9 Reasons Your Church Needs a Facility Management Professional

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October 6, 2017

Over four years ago I wrote a blog asking, “Is Your Facilities Manager the Red-Headed Stepchild of the Church Staff?” I have had numerous facility managers tell me that is exactly how they have felt and even some are still considered that way. However, I am encouraged to know that some church leaders are embracing their Facility Manager equally as other ministry leaders…especially when they adopt the theology of Facility Stewardship and see it as a spiritual and ministry endeavor just like small groups, missions, youth and the like.

Do we think that the Facility Manager is less critical to the success of your ministry as the youth pastor? Are they less important than the small groups pastor? What about the accounting staff…is their role less critical to the operations of the ministry? If you responded “no” to any of these, then why do we treat the Facility Manager like the red-headed stepchild of the staff? Facilities represents a large part of any church’s asset base and annual expenses, yet doesn’t usually receive the same attention that other facets of the organization garner. Is it just the necessary evil? I agree that facilities are only a tool…but they are a tool that requires care and stewarding…and in most cases, a tool your church would not want to be without.

I was asked this last week, by a Facility Manager, what “case” can he make to his leadership to emphasize the importance of his role as well as how to enlighten their understanding as to how critical it is to have the right number of staff and capital reserves.

The following are nine reasons your church needs a Facilities Management Professional:

1. Facilities are one of your church’s largest assets and represents a significant cost to operations. A Facility Management Professional has the knowledge to maximize value and minimize costs.

2. Facilities and the environment they provide staff, members, congregation, as well as processes and systems, have a large impact on productivity. A Facility Management Professional understands the church’s mission and the interaction with the facility necessary to maximize ministry efficiency as it relates to the use of the facility.

3. Facility accommodations, whether in growth mode or not, require strategic planning to minimize costs and maximize value. A Facility Management Professional provides strategic direction and development guidance to achieve the results the church needs to fulfill the vision and mission.

4. Sustainability is critical to the environment for the church and its members as well as community image. A Facility Management Professional provides the stewardship required to maintain leadership in the environment.

5. The environmental and legislative complexity of owning or leasing facilities represents a huge risk to the church. A Facility Management Professional navigates the requirements and mitigates the risk.

6. Facilities require an entire team of generalists and specialists to provide services. A Facility Management Professional understands how to identify and assemble these resources to work together to maximize value, reduce risk and minimize costs.

7. The facilities that house your ministry activities can require considerable effort to manage effectively. A Facility Management Professional takes on this burden and frees up other resources to fully focus on what makes the church successful in delivering its core ministry (Acts 6:1-7).

8. Managing facilities with an administrative resource or line manager (i.e., Maintenance person) means it won’t get the attention and expertise it deserves and may put the church at risk. A Facility Management Professional has training, background and experience in all areas of the complex issues and services required to provide effective stewardship to the church’s facility assets.

9. A Facility Management Professional has the experience and overall oversight for facilities issues, enabling them to see patterns, track changes and identify risks that may have a future negative impact. Their knowledge enables them to take corrective action now to reduce your risk and costs.

Now…with that all said, we are really going back to an earlier conversation about the difference of management vs. maintenance. Both are important…but they are different tasks and require very different skill sets. Don’t be lulled to sleep thinking you have a Facility Manager just because you gave them that title. Skill sets, expertise and performance make the role…not the title.

What are you doing to enhance and to further your Facility Stewardship plans? If you do not have a Facility Management Professional on your staff, you may want to contact us to explore your options. As I suggested last week, you may need a COOL SOLUTION.

This article originally appeared here.

Why Your Church Should Use Social Media

By

Missy McKinnon

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October 5, 2017

PART 1 – Why use social media

Whether you like it or not, social media is part of our culture.

You can do two things:

Ignore it.
Or use it for your church’s advantage.

When used correctly it can build community.

So how do you do that? I will share how to do that in three parts. Today I am going to talk about why we need to use social media.

Jesus’ favorite way to teach people was to use parables.

Matthew 13:13
This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.”

I am convinced that if Jesus was alive right now, instead of the Bible times, he would be using social media. He would post the best memes and the prettiest scripture images you have ever seen.

OK, maybe not. But there was a reason that Jesus used parables. He spoke in a way that every person could understand.

Jesus spoke directly to the culture that He was in. There was a reason that he spoke so often of sheep, and shepherds. It is because that is what everyone knew.

He didn’t just stand on a stool and shout old scripture verses.

He spoke in a simple way that everyone could understand.

I think the church, in general, could step it up when it comes to social media. Instead of shouting at people to come to us. Lets start meeting people where they are.

Let’s be authentic in a way that reaches people.

My favorite thing about social media is that it is essentially a free way to communicate to people.

Yes, Facebook charges for ads. Yes, some of the tools that I will suggest cost money. But it is cheaper and more effective than postcards.

Just this last week, I had someone come to church because of something they saw that we posted on our Facebook.

I hear people complain about Facebook and social media ALL THE TIME, saying people are addicted to it, or it’s always so negative. People are always comparing themselves to other people. It’s just one big comparison game.

You know what, all of those things are probably true. But maybe we can use this amazingly powerful tool to our advantage! Maybe we can bring hope, love and authenticity to a place that isn’t.

Doing social media for your church doesn’t have to be difficult, and you can do it!

Next week I will share about the different tools you can use to help you use social media.

Part Two

Part Three

This article originally appeared here.

5 Pastoral Emergencies That Aren’t Emergencies

By

Carey Nieuwhof

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October 5, 2017

If you’ve been in ministry for any length of time, you know the challenge of trying to move the mission forward and handle the pastoral needs of a congregation at the same time.

One of the most perplexing problems pastors and church leaders face is how to handle ‘pastoral emergencies’—the crises that come up in the lives of people that they look to you to help solve.

The challenge in many churches is that more people = more crises.

This dynamic stresses many pastors out, and it’s hard to know what to do. You’re working on your sermon or some long-term planning and your phone buzzes, letting you know that someone just got admitted to hospital or that a couple needs to see you NOW for marriage counseling.

What do you do?

Most leaders respond immediately to the need (because we’re pastors, after all). And that leaves the sermon prep or project to the next day.

Which also gets interrupted by a new crisis. Which moves your work to the evening, or the weekend or into family time. And soon, you only write your sermons on Saturday night.

The Pastoral Care Trilemma

And this is what breaks many church leaders.

Eventually, you just can’t keep up. And, predictably, three things happen:

You get completely overwhelmed, and maybe even burn out.
The congregation gets upset with you because you’re not as responsive as you used to be when the church was smaller.
The church stops growing, because few human beings can sustain that level of pastoral care beyond 200 attenders, and many burn out trying (see point 1).

What seemed manageable when your church was just starting or was smaller, feels completely out of control as your church pushes 150, 200 or 300 in weekend attendance.

Responding to every emergency just doesn’t scale.

The good news is that pastoral care is something that can be scaled to help your church reach hundreds, and even thousands, of new families.

I address this issue comprehensively in my new course, Breaking 200 Without Breaking You (click here if you want to learn more).

But what do you do in the meantime with the seemingly endless emergencies?

One step you can take is to decide whether something is actually an emergency.

Just because it’s an emergency to them doesn’t mean it has to be an emergency for you.

While there are some pastoral emergencies that are true emergencies, here are five pastoral emergencies that may not be.

1. Marriage Breakdown

We’ve all received calls where someone needs to see you right now because their marriage is in trouble.

