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Do Christians Have a Right to Criticize Joel Osteen?

By
Jesse T. Jackson
-
communicating with the unchurched

In the last couple of days, people have turned to social media to criticize Joel Osteen and his Lakewood megachurch have come under a lot of fire for not opening their doors immediately to take in evacuees and aid in the relief efforts of Hurricane Harvey. This has caused a flurry of social media blacklash and anger-laced comments towards Osteen and, by association, Christianity in general.

People specifically posted to criticize Joel Osteen and the church when they couldn’t open the church because it was “inaccessible due to severe flooding.” Some Houstonians took to social media to post pictures of the seemingly unaffected church. Osteen then revised the church’s status, saying they would open if the shelters reached capacity. He explained their hesitancy to open the church originally due to the possibility the lower level could flood. Now that the waters are receding, the church is currently housing evacuees.

Briefly, here is some of the back and forth from Twitter:

I am not a supporter or follower of Osteen for my own personal reasons, but I respectfully want to give a word of warning and advice to all the Christ-followers reading this. As much as one might disagree with another person, no matter what the circumstance we have no right to slander or hate anyone. Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:31-32 to “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another forgiving each other, just as Christ God forgave you.” So as your brother in Christ, I ask you to examine yourself before posting or shouting out anything against anyone without the guidance of the Holy Spirit first.

Since the backlash, Osteen and Lakewood church have opened their doors to provide relief.

Do we have a right to criticize Joel Osteen? I leave you with two thoughts from a non-Osteen supporter:

How much do you know about Joel Osteen’s ministry? Can you wisely speak about it, or are you taking other people’s critical words for it without examining for yourself to be able to accurately discuss or comment on it? While writing this, I was reminded of John’s question to Jesus in Mark 9:38-41 “Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.” “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us. Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.”

Again I am not advocating for or against Osteen’s ministry here, I am simply asking that you use a Biblical lens and prayer before discussing, posting, or commenting on anything.

My last thought:

Is what you are discussing, posting, or commenting then the world will hear us as a very loud, annoying banging cymbal. Paul tells us in his letter to the Ephesians “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” (4:29)

As you process some of what I said above, please read this post and pray through how you might respond. May we always point people to our King and Savior Jesus Christ, the world around us is always watching.

Other posts that might be helpful:

What’s the Problem With Joel Osteen?

5 Ways to Get Involved in Disaster Relief

When Disaster Strikes, Is It Enough to Pray?

Todd Adkins: Why We Struggle to Develop Leaders in the Church

By
Jason Daye
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communicating with the unchurched

Todd Adkins is the Director of Leadership at LifeWay. He served for several years in various pastoral roles before coming to LifeWay to develop Ministry Grid and head up the Leadership team. Todd earned his M. A. in Leadership from the Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, KY.

Key Questions:

What is the relationship between discipleship and leadership development?

Why aren’t church leaders as invested as they claim to be in developing leaders?

What is a leadership pipeline?

Key Quotes:

“It’s so easy to get so caught up in the work of the ministry that we forget that the real work is the people. We spend so much time doing versus developing the people.”

“The best way to grow your church is to grow your people.”

“We sacrifice the one job we have of giving the ministry away on the altar of excellence nearly every Sunday.”

“Especially in this day and age, if you are a leader and not a learner, you’re going to have a really short shelf life. You’re going to have a tendency to be put in positions where your strengths have taken you farther than your weaknesses can sustain you. And that’s a really dangerous place to be.”

“Leadership development is both poetry and plumbing. It’s absolutely vision that inspires but it’s actually the systems and processes that deliver on the dream.”

“Culture is really shared values. And those shared values occur through common language, and structure and systems really create your culture—they create and reinforce culture.”

“God is a God of systems and order…Systems are not ungodly or unholy.”

“When you look in the Bible, you see two examples of leadership in the church: You see the shepherd and steward.”

