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5 Truths We Must Tell Our Kids in a World of Political Chaos and Madness

By
Cameron Cole
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

Dear Teenager,

Among celebrities and politicians, you have inherited mostly horrible role models for how to engage in civil discourse.

Screaming, shaming, hostility and violence have become normal examples of how one talks to others with whom they disagree. We have politicians who demonize opponents, journalists who intentionally lie in order to smear people, and activists who justify violence. Quite frankly, I think our President would be disqualified from student leadership in most youth ministries due to his language and tone on social media.

As a parent and a youth pastor, I want to tell you that these norms are unacceptable; there is a better way.

We can hate ideas or practices, but Jesus leaves no room for anything but love and respect in how we treat people, regardless of what they believe and do.

Here are some truths I want to tell you, so that one day you will set a better example for the younger generation than today’s leaders have set for you.

(1) You are just as sinful as those ‘bad people’ that you want to demonize.
The President has a penchant for calling the media “bad people.” Segments of the media love to call President Trump “Hitler” or “the devil.” Protesters use threats and vandalism to boycott speakers, who they consider so evil that authorities should prohibit them from voicing their opinions.

Condemning people who we consider wicked feels so good. There’s almost a rush that comes from denouncing our enemies. People treat it like a recreational sport.

Beneath this verbal warfare and judgment resides incredible self-righteousness. We believe that we are so morally superior to another person that we have earned the right to condemn them. Here’s the hard truth for you and me: We are no less sinful than the next person (even people like politicians, journalists and violent protestors).

The apostle James said, “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.”¹ Paul wrote, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”² When you feel that burning desire to condemn another person, remember that you and I are just as sinful as they are. God graciously gave us the only righteousness we possess. If we “appear” better, it is only by God’s grace.

(2) That person who you may think is so detestable has a story…and you don’t know a fraction of it.
You will see people do crazy things and espouse wicked ideas. When I read rants from people on Facebook, I want to judge them and then offer back a sarcastic or caustic response to their post. When I think about people who join ISIS or Al Quaeda, my instinct is to label them as purely evil.

Here’s the truth: Every person has a story, and we usually do not know a fraction of it. That feminist who seems to hate men and interpret every situation as a gender-based power struggle may have been horribly mistreated by men during her life. That angry atheist who always rails on Christianity may have been abused by their Sunday school teacher in their childhood. Past traumas do not excuse inappropriate behavior. At the same time, we must remember that people often act out of pain and fear.

Furthermore, remember that you have a story of your own. You have experiences and wounds that may lead you to react to others with anger, or condescension, or self-righteousness.

In the same way that we would like people to give us grace given our own story, we must do the same for others. When we remind ourselves that each person has a story, we can view them with compassion and treat them lovingly.

(3) Every human life has dignity. Every single one.
No matter how deplorable a person may seem, no matter how atrociously they may have acted, God created and ordained every life. Every person has dignity because God created her or him in his image. Therefore, when you scream at, harass, judge or demonize a person, you are disrespecting something that God considers sacred.

One time, I listened to a political candidate advocate extreme views on abortion that I considered abhorrent. My blood was boiling. I wanted to say, “This person is despicable.” My feelings toward that person were sinful.

In that moment of self-realization, I felt as if the Lord said, “This is a person whom I made in my image, a person who is filled with dignity.” To repent and calm myself down, I started saying over and over again in my heart, “[Politician’s name] is a person whom God made. He is full of dignity.” Remembering the God-ordained dignity of each life inclines us to treat and regard people more gently, kindly and respectfully—even and especially when they disappoint us.

(4) What’s wrong is wrong and will always be wrong.
At times, people feel so passionately about an issue that they think it justifies doing immoral or unethical things to promote or defend that cause. Journalists and politicians lie. Protestors use violence to deter opponents. Adults use profanity to express how strongly they feel about an issue.

My sixth grade teacher, Mrs. Reed, had a sign on the wall that said, “What’s wrong is wrong and will always be wrong, even if everyone is doing it. What’s right is right and will always be right, even if nobody is doing it.” Lying is sinful. Vulgar language is sinful. Violence is sinful (apart from self-defense). Sin never benefits you, your neighbor or the world. Period. God’s law works to produce the most peaceful, loving world possible. Violating his law is always counterproductive.

(5) Seek first to understand, and then to be understood.
In our culture, everyone thinks that expressing their opinion is critically important. Whether it’s through social media, political activism or bumper stickers, self-expression is an idol in America. Maybe that’s fine for them, but I want for you to listen first.

Proverbs 18:2 says, “A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.” Leadership guru Stephen Covey put it this way: “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” This practice requires patience. It means actively listening to a person and working to understand his or her perspective before you worry about expressing your own opinion.

This is hard. You will find that most people just want to be heard and understood. When you demonstrate that you desire to understand them, tension tends to dissipate and constructive conversations occur.

¹ James 2: 10

² Romans 3:23

This article originally appeared here.

The Role and Value of Women in Jesus’ Ministry

By
Brandon Cox
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

Here’s a confession. When I read passages like this…

When they arrived, they went to the upstairs room of the house where they were staying. Here are the names of those who were present: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (the Zealot) and Judas (son of James). They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women and the brothers of Jesus.

Acts 1:13-14 NLT

I tend to get a certain picture in my mind. And I don’t think it’s very accurate.

It’s a bunch of men—Jesus’ men—sitting around a big table, praying.

And about those women mentioned in the verses? I assume they’re not sitting at the table. They’re present, but doing something else. Sitting somewhere else. Not praying with the men.

I think that picture is historically inaccurate, but I think it’s partly framed by growing up with primarily patriarchal thinking in regards to the church.

Men lead. Women serve.

As I was preparing for a recent series of messages about the post-resurrection conversations Jesus had with his disciples and close friends, I found myself digging in a little deeper and reading more about how things were back then. And I’ve come to the conclusion that Jesus was pretty revolutionary for his time when it came to involving women directly in his ministry.

Yes, it’s true that all of the 12 whom Jesus chose were male. Perhaps this had to do with the dangerous kind of work he would be commissioning them into—knocking on the doors of strangers, sleeping who knows where, traveling from place to place in a dangerous world.

Perhaps it was because of some prophetic significance of the 12 Israelite tribal heads and the 24 elders of Revelation. That’s a whole can of worms in and of itself.

Here’s what I do know. Jesus involved both men and women, directly and closely in his ministry.

And then, throughout the New Testament, women remained deeply involved in the work God was up to.

Soon afterward Jesus began a tour of the nearby towns and villages, preaching and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom of God. He took his 12 disciples with him, along with some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases. Among them were Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons; Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s business manager; Susanna; and many others who were contributing from their own resources to support Jesus and his disciples.

– Luke 8:1-3 NLT

Whom did God choose to be the first messengers sharing the story of the resurrection of Christ? Women…

But very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance… Then they remembered that he had said this. So they rushed back from the tomb to tell his eleven disciples—and everyone else—what had happened. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and several other women who told the apostles what had happened.

Luke 24:1-2, 8-10 NLT

Lydia, in Acts 16, was a church planter. She was the first Jewish convert to Jesus in the city. She was very likely a wealthy dealer in textiles, and supported the work of the new church.

When Apollos was discovered by the apostles, it was Priscilla and Aquilla who discipled him, and Priscilla’s name appears first each time they are named in Scripture.

Apollos, an eloquent speaker who knew the Scriptures well, had arrived in Ephesus from Alexandria in Egypt. He had been taught the way of the Lord, and he taught others about Jesus with an enthusiastic spirit and with accuracy. However, he knew only about John’s baptism. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him preaching boldly in the synagogue, they took him aside and explained the way of God even more accurately.

– Acts 18:24-26 NLT

And then there are the daughters of Philip, who seem to receive virtually no attention whatsoever in most modern evangelical circles. We write them off as mystery, but the Scriptures seem to indicate they were speaking God’s truth to people as a ministry…

On the following day we left and arrived in Caesarea. There we stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the seven men who had been chosen as helpers in Jerusalem. He had four unmarried daughters who proclaimed God’s message.

– Acts 21:8-9 TEV

When Paul wrote to the believers in Rome, he wrote a deeply personal letter. At the end, he is offering final personal remarks and mentions women who held a pretty significant place in the early church…

There’s Phoebe, the deacon, who very likely delivered and possibly even read the letter to the Romans.

I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a deacon in the church in Cenchrea. Welcome her in the Lord as one who is worthy of honor among God’s people. Help her in whatever she needs, for she has been helpful to many, and especially to me.