The pain is real, and I’m sure they feel like it’s a five-alarm fire.

But the reality is that their marriage didn’t go bad overnight. In fact, it’s likely been bad for months, or maybe years.

You can easily set an appointment to meet with the couple at a time that works for you.

Instead of saying, “Yes, I’ll be right there in the next hour,” why not say, “I’m so sorry to hear about this. I’d love to meet with you. Can we get together here in my office on [fill in time that works for you]?”

You know what will happen? Most reasonable people will say yes. That’s what will happen.

If they push back, just tell them you can’t meet right then but would be glad to meet them [fill in next available time].

Again, most people will be delighted you’ve made time for them.

If there’s abuse or violence, that is an emergency. But there are shelters, professional counselors and law enforcement officials who are well equipped to deal with that in the moment. You can come alongside shortly after or at the earliest opportunity.

And if you have a great group structure and counseling referral network, you might soon discover you’re not needed nearly as much as you used to be.

2. Money Problems

Like marriage, money problems rarely happen quickly. They’re usually a long time coming.

People present money issues like emergencies because they feel like emergencies to them. The credit cards have been maxed for a few months, but suddenly they can’t make rent.

A few thoughts.

First, a short-term cash infusion is not going to solve a long-term money issue. Most churches have money available for a financial crisis.

But even if you had, say, $5000 to give someone to help them clear their debt, your short-term help rarely solves their long-term pattern of mismanagement.

I’ve come to realize (sadly) that sometimes giving to someone who doesn’t manage money well just makes more money disappear faster.

These days, we point people to long-term financial management seminars to help them get the fundamentals of their finances right (giving, saving, living on the rest).

We’ve helped almost 1,000 people with restructuring their personal finances to live with margin and live on mission. An ounce of prevention or change is worth a pound of cure.

3. Interpersonal Conflict

Get two people in a room, and it’s only a matter of time until they disagree.

Many pastors spend a lot of their time resolving conflict between people in the church. While this beats avoiding conflict, it’s hardly a scalable system.

First, as adults, we should be at least half decent at resolving our own conflict. Train your church that way.

The number one question I’ve learned to ask when people ask me to step in to resolve conflict with someone else is, “Have you talked to X about this?” (That’s Matthew 18, by the way.)

The number one response is, “No, I haven’t.”

Well, that solves the problem most of the time.

And even if it’s gone beyond that and you need to get involved, just because it’s presented in the moment doesn’t mean you need to respond in the moment.

4. Staff Issues

It’s so important to take staff issues seriously. Healthy teams produce healthy churches.

But again, many leaders as they add staff end up fighting fires every day.

First, if the issue is interpersonal, follow the practices in Step 3. That will resolve much of it.

But second, in your weekly one on ones with your team, start by asking how your staff are doing before you ask them what they’re doing.

You’ll be amazed by what you discover, and second, you will diffuse most problems before they erupt into something bigger.

5. Frequent Flyer Issues

Let’s be honest (we do that well around here, don’t we?). Some people are always going to be in crisis.

I call them frequent flyers.

Frequent flyers always have a problem, and they always want your time. It’s how they live.

Last week it was a problem at work, today it’s a problem with their kids, and next week it will be a new rare medical condition they think they have that no one can quite diagnose or a new thing that’s wrong at the church.

Frequent flyers will ask for your time again and again. You’re foolish to give it to them.

Some people don’t want to get better. They just want your time. Don’t give in.

Don’t give in. You’re not helping them. And if you keep giving them time again and again, you’re not helping, you’re enabling.

How Can You Solve the Problem?

Not knowing how to handle pastoral emergencies is one of the reasons 85 percent of churches never grow past the 200 attendance mark.

I outlined pastoral emergencies you shouldn’t handle as emergencies above, but what do you do with real emergencies?

I tackle that and many other issues small and mid-sized church leaders face in my brand new online course called Breaking 200 Without Breaking You.

It’s designed to help church leaders and their teams break through the barriers facing them and their church.

The course tackles eight key issues that keep churches from passing the 200 barrier and beyond. It includes:

8 videos designed to guide you and your leadership team through all the key growth barriers smaller churches face.
150 page downloadable workbook for you and your team.
12 licenses, so you can take your entire team through it—board, staff, key volunteers—whoever you want (that’s about $20 a person).
A bonus cheat sheet with access to 20 free resources designed to take you further.
A limited-access private Breaking 200 Facebook Group.

So whether your church is 50, 150 or 250 in attendance, the principles will help you gain the insight you need to break the barrier more than 85 percent of churches can’t break.

Click here to get instant access.

Any False Emergencies You See?

What’s your experience with this?

Do you deal with any false emergencies? How have you handled them?

This article originally appeared here.

3 Truths Kids Need to Hear About Racism (Part 2)

By

Ben Sciacca

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October 5, 2017

Part 1 of this article proved that having a clear theological understanding of race and racism is important. We want for our children to grasp that everyone is made in the image of God, that racism is an ugly sin, and that we need to learn to love and appreciate diverse people and their cultures. But instruction only accomplishes so much…

The reality is that most of what our children will learn from us (regarding anything at all) is usually caught and not taught. For instance, our children will learn a lot more about patience from how we handle the jerk who cut us off in traffic than they will from our amazing family Bible Study on the topic. Our behavior provides a tremendous amount of instruction, and if we are honest our children tend to imitate our vices far more quickly than they do our virtues.

When it comes to helping our young people navigate a diverse world with grace and truth, it is imperative that we model for them how to do this.

Be quick to lament and slow to pontificate

One of the most powerful things Jesus did at one of the most broken scenes in the New Testament was when He wept. At Bethany, surrounded by two grieving women, their anguished community, and in close proximity to the death of His friend Lazarus, He took the time to cry. It is a startling moment because Jesus himself knew that He was just minutes away from raising Lazarus from the dead and overcoming the agony of those around Him with laughter and tears of joy.

And yet He still took the time to sponge their pain and weep.

Today, we are inundated with examples of rage, riots and rallies surrounding race. When we see these things, is our first response lamentation? Are we moved by the fact that relationships are broken and that unity is shattered? When we see oppression, racism and racial strain within the Body of Christ, we should lament broken relationships and that the gospel itself is scandalized by our disunity (John 17:23). Lamentation is frequently the first step toward repentance, restoration and reconciliation.

Sometimes our tendency is to pontificate, to vent or opine about the issues before we lament. Our children are drowned in our rhetoric before they see our hearts saddened. This should not be. It is good for our children to see that disunity grieves our hearts—just as it grieves the heart of our Father. Lamentation also provides us space to restrain our tongues from evil, or to emote something ugly that will steer our children in the wrong direction.

2. Promote diversity around the dinner table

Great things happen around the dinner table. There is almost something magical about inviting people into your home and breaking bread. Many of us find ourselves saturated in a homogenous world. We live, work and worship predominantly with people who look a lot like us. Even if we have some diversity around us, we typically flock to “our own kind.”

It is good for our children to witness diversity in our homes. Many of our kids will meet students from different cultures at school. But in this context, their integration is somewhat forced. An invitation into our homes is an invitation into our lives.

Inviting people from different ethnicities and cultures into our homes knocks down barriers. It allows our children and us to simply behold people as people. Diversity enriches the conversations and enlarges our world. These relationships can provide healing, empathy and understanding that would be hard to produce otherwise.

