz+
8GB DDR3 Ram
Solid State Hard Drive
Nvidia GTX 950/960/970/980 or GTX 1050/1060/1070/1080

Reference Computer Systems:
Sapphire (4 SDI or 3 SDI & 1 HDMI Inputs)
Emerald (4 1080p HDMI Inputs)
Ruby (8 1080p SDI Inputs)

When it comes to streaming equipment, churches have two choices, a computer or a dedicated streaming box such as:

Tricaster / https://www.newtek.com/tricaster/
Teradek VidiU / https://teradek.com/collections/vidiu…
Epiphan Webcaster / https://www.epiphan.com/products/webc…

The video highly recommends using a computer for livestreaming based on the belief that it is more versatile and scalable as you grow. In this application, the computer would take the live video signal and send it to your streaming software.

Alan Lockwood the Live Video Director for the Kensington Church has a different view. He strongly encourages a hardware encoder such as the Teradek VidiU or similar hardware.

“In my experience hardware encoders like the VidiU are much more stable. With a computer encoder like OBS or Adobe Flash Media Live Encoder, there is always the possibility that other parts of the computer will fail or get bogged down. I’ve witnessed forced windows updates derail events, and volunteers are always tempted to use the computer for things other than streaming. The dedicated hardware encoder is set and ready to go at the push of a button.”

Lockwood also recommends using a hardware-based switcher with a physical control surface. That used to be an expensive option but he says Blackmagic Design recently released a system called ATEM TV Studio that includes hardware controls for under $3,000.

There are several options for streaming services and video mixing software mentioned in the video with a strong recommendation for vMix.

vMix / https://www.vmix.com/
Wirecast / https://www.telestream.net/wirecast/
OBS / https://obsproject.com/
Livestream Studio / https://livestream.com/studio
Flash Media Live Encoder / https://offers.adobe.com/en/na/leap/l…
VidBlaster / https://www.vidblasterx.com/

The video also references content delivery networks. CDN’s put your worship service livestream in many places at once, providing superior coverage to your viewers.

The CDN Services mentioned in the video:

The Cloud Media Group / http://www.thecloudmediagroup.com/
Edgecast/Verizon Digital Media / https://www.verizondigitalmedia.com/
Akamai / https://www.akamai.com/
Facebook Live / https://live.fb.com/
YouTube Live / https://www.youtube.com/my_live_events

The Chapel in Akron, Ohio started streaming almost two years ago. Aaron Bechtel, the church’s Video Director says they’ve used livestream.com for their CDN and he’s happy with its performance. He says they make dedicated desktop apps and mobile apps and even devices that attach directly to the camera. So it’s very user-friendly. The service also streamed to Facebook or YouTube, which Bechtel stopped because they couldn’t turn off comments.

Bechtel says the only downside is the cost. They’ve since switched to Vimeo to save money but he admits it’s not very user-friendly.

Kensington Church sends its livestream to YouTube. Lockwood says they use a service called restream.io. “With this service, we can stream to Facebook and other platforms simultaneously.”

He also recommends multi-bitrate encoding for those researching streaming service providers.

“I have looked into churchstreaming.tv and their service looks awesome. It will allow users to stream to YouTube, Facebook, ROKU, Apple TV and an embeddable player simultaneously. They even have a hardware encoder included with their service, and offer a great bang for the buck.”

And one more suggestion from Lockwood for those who are more tech-savvy; Wowza. He says wowza users install the software onto their own server. He calls it “very robust and affordable but requires technical knowledge to use” and your church has to take care of server maintenance.

Bechtel says the ability to add the stream to your church website or to a variety of set top boxes, like Apple TV and Roku, should not be overlooked because many systems can’t. He’s looking at one called MediaFusion that claims the ability to send your livestream to a host of devices.

One other topic that Bechtel says should be addressed that is missing in the video is licensing. He told MinistryTech.com, “You can’t just plug your camera into a computer and hit go. You have to buy the license that allows you to do that. We have the CCLI streaming license. But even then we don’t have the license to include the song lyrics on the feed. We just couldn’t afford it.”