Romans 16:1-2 NLT

And then there is the apostle, Junia. And Junia’s case is one of the most peculiar of all…

Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews, who were in prison with me. They are highly respected among the apostles and became followers of Christ before I did.

Romans 16:7 NLT

For a thorough historical treatment of Junia’s rather unique situation in church history, I would highly recommend Scot McKnight’s brief work on the subject, Junia Is Not Alone. (It’s available only on Kindle.)

I’ve come to believe that the Great Commission was being carried out with such urgency by the church’s earliest generations that there wasn’t an argument about who should be doing which jobs. It was an “all hands on deck” mission in which everyone was equally valued and welcomed to lead, to serve, to pray and to carry out the work of missions.

I don’t believe that the urgency of the mission has diminished even slightly. We need every Spirit-filled, gifted, willing servant to engage the present generation with the gospel.

So, boys and girls, let’s keep on laboring together to expand the Kingdom of Jesus until he comes again!

This article originally appeared here.

Pastor as Overseer of Worship Music

By
Joshua Jenkins
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

Most people would typically understand and agree that one of the pastor’s main responsibilities is the weekly preaching and teaching from the pulpit. Further, most would agree that the pastor is the overseer of the doctrine that is taught in the church, although it is most likely within the bounds of the confession or doctrinal statements already laid out by the church.

Though preaching is likely the focal point of the pastor’s ministry, let us not reduce the office of pastor (or elder) to his being merely a preacher. (Although the term “merely a preacher” may be a bit of an oxymoron. Preaching the mysteries of Christ as revealed in the written Word of God is no “mere” task).

In Titus 1v7, as Paul is laying out the qualifications for elders (“elder” is synonymous with “pastor” in Scripture), he refers to the elder as an “overseer.” “For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach” (Titus 1v7). An overseer is one who oversees what has been put in his charge. The pastor is an overseer of what is God’s, namely His church, as the text refers to him as “God’s steward.”

Furthermore, in 1 Peter 5, Peter is addressing the responsibilities of elders. “Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you…” (1 Peter 5:2a). Here Peter describes the responsibility of the pastor as “exercising oversight.” Peter illustrates this responsibility of oversight by exhorting elders to “shepherd the flock of God that is among you.” A shepherd does not merely feed his sheep, at least not a good one. A shepherd feeds, defends, protects, cares, guides, directs and tends to the wounds of his sheep. A good shepherd exercises complete oversight over his sheep, keeping in mind what is in their best interest. The pastorate is not a dictatorship, it is stewardship.

This is what the office of pastor entails, oversight over the local congregation God has given him to steward, not just over the pulpit. There are many ways in which this plays itself out. In this post, I would like to speak to the area of worship music.

Since the pastor is to be an overseer, this means one of the areas he is responsible to exercise oversight in is the worship music of the church. God almighty has charged pastors, His under shepherds, with this great responsibility. It is unbiblical and ecclesiastically illegal for a congregation, committee or other party to strip the pastor of this responsibility, since it is God who gave it to him. It is also unbiblical for a pastor to surrender his obligations in this area.

Worship music can often be seen as a trivial thing for a pastor to spend his precious time on, or one of low theological importance. But I argue the opposite. It is my conviction that the songs we sing in church are of utmost theological importance, second only to the ministry of the Word from the pulpit. The church’s corporate singing is a direct mode of worship, so we had better get that right.

The pastor’s oversight in this area of course does not mean that he has to actually lead worship himself. That is not what is meant by the term. Delegation is a valid and necessary practice for a pastor. However, some churches that are blessed with a plurality of elders will often make one of their elders the worship leader, or make their worship leader an elder, if he is so called to the office. This is a valid option, the ideal option in my mind.

To exercise oversight over worship music, at base level, means that a pastor is monitoring the songs that are sung, and even the style that is used, always vetting them theologically, and testing them against Scripture. Quite frankly, elders have veto power if they deem a song not up to par theologically. The style of music played in corporate worship is also under the oversight of the elders. A pastor shouldn’t deny certain styles based on his personal preferences, but he certainly can if he deems a certain style to not be compatible with his congregation, or inappropriate for a corporate singing setting.

Pastor as overseer of worship music does not mean he has to pick every song out, but it means that he certainly can. Exercising oversight can be done from near or from far, but it must be done.

Pastor if your church music is missing the mark theologically, or is unsuitable for corporate singing, you not only have the authority to do something about it, you have the responsibility to do so.

This article originally appeared here.

Why We Must Be Open to Different Styles of Worship Music

By
Chuck Lawless
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

This past weekend, I had the privilege of worshipping at a gathering of many churches from one area (in my denomination, an “associational” meeting). During that meeting, several worship teams—all using different styles, and some in a different language—led us in worship. Since then, I’ve thought about why we must be open to different styles, regardless of our worship style preferences.

  1. God is glorified by the variety of music styles. God is the Creator who created our world with incredible variety, from flowers to people. Apparently, He is glorified by such variety, so we need to appreciate it.
  2. Various styles allow others to use their gifts. Let’s be honest—some folks are better at leading hymns, and some are better at leading contemporary choruses. When we employ multiple styles, we open the door for more folks to use their gifts.
  3. Learning to appreciate multiple styles is a sign of Christian humility. A willingness to be stretched about music styles for the sake of the gospel is evidence of godliness and humility. Regardless of our preferences, it’s arrogance that says, “I’m never going to change my mind. I like what I like.”
  4. Multiple styles help us to reach and keep multiple generations. It’s no secret that older generations generally prefer hymns and younger generations prefer contemporary music. If we want to reach everybody, we must be open to worshiping with all generations.
  5. We can all learn from other music styles. Many classical hymns teach great theology, but so do many contemporary choruses. Both include selections that come straight out of Scripture—sometimes built around direct quotes of biblical texts. Both of them can be God-honoring, so we should be open to learning from each.
  6. Appreciating various styles allows us to worship together. I understand the choice to establish different worship services according to style, but sometimes we completely separate the generations in doing that. Perhaps we’d worship well together if we learned to appreciate all styles of worship.
  7. God has not ordained one music style. If He had, it be would right to stand up for the only one He has ordained. Because He hasn’t—and because of #1 above—we must be open to various styles.

What are your thoughts? 

This article originally appeared here.

Like When Dylan Went Electric

By
Jared C. Wilson
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When you’ve walked a certain road for a certain length of time, long enough to attract followers who agree with your direction, you will absolutely alienate some—if not many—if you change directions.

My current writing project—scheduled to publish in 2019 from Zondervan—is a book aimed at helping ministry leaders practically, carefully and wisely navigate the transitioning of their church from the attractional paradigm (with its functional ideology of pragmatism and consumerism) to greater gospel-centrality. One of the central tenets of the book is that ministers leading this change must summon great courage.

They must summon great courage because they will invariably, inevitably lose people. Perhaps a lot of people. Perhaps even fellow leaders.

What you win them with is what you win them to. And if you’ve won them with attractional programming, you can expect they’ve been won to it, and thus any strong deviation, even moreso in the direction of gospel-centered preaching and biblically healthy church dynamics, because even those moves can be quite jarring for the uninitiated.

It reminds me, actually, of 1965.

No, I wasn’t alive then. I was negative-10 in 1965, but that was the year the great Bob Dylan took to the stage of the Newport Folk Festival and made everybody angry. How? By plugging in his guitar.

Playing electric wasn’t new then, of course. And today it’s entirely uncontroversial. But the folk scene at the time—as Dylan was ascending to its highest point—favored a kind of musical purity, a singularity, a stripped-down way of presenting truths. And Dylan had garnered acclaim doing just that, performing alone, just he and an acoustic guitar (and harmonica) and a microphone.

Many of his fans had come to equate him with that “traditional” form of expression. So when he took the stage in defiance of expectation, with an accompanying band and 1.21 jigawatts of power—which some said actually overpowered his vocals, their true complaint—it didn’t matter how awesome it was, how artistic it was, how Bob Dylan it was.

He changed the direction. And many in the crowd turned on him, loudly booing. (Dylan later returned for an encore and played by himself, with just an acoustic guitar.)

One music historian said that at Newport, Dylan electrified one half of the crowd and electrocuted the other.

This will happen if you set aside the inspirational pep-talks, pragmatic chit-chat, therapeutic aphorisms and preach the word, with Christ and his finished work as the main feature. You will electrify half your crowd who didn’t know what they were missing and you will electrocute the others, who may feel confused, perhaps even betrayed.

I’ve talked to a few pastors of larger churches who have sought to make the transition to greater gospel-centrality. Not many even try. These brave souls end up seeking to pastor disillusioned souls, angry souls. They unfortunately see many leave. The bravest keep going.