My family has been intentional about inviting a variety of people into our homes. This includes people from different cultures, even unbelievers and those from different backgrounds. In almost every case, our guests have been surprised that we would invite them over. It was something unexpected. But I can say that my family has been the beneficiaries of these meals. Our lives have been deeply enriched by the lives, the stories, the humor and presence of our guests. The power of and the need for diverse dialog is what drove me to write my book Meals From Mars.

Some of the most remarkable things Jesus ever said were over dinner. In eternity, we will all be feasting at one banqueting table. With God’s grace, why not get started now?

3. Diversify your palate, art, instruction and history

Beyond simply inviting diverse people into your homes, I would encourage everyone to consider adding diversity to what you eat, read, listen to and study. For those who are members of white majority culture, I encourage you to intentionally seek out literature, music and sermons from minorities. Introduce those things to your children at a young age. Allow your kids to taste food from around the world, but also to come and appreciate other cultural contributions including amazing books and music.

Reading children’s literature to our kids with culturally diverse characters is impactful. Even storybook Bibles with more accurately brown-skinned characters is important. Playing worship music and downloading sermons from various cultures introduces our young people to the rich theology, sounds and insights of God’s diverse people. The sooner we can do this the better. It is wonderful when our students see this as normal and not unusual.

Most of my American history books, even into college, only touched on the history of minorities in a very supplementary fashion. Because of this, I was fairly convinced minorities contributed almost nothing to America—aside from a few outliers that were mentioned here and there. The reality is that minorities had an extraordinary impact on the country from its very foundation. It is important for all of our children to see the diverse and kaleidoscopic influence of people from a variety of cultures who helped make this nation what it is. A robust and thorough understanding of American history helps us understand where we have been, where we are now and where we are going.

Conclusion

In I Corinthians 12, Paul goes to great lengths to help us understand the Body of Christ. He mentions that each of us are unique members of it. Then he challenges us to remember that every part of this Body is needed and every part belongs to the Body. We must model for our kids the reality that we need diverse members of the Body of Christ to enrich our own lives, to help us function, and to relay to the world that we are united in and to the risen Savior.

This article originally appeared here.

The Key to Being the Best Worship Leader

By

Worship Cohort

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October 5, 2017

What Matters Most?

Every week, we stand before God’s people, striving to lead with excellence. But in the weekly grind of ministry, do you ever stop and think about what matters most? Like, when you stand before the judgment seat of Christ, what will be most valuable to you?

Will He care about how awesome your guitar tone sounded? Or how precisely your worship band executed its transitions between songs? Will the production value of the worship services you led put you in good standing with the King of the universe? I tend to doubt it. Rather I believe the most important question will be, did the Gospel completely change your heart?

In other words, more than any skill, talent or achievement, God is after your character.

How to Thrive in Ministry

Character is the quality of the heart revealed in the patterns of life. In other words, what you do demonstrates who you are. That’s the essence of character.

And yet, if I were to guess, many worship leaders spend far more time sharpening their skills than they do forming their character. Time and energy are poured into stage performance, while character development too often receives little, if any, attention. Perhaps this is because most of us enter the world of musical worship ministry by virtue of our skill. And so we bank our ministry on how well we can perform. However very few worship leaders ever truly thrive because of great character. Many have even made a train wreck of their lives and their churches through moral failure.

The hard truth is that talent will only get you so far. At some point, your natural abilities won’t sustain the mounting pressures of leadership. And without the ever-deepening formation of godly character, a leader’s greatest strengths actually become his greatest weaknesses. Therefore we must be character-first worship leaders. Only then will we begin to exercise the full potential of our talents and abilities. Only then will we thrive.

The most effective worship leaders are the ones who lead from a heart that has been changed by knowing God and making Him known through the varied seasons and experiences of life. Character-first worship leaders understand that the glory of Jesus is more than enough to motivate and mobilize us today so we can finish well in the end, saying, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness” (2 Ti. 4:7-8).

Dear worship leader, bank everything on your pursuit of Christ-like character and you’ll get way more than recognition, perceived success or job security. You’ll get a crown.

This article originally appeared here.

Is It Time to Stop Tithing?

By

Geoff Surratt

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October 5, 2017

Growing up in church, the concept of tithing was drilled into my little Bryl-creem’d head.

We tithe because we are told to.

We tithe in response to Jesus dying for us.

We tithe because the church will close if we don’t.

I’m not sure if that is what was taught, but it is what I walked away with.

When we realized church should be more than a holy huddle, however, we stopped talking about tithing. The new conventional wisdom said that outsiders thought all the church cared about was their cash, so the best way to get them to listen to the Gospel was to stop talking about money. We still believed that true believers should tithe, but we eased them into it.

The Prosperity Gospel has driven us further underground.

We are repulsed by the idea that we should give because it’s the best investment scheme on the planet. Stories of television preachers with airplanes and multiple mansions reinforce our resolve to keep the tithe on the down low. Giving is still a good idea, but only if you’re really, really sure you want to.

The last thing we ever want to do is give the impression you are being coerced.

I wonder if it’s time to drop talking about tithe altogether?

Not because it’s not biblical or because it’s offensive. My problem with the way we’ve talked about tithing is it completely misses the point.

Giving because I’m told to or because I’m grateful or because the church needs it aren’t bad things, they’re just secondary.

Really, really secondary.

Giving is about generosity.

3 Ways to Live by Faith When Life Makes No Sense at All

By

Paul David Tripp

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October 5, 2017

How do you move forward when life makes no sense at all?

On October 19, 2014, my life changed.

I was in acute renal failure and didn’t know it. If I had waited another week to see a doctor, I would have been dead.

During my 10-day hospital stay, I experienced the most horrible pain I had ever experienced. This was followed by six surgeries in two years, rendering me physically weaker than I had ever been in my life.

If my physical suffering wasn’t enough, I was equally as discouraged emotionally and spiritually. These two years of physical limitation coincided with the most ministry opportunity I had ever been given.

I kept asking the Lord, “Why would you give me a platform then leave me unable to use it? Why?”

Life made no sense at all. Have you ever been there?

Abraham has. He staked his entire existence on the promise that a son would come, but then in an unthinkable moment, God asked him to sacrifice Isaac.

What in the world was God doing? And how was Abraham able to respond in obedience?

There are three principles that guide us how to live by faith when life makes no sense at all.

1. We Are Being Strengthened

The author of Hebrews 11 says that Abraham was being tested, which is a word picture for metal being purified. God will send difficult, unexpected and unwanted trials into our lives to produce in us what could have never been produced otherwise. I refer to that as the theology of uncomfortable grace, and we need to preach it to ourselves and to others.

2. We Aren’t Supposed to Figure Life Out

Hebrews 11 also indicates that Abraham didn’t know that God would provide an animal for sacrifice. In other words, he didn’t obey because he knew the future. When God sends confusing trials into our lives or asks us to obey mystifying commands, he won’t always tell us why. I have counseled many Christians who complicate their suffering by trying to interpret what God has intentionally kept a divine secret.

3. We Need to Rely on Promises and Commands

Abraham was able to obey in faith because he rested in the promises of God and followed the clear commands. He knew that the Lord does not lie and that we can trust everything he does. When life doesn’t make any sense at all, these two things are enough for us to live by faith.

I want to go back to my story. Contrary to what I thought, these past few years have been without a doubt the most productive ministry years of my life. Through suffering, God reminded me that he doesn’t need me to be healthy to use me.

It may take many years for you to see the result of what God is doing when life makes no sense at all. Or he may never reveal the reasons why.