“If we truly want to have an impact in our community, we need to be better at developing leaders and people than anybody. Our community should look to us as a place that builds great leaders—not just a friendly place.”

“Odds are we’ve all been in the situation where we were given the keys to a significant ministry before we were ready.”

“Our job as pastors is to develop people. When you get to heaven, your legacy is not going to be something you’ve done; it’s going to be the people that you’ve developed.”

“Leaders understand that their fruit grows on other people’s trees.”

“When we can be self-confident to understand that if we do [leadership] right, we are going to develop people that will pass us. And we need to be cool with that.”

Mentioned in the Show:

MyLeadershipPipeline.com (Enter code churchleaders30 for discount)

3 Ways to Know the Quality of Your Leadership

By
Carey Nieuwhof
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communicating with the unchurched

What makes people effective leaders? One of the most difficult aspects of leadership is to know how you’re doing as a leader.

Add a little insecurity into the mix, and it makes things even more complex.

How Can People Be Truly Effective Leaders?

Naturally, you’ll get feedback from your peers and probably get an occasional 360 review (both great practices).

But beyond that, how can you tell how you’re doing? The reality is your leadership is being judged daily. But how accurately do you judge and assess your own leadership?

There’s a way to check that’s much simpler than you might think. By asking yourself three simple questions, you can not only get an accurate gauge of how you’re doing but where you need to improve.

Why This Matters (Leadership and Self-Delusion)

I find a lot of people are not clear on whether or not they are effective leaders.

This falls into two categories:

-Leaders who overestimate how well they’re doing.
-Leaders who underestimate how well they’re doing.

Both are problematic for different reasons. If you think you’re doing better than you are, you’re the last person to realize you need to improve. And if you think you’re not doing as well as you actually are, then you likely have potential you have not yet tapped into. So getting a reasonably accurate check-in on the quality of your leadership is critical to help you lead with all diligence.

How to Deal With Your Disappointment

By
Brian Moss
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communicating with the unchurched

Disappointment is an unavoidable reality in life.

Disappointment is when my expectations do not match life’s realities.

Whether it is being overlooked for a position, passed over for a promotion or let down by a loved one, disappointment can really sting.

Disappointment sets off a chain of emotional responses including stress, anger, frustration, discouragement and sadness. Chronic disappointment, if not dealt with, has the potential to evolve into deeper problems such as depression, bitterness, resentment, hatred and despair.

One of the most vivid pictures of disappointment is recorded in Job chapter 6. In the midst of enormous suffering, Job tells his “friends” how he feels about their so-called support:

“My brothers, you have proved as unreliable as a seasonal brook that overflows its banks in the spring when it is swollen with ice and melting snow. But when the hot weather arrives, the water disappears. The brook vanishes in the heat. The caravans turn aside to be refreshed, but there is nothing to drink, so they die. The caravans from Tema search for this water; the travelers from Sheba hope to find it. They count on it but are disappointed. When they arrive, their hopes are dashed” (Job 6:15–20 NLT).

Ever felt that way? You were hoping for refreshing water, but you ended up sucking sand? Yeah, we all have.

So what do you do when we face disappointment?

1. Evaluate your expectations.

Sometimes we are disappointed because we have set unrealistic expectations. We expect someone to behave a certain way “just because”—and then when they don’t, we feel let down. Too often we set ourselves up for disappointment by painting pictures in our mind of what we think should happen—pictures that hinge on unwritten or unspoken expectations. “They should just know” is not a reasonable expectation.

2. Communicate your disappointment.

When we cover up how we’re affected, our heart will become infected. Any negative emotion, when not released, turns toxic. We have to get it out in order to work it out. In fact, it is often this step that reveals unrealistic expectations. Revealing your feeling is the beginning of healing.

3. Predicate your hope on God.

Disappointment is ultimately expecting something that’s not God to be as reliable as he is. Nothing on this earth can be counted on. Not people, not companies, not countries, not even you! Sin started this chain reaction of disappointment. The truth is, we will never be as disappointed as God was when his beloved betrayed him. The only way to stop being disappointed is to stop risking and stop loving which, of course, means we stop growing and we start dying.