If you are pondering what it might mean to “change the game” in your preaching and ministry aims, to put Christ and the gospel at the center, don’t be afraid. You will get booed. But it’s just because they don’t see what you see. One thing that makes Dylan Dylan is his refusal to cater to the crowds, to simply play the music, to let the song be the feature, not himself. Not to strain the analogy too much, but let’s let the gospel be the feature of our churches and let the chips fall where they may.

Maybe this Sunday is your “Newport 1965” Sunday. It’s a Sunday we’ll be talking about 50 years from now. That “relevant” stuff you’ve been doing? We’ll forget about it next month.

Pragmatism goes with the times, and to go with the times, as C.S. Lewis said, is to go where all times go. The gospel, however, goes to 11.

This article originally appeared here.

12 Crowd-Sourced Ideas to Get More People Involved in Your Groups

By
Mike Mack
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

I participate in a huddle of small group and discipleship ministers in the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana region that discussed how to get more people involved in disciple-making groups. Here are 12 of their ideas. Many of these work well in combination with others.

1. Build a culture of authentic community in small groups in the church. Of course, the preaching minister/lead pastor is in the best position to build this culture. Consistently mentioning in his messages how his group has helped him or made an impact on others sends the clear message that groups are important.

2. Redefine “normal.” In everything you do as a church, make being in a group the norm for church attendees and members. That may mean converting your membership class into a group experience, for instance. Help people, new and old, see that “this is who we are.”

3. Think “product placement.” Be sure groups are mentioned from the stage or during services, place items about them in the bulletin and newsletter, promote them from a visible place in your lobby, and so forth.

4. Share group stories whenever and wherever possible. Use video and live personal stories in services, on the website, in your newsletter, on social media and so forth. Be creative!

5. Consider how to reach different segments in the church. Do you need one or more groups to reach out to young families? Single moms? Blended families? People who work third shift? Be creative in how you help people connect.

6. Encourage every group member to talk about and invite people to visit and join their group. Create an invitational culture in the groups by reminding members that this is part of their mission (1 John 1:3).

7. Pray for your “one.” Dale Reeves, pastor of adult discipleship at Christ’s Church at Mason (Ohio), has asked group members to consistently pray for and then invite the person whom God has put on their heart and in their path.

8. Leverage other church ministries. Start new couples groups out of a marriage class, or ask current group members (not just leaders) to stand so that those not yet in groups can ask them about their group. Another idea for young couples groups: Serve in the nursery or at the check-in counter and prayerfully look for opportunities to invite new young couples to your group.

9. Plan a large small-group fair or connection event two to three times per year. Plan so that group members and leaders can meet people and extend invitations to their groups.

10. Provide clear entry and exit ramps. Make it easy for people to get into a group, but also provide guilt-free exits for them if their initial group isn’t a good fit.

11. Begin new groups with short-term commitments. A barrier for many people is the fear of jumping into a group that has no clear ending point. But the best, most authentic, family-like groups are ongoing. To solve that problem, ask for a four- to six-week commitment up front. Once people make friends in a group, they are much more likely to stay.

12. Plan a small group campaign several times a year. Base the group materials for this campaign on the sermon series. People like to dovetail what is being discussed in weekend services into their groups, and this provides a great way to get new people involved in an up-front, short-term commitment. By the way, it’s vital to have your next group study planned in advance, so you can easily invite the new people to stay in the group. Be strategic!

This article originally appeared here.

We Can’t Be Pro-Life if We’re Not Anti-Poverty

By
Katie McCoy
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

We can’t truly be pro-life if we’re not anti-poverty. Follow me through the facts here.

Last month, the organization Planned Parenthood celebrated its 100-year anniversary. Since 1916, founder Margaret Sanger’s vision for this organization, reflected even in its very name, was that every child be a wanted child. But underneath this mantra lay an ambition of systematic eugenics along with her belief that “the most merciful thing that a large family does to one of its infant members is to kill it.” Today, Planned Parenthood has performed approximately 7 million abortions, a fraction of the 57 million pre-born lives ended since abortion was legalized. And that’s just here in the United States.

To put that number in perspective, over 57 million is about 1/6 of the current population in the United States and rivals the number of atrocities committed by Joseph Stalin. This number would be similar to the genocide of the entire country of South Africa, the annihilation of all the people in South Korea, or the wiping out of the nation of Spain.

Further, of that 57 million, minorities are disproportionately represented. African Americans make up less than 13 percent of the total population in the United States, yet comprise between 30-35 percent of abortions. In fact, a black American woman is five times more likely to have an abortion than a white American woman.

Among professing Christians, abortion is rightly decried as a modern-day Holocaust, the killing of millions of defenseless unborn lives under the political protection of court systems and the facilitation of taxpayer funding.

These pro-life convictions are in our spiritual DNA. As far back as the second century, the early church condemned the practice of abortion, a stance that contributed to twice as many women converting to Christianity than men.[1]

But there’s another characteristic of the early church that doesn’t seem to have the same urgency here in America, at least not in our conversations on important social issues. And it happens to be inextricably linked to the prevalence of abortions in our communities: If we’re going to be truly pro-life, we must also be anti-poverty.

Consider this: In 2014, 49 percent of women who had abortion procedures had incomes at 100 percent of the federal poverty level; that’s a single woman with no children living on $11,670 year or less. (An additional 26 percent of women who had abortion in 2014 had incomes between $11,670 and $23,340 per year.) Inability to afford a child is among the top reasons a woman has an abortion; a 2004 study found that 74 percent of women having an abortion cited financial constraints.

What organizations like Planned Parenthood leave out of their marketing strategies is how much money they make off of a woman in poverty.

Put yourself in her shoes: A new mother can expect to spend about $2,400 on diapers, formula and baby food alone. And that doesn’t count the cost of things like furniture, clothes or childcare. And that doesn’t even include the medical bills for labor and delivery (which average over $9,000). Perhaps she could apply for government assistance, like the WIC program? In that case, she must not earn more than $2,500/month without losing the additional income. This means she will be caught in the limbo of not earning enough to support herself and her child independently, but not earning so much that she is unqualified for financial help.

For the single woman with an unplanned pregnancy living on less that $12,000 per year, raising a child seems impossible, even un-survivable. For her, a five- to 10-minute procedure at a neighborhood clinic for about $450 seems like a way out.

Perhaps this reinforces why pro-life advocacy that focus on the mother rather than the unborn child has proven to be more effective. According to a study titled “Profile of a Woman With an Unplanned Pregnancy,” a woman may agree that having an abortion means killing an unborn child, and even agree that abortion is morally wrong. However, as the article explains, “that is the price a woman in that situation is willing to pay in her desperate struggle for what she believes to be her very survival.”[2] The woman with an unplanned pregnancy believes her entire life is at stake.

Yet, in her fear and uncertainty, the woman considering an abortion will likely not hear about her increased risk of addiction, eating disorders or future infertility, along with the shame, guilt and difficulty in relationships she will likely endure. To quote the “Profile” again: “The terrible miscalculation of young women is that abortion can make them ‘unpregnant,’ that it will restore them to who they were before their crisis. But a woman is never the same once she is pregnant, whether the child is kept, adopted or killed.”[3] These are the life-altering realities that a woman having an abortion may not discover until she has to live with them.

And this is how the abortion industry exploits economically vulnerable women.

This isn’t to say that all issues should have the same priority. But it does mean we cannot afford to be morally selective. We cannot work to end abortion while being ignorant of, or unmoved by, the social and economic factors that often contribute to it.

If we, as the people of God, considered the abortion-vulnerable woman as our responsibility, perhaps she wouldn’t feel like an abortion was her only option. Perhaps she wouldn’t feel quite so alone.

Our spiritual forefathers considered care for the poor an essential practice of our Christian faith (Gal 2:10, see also 1 Jn 3:18, Prov 31:8-9). The Apostle James even makes this an issue of discipleship, one that proves the validity of our saving faith (Jms 2:14-17). He asks what good it does if we see someone’s material need, tell her to live as though her need has been met, yet do nothing to contribute to her situation. For Pastor James, this would undermine our very profession of faith. How much more would it undermine our pro-life message?

Have we who claim the name of Christ abdicated our responsibility of care for the poor among us, especially economically vulnerable women, to state-sponsored programs? Or worse, do we become dismissive, and even perhaps a bit cynical when our government attempts to fulfill our ministry?

If we’re going to speak up for the unborn, we have to speak up for the poor. If we’re really going to be pro-life, we must also be anti-poverty.

—

[1] Rodney Stark, The Rise of Christianity (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996), 95-128.