But no matter what you’re experiencing, God’s promises and commands are enough.

His grace is sufficient for you, and his power is made perfect in confusion and weakness.

God bless,

Paul Tripp

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

What uncomfortable things are you experiencing in your life right now?
Are there ways in which you are trying to interpret the secret will of God, when you should rest in not knowing?
What are the clear commands of Scripture that you know you need to follow today, even though you may struggle to do so?
How can you encourage others who are struggling with these three principles?

This resource is from Paul Tripp Ministries. For additional resources, visit www.paultripp.com. Used with permission.

4 Passionate Desires of a Good Leader’s Heart

By

Brandon Cox

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October 5, 2017

I completely agree with Ken Blanchard, author of Lead Like Jesus, that the greatest leader in all of history is Jesus. My faith convictions about him being the Son of God and Savior of the world aside, his organization should have died long ago if judged only in business terms, and yet, it’s thriving 2,000 years after several major world empires have fallen.

I also believe some people echo Jesus’ leadership style without even realizing it. Any talk of servant leadership certainly traces back to the influence of Jesus on our modern era.

One of the facets of Jesus’ leadership that sets him in his own class is his absolute purity of motives for leading. While some leaders become quite wealthy leading (and there isn’t anything inherently wrong with that), Jesus seemed to have no care whatsoever for acquiring personal possessions. I do believe he wanted some things, but his wants were different from the desires of many other leaders.

Let me offer desires that good leaders seem to have:

1. Good leaders want to change the world for good.

It isn’t that good leaders only lead and manage organizations with good causes, it’s that good leaders see their leadership as significantly affecting the world around them in good ways. In general, good leaders seek to contribute something to human flourishing.

2. Good leaders want more influence.

Some leaders won’t admit it, partly because our culture tends to push back against people who desire achievement, but most of the great leaders I know see leadership as both a privilege and a responsibility. That is, leaders should lead people.

Therefore, we want more influence so that we can lead more people and change more of the world for good than we are currently leading. Don’t apologize for this. It’s OK to desire more influence.

3. Good leaders want a healthy organizational culture.

Culture is a force that trumps vision and strategy combined. It’s incredibly powerful. And good leaders understand that their primary area of responsibility is culture creation. This explains why so many leaders strive to be more emotionally intelligent and aware of their own personal growth.

Effective leaders have an understanding that they are a lid for the people they lead. Stagnant leaders never lead stagnant teams.

4. Good leaders want the best for the people they lead.

The Grace Hills Church staff talks about this often. One of our core values is that we “refuse to use people” and we try to help people discover their gifts, passion and personality, and serve accordingly so that they thrive.

People need to do more than survive. And I believe they even need more than “success.” People need to make a significant difference in their world, so a leader’s heart is to equip, empower and release people to do significant things.

The greatest leaders I know have always seen leadership as relational rather than transactional. Rather than separating the personal from the professional, great leaders are willing to care for the people they lead and to be interested in their good and their growth.

Feel free to discuss this with the team you lead, and let me know in the comments what I’ve missed!

This article originally appeared here.

Houston Pastor Proves the Local Church Is Uniquely Equipped to Handle Disaster

By

Megan Briggs

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October 5, 2017

League City, Texas experienced some of the worst flooding in Houston following Hurricane Harvey. Although it’s been nearly six weeks since the category 3 hurricane made landfall—and a handful of tragedies have beset the world since—one Houston-area pastor estimates the city will need another six months to a year to rebuild houses and two to three years to recover from the emotional and spiritual trauma inflicted.

“I don’t think God hates Houston, so he sent a hurricane….but I do think the earth is groaning because of our brokenness,” Pastor Brian Haynes said in an interview with ChurchLeaders.

Haynes has been the lead pastor of Bay Area Church in League City for seven years. The 130-year-old church is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and is composed of a mixture of scientists who work for NASA and folks with more average job descriptions. Haynes affectionately describes his congregation as something along the lines of “NASA meets Duck Dynasty.”

After Harvey, an estimated 11,000 homes flooded in a 7-mile radius of Bay Area Church. While 20 percent of the congregation flooded, by “somewhat of a miracle” none of the church staff’s houses were flooded. Haynes says the fact that the 36 or so people who compose the church staff and support staff had “free hands” made a huge difference in the amount of aid the church was able to offer the neighborhood.

The church’s response immediately following the disaster has been segmented in three phases: First they sheltered people displaced by the flooding for about five days, then they rolled up their sleeves to help the neighborhood—starting with their congregants and congregants’ neighbors’ houses first—muck out houses, and finally set up a distribution center. The church has been serving about 150 people a day with food, water, and supplies. As of September 30, they transitioned into “rebuild mode” where they are raising money and organizing skilled labor to help people rebuild their houses.

As far as the church building itself, Haynes estimates they sustained about half a million dollars of damage, but they are able to continue services because only one building on their campus was significantly damaged.

After working over the course of weeks now to help his congregation and the neighborhood recover from this disaster, Haynes shared his thoughts on church-organized disaster relief with us in a phone interview.

ChurchLeaders: How is church uniquely equipped to deal with a disaster?

Haynes: A church already has a rescue-mission mindset because our whole mission is to help people understand the gospel and come to Christ and be saved…And then, it’s empowered by the Holy Spirit. So it has this supernatural ability to get things done.

The way this whole thing started for us was one of our guys was in a boat rescuing people from the neighborhood down the street from our church. He called me and said “I’ve pulled 30 people out of houses and I don’t know where to take them.” So we opened the church for a shelter in like 45 minutes. We had no supplies, no support staff, no anything. Within two hours, we had a full medical team, we had a security team, we had 150 air mattresses, we had water, we had food.

We had a restaurant owner who brought all of her food and cooked for five days for everyone. We had police that designated their time off in the midst of that storm to work at the shelter and help us with security. The medical team [started with] a guy in our church that’s an astronaut, he’s a flight surgeon. I called him and he mobilized four astronaut doctors to rotate. And they just ran it as if they were on the International Space Station and dealing with the worse case scenario. They were super trained—in fact, those guys, logistically, really made it effective…Three of them go to our church, and one of them goes to another church nearby: Clear Creek Community Church. But they’re all believers…so they had this rescue-mission mindset and then they had the Holy Spirit leading them to do things.

There was no plan, but it all worked. Amazing. And over the long-haul, the church is unique because the church is the only group that’s not going anywhere. FEMA won’t be here forever, Samaritan’s Purse won’t be here forever, but the church of Jesus Christ—the local embodiment of that—is going to be here for the long haul. And it’s going to be a two-to-three-year process. Not just to rebuild but for people to rebuild their lives and deal with the financial crunch of the whole thing, spiritual and emotional impact. It’s going to be a long haul, and the church is uniquely designed to be there for people for the community for the long haul.

God had something really special in store for our church but also many churches…There’s all kinds of articles down here about the church outpacing FEMA and the Red Cross because…we care about the people. It’s our city; it’s our community; it’s our people.

We’re uniquely equipped to help emotionally because we already have lay-counselors that have extensive training and we can just plug them right into shelter-mode, relief-mode for the spiritual and relational care of the people. We’re uniquely qualified to really meet physical, spiritual, and emotional needs—quickly and for the long haul. I think Jesus had a really great plan with the institute of the local church.