Disappointment is inevitable.

Being disappointed is not.

When we shift our faith and trust fully in the one who will never let us down, we discover hope.

“Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in me will not be disappointed” (Isaiah 49:23 NIV).

When you’re let down, don’t stay down.

This article originally appeared here.

4 Things You Can Do Right Now to Launch Groups

By
Mark Howell
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communicating with the unchurched

Some strategies take time to work. For example, changing your small group ministry model will make a big difference, but probably a little less immediate.

Running a “turbo group” of potential leaders with the assumption that after they have experienced healthy and authentic community as they’ve participated can lead to a number of new groups…eventually.

The apprenticing strategy, with its potential to allow small groups to grow and “birth” new groups as the number of members grows and the apprentice becomes “ready,” is another slow growth strategy.

On the other hand, some strategies immediately launch more groups and connect more people. Here are my favorites:

Church-Wide Campaigns

A well conceived, well planned and well executed church wide campaign, leveraging the HOST strategy alongside a Small Group Connection strategy, can have immediate impact, starting a wave of new groups and connecting a lot of unconnected people.

Find out more about church-wide campaigns right here.

Small Group Connections

A small group connection is a 75-minute event designed to form new groups and then assist the members of each new group to choose a leader to help them get started. A well planned and well executed small group connection can be used in conjunction with a church-wide campaign but they can also be stand-alone events (much like North Point’s GroupLink strategy).

Find out more about small group connections right here.

Small Group Vacations

The small group vacation strategy can launch more new groups and connect more people as a result of a simple but compelling challenge to leaders and members of existing small groups in your system.

Challenging your existing groups to consider not meeting together as a group for an upcoming series (hence the name small group vacation), but instead linking arms with another couple or a few others and hosting a new group themselves, each inviting a few unconnected friends to join them for the study that goes along with the new series.

Find out more about Small Group Vacations right here.

Short-Term On-Campus Groups

Selecting a compelling and targeted short-term study (for example, Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage or The New Rules of Love, Sex and Dating) and offering it on-campus with childcare will encourage unconnected people who are necessarily interested in a small group to experience community. Seating attenders at tables together, often sorted by affinity (for example, newly married, young couples, empty nesters, etc.), and allowing them to participate in the discussion over six to eight weeks will often be the test-drive they need to encourage them to continue meeting as a group off-campus.

Find out about Short-Term On-Campus “Groups” right here.

These are just four of the strategies that will immediately launch more groups and connect more people. Need a customized approach? Consider setting up a coaching call with me. Find out how to set up a coaching call right here.

This article originally appeared here.

5 Fun Backyard Games

By
Lindsey Whitney
-
communicating with the unchurched

Summer gives kids a healthy break to unwind before a new year of learning. Those weeks, though, can drag when the weather gets too hot or too rainy or the days just feel too repetitive. There are only so many museums, pools (indoor or outdoor), parks and sports activities that kids can enjoy until the novelty runs out. And, let’s face it, most kids think their own house is usually pretty boring.

Parents know what happens when kids get bored. Either those dreaded devices come out…again. Or trouble ensues. Sometimes both. When the quiet whispering from the other room leads to screeches of ‘he did it,’ though, you know you’re in trouble. And you’ll likely have a clean-up on your hands.

Pour yourself a piping hot cup of grace, take a breath and get creative. When summer break makes you feel like you’re going to break, lead kids outdoors to explore the many adventures that await them in their own backyard!

Water Balloon Fights

Grab some balloons and fill them with water. Set up forts with old boxes or toys from the garage and let the craziness begin! Set rules and boundaries for kids so playtime doesn’t get too crazy. No aiming for the face. Make sure to clean up the mess afterward, so birds or other animals (like your pets!) don’t ingest the latex.