[2] Profile of a Woman with an Unplanned Pregnancy,” The Life Choices Level 1 Volunteer Training Manual, 1st Edition 2012, 41.

[3] Ibid., 42.

This article originally appeared here.

5 Realities About the Weight of Pastoring

By
Eric Geiger
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

Since leaving full-time local church ministry to become one of the vice-presidents at LifeWay, I have always missed and loved the local church. Dr. Draper, the former president of LifeWay, once told a leader on my team, “If you ever stop missing being on local church staff, leave immediately.” The sentiment was that we could only be helpful to local church leaders if we love what they do and miss what they do.

So after moving to Nashville almost six years ago, I still looked for ways to serve a local church body. I became a teaching pastor at a church and led a Sunday School class for young married couples before I began serving churches as interim pastor. My second interim was a church right where I live, just a few minutes from our home, and I loved and connected with the people very early on. In time they asked me to move from being interim pastor to serving as bi-vocational senior pastor. I was honored and prayerfully jumped at the opportunity. And I greatly underestimated the weight of being the senior pastor. I calculated correctly the time it would take to prepare sermons, meet with pastors on the team and give direction to the church. I scheduled, blocked off and fiercely protected the appropriate time. But no amount of time management can decrease the weight of being a senior pastor. It is no exaggeration to say that being an interim preacher weighs less than 1/10th of being the senior pastor—even when the senior pastor is “bi-vocational.”

When the apostle Paul listed all his sufferings, he concluded the list with referencing his burden for the churches he served. The weight of pastoring, though filled with immense joy, was a weight that topped Paul’s list of suffering.

Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? (2 Corinthians 11:28-29)

Notice a few of the words Paul uses: face, daily, pressure, concern, sin, inwardly, burn. With those words in view, here are five realities about the weight of pastoring.

1. The weight of pastoring is constant.

Paul declares the weight is “daily.” A pastor never stops being pastor. The weight is there constantly.

2. The weight of pastoring is emotional.

Paul writes that he “faces” the pressure daily. The weight of pastoring is not merely something you read or hear about. It is something you face, sense and experience.

3. The weight of pastoring is spiritual.

More than merely dealing with measures on an income statement, sales report or balance sheet, a pastor deals in the arena of “sin” and wrestles continually with the implications of a fallen and broken world.

4. The weight of pastoring is tangible.

Paul mentions his “concern” for real people, people who are weak and struggling. There are tangible needs of real people, and they weigh heavily on a pastor who loves the people being served.

5. The weight of pastoring is intense.

Paul writes that he “burns inwardly.” It is not only the tangible needs of people but also the inward burning for continual responsibility for the flock. The tangible needs of individual sheep are present but so is the intangible burden for the whole flock.

This article originally appeared here.

How to Get Along Better With Your Boss

By
Dan Reiland
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

A search for the ideal boss is like a quest for the Holy Grail. It will always elude you.

Getting along with your boss is more about perspective, give and take, and a lot of grace more than an ideal.

For example, when an employee has a highly structured and possibly detailed boss, they often want more freedom and empowerment. And when an employee has a highly fluid and creative ideas boss, they often want more structure and clarity. It’s human nature to want more of the one you don’t have. However, that skews how you see the situation, and therefore solutions may escape you.

It is possible that you just might work for a jerk, and maybe you should leave. But candidly, that’s rare. It’s usually a situation that can be improved relatively easily if both of you want it to.

Four insights that will help improve your working relationship with your boss:

1) A boss without flaws is an unproductive expectation.

The expectation of a perfect boss is something like the expectation of a perfect spouse. It’s not going to happen. If you persist in that expectation, not only will you be disappointed, but you’ll miss all the good that was right before you.

I’ve listened to staff members in numerous churches say something like, “I’m not asking for perfect, but my boss is a LONG way from anywhere near perfect.” If you or anyone starts there, the road to an enjoyable working relationship will be long and bumpy.

It’s best to start with achieving a common desire, that is, each of you needs to want to put the other first.

Your boss must choose to serve you through development and wanting more for you than from you. One without the other doesn’t work.

That foundation coupled with trust and open communication will go a long way toward enabling you both to have great conversations. That leads to point number two.

2) Don’t be afraid to take a risk.

It’s important to have honest conversations—even when they are tough. Not every week, not even every month, but have them.

If you fear the consequences of asking a tough question or confronting an issue, perhaps you are not in a healthy situation, and change is needed, one way or the other.

I’m not recommending that you leave, but why stay if you are afraid to be honest? You won’t be happy or fulfilled in the long term and therefore won’t be able to do your best work. No one wins in that situation.

How you have a potentially tough conversation really matters. Always show respect and gratitude. Always. Ask questions, don’t make accusations, and make sure you genuinely want what’s best for your boss just as much as you want what’s best for you.

If your genuine desire is to serve your boss well, and you’re doing a good job, the vast majority of these conversations go well.

3) Drill down for clarity on your role and responsibility.

When I was a young leader and did not have much experience as a supervisor, a pastor fired off a very frustrated: “What do you want from me?!!” I was stunned, but calmly replied, “I want you to do your job.” He then asked, “Just what is my job?!” I began to list his responsibilities, and we quickly discovered we were far from aligned. Neither one of us handled that well, but the good news was that we both shared great appreciation and respect for each other so gaining clarity was not difficult from there.

Clarity in what is expected of you is not only needed, it’s non-negotiable. It should be in writing and reviewed at least annually. But day-to-day formality isn’t the goal. Just talk. Most situations are resolved quickly if you will talk.

That’s how the pastor and I resolved it. One good conversation, and we also wrote it down.

4) Maturity always makes the relationship better.

I can’t emphasize strongly enough that casually talking about your boss to others never helps.

Maturity is a two-way street for sure. But the focus of this article is on what you can do to get along better with your boss.

You do need a place to gain wise counsel, perspective and practical advice. That should be limited to one or two people (three at most, not including your spouse), who are not your “buddies.”

Your buddies will typically defend your perspective without question. One person inside your organization and one to two two people outside your church is enough. Choose people who are smart, strong and care about you.

You will find what you look for and experience what you focus on. If you look for and emphasize the good, your relationship with your boss can improve nearly overnight.

You will experience less stress and frustration. This combined with the previous things I’ve mentioned can make a huge difference.

This article originally appeared here.

Eugene Cho: Sacrificing Agenda to Make a Positive Impact on Your Neighborhood

By
Jason Daye
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

Eugene Cho is the founding and lead pastor of Quest Church in Seattle. He’s also the founder of One Day’s Wages, a non-profit organization focused on global poverty. Born in South Korea, he immigrated to the U.S. at age six and grew up in San Francisco. He and his wife, Minhee, have been married 14+ years and have three children. He studied psychology and theater at UC Davis and received his theological degree from Princeton Seminary. Eugene is the author of Overrated: Are We More in Love with the Idea of Changing the World than Actually Changing the World?

Key Questions:

When you were starting Quest church, there was another church that decided to “die to itself” and merge with yours. Can you tell that story?

What advice would you give a pastor trying to transition his or her church in some way and is facing resistance?

What role does planning play for you in the overarching mission of your church?

How are you encouraging your congregation to engage in neighboring?

[SUBSCRIBE] For more ChurchLeaders podcasts click here!

Key Quotes:

“One of the mantras in our church is ‘You can’t love your neighbors if you don’t even know your neighbors.’”

“Everyone is resistant to change. Everyone. I used to think it was just those who are older, and I realize it’s just everyone.”

“It’s really tempting, when we have what we think is a captivating vision, to cling so tightly onto that vision that we begin worshipping or idolizing that vision rather than the giver of that vision. I’ve made that mistake numerous times.”

“The center of everything we do is the gospel of Christ—that we be Spirit-led and not necessarily vision-driven, agenda driven.”

“Oftentimes, when we [pastors] share [a new idea] with our leadership team…we have to understand their initial response oftentimes might be construed as resistance because they’re asking questions because they haven’t had the privilege or luxury of thinking about it, praying about it, marinating it, as we have for months or even for years.”

“I often tell my church: ‘We’re not the only church in Seattle. Praise God!’ We’re one church seeking to be faithful. So even though we might…be tempted to do everything, that’s really a false allusion in our culture.”

“The person who tries to do everything will do nothing well.”

“Part of what we learned during that time is that we needed to relinquish the obsession that sometimes we in the western church have where our only metric of win is getting people inside our doors on a Sunday morning.”

“It’s important for Christians to embrace the ministry of reconciliation. However, I’ve come to learn that a lot of people love the idea of reconciliation until they realize it involves truth-telling, confessing, dismantling, asking for forgiveness. It’s really challenging and hard.”