7 Reasons Church Members Don’t Know Their Church’s Doctrine

By

Chuck Lawless

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October 4, 2017

For years, I’ve required doctoral students to complete a theological survey of their congregations—and we’ve learned that many church members don’t know their church’s basic theological positions. They can neither summarize nor explain their church’s doctrine. The reasons for this problem are many, but here are a few:

We’ve assumed that attendance in our church results in their having biblical theology. Our equation has been as simple as, “Attending our small groups + attending our worship = having a biblical theology.” We assume they will connect the doctrinal dots on their own.
We haven’t taught them basic doctrine. We might think we have, but we seldom have systematically, intentionally led them in doctrinal studies. Too many churches leave those discussions to seminary campuses.
We haven’t discipled them in general. We’ve allowed baby believers to remain babies, and we’ve sometimes even elevated them to leadership positions—without ever talking to them about the importance of doctrine.
We don’t ask what they believe, so we see no need to teach them. Perhaps we’re assuming what they believe, but we usually just don’t know. We don’t ask, either, even though we say that doctrine matters.
We’ve told them to read the Bible, but we haven’t taught them how to read and interpret it. When we only tell them to read but don’t help them understand the Word, we set them up for struggles in their spiritual disciplines. Apart from their knowing the Word, they develop their theology based on some other foundation.
They’re exposed to many, many other voices that influence their theology. They may listen to us for a couple of hours each week—but that leaves dozens of hours to hear from others. They are bombarded with television and social media theology more than biblical theology.
We’ve lost our Great Commission focus. This reason might seem odd, but here’s my point: When you’re not focused on sharing the gospel with nonbelievers around the world, you’re not typically faced with explaining and defending theological issues (e.g., the lostness of humanity, the atonement of Christ, the reality of judgment).

What reasons would you add to this list?

This article originally appeared here.

Good Leaders Lead Well at Home

By

Ed Stetzer

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October 4, 2017

People often ask why I tweet so much about my family. Obviously, I value my wife, Donna, and my three daughters. So I express that on social media.

But once the idea of family comes up, people often ask, “How are you able to take your children with you as you travel and minister?” And, “How do you balance your hectic work/ministry schedule with a healthy family life?”

One great ministry challenge is to serve in a way that values, affirms and protects our children. We talk of burnout with pastors and their wives, but we rarely associate burnout with children. Yet can they not experience the same thing if they are an integral part of your life and ministry? Of course they can.

Pastors’ kids (PKs) can see a lot of dysfunction that many other children do not see. How can we avoid that?

I don’t simply want my children to survive my ministry life. I want them to thrive in the calling God has placed on our lives. I am passionate about this and have made three personal commitments.

1. Communicate: Life and Death Are in Our Words

Our words are powerful, especially to young ears. Words communicate values to our children. Their hearing skills are better than their processing skills. So, I decided to do two things…

Try not to speak ill of the ministry or the people to my kids.

Sometimes I will share ministry struggles with my wife, but not in the same way with my children. I want them to see the value of the ministry we have.

Just because negative things happen doesn’t mean it happens to my kids. If I am going through junk, I need to deal with it, not use one of my daughters as a therapist to get me through the current ministry crisis.

Children should only hear about the negative experiences on a “need-to-know” basis. Most of the negative they don’t need to know, particularly because it gets resolved. When they do need to know something, share that information with proper context and plenty of grace so as not to damage the ministry environment provided by God.

If your kids hear your constant complaints, expect them to take them personally in a way you, as a grown adult, might not.

Always speak well of the opportunities we have.

When we’re pastoring a church, we speak of what a great opportunity we have to build relationships with other people. Personally, I travel a lot for my job. I could say, “Oh, it’s terrible. I have to be away from my kids.” But my kids get to travel with Dad a lot. I try to speak well of the ministry, so that my kids can see that and can value it.

2. Affirm: You Aren’t the Only Person on Mission Here

Communicating value to our kids isn’t enough. If we don’t involve our children in the ministry, we limit the impact of God’s ministry.

I don’t recruit my kids to do everything, but involving them is a key component to encouraging them. Encouragement in God’s work will prevent discouragement from the enemy as they grow older.

They all have different roles, but we are all participating. When we’re doing ministry, we’re doing it together. My oldest daughter, Kristen, has taught children during our group time. As a follower of Jesus Christ she has been called to serve. So she found a place to do that, and I affirmed that in her life.

3. Protect: Guard Your Family

This is the most difficult of the three recommendations.

I can choose what to discuss. I can encourage ministry involvement. But I am also the protector of my family in the middle of ministry.

Negative things happen in ministry. Sometimes those negative things have fallout. How I deal with these issues will go a long way in determining whether ministry will be seen as a help or a hindrance in the life of my kids.

Sometimes we have to protect our kids from events, like someone leaving (whether on good or bad terms). Other times an idea requires protection.

People have expectations, and you may have to explain why those expectations exist. “There are some things you do and others things you don’t do because you are the pastor’s children.” Sometimes PKs pick up unhealthy expectations.

I’ve discussed with my daughters how to deal with expectations. I don’t put unrealistic expectations on them. I treat them as if they are a part of the church, because they are. And I protect them as if they are my children, because they are.

Good Leader—Good Parent

Some of us are proud—maybe too proud—that we lead well. But do we lead as well in the home? Do we apply the leadership principles that have made us successful elsewhere in the place that matters most?

For example, a good leader communicates the culture for an organization. Leaders reveal what we value in the way we talk. If the negative flows freely, with the positive coming sparingly, we create ambivalence about the mission.

The same is true in our homes.

A good leader protects the church and the family—and sometimes the family from the church. That’s just common sense, though it seems to be often forgotten.

Lead and lead well. But don’t forget to lead your family with a greater conviction than any other place. That’s fundamental to your call.

This article originally appeared here.

3 Realities for Lead Pastors and Discipleship

By

Andrew Mason

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October 4, 2017

It is a pleasant fiction to think that a small group ministry can soar in a church by delegating all of the responsibility to an Associate Pastor. A similar line of reasoning would contend that the Lead Pastor doesn’t need to worship because they have hired a worship leader to do that. Of course, nobody would make a statement like that about worship, but often we send a similar message about discipleship when a Lead Pastor doesn’t position themselves as the Small Group Champion.

If a culture of disciple-making groups is going to take root in a church, it’s critical for the Lead Pastor to champion the cause.

There are many factors to support this paradigm, but I’d briefly like to share Three Realities for Lead Pastors and Discipleship…

1. Jesus was the Groups Champion of the New Testament Church
Jesus was the greatest small group leader ever. He took 12 people and launched the fastest-growing, most expansive organization in human history. Jesus kept his small group in a kingdom mindset by sending them out two-by-two to develop more groups (Luke 9:1-2).

It’s obvious that small group discipleship was not a chore to Jesus. Rather, it was a central part of His mission. Lead Pastors make themselves more like Jesus when they become the Groups Champion for their church.

2. The Lead Pastor Has the Greatest Clout in the Church
The Lead Pastor garners the most attention and examination from everyone in the church. To neglect leveraging the Lead Pastor’s influence for growing disciples would be a waste of kingdom currency.

One of the ways the Lead Pastor can focus their clout is by rallying core influencers in the church for the cause of making disciples. All of the key leaders must have their shoulder to the plow of groups ministry in order for it to have teeth in the congregation. The Lead Pastor is the vital connection to making this happen.

3. The Weekend Message Is the Most Valuable Real Estate in the Church for Communication
When it comes to vision and strategy, there is no greater vehicle to steer the corporate body than the Lead Pastor’s weekly sermon. If the Lead Pastor doesn’t position themselves as the Small Group Champion, the church will miss out on a critical discipleship opportunity in the weekly worship gathering.