10 Things Great Leaders Grant Their Teams

Ron Edmondson

February 20, 2018

Whether stated or unspoken, a leader plays the key role in setting the culture of the organization. People on any team will often wait until they feel they have permission from leadership before they move forward.

If you want your team to flourish, make sure you grant them permission to be a great team.

Here are 10 things great leaders grant their team:

The right to dream – Leaders give the team permission to dream the seemingly impossible. The lid of possibilities will often be when the leader’s sense of pragmatism trumps their sense of imagination.

The freedom to fail – People need to know they can mess up and still have another chance on the team.

Encouragement to have fun – Let’s get this party started! Work hard, but take time to laugh along the way.

An openness to experimenting – It might work. It might not. Let’s give it a try.

Permission to ask questions – People only know what they know. Great leaders allow people to ask questions about anything of which they are unsure.

A culture of collaboration – The team mentality is the healthy view of leadership. Isolation leads to destruction. The more we can get people working together the stronger our teams will be.

Welcoming individual recognition – This sounds anti-team mentality, but it’s not. What I mean here is that when the leader owns all the acknowledgement a team receives, it limits what people will attempt to achieve. People need to be able to receive recognition for their good work even on a healthy team.

An expectation to be challenged – People usually perform up to the expectation set for them and seldom beyond.

Shared ownership – Ownership leads to stewardship. The more we give people a seat at the table, the more responsibility they will assume for overall results.

A path toward individual creation – Original thoughts should be welcome on a team. Leaders make sure the team knows it by how we respond when people have an idea.

There are likely lots of others. Feel free to share some of your thoughts with us in the comments.

This article originally appeared here.

10 Ways Christians Can Fight Depression

Brandon Hilgemann

February 20, 2018

Christians get depressed too—even pastors. I know because it’s part of my story.

Years ago, my family and I went through a series of difficult events. I was hurt. I was bitter. It led me down a dark road.

The first feeling I remember was like being tired. I didn’t know I was depressed. But getting out of bed every day took all the strength I could muster.

I had been working in the trenches of ministry for years. Was I just burnt out? I’ve heard so much about burnout. Maybe this was it.

So I got a lot of rest, but it didn’t go away.

If you saw me at church or around town, I would have smiled and told you I was good. On the outside, I wore the mask that so many Christians do. Inside, I was dying.

My wife will tell you that it was the darkest year of our life. I was tired and sad every day. I was present with my wife and kids physically, but mentally I had checked out.

Six months in, I finally admitted that I wasn’t just burnt out. I was depressed.

But I’m a pastor! I’m not supposed to get depressed. How could this happen to me?

I’ve never shared this with anyone before (except my wife). And the reason I’m writing about it now is that, by the grace of God, I’ve overcome my depression, and I believe you can too.

DISCLAIMER:

Before I get into the things that God used to help me pull out of a year of depression, I need to make a few important disclaimers.

Many factors lead to depression. We still have much to learn about what causes it.

In this article, I’m not talking about depression caused by mental illness. I have a close family member who has a mental illness that causes depression. He will battle it every day of his life, and I thank God for advances in psychology and medicine that have helped him manage it.

So if you are wrestling with a mental illness and need to take medication to manage your depression, let me be the first to tell you that it’s OK.

There’s a terrible stigma in the church about taking medication to manage clinical depression. It’s wrong. God doesn’t love you any less if you need medicine. Nobody should be looked down upon for getting help.

Also, please know that I’m not a professional psychologist. I can only speak about my experience. If you need help, please talk to a professional.

The tips I’m suggesting here are what helped me to pull out of a dark time in my life.

There was no magic fix. The climb out was slow and painful. It didn’t happen overnight.

But over time, the depression faded into the background, and I have moved on.

Here are the 10 things that helped me.

1. PRAY

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:17-18)

Yell at God if you need to. Tell him all your frustrations. Don’t stop. He can handle it.