“We don’t just want to be a building. We care about the common good of our neighborhood and we want them to know that.”

“Local churches will come and go…But the Kingdom of God will endure forever.”

“The greatest church planter….is the Apostle Paul. And if you ask the question how many of his churches, his branding, his logo, his buildings are still around, the answer is zero. But just imagine the influence, the legacy, of the Holy Spirit’s work through that particular person.”

Mentioned in the Show:

Quest Church
Eugene on Twitter and Facebook
Instagram: @pastorEugeneCho
OneDaysWages.org

3 Steps to Getting Your Walk With Jesus Back on Track

By
Daniel Fusco
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

If life is a journey, sooner or later we all lose our way. That, my friend, is an inevitable side benefit of being human. Every journey begins with a single step in the right direction, but as life goes on, when we don’t have our eyes fixed on the outcome, it’s all too easy to veer off track. You’ve probably heard it said that when our focus is off by even just one degree over a long enough time, that leads us to places we’d never planned on going. And unfortunately, we’ve all been there.

Some of you saw the title of this article and said, “I want to find my groove again. I’ve lost my way a little. I want to get back on track following Jesus.”

I am excited for you. Know why? Because Jesus wants you back on track too. How do I know? Because he told us so. Sometimes the way back is so simple that it almost feels complicated.

As a pastor and author, I meet people all the time who know the right answers, but for whatever reason, can’t seem to recall them or live them in the most essential moments of their life.

As a follower of Jesus, I always want to keep the most important things front and center in my life. And there is no greater teaching of Jesus than the Greatest Commandment.

Think about it: If Jesus, the greatest person who ever lived (not to mention our Lord and Savior), told us what the greatest commandment—the most important truth in life—is, then we want to make sure we don’t miss that!

So to get our groove back, I want to look at three simple steps that Jesus gave us, right there in the Greatest Commandment:

1. GO UPWARD, LOVE GOD

We only get one shot at today, at life; how should we best live? Who should we be?

God wants to show us the art of living. The art of living is the art of loving.

It probably won’t surprise you to hear that the Old Testament contains a ton of commandments—a whopping 613 of them!

But in the New Testament, Jesus sums all of them up in a single commandment: “Start by loving God with your entire being, and follow that up with loving others the way you’d like to be loved.”

We see this in God’s Word in a section usually called “The Greatest Commandment.”

Every relationship begins, and is ultimately sustained, by saying “yes.” We need to say yes to Jesus again and again.

We need to respond to Him. God loves you—always has and always will. Even though you may be off track right now, God’s love for you has not diminished.

In order to see transformation happen in your own life, you need to respond to God’s love by returning that love. So the first step to getting your walk with Jesus back-on-track is to cultivate “upward living” by loving God with the totality of who you are.

2. GO INWARD, LOVE YOURSELF

Not only is it imperative to love God, but through God’s love, we learn how to love ourselves properly.

Our culture tells us, “You need to learn to love yourself!” God tells us, “You need to learn to love yourself!” Wait…what?

Here’s the deal: Those identical statements mean nearly opposite things. Our culture wants us to love ourselves by putting ourselves first. This is incredibly destructive. It’s the reason relationships rip apart, because you have two people putting themselves first, instead of the other person. It’s why Paul told Timothy, “There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves.” It’s the reason our public discourse is poisonous, and the reason Americans spend more than a billion dollars each year on teeth whiteners.

Good thing Jesus was sent on a rescue mission. See, what God means by loving ourselves is incredibly powerful. We love and value ourselves based on the finished work of the cross of Jesus. At the cross, our identity is displayed in God’s grace and love.

Don’t miss this: The only way to love ourselves in the way that God desires is to see ourselves through the lens of the cross of Jesus. Jesus spirituality is all about Jesus. And everyone knows that the cross and the empty tomb is what Jesus is all about. But when was the last time you thought, Loving myself has everything to do with cross and empty tomb of Jesus?

The death and resurrection of Jesus, and our trust in him, places us in the family of God. In order to properly love ourselves, we need a clear vision of who we are. God’s perfect plan was for us to view ourselves through the lens of the cross. God wants us to view ourselves as he views us, in and through Jesus.

We just don’t think about it that way. But we need to. We were re-created in Christ to think about ourselves this way. And when we understand our truest identity, the one given to us by God in Christ, then truly biblical self-love ensues.

The last part of the greatest commandment—“love your neighbor as yourself”—is impossible unless we love ourselves. That’s what as means—“in the same way.” We need to love our neighbors in the same way that we love ourselves.

Which is to say, we’re commanded to love ourselves, but we’ve got to do it God’s way.

And the good news for us is that as we live upward by loving God, the Lord will reorient our self-love so we become increasingly emotionally healthy people.

3. GO OUTWARD, LOVE OTHERS

The final step to getting back on track is to live outward by loving others.

As you live upward by responding to God’s love with love for Him, and then you begin to love yourself based on God’s love, the Spirit of God invites you to push outward to love others with this amazing love.

God doesn’t want his love to stop with us. But let’s be honest, loving others is incredibly hard.

Why? Because people are messy. And when we lose our way, we don’t want to love messy people.

But living upward continually reminds us that God loves us, even in the midst of our messes. And living inward teaches us to love ourselves, even though we are messy. Then living outward directs us to love others, especially when they are messy.

And just like that, in three simple steps, you find yourself, day in and day out, locked into the groove of following Jesus.

It’s that simple: Upward. Inward. Outward.

This article originally appeared here.

3 Church Politics Landmines to Look Out For

By
Rich Kirkpatrick
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

This is Part 2 in a blog series “Church Politics: Navigating land mines while leading your church.” Part 1 is here.

The conversation I hope is not to bash the idea of church, but to ask the question as to the possible better ways of working through the human reality of politics in human institutions. Surely we have options beyond Machiavellian tactics to lead people!

Stall Pulling the Trigger – the NON-decision decision.

Making no decisions is the surest way to not lose. In an organization that is politically driven, never making a decision means there are fewer points that work as strikes against you. Imagine, you are in your post because you really have not accomplished anything because to do so means you have to offend people, challenge the process or push the boundaries. If you actually create something, that can and will be used against you in the court of church politics.

Let your yes be yes and and your no be a true no. Yes, we should perhaps wait and pray, but delaying a decision must be owned as a decision. Leaders make decisions.

Don’t Make Anyone Look Bad – the no-backbone keep all happy thing.

In one church setting, I was asked by my department head to make a newsletter. At that time, desktop publishing was new and I happened to have the latest software to layout a decent piece. In fact, it was too good. Because our department piece ended up looking better than the main church newsletter we were told to shut it down. Why? If we were to publish the better newsletter, it would expose the inferior one. Excellence will be acceptable only as long as it will not offend.

Again, leaders have to choose, and sometimes that choice will offend. If you lead, you must expect that there will always be people who think you are doing things the wrong way.

Compare and Contrast – the deflect critics by pointing out you are not AS bad as others.

If a pastor chooses a terrible speaker to fill his pulpit, he is choosing to look good not based on his improvement but by comparison to the unflattering. A lot of marketing is based on stating you are the better choice. In politics the goal is to make sure this is the case, even if it means putting people in the wrong place or intentionally surrounding yourself with people who cannot compete with you as the leader. How does this serve the church? It doesn’t. If leadership is about passing on to others, then this will put a wrench in the machine of creating the next generation of leaders.

A leader’s job is to serve the institution, not keep the seat of power. In fact, if it means stepping aside to allow someone better to take over then by all means do it. This is our goal with our kids. Let’s see them succeed more than we ever could have. Right?

After looking at these three political behaviors, have you seen any of them at play in your church. How did you respond?

This article originally appeared here.

8 Idols Church Leaders Still Worship Today

By
Carey Nieuwhof
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worship today
Adobestock #946868526

What do you worship today? Ever ask yourself as a church leader, do I worship something or someone other than God? 

What Do You Worship Today?

It’s a great question to ask and a great heart check.

I’ll stick my neck out and suggest that you do have idols you worship instead of God. At least I do.

Once you identify them and root them out, you’ll become a better leader.

You’re an Idol Factory

I get challenged about my personal and leadership idols every year when I read through the middle part of the book of Isaiah.

Chapter 44, for example, is all about the futility of worshipping idols, which in those days were mostly wood or stone carvings.

So what’s an idol that you worship today? You don’t need wood or stone to create one.

An idol is anything that takes our focus and reliance off of God.

John Calvin was dead on when he said, “Man’s nature, so to speak, is a perpetual factory of idols.” Discard one that you worship today, and you’ll simply create another.