The Lead Pastor’s messages should be peppered with promotion for upcoming events and dates related to the groups ministry, testimonies of changed lives through groups ministry, and stories of personal experiences in groups ministry.

There are more factors than can be listed. As you can see though, these three realities alone make a strong case for the Lead Pastor as the Groups Champion.

This article originally appeared here.

Should We Use the “End Times” to Evangelize?

By

Greg Stier

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October 4, 2017

I’ll never forget the first time I watched a Christian movie on the Rapture. It was a 1972 poorly produced film called A Thief in the Night.

But what this movie lacked in production quality it made up for in premise… When Jesus comes back you should be ready or you will be left behind. The song in the movie still pops in my head from time to time. It’s Larry Norman‘s “I Wish We’d All Been Ready.” Here are the cryptic, catchy lyrics,

“Life was filled with guns and war
And all of us got trampled on the floor
I wish we’d all been ready.
The children died, the days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
I wish we’d all been ready.

There’s no time to change your mind
The son has come and you’ve been left behind.

A man and wife asleep in bed
She hears a noise and turns her head he’s gone
I wish we’d all been ready.
Two men walking up a hill
One disappears and one’s left standing still
I wish we’d all been ready.

The father spoke, the demons dined
How could you have been so blind?

There’s no time to change your mind
The son has come and you’ve been left behind

I hope we’ll all be ready
You’ve been left behind.”

No, I wasn’t afraid of being left behind. I had put my faith in Jesus and was sure of my salvation. But I was afraid of others being left behind. And that righteous fear became part of my evangelistic fuel.

Yes, I come from a pre-tribulational, pre-millennial, pre-everthing background. The dispensational, fundamental teaching I was raised on ingrained in me an urgency factor when it came to evangelism (because Jesus could come back at any time) and a readiness factor when it came to personal holiness (because Jesus could come back at any time). This urgency helped shape both me and the ministry I lead today, Dare 2 Share.

While the Lord has enabled me to scrape off many of the legalistic views I was raised in, by his grace, I’ve been able to keep much of my urgency. And I’m deeply thankful for that.

Regardless of your eschatological leanings, most of us can agree that a primary purpose of prophecy is to be ready for the return of Jesus. The Lord himself said, “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming” (Matthew 24:42).

Continue

10 Ways to Cultivate Quality Volunteers

By

Penny Rogers

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October 4, 2017

“As long as they’re breathing I’ll take them!” While we may not have said it, we’ve probably all thought it when it comes to volunteers.

There are times we’ve all asked our pastor to make an announcement to the congregation that volunteers are needed in the kids’ ministry. These tend to be the times we’re focused on quantity. We just need people in the rooms every time the doors are open. We’re desperate.

Serving is important. 1 Peter 4:10 says, “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.” When we pursue quantity, we have found we often end up right back where we started…needing more volunteers. They simply don’t stick.

Quantity-Focused Results

Volunteers who show up…sometimes.
Volunteers who interact with kids…if they’ve run out of things to talk about with the other volunteers.
Volunteers who do whatever is needed…if they receive public recognition and a pat on the back.
Volunteers who engage with kids…if they’ve finished telling you all their personal woes and needs.
Volunteers who follow instructions…halfway and half-heartedly.

Quality-Focused Results

Volunteers who show up…every time, grateful for the opportunity to serve.
Volunteers who interact with kids…in a way that is uplifting to the children.
Volunteers who do whatever is needed…even when no one is looking or notices.
Volunteers who engage with kids…as an opportunity for ministry.
Volunteers who follow instructions…thoroughly, even going above and beyond what’s expected.

Here are 10 ways to help cultivate quality volunteers:

Communicate expectations…what they can expect from you and what you expect from them.
Emphasize the importance of their personal relationships with Jesus…including daily times with the Lord and attending weekly services.
Clearly communicate the value of kids’ ministry…it’s not babysitting or childcare.
Build a relationship with them…beyond what’s going on in the children’s ministry.
Communicate your care for them…personally, spiritually and practically.
Laugh…make your environments fun for everyone.
Recommend good “reads” or “listens”…books, articles, podcasts.
Remind them that their serving has eternal value…and is making a difference now.
Model Colossians 3:23-24, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
Invest in your volunteers…inspire, equip and support them, often.

When it comes to effective KidMin volunteers, quality comes first! What are your best methods for recruiting quality volunteers?

This article originally appeared here.

Dangers and Delights of Raising Children in the Ministry

By

Paul Chappell

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October 4, 2017

I remember as a young father hearing stories about pastors’ kids not turning out and being afraid that my children could be among the statistics. I wanted with everything in me to love and nurture my family while at the same time to be faithful to God’s calling on my life for the ministry.

I didn’t always get it right (as Terrie and all four of our children could tell you). But, thanks to the ministry of the Holy Spirit, the help of the Word of God, and the assistance of a godly wife, I did learn along the way.

From the hundreds of pastors I’ve counseled with in ministry, I know that many share my fears for their children. If you are among those, I’d like to share with you a few thoughts about the ministry and your family.

Dangers of Raising Children in the Ministry

Every Christian home—actually, the home itself—is under attack today. In fact, each of the dangers listed below applies to all Christian families.

In some ways, however, these challenges are unique to families in ministry.

Family Neglect—As a pastor, you warn, plead with and provide marital counsel to parents so they don’t abandon their families. Don’t let your children have an absentee dad just because you’re too busy to see your own family’s needs.

Ephesians 6:4 instructs, “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” Remember, nurture and admonition take time—so give that time to your children.

A Double Standard—Nothing generates disappointment or rebellion in the heart of a child like an inconsistent model in the Christian life. Beware the admonition of Romans 2:21: “Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself?”

No one is perfect, but don’t set one standard in the pulpit and live another at home. Your children would rather see a sermon than hear one, and seeing one will make a longer impression on their hearts.

Proud Expectations—We in the ministry often speak about church members’ high expectations of ministry kids, but sometimes we are just as guilty of expecting perfection—not because we want to see our kids grow, but because we are afraid of being embarrassed.

To put it plainly, that’s pride. And it hurts both your children and you. So humble yourself, release expectations that are rooted in what others will think, and ask God for His grace. “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble” (James 4:6).

False Assumptions—Sometimes we assume that our children will turn out OK just because we are always around. The fact is, it doesn’t work that way—as the Old Testament priest Eli could tell us.

Don’t make Eli’s mistake of assuming that because your children are around church and the things of God, their hearts are secure in the love of God. And don’t assume that just because you love God that your children will too. Spend time with them, pray for them and purposefully nurture their hearts.

This is in no way a comprehensive list of challenges ministry families face, but these are among the most common.

It’s not all challenge and burdens though. On the other hand, there are some special delights for families in ministry as well, and there are ways you can specifically encourage your children to love the ministry.

Delights of Raising Children in the Ministry

By God’s grace, all four of our adult children love the Lord and are serving Him with their spouses in full-time ministry. There are, however, a few intentional actions Terrie and I took that I believe were helpful to our family life and to our family’s enjoyment of the ministry during the years that our children were in our home.

Have daily family devotions. Regular family devotions knit your hearts together spiritually as a family. It becomes a time when children can depend on the family being together around God’s Word. Don’t lead a ministry spiritually while neglecting to spiritually shepherd the hearts of your children in an intentional way.