Host a Beach Party

If you have a kiddie pool, you can create your own backyard oasis. Make some sandwiches and lemonade and set up a fun backyard beach picnic. Eat outside on towels or blankets. Let kids play in the pool with water toys, and if you have a sandbox, let kids make sand castles! Decorate your beach with plants or potted flowers. Or head to dollar stores and buy some fun tropical décor for a festive backyard luau! Kids can don grass skirts and flower leis…you may even hold a limbo competition!

Little Yogis

For some relaxing outdoor exercise, host an outdoor yoga retreat for kids. Grab some yoga mats, put on some calming music and practice kid-friendly postures. The CDC recommends that kids have one hour of physical activity a day, and yoga helps get kids moving while increasing their strength and flexibility. Yoga also helps kids de-stress after a busy day!

Old-School Sprinklers

If the sprinklers are on to water the plants and lawn, let kids get in on the water fun. Put on their swimming suits and set kids free in the backyard. They’ll have a blast running through the sprinklers and chasing each other. The National Wildlife Federation recommends playing sprinkler games like Simon Says and Fill the Cup, which requires players to fill their plastic cup with the sprinkler water (the first person to fill their cup wins!). Get imaginative and think of a few of your own games for kids to play in the sprinklers!

Backyard Olympics

Host the Olympic Games in your own backyard. Create an obstacle course out of toys or sports equipment, host relay races, and see who can jump the farthest/highest. You can also add other competitions like hula hooping or a tug of war between teams. Create ribbons for kids to celebrate their participation and victories. Real Simple also suggests that teams make their own uniforms for the games!

While long breaks like summer vacation may begin to wear down parents—and kids—the time together won’t last forever. Before you know it, you’ll be packing lunches and sending kids off on the school bus once again. Create memories in your own backyard with fun activities that will take kids by surprise…and get them out of the house and active! And don’t be afraid to join in on the fun…you’re never too old for sprinklers!

This article originally appeared here.

The Cool Pastor

By
Josh Teis
-
communicating with the unchurched

I’ve heard it many times, “a pastor shouldn’t try to be cool.” And I certainly agree, for there is nothing more “uncool” than a man attempting to be cool. But what about those who are naturally gifted in the realm of coolness? What if you are genetically conditioned to have great hair? What if you naturally exude style and cutting edge fashion? Should a man’s superhero jawline, name-brand sunglasses and winning sense of humor be held against him? I’m asking for a friend. ??

Here is the reality—being cool is not the goal—approachability is.

I’m speaking to young men in ministry who often get the two confused and may need to focus on one rather than the other.

Being Approachable Is Being Like Jesus

Luke 18:15-16 And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me.

The difference between Jesus and the other religious leaders of the day is that Jesus didn’t set himself apart from the people but set himself as part of the people. While the typical fisherman, tax collector, prostitute or centurion would have felt extremely uncomfortable around a Pharisee—they felt completely at ease in the presence of Jesus. Did Jesus try to be cool? NO! But Jesus did try to be approachable. He became a normal man who was raised in a normal home who had a normal job.

II Corinthians 8:9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.

A pastor should do whatever it takes to relate to the people with whom he is ministering. This is a philosophical choice—one the Pharisees rejected—one that Jesus embraced.

Being Approachable Is Determined by Context

If 90 percent of your community loves NASCAR then you’d better know who Dale Earnhardt was. You might even want to put a #3 window decal on you F-150. In certain parts of the country it’ll make you “cool” or approachable. If 80 percent of your community goes hunting every season then you’d better hit the shooting range a few times per month. In a certain town or county getting a few guns and learning how to shoot might make the difference between a successful pastorate and a failed one. Paul knew this principle:

I Corinthians 9:20-23 And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; to them that are without law, as without law… To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. And this I do for the gospel’s sake.