8 Idols Church Leaders Still Worship Today

The list could be much longer than eight, because Calvin was right. But here are eight I struggle with or have seen other leaders struggle with. These are in no particular order, because, well, any idol is bad enough to be #1:

3 Things That Keep People From Leading in Your Church

By
Church Fuel
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

We need more leaders.

We’ve tried it all, but we can’t get people to step up.

I end up doing everything because we don’t have enough leaders.

A lack of leaders is the visible problem in your church, but we want to address the root cause. After all, if you simply put a Band-Aid on the symptom, you’ll never be able to truly experience a healthy and growing church.

If you’re struggling to recruit or develop leaders in your church, it’s time to look under the hood.

Here are four deep reasons people might not be leading in your church.

#1 – Mission confusion.

Every church shares the same purpose: making disciples.

We say it in different ways and express it with different language, but our root purpose is the same. Every church in every setting is called to make disciples.

Most Christians will fundamentally agree with the purpose of your church.

It’s biblical.

It’s broad.

And that’s why it may not be enough to inspire leaders to serve.

Some people in your church (and I think it could be as many as half) aren’t motivated by purpose because it doesn’t seem tangible. It’s this eternal thing always out there, always calling us forward. But because it’s an eternal mission, there’s sometimes not a sense of urgency.

Leaders need to know the eternal purpose, but they need to know the one thing you’re doing about it RIGHT NOW.

They need to know the clear and present mission.

Here are some questions to help you drill down on this:

  • What specifically is your church trying to do?
  • Who is your church trying to reach?
  • What is the top priority in this next season of ministry?
  • What is the time-sensitive opportunity before us?
  • What is at stake if we don’t accomplish this?

These are the kinds of questions you must answer for leaders. They don’t have generic answers; they require specificity. They aren’t eternal; they have deadlines.

If you want leaders to serve in your church, you need to cast a clear, compelling and CURRENT vision.

 #2 – Having an outdated structure. 

The structure of your church can help or hinder your growth. Carey Nieuwhof says, “If you want your church to grow, you need to structure bigger to grow bigger.”

An outdated structure doesn’t just hinder growth in the church, it hinders growth in people. It prevents leaders from leading.

Leaders don’t want to serve in a stifling environment where there is little freedom. They don’t want to operate in a committee-driven culture where decisions are made at the top and pushed down through the ranks. They don’t want to operate in a bureaucracy where results aren’t visible.

When you look at the structure of your church, particularly your staff, board or committee involvement, ask yourself if that structure enables leaders to lead or prevents leaders from making decisions.

Leaders make messes. Leaders try things. Leaders don’t always follow the checklist.

So if your structure doesn’t allow for leaders to shine, you’ll probably always struggle to involve leaders.

Brandon Cox says churches with unhealthy structures have too many committees, vote on too many issues, lack simple parameters for decision-making, spread authority out randomly, and move slowly to allow everyone’s turf to remain safe.

Conversely, he says a healthy structure is built on high trust in leaders, gives responsibility away whenever possible, has fewer committees, votes on few issues and adapts to change more quickly.

Structure is not a quick-fix issue and it won’t be solved with a free eBook or webinar. In order to address your structure issues, you must be willing to get your hands dirty and have courageous conversations.

You must move into the process knowing the structure that allowed your church to flourish in the past may be the very thing holding you back from the next season of growth. You must realize that if your church is structured for your current size, you might need to make preemptive changes. The right time to re-structure is BEFORE you need it.

Structure isn’t just about growth or organization. It’s about freeing up leaders to lead.

Does Your Church Expect Guests, or Just Accommodate Visitors?

By
Bob Adams
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

When it comes to churches, more often than not we accommodate visitors rather than truly expect Guests.

It may be a little thing to you, seeming like mere wordplay, but there is actually a powerful first impression that needs to change if your approach is to accommodate visitors on Sunday rather than to expect to have Guests at your church.

Do you have Visitor parking? Visitor packets? A Visitor’s Center? Do you welcome your visitors during the worship experience? And on and on…

The first step in creating a memorable Guest experience is to remove the word “visitor” from your vocabulary, never to be used again. Think about it, what kind of person is a visitor at your house, as opposed to a Guest?

It’s a small thing to be sure. But often changing one small word in your church’s vernacular can reflect a substantial mental shift, impacting the entire experience of someone new. One word change can draw someone back the next weekend, and one word can begin to close the proverbial back door of your church.

What would it look like to expect Guests this Sunday?

Guests come to your church, looking for a warm greeting, a smiling face and an experience carefully crafted to welcome them and point them to Christ. This type of expectation does not require anything phony, manipulative or in-your-face; just leaders who will welcome them as Guests with the most sincere, energizing and loving experiences they can.

When it comes to understanding and welcoming Guests, the Disney organization has long been the “gold standard”—the best of the best. Instilled by Walt Disney in 1955 at the opening of Disneyland, expanded over the decades since at locations around the world, and refined today as both an art and a science, the Disney approach to Guest experiences provides a wealth of information that can help your church not just “accommodate visitors,” but to expect Guests.

THE QUICK SUMMARY – Be Our Guest, by the Disney Institute

Exceeding expectations rather than simply satisfying them is the cornerstone of the Disney approach to customer service. Be Our Guest outlines proven Disney best practices and processes for generating customer loyalty. One visit to a Disney park reveals that their Guest Experience extends beyond the front gates, and into the heart and mind of every employee at every level.

Be Our Guest takes you behind the scenes to help you learn new and creative ways to create and deliver a world-class Guest Experience.

A SIMPLE SOLUTION

Be Our Guest has been the invitation the Disney organization extends to people long before the song from Beauty and the Beast became a box office hit. It underscores an important element in the Disney vocabulary that customers are not referred to as customers or visitors, but rather as Guests. In the Disney nomenclature, the word “Guest” is capitalized and treated as a formal noun. It takes little effort to extend this line of thinking to your church:

What’s the difference between treating someone like a visitor, and treating someone like a Guest?

The obvious analogy is that we do things differently when we bring Guests into our home. We clean up the house. We dress up. We prepare something special to eat. We host them. We take care of their real needs. We even open the front door for them—every time.

Does your church expect Guests, or just accommodate visitors? How does Guest expectation extend beyond the front doors on a Sunday morning, but even into the office suite on a Thursday afternoon?

Realizing that God is bringing Guests to your church has to be the starting point, the foundation on which all else is built. Exceeding Guest expectations is the standard call to duty for every leader at every level and on every day.

At Disney, every leader at every level and on every day is a part of the Guest Services Team.

Exceeding Guest’s expectations is Disney’s service strategy, and paying attention to every detail is the tactic by which it is accomplished.

Disney’s Quality Service Compass encapsulates the organization-wide model that demonstrates Quality Service. It is the production process through which practical magic is created. In its essence, the compass can be used to create a shared vision of service that aligns the major elements that every organization shares—its people, infrastructure and processes—in a cohesive, comprehensive effort to deliver that vision.

The Quality Service Compass has four main points centered on our service objective: to exceed Guest expectations.

Guestology – the art and science of knowing customers.

Quality Standards – establishing the criteria for actions necessary to accomplish the service strategy, and the measures of Service Quality.

Delivery Systems – the systems that deliver service: employees, the setting and processes.

Integration – combining and aligning delivery systems, creating a matrix to troubleshoot problems and benchmark practices.

– Disney Institute, Be Our Guest

A SIMPLE SOLUTION

At your next leadership team meeting, review the four points of Disney’s Quality Service Compass outlined above. Using the introductory questions suggested below, ask, “What is working within our Welcoming Teams?” “What is missing or confused?”

Guestology: Understand your Guest Profile

  • Do you know who your Guests are? Do you collect basic demographic information from Guests? What does a study of the last 12 months of this information reveal about your Guests?
  • Do you collect additional information about your Guests (through a website survey, etc.? Do you know about their attitudes, lifestyles, values and opinions? What does a study of the last 12 months of this type of information reveal about your Guests?

Integration: Extend your mission to the Guest Services teams

  • How can you extend your church’s mission so that your Guest Services teams understand how their role is in alignment?
  • How is your mission seen through your Guest Services teams by the Guests they serve?

Standards: Define Guest Service

  • Do you have service quality standards that ensure the consistent delivery of Guest services?
  • Do your Guest Services standards reflect the values of your church?
  • Do your Guest Service teams use the standards as filters through which they prioritize the actions that contribute to a memorable Guest Experience?