Remain available. Back in the day when we had no cell phones, I installed a private landline in my church study that did not ring to my secretary’s desk. My family knew that they could call any time to get direct access to me. Additionally, they knew they could walk in on any meeting or appointment if they needed me.

Abstain from negative talk about the ministry. I truly believe that one of the reasons our adult children are serving the Lord in ministry is because Terrie and I were vigilant about what we said. If a critical church member was gossiping, the Christian school enrollment was down, or the budget was tight, they never heard about it from either of us.

Additionally, when we found ourselves with added ministry responsibilities, we did our best to present them in a positive light to our children. Instead of, “It’s so hard to have missionaries come when we don’t have enough rooms in our home,” we tried for, “Isn’t it great that we get to be the ones to have the missionaries stay in our home? And look, you get to sleep in Mom and Dad’s room!”

Talk positively about the ministry. Share with your children the little victories that bring you joy in ministry. When you get to lead someone to the Lord in a counseling appointment, when you get fresh direction for adding ministries, when you receive a thank you letter from a child who rides the bus—share these positive aspects of serving in ministry with your children.

Serve together. One of the best ways to make time for your family is to include your family in ministry. Take one of your children with you when you go soulwinning, make hospital visits, visit your Sunday school class, etc. These times don’t replace family nights, day trips together or family vacations, but they do allow for regular times throughout the week to spend together doing something you are teaching your children to love.

Share special memories. Invite guest missionaries or preachers to your home for meals. Take your children with you when attending an out-of-town meeting or going on a missions trip. After revival services or missions conferences, talk together as a family about the special ways God worked in each of your hearts and the victories won as a church that week. Let your children be part of these memory-making times.

Rejoice together. Celebrate ministry victories as a family. For instance, the first time we had 300 people at church, we took our family to stay overnight in a hotel and went to the ocean. Not every victory will be an overnight celebration, but many should be celebrated, if simply by ice cream sundaes.

Keep the Big Picture

Sometimes in our quest to fine tune the alignment of family and ministry, we forget to simply do the basics. The truth is, you are a parent. And just like every other parent, your job is to parent!

Yes, there are challenges related to nurturing a vibrant family in a busy ministry, but there are also challenges related to parenting in general. Rather than focusing on the challenges, focus on the basic responsibilities of raising your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Teach and model biblical principles. Guide and protect with prayer. Mold and prepare with patience. This takes time, effort and great measures of God’s grace, but this is possible with the help of the Lord.

Above all, trust God with your children, and look to Him for guidance and help as you raise them for Him.

This is part one of a three-part series on ministry families. In part two, we’ll look at marriage and the ministry.

This article originally appeared here.

10 Ways to Bring Joy to Your Pastor

By

Thom Rainer

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October 4, 2017

In some ways, I don’t like the official designation of October to be pastor appreciation month. I really wish we brainstormed pastor appreciation ideas all the time.

But like many other points of recognition, it does serve as a reminder that we are blessed by our pastors and their ministries.

Pastor Appreciation Ideas

So how can you bring joy to your pastor? My list of 10 is based on the interactions I have with thousands of pastors every year. Some of the affirmations are letters. Many of them have no monetary cost. All of them will be greatly appreciated.

A handwritten letter committing to pray for your pastor. I just spoke with a pastor who received such a gift. He was choked up just talking about it.
A handwritten letter of support. Pastors receive criticism regularly. It’s an unfortunate way of life for them. Though many of you support your pastors, they really appreciate your telling them so.
An anonymous letter with cash. Let your pastors know the gift is for them. Most pastors have no extra funds to buy books or resources or even go out to eat.
A gift card. Find out what your pastors really like. Do they have a favorite restaurant or store? Get them a gift card.
A childcare certificate. Commit to a certain number of days to watch the pastor’s children, assuming the kids are still at an age that need childcare. That will be an incredible gift for pastors and spouses.
A handwritten letter expressing how much difference the pastor has made in your life. Be specific. Let your pastors know how much their ministries mean to you personally. Don’t write in generalities, but in ways that demonstrate your life is better because of your pastor.
A handwritten letter of gratitude to the pastor’s spouse. Pastors’ spouses rarely get affirmed. Your letter of gratitude will mean so much—both to the spouse and to the pastor.
Books. Most pastors love books. Most pastors have a wish list of books they would like. If you can’t find the specific wish list, a gift card for them is great as well.
Video of gratitude. Produce a video to be shown in the worship service. Have testimonies of gratitude. Show specific ways the pastor has made a difference. Express gratitude to the pastor’s family as well.
Remember their anniversary. Let pastor appreciation month be a reminder for you to note your pastor’s anniversary at the church. Celebrate it when that date arrives. Too many pastors get passed by every year despite their ministry and labors for the church and the Kingdom.

Most pastors do not expect recognition or rewards. They did not enter vocational ministry for that reason.

But they really do appreciate it when one or more of the church members remember them in a positive manner.

I hope you will be one of those church members.

This article about pastor appreciation ideas originally appeared here.

N.T. Wright: What the Church Has Missed in the Crucifixion of Jesus

By

Jason Daye

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October 4, 2017

Professor N.T. Wright of St. Andrews University in Scotland is no stranger to academia or the church. After publishing over 75 books and serving as the Bishop of Durham, Prof. Wright is a respected as a learned voice in the Christian world. His latest book is called The Day the Revolution Began.

Key Questions:

-When we look at look at Jesus’ crucifixion and we take into account Israel’s story, what did the cross of Christ achieve?

-What has the church done right in the area of evangelism?

-What can we learn from the early church that connects with what we’re dealing with in the world today?

Key Quotes:

“In the Western tradition…we have by and large over the last thousand years emphasized a Platonic message about souls going to heaven, which has made the biblical idea of heaven and earth being the twin halves of God’s good creation and of the news heaven and new earth being God’s intention, we have allowed that to be lost of, and in particular, we have lost sight of the resurrection.”

“The role of humans is to reflect God’s image into the world and to reflect the praises of all creation back to God in articulate and glad worship and praise.”

“Humans were made to stand at the cusp, to stand on the edge of heaven and earth and belong in both. Because God wants to belong in both and God calls humans to bear his image.”

“God has to deal with human sin in order to rob the idols of their power so that then new creation can begin. That is the story that the New Testament is telling.”

“The call of Abraham in Genesis 12…is God’s means of putting right the problem of Adam.”

“Jesus comes as Israel’s representative Messiah in order to do for Israel and the world what Israel and the world couldn’t do for themselves.”

“The story of Israel is the story of how the creator intends to rescue the creation. The story of Jesus is how God comes in person to rescue Israel in order to achieve that ultimate end.”

“This is the problem, that we have traditionally, in the west, taken phrases which belong in Jewish eschatology and we’ve turned them into platonic cosmology.”

“We need to recognize in ministry today that where the gospel actually bites in our society will have economic, political, philosophical, religious, ethnic, all sorts of overtones.”

“We have for too long allowed the Enlightenment of the 18th and 19th centuries to set the pace, which has said: Religion and real life are in two totally different categories. And Christians teach religion so please don’t mention politics, society, etc.”

“A Christian political theology is more complicated and difficult than we have often realized. It isn’t just a matter of saying ‘We’ve all got to be holy anarchists.’ Nor is it just a matter of saying ‘The elected officials in every country are right whatever they do, so you’ve just got to obey them.’”

“How can we in the church as a whole…be training the people in [our] congregation[s] so that they will be people who will speak for Jesus in Caesar’s world today?”