This is why it is so foolish for a young minister to dress like Justin Bieber while pastoring a church in Montana or dress in overalls and a straw hat while attempting to reach the people of Miami. You should know the culture of your mission field and contextualize your dress, speech, hobbies, diet, sports teams and even speaking style to help people understand the message of the Gospel.

A missionary truly does attempt to “fit in” as much as possible so that he/she can be accepted by the people as one of the tribe. From the position of tribal acceptance the missionary can then share the unchanging truths of the Gospel.

Being Approachable Is Evangelistic

Mark 2:15-17 And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him. And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners? When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

I love this passage. Do you see how much the average person liked being around Jesus? The newly saved Matthew threw a party and invited Jesus to attend. The place was packed out with average Joes and everyday Janes. People flocked to Jesus everywhere he went because He was kind, gentle and relatable. On the other end of the spectrum we see the Pharisees who were mean, arrogant and judgmental. The Pharisees debated the finer points of the law, compared endless genealogies and rubbed shoulders with political leaders. Jesus spoke to farmers about different types of soil, to shepherds about looking for lost sheep, and to fishermen about the catch of the day.

The Bible says that we are to be peculiar people (1 Peter 2:9). But this doesn’t mean we are to be strange, weird or uncool. Do you know what is truly peculiar? A religious leader who can relate to the common man, this is truly an anomaly. A man of God who steps away from his dusty library and goes to a ballgame with his community, this is beautifully unique. A preacher who is as comfortable talking about comic-book movies as he is talking about eschatological timelines, this is wonderfully strange. You’d be hard-pressed to find a Pharisee that could relate to the average Israeli as well as the carpenter of Nazareth.

I get it. There’s nothing worse than watching someone strive desperately to be cool when coolness is often shallow, phony, and a moving target. So, instead of cool, let’s just shoot for real, genuine, accepting, relaxed and relatable. For if people find that we are relatable they will also see us as approachable. And when they approach us to talk about football, star wars, children, pets, politics, hunting or their favorite restaurant—we will be able to deftly pivot the conversation to the Kingdom of Christ and hope of the Gospel. And that will be pretty cool.

What are your thoughts? Where am I going wrong? Where do you agree? What have I missed? 

This article originally appeared here.

5 Reasons Your Youth Ministry May Never Grow

By
Josh Evans
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communicating with the unchurched

We often discuss church growth or student ministry growth. This is a topic of conversation for good reason, because we all are interested in building our student ministry. Here are a few reasons why your student ministry may never grow:

1. Lack of Prayer

This is the biggest part of growth. You must daily pray and ask God to build your student ministry. You must be praying for your ministry to grow. Do not expect any growth (or perhaps the wrong kind of growth) if you are not daily praying over your ministry. Bathe it in prayer, and trust God for the growth.

2. Lack of communicating clear vision

This is oftentimes the biggest problem with growth. You have to regularly communicate vision to the people. It must constantly be in front of the people. Then, you must live out the vision. “If your church does not know where it is supposed to be, then they will attempt to go everywhere and eventually wind up nowhere.”

3. Leadership

Ultimately, it could be a reflection on YOU. Make sure you are a passionate leader. Make sure you are living the Word. Make sure that you are carrying out the vision and communicating it clearly to your people.

4. Selfishness

This can be a reflection upon leadership and the people. Sometimes, God may want to take the church to a place where you do not want to go, but you are still responsible for going in that direction. Do not be selfish and want the church to be what you want. Also, your people must not be selfish in trying to create the church that they want to have. It is not about us, but all about Him.

5. Energy

If you fill the leadership with energy-less people, you will create a energy-less congregation. Be energetic and passionate, and the congregation will follow suit. Create a load of energy every service for the people to desire to come back.

Let’s make sure that we are doing everything that we can to grow our ministry!

How Young Leaders Can Lead Older Leaders

By
Dan Reiland
-
communicating with the unchurched

Leading someone older than you can be challenging.

As the Boomer generation ages and hands the baton of leadership to the Xers and Millennials, more and more young leaders find themselves leading those older than themselves.