Delivery: Establish systems that welcome Guests

  • Your Guest Service Team Members are the first and most important part of your Guest Service delivery system. They are the heart and soul of your Guest Experience. How do you select, train and evaluate your team members? What steps have you taken to create and maintain a culture of hospitality that nurtures your team members and encourages them to deliver a memorable Guest Experience?
  • How does your Environment (the physical and virtual resources of your organization) contribute to the delivery of a memorable Guest Experience? Do you regularly evaluate your setting?
  • Do you have a Process (the various series of operations used to deliver a memorable Guest Experience) that your Guest Service Teams understand and follow? Is this process regularly evaluated and improved as needed?

Finally, lead everyone in the meeting to identify one next step to take in THEIR ministry area or leadership to welcome Guests.

Excerpt taken from SUMS Remix #20, published August 2016.

This article originally appeared here.

What Google Learned From Its Pursuit to Build the Perfect Team

By
Paul Sohn
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

Google embarked on a study to identify the common denominators successful Google teams. After more than 200 interviews of 180+ active Google teams over the course of two years, the results defied their initial expectations. Originally, they thought a dream team would consist of one Rhodes Scholar, two extroverts, one engineer and a PhD.

Surprisingly, Google discovered that who is on a team matters less than how the team members interact, structure their work and view their contributions.1

Google learned that there are five key dynamics that set successful teams apart from other teams at Google. Here’s a summary of their key findings.

1. Psychological safety: Can we take risks on this team without feeling insecure or embarrassed?

2. Dependability: Can we count on each other to do high quality work on time?

3. Structure & clarity: Are goals, roles and execution plans on our team clear?

4. Meaning of work: Are we working on something that is personally important for each of us?

5. Impact of work: Do we fundamentally believe that the work we’re doing matters?

Courtesy of ReWork

Courtesy of ReWork

Psychological safety was far and away the most important of the five dynamics we found—it’s the underpinning of the other four. How could that be? Taking a risk around your team members seems simple. But remember the last time you were working on a project. Did you feel like you could ask what the goal was without the risk of sounding like you’re the only one out of the loop? Or did you opt for continuing without clarifying anything, in order to avoid being perceived as someone who is unaware?

In her TEDx talk, Amy Edmondson offers three simple things individuals can do to foster team psychological safety:

  1. Frame the work as a learning problem, not an execution problem.
  2. Acknowledge your own fallibility.
  3. Model curiosity and ask lots of questions.1
This article originally appeared here.

9 Things to Do While You’re Waiting on God

By
Denise Graveline
-
thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

We all know that waiting on God can be a frustrating season, especially when you feel as though your life has been put on stand by. I’m currently in a season of waiting. Waiting for the next job, next person to serve, next door to open, and the next assignment from God. Maybe you’re waiting for a future spouse or test results, or maybe you’ve been waiting for a few weeks, months, or years.

But the truth is that no matter the amount of time you have to hold on, God will remain faithful. And if you’re like me you’re wondering what you can do while you wait for the next move of God?

Here are nine things we can do while we are waiting on God:

1. Still Ourselves in His Word.

When our hearts are anxiously awaiting a word from God, or a resolution, or our breakthrough, it’s vitally necessary for us to have the patience and the courage to remain still—not only physically with our bodies but mentally and emotionally in our minds and heart. Putting aside time to read God’s Word and meditate on His promises re-centers us, and quiets our restlessness.

2. Pray Without Ceasing.

There are times when God has us in a position of extended waiting because of His desire for us to commune with Him. We may even start to think He doesn’t hear us anymore, so why bother? But isn’t that what the enemy of our souls wants us to think? Because then we remain silenced, no longer connecting with our Creator.

God desires for you to talk to Him. Share your heart so that He can share His with you. Jeremiah 29:12 says, “Then you will call on Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.”

3. Declaring His word.

We can’t expect to wear the victor’s crown if we’re speaking from defeat as a victim. We can’t hope to have a breakthrough while constantly talking “how broken we are.” When we speak God’s Word aloud over our problems, our shortcomings and our pain, we allow the truth to become illuminated in our lives. The Bible says the Word of God is sharper than a two-edged sword. It is the only offensive weapon we have to defend ourselves against the schemes of the enemy, and it reinforces our confidence in Him.

4. Worship God With Thanksgiving.

Something astonishing happens when we choose to worship God for who He truly is; the God of the universe. Every time we decide to praise Him we declare how worthy He is. Isn’t it beautiful to watch our faith grow over time? He is a God who does the miraculous in and around us when we choose to worship Him in Spirit and Truth humbly!

5. Back Then and Now.

We can often grow oblivious to the answered prayers that God has brought to fruition. He has blessed us in every way through Jesus Christ, and at times we can allow our lack of finances to distract us from how good He truly His. The impossible is always possible with God.

There’s something spectacular about keeping tabs on what God is doing in your life and the lives around you. A good way to keep track of God’s work in your life is to journal. Consider journaling about what God is doing in this season of anticipation so that in the future we will have something tangible to look back at, not only as inspiration but as a reminder.

6. Surround Yourself With Encouraging People.

I cannot even begin to describe the importance of fellowship with people that desire to see you strive in your walk. When we’ve been in a perpetual state of waiting for months or even years it can be very discouraging.

And what’s worse is we may find ourselves living out the old adage “misery loves company.” That is why it’s important to surround yourself with mature Christians who will invest in and mentor you during this waiting season.

Surrounding ourselves with Scripture, wise friends, godly books, and praise music will not only lift our spirits but also reinforce His love and promises while we wait.

7. Remain Obedient.

The “season of waiting” not only can leave us hopeless, but it can also lead us astray from God’s plan if we allow ourselves to faint. See this season of rest as a test which might be the proving grounds of our obedience to Him. Our obedience to God is a direct result of our love for him. John 14:15 Jesus said, “If you love me you will obey my commandments.” Wait on the Lord!

8. Serve Someone in Need.

It’s easy to get caught up in our struggles. At times our eyes can be so fixed on ourselves that we can’t see the needs of the people around us. As you wait, seek and be intentional of who God is calling you to serve today?

9. The Expectation.

We can’t rush God, but we can trust God. God’s timing is perfect, He sees the bigger picture, and He is the hand that perfectly attaches all the puzzle pieces together. No matter how anxious you are to know, if we must wait, rest with a sense of expectancy, knowing that whatever He is working behind the curtains will come to pass! God is never late!

This article about waiting on God originally appeared here.

7 Convictions About Evangelism

By
Alvin Reid
-
thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

In I Thessalonians 1:5 Paul says several things about how the gospel came to the Thessalonians: It came not only in word (it came in word, but more); in power, with the Holy Spirit and with CONVICTION. Paul completed his thought by noting how these Thessalonians saw how they lived among them. But I want to focus on the word “conviction.” Paul had undeniable convictions. What are your convictions regarding evangelism? Here are seven of mine:

1. Men and women are without hope until they receive salvation through Jesus. Therefore, we must evangelize urgently. People apart from Christ are lost (Luke 15), dead in sins (Eph. 2:1), under sin (Rom. 3:9) and under condemnation (John 3:18). Immanuel Kant once declared that David Hume, the skeptic, awoke him from his dogmatic slumber. Surely a skeptical world, living in fear, often without hope, should awaken us from our apathy!

2. Many people are ready to respond to the gospel. Therefore, we must evangelize regularly. Paul told Timothy to preach the word in season and out of season—or when we feel like it and when we don’t! In 1995, I had the privilege of joining the faculty at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Prior to that I taught at Houston Baptist University. Before leaving the university, I made an appointment with several students, including some whom I felt needed to hear the gospel. One was a young lady named Audra. I shared Christ with her. This was new to her, although she had gone to church services a few times. I gave her a gospel booklet, asking her to read it again.The first week after beginning my work at Southeastern, I got a letter from Audra. She wrote, “On August 9, I opened my heart to Christ. … A big thanks goes to you.” She even photo­copied the tract to give it to another person who needed Christ. This point is that Audra needed someone to tell her how to be saved. The reason many people aren’t Christians is that no one has told them how to be saved.

3. Believers are commanded by the Bible to evangelize. Therefore, we must evangelize obediently. Billy Graham has said the number one reason we should witness is because God says we should. There are certainly other motives for our witness, but we should not ignore this simple truth. Obedience matters to God. In this day of “consumer Christianity” which focuses on meeting our needs, obedience has become low on the priority list of many believers.

4. Most believers want to witness but do not. Therefore, we must evangelize purposefully. I have been in a couple thousand churches over the past decades. I am amazed at the number of believers who want to witness, who want to make a difference, who long for their lives to matter. They are afraid, or do not know how, or have been too busy doing good things to participate in the best thing—winning people to Christ.