“Trust the God of surprises.”

Mentioned in the Show:

The Day the Revolution Began: Reconsidering the Meaning of Jesus’s Crucifixion

N.T. Wright Online
Online Course Giveaway

10 Common But Illegitimate Reasons to Divorce

By

Tim Challies

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October 3, 2017

Divorce has legitimate and illegitimate reasons. It is clear in the Bible that God’s intention for marriage is that it remain in effect until the death of one spouse. I believe it is also quite clear that God has provided a limited set of circumstances in which a marriage can legitimately be severed. However, many people—even Christians—offer bad reasons to divorce that are not sanctioned by God. Jim Newheiser outlines a number of these in his book Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage: Critical Questions and Answers.

10 Common But Bad Reasons to Divorce

1. “My spouse isn’t a Christian,” or “I wasn’t a Christian when I married my spouse.”

Nowhere in the Bible is this first of our bad reasons to divorce seen as grounds for not staying married. In 1 Corinthians 7:12-13 Paul very clearly urges men and women in such situations not to divorce their unbelieving spouse. In 1 Peter 3:1-2 women married to unbelievers are called to “be subject to their own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives.” Rather than seeking for an opportunity to get out of the relationship, Christians are told to seek for opportunities to share their faith with their unbelieving spouse.

2. “We weren’t married in a church.”

Matthew 19:6 renders this an illegitimate excuse when it says, “What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” Marriage is sanctioned by God and is not dependent on the context in which those vows were made. Regardless of where you were married or who married you, if you have made a covenant of marriage, the Lord expects you to keep it.

3. “I need to get out of this marriage for the sake of my kids.”

This is, of course, a justifiable concern, but one that Paul does not neglect to address. In 1 Corinthians 7:14 he says, “For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.” According to Paul, here is another opportunity to endure for the sake of the gospel, so that your children, too, may see your godly example of faith. However, in the case that your spouse poses a threat of danger, be it emotional or physical abuse, your children’s safety is a priority.

How Your KidMin Can Respond to Disasters

By

Jenny Funderburke Smith

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October 3, 2017

I hope your community never faces a crisis, but the reality is that most do of some sort or another. Last week our community was challenged after Hurricane Irma roared through. We were blessed that we were spared the catastrophic damage that other parts of the states and the Caribbean experienced. However, between power outages, storm damage and clean up, our town needed some assistance.

I wanted to share one way that our children’s ministry responded in hopes that it will be a resource for those of you who may find yourself needing to serve your community in a crisis situation in the future.

However, I can not even begin describing our logistics without making it very clear that I am blessed with incredible friends and leaders who really took the lead on this and made it happen. I was in Tennessee during the hurricane. I literally said to one on the phone, “Here’s what’s in my head, but I’ll be driving and cannot get it together.” Jeanna Stinehefler and Brandi Spencer totally ran with it and did an amazing job. You may not know them, but please take a second and thank God for their faithfulness.

1. Recognize the need. Following the storm, our local public school system decided they would resume on Monday. We quickly realized there were many parents who would have to return to work and not have childcare for their children. Our team decided to host a half-day playdate and then a two-day day camp to help working parents, but also parents who were struggling to clean up and recover from the storm.

2. Recruit volunteers. First, we had a couple of rock star leaders who agreed to coordinate and own the camp. (I’m not exaggerating when I say rock stars…they totally owned it from beginning to end. I was traveling and literally showed up to help). Since we were dealing with limited time, we could only recruit from church members who have already been background screened. We didn’t have the time or ability (our church office was closed) to run any new screens. We created a schedule on Sign Up Genius and immediately sent it out via text and email to all of our Sunday, Wednesday and special event volunteers. We divided each day into three shifts so that volunteers only had to serve three hours at a time. Of course, they could serve additional shifts if they wanted and we are so glad that many did! Our volunteers totally stepped up. This camp provided a unique place for our people to serve in our hurting community and our volunteers jumped on it.

3. Set a limit. My heart wanted to take in every single kid in the community who needed a place to go. The reality was there was a limit on what we could logistically plan for and handle in such a short amount of time. We had a good number of people volunteer, but so many of our own people were struggling with clean up, power outages, etc… Their availability was limited. We created a registration form on Wufoo and chose to cap the attendance at 50 kids. We wanted to only do what we could do well without sacrificing safety or sanity.

4. Get the word out. Because everything was in such a tight timeframe, we began advertising by faith. We waited until we had several committed volunteers, but we couldn’t wait until we had every time slot filled. We wanted parents to have time to plan. We advertised by sending a mass email to every contact we had both within our church and families who had attended camp, VBS or other special events. We also sent texts to all the families we had in our text groups through Remind. Finally we posted on Facebook, including posting in a “Hurricane Irma” community group that had popped up.

5. Create a plan. Two 8 1/2-hour days is a lot of time to fill! In fact, our day camp took up more time than a week of VBS and we were planning it in less than 36 hours! Our coordinator came up with a schedule that kept everyone moving every 30 minutes to an hour. One leader created simple crafts that utilized supplies that we mostly already had (stores were opening slowly due to power outages). We divided into three big groups: Pre-K/Kindergarten, 1st-3rd grades and 4th/5th grades.

6. Share Jesus. The majority of kids who registered do not come to our church and at least half do not have a church at all. We wanted to make the most of this opportunity. I had some sweet friends send me some curriculum, but honestly we were so short on prep time and didn’t have time for our volunteers to prepare anything that we had to keep it very basic. We had an opening time, a large group time in the middle, and a closing time in which we made sure that we shared the gospel in fun and exciting ways. Our crafts involved biblical truths. What blessed me the most, though, was our volunteers taking advantage of every opportunity and teachable moment to point kids toward Jesus.

7. Connect with parents. As much as we could we tried to connect with parents at drop off and pick up. They were extremely grateful for the camp and my prayer was that they felt connected enough that when they decide to try a church, they will remember that their kids were loved here.

We had a great time during the fun (and long) two days. While I’m sure there were things that we could have done differently, it was undoubtedly a God thing that it came together the way that it did!

Please pray for the families in our community that continue to recover from Irma’s aftermath.

This article originally appeared here.

You’re Not a Perfect Small Group Leader—And That’s OK

By

Mike Mack

-

October 3, 2017

God is not looking for you to be the perfect small group leader. I wrote The World’s Greatest Small Group not because I think I’m the world’s Greatest Small Group Leader—I’m not—but to help you learn from and thus become more like the one who is: Jesus.

God is not looking for you to lead the perfect small group. While Jesus’ group was a mess and often dysfunctional, it was healthy. That might seem like an oxymoron, but Jesus understood the principle of process. He saw not only what they were, but what they were becoming. And often this process of becoming looks very messy. But think about this: Jesus’ dysfunctional group became The World’s Greatest Small Group.

Do you have what it takes? Do you have what it takes to be a small group leader? Depending on your perspective, you can answer this question two different ways:

NO—You do not have what it takes…on your own, under your own power, with your own intellect. That’s why it’s so vital to remember that Jesus is the real leader of “your” group. “’Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty” (Zechariah 4:6).

YES—Don’t forget that Jesus calls unschooled, ordinary men and women to follow him and then turns them into world changers. If you follow Christ, the World’s Greatest Small Group Leader, he will use you to do extraordinary things. Don’t sell yourself short. Say, “I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13, New Living Translation).

By God’s power, you can do this, but you must start by first seeking after him.

This article originally appeared here.

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