When I was depressed, I blamed God. I was mad at him for allowing this to happen to me. I played the victim, and my prayer life suffered.

Things started to turn around for me only after I started praying again. Just know that it didn’t happen overnight. I prayed day after day, month after month.

God is faithful. He hears your prayers. Don’t stop.

My Granddaughter, the Waitress, Is Learning the Hard Way

Joe McKeever

February 20, 2018

“It’s not about you, honey. Some people will love you more than you deserve, and some will despise you without ever giving you a chance. You must not take it personally.” –My advice to my Granddaughter

Erin just turned 21 and earns a living waiting tables at a nice up-scale restaurant in the Mobile area. The other day, she came home in tears.

The restaurant had been crowded, with long lines of people waiting to get inside. The kitchen was running behind and diners had to wait an unusually long time for their order. Erin ran herself ragged all evening. She specifically thanked people for their patience and apologized for the slow service. She didn’t have a moment to catch her breath.

This particular table had two young men and a middle-aged guy. They seemed nice enough. Since the kitchen was running slow and they had ordered pizzas which had to be made from scratch, requiring at least a 30 minute time frame, several times Erin stopped by to thank them for their kindness and patience and to assure them the pizzas would be out soon.

Then, when they paid their tab, she found out a different side of them.

One had written on his tab, “Get better.” Another wrote on the “tip” line: Zero.

None of the three left a tip.

That hurt.

These thoughtless, selfish men penalized the waitress—who like most every other waitress in every restaurant earns something like two dollars an hour—for not putting their order in front of everyone else’s.

And she wept.

As her Grandpa Joe, I hurt for her. Being human, I’d like to say a few things to some selfish men who should have stayed home that night.

I could not erase this from her mind and heart, but I could help her learn an important lesson from it.

Erin’s plans—as I understand them—include marrying into the ministry before too long. So, she will be learning about life from the pastor’s home. So, I wouldn’t be surprised if this little lesson in the restaurant will turn out to be timely.

My wife Bertha, a pastor’s wife all her adult life, had a story for Erin.

“When our children were small, one Sunday morning just before the worship service, I went to pick up my four-year-old son after Sunday School. The woman who led the class was standing at the door waiting for me. She had a big paper grocery bag in her arms. As it turned out, it was filled with Jeff’s little cars and toys from home.

“She handed it to me and said testily, ‘Here are your son’s toy cars that I have collected for a full year. You know very well he was not supposed to bring them from home!”

The woman was chewing out the pastor’s wife.

Bertha said, “I merely took them from her and walked away.”

The snarky attitude of that woman certainly merited an appropriate response. Only the self-control of the pastor’s wife made her bite her tongue and go on.

5 lessons that Billy Graham has taught us:

1. Live a focused life.

2. Stand with boldness.

3. Practice what you preach.

4. God does extraordinary things through ordinary people.

5. There are no perfect people.

Do you expect all your small group members to have a certain type of quiet time? Do they get as excited as you do about certain ways to worship God?

Preference on Ways to Worship God

Sacred Pathways

Application to Your Group Gatherings

The Importance of the Simmer Day in Sermon Preparation

The Preacher’s White Space

4 Tips to Get Ahead in Sermon Preparation

4 Ways Of How To Handle Conflict In Ministry

Here are some unintended destinations with self-improvement if we are not careful:

Key Quotes from Matt Redman:

Links Mentioned by Matt Redman in the Show:

Matt Redman on ChurchLeaders:

13 Ways to Train Volunteers in Your Children’s Ministry

1. Annual Event

2. Regularly scheduled equipping.

3. Train the trainers

4. Apprenticeships

5. Hallway moments

6. Coffee conversations

7. Cheat sheets

When it comes to streaming equipment, churches have two choices, a computer or a dedicated streaming box such as:

Here are 10 things great leaders grant their team:

Many factors lead to depression. We still have much to learn about what causes it.

1. PRAY

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