5. The gospel is the greatest message we could ever tell. Therefore, we must evangelize confidently. As a university student, I was discipled by a man named Curtis. One day he asked me a simple question that changed my life.

“Alvin,” he said, “what is the best thing that ever happened to you?”

“The day I was saved,” I heartily replied, with my Sunday school smile.

“Then, Alvin,” he continued, “what is the best thing you can do for someone else?”

The answer was obvious. Yet I was immediately embarrassed at it because I knew my life did not reflect the joy of introducing others to the Jesus whom I knew so well.

6. We must rethink the way we understand and practice evangelism. Therefore we must evangelize missionally. We have to see America as the mission field it is and share Christ from the posture of a missionary in a land that does not know Christ. That’s a large reason I wrote the Sharing Jesus book.

7. We must understand the spirit of the times. Therefore, we must evangelize holistically. Evangelism is less a technique and more a lifestyle, less a method and more a movement. The Western Church has been in decline for longer than we would like to admit. The notion that we should simply do what we have been doing, only better or with more passion, must be rejected. The idea that the key to the future is a new method that meets the times misses the point. Separating evangelism from the life of the believer in a compartmentalizing manner must not happen. Einstein was right when he said insanity is doing the same thing over and over only to expect different results. We must take the timeless message and communicate it in a timely manner. Do you really believe the greatest thing you can tell another person is the good news about Jesus? Then tell someone!

This article originally appeared here.

Help, My Child Was Caught Viewing Porn!

By
Jim Burns
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

The shock, shame and anger that first takes place when you stumble upon the fact that your child has viewed porn is understandably terrifying. Every parent hopes their child will live with sexual integrity, and when we hear the statistics of kids and porn it can be disheartening. Yes, the average age of a child viewing porn in the United States is age 11 and there isn’t a mother or father around whose heart doesn’t break when we hear that fact. So what do we do?

Here are five tips for handling the almost inevitable fact that your child will look at porn whether on purpose or even accidentally.

1. DON’T FREAK OUT

I know you may want to. Our natural reaction is to panic, but too much emotion or anger will only complicate the matter. So take a deep breath, and realize it is not the end of the world. Most kids who view pornography don’t become sex offenders.

2. MAKE THIS A TEACHABLE MOMENT

When you imagine the end for your kids, what you truly want is to help them develop a healthy, positive view of sexuality. Sometimes, one of the most effective ways to teach healthy sexuality is to help them understand that “it’s not that” (pornography), but “this” (God-honoring, positive sexuality). Use the poor choice of looking at porn as a positive opportunity to teach them the beauty of God-given sexuality and why we wait until marriage and adulthood.

3. CREATE CONSEQUENCES WITHIN REASON

If stumbling upon porn was truly accidental there should be no consequence; but if they chose to view a porn site then yes, developing boundaries with consequences for their actions is the right thing to do. But do it without shaming them, and create the consequences as a boundary to keep them from constant porn use and, more importantly, help them make better decisions. For the first offense, this might mean taking away a mobile device and adding a blocking filter along with regular monitoring by a parent or parents.

4. TEACH POSITIVE, HEALTHY SEXUALITY

The prescription for making better decisions about sex is for parents to proactively teach their kids healthy sexuality. All studies show the more positive healthy sex education is communicated in the home, the less promiscuous kids will be. So don’t just have one conversation. Make it an ongoing dialogue. Sure there will be awkward moments. That’s OK, sexuality can be awkward. I write books on the subject, and my own kids have mocked me plenty of times for those ongoing conversations.

5. FIND HELPFUL RESOURCES

There are excellent resources to equip you to help your kids develop sexual integrity, and even in the area porn addiction. I always suggest you find Christian resources that stay true to your values to come alongside you. A few of my go-to websites are CovenantEyes.com, xxxChurch.com and of course HomeWord.com for “Pure Foundation Resources” for ages 3 to adult.

In this digital world, it is harder than ever to protect our kids’ eyes and minds. So start the conversation early and have it often.

This article originally appeared here.

5 Simple Ways to Put Your Family First

By
Gabe Kolstad
-
thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

You need to say “no” more often and put your family first. That’s the advice I’ve been giving myself and others after spending some time deep in thought about what really matters in life, and about succeeding in my primary roles: Husband & Father.

It’s crazy how many voices compete for our time and attention, isn’t it? And if you’re a leader, just multiply that a few times. It’s so easy to say “yes” and overcommit, and it’s so hard to get things right again once they’ve slipped. With that in mind, here are five simple ways to keep the ones you love in first place:

#1: Clock-out & clock-in

When my friend Andy Wood was just starting South Bay Church in San Jose, Calif., I was visiting him with some friends, and we were talking about how we could build ministries that allowed us to keep our families first. He said that he intended to clock out of his “day job” every day on the way home, and clock in to his “family job.”

I’ve always remembered that conversation, and it has helped me to think differently about my role at home. My family is depending on me to lead, just like my team is. The difference is, God holds me accountable to give my best, my first, to my family—not my leftovers. Coming home on empty and tuning out, going into hiding, avoiding conversation or escaping into myself is not an option. No more than it would be at “work.” If I see myself as a servant leader at church and not at home, I am the ultimate hypocrite. The mental exercise of clocking in to my family on my drive home has reminded me reserve some energy for those who matter most in my life. Thanks Andy!

#2: Show up on time for dinner

This is a big one in my family. My wife is Italian, so dinner is a big deal! And with her cooking it’s always worth it to be there on time. The dinner table has been a staple of our family’s connectedness. Keeping this ritual as an important part of our lives has meant saying “no” to tons of meetings & expectations, and quite honestly disappointing people from time to time. But I’d much rather disappoint someone outside my family than someone inside it. And I’ve heard over and over again that this priority has been an example other families want to implement as well. Of course, we have to be flexible with our kids getting older and having “lives” of their own. We’ve definitely had to adapt and go with the flow in some ways. Still, our table is a frequent gathering place that draws us all together. In a frantic world, this sacred time has become an island of calm and connection for us.

#3: Talk about what they want to talk about

Building your family requires connecting, and that means getting into their world. You’ve probably heard the story about Jennie Jerome, the mother of Winston Churchill. She compared two conversations with two different people: “When I left the dining room after sitting next to Gladstone, I thought he was the cleverest man in England. But when I sat next to Disraeli I left feeling that I was the cleverest woman.”

What Benjamin Disraeli gave Jennie Jerome was the gift of attention, and that often comes through conversation. Personally I’ve set a goal to become a better conversationalist, and I hope the first and best impact is on my family.

A few tips I’ve picked up so far:

  • Listen for an on-ramp into their conversation. Find a point of connection, a word or phrase that grabs your attention, or a time to ask an interesting question.
  • Don’t derail their train of thought. They were going somewhere with this conversation. Help them get there.
  • Don’t be a “One-Upper.” We’ve all had that annoying interaction where someone else has always caught a bigger fish or jumped off a higher diving board. Nobody likes that, especially your family. Let their conversation take center stage.

#4: Always have an exciting “Next” for your family

I believe common, compelling goals are one of the best-kept secrets of happy families. Some families have absolutely nothing to look forward to. No upcoming vacation. No home improvement projects. No mission trips. No giving goals. No new friends. Families tend to wither away without some next challenge or dream.

Some of ours over the years have been: (1) A small weekly cash fund that the kids got to help oversee. We had to pray over it together and decide how we were going to give it away to help the hurting. (2) Sponsoring a child in a 3rd world country. (3) Taking a trip to Italy together. We’ve had big ones and little ones, but we try to make sure there’s always something exciting that we’re pursuing together. Next on our list is a hot tub for our back yard! At this point we have no idea how it will happen, but we all want it bad enough that we’re sure we’ll see it come to fruition.

#5: Take a yearly vacation together

I know I mentioned this in the previous section, but vacations have been a life-saver for our family. We’ve done road trips, cruises, local, national, global, mission-focused trips, entertainment-focused trips, expensive and cheap. But the ongoing theme has been extended time together.

Yes, this is something we’ve had to sacrifice for. And you will too. It took us 10 years to get our back yard finished! But our kids have seen the world, and we have created a treasure of memories that will last a lifetime. And we’re not done yet! We started by putting $25 per week away and using our tax returns to supplement the fund. The point is not how much money you spend, but how you spend your time together. This should be a work-free, drama-free zone of creating new memories and new connections through meaningful experiences together.

Hopefully you’ll be able to use one or more of these ideas to help strengthen your family. And by all means, please add to the conversation. What habits, practices or ideas have you found helpful?

This article originally appeared here.

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