This is an important question: Why do some young leaders do it well and some do it poorly?

I remember the first time this really hit me. On my first day as executive pastor in San Diego, I suddenly realized I would be leading staff who were older and more experienced than I was. That was intimidating, to say the least. Thoughts went through my mind like, “What do I have to offer them?” And, “Why would they listen to me?”

When young staff leads older volunteers with more life experience, they often encounter the same feeling. Over the years I’ve learned that’s a pretty natural response. In fact, it’s actually healthy.

In contrast, if a younger leader assumes, and behaves like, they know more than the older leaders they serve, that’s a pretty arrogant disposition. That never goes well.

Even though intimidation, insecurity or lack of confidence can be part of a normal response to leading people with more life experience than you, it’s important for you not to get stuck there. Don’t let your leadership become paralyzed because you are young. You have much to offer.

7 Insights to help young leaders lead older leaders:

1) Remember, you were chosen.

You were picked from all the others. There’s a reason for that. Someone, or several people, saw gifts, talents and ability in you. Whether you were hired onto a staff team or you were asked to be a leader in a volunteer role, they chose you!

Don’t talk yourself out of deserving this opportunity to lead people. If you focus on their good and the good of the church, you are off to a good start.

2) Embrace the truth that they want you to win.

It’s extremely rare that someone wants you to fail, particularly those who are older than you. Yes, sometimes a few can be difficult, but every once in a while you can be difficult too. Right?

They want you to win. Think about how hard they have worked for a long time; they want all that effort to matter.

If you also want them to “win” spiritually, in their family life, at work and in life in general, this group will eagerly follow you! And they may become your most loyal and strongest advocates.

3) Lean into the truth of Scripture.

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. I Timothy 4:12

Nearly every leader started young! This is a normal rite of passage. Reflect on the five words in verse 12 where you are challenged to set the example. They are—speech, conduct, love, faith and purity.

I promise that you will have much to offer if you lead from that platform spiritually. From this foundation, serve those who are older as an encourager for their spiritual growth. Ask about their walk with God, how they are growing spiritually, and what they hear God saying. That will begin a conversation where you can invest spiritually.

4) Focus on the uniqueness you have to offer.

What are your unique gifts, talents and abilities?

Maybe you have a strategic mind, or you are great with people, or you are creative, or you have great communication skills. The list of possibilities is long. Lean into your strengths.

Get better at what you do. Develop your leadership ability. When you are improving, that always gets noticed. If you improve as a leader, that is appreciated and gains respect.

In contrast, if you assume your authority, or lead as if you are entitled to have them follow, I promise that never works well.

Continue

Does God Always Win?

By
Brian Orme
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communicating with the unchurched

https://www.facebook.com/MattHammitt/videos/1420250108051786

Life is full of questions. We contend with questions all the time because unlike God, we are finite and lack exhaustive knowledge of what is before us. Questions are especially hard when we are walking through a difficult season and we want to know when and if the season will end.

Recording artist Matt Hammitt recently released his song “He Always Wins” and in the following video asks the important question: “Do I really believe that God always wins?”

Hammitt reflectively asks, “do I really believe that God always wins… even in our sin… in sickness… and in death?”  This can be hard to believe, let alone feel, with our emotions. Fortunately, we have help in dealing with this tension through God’s word.

In the book of Genesis, we can read the account of the patriarch Joseph who was very acquainted with hardship and betrayal. Joseph suffered from the jealous ridicule of his brothers, left in a well in the desert, and sold into slavery. In spite of these significant challenges, God’s purposes were never thwarted, and it was Joseph’s trust in God’s purposes that allowed him to say: “Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done in the saving of many lives.” Genesis 50:20 (NIV)

Joseph was able to see that his personal trial was accomplishing far more than he could have imagined. May this encouragement from Matt Hammitt help you persevere in whatever trial you may be experiencing.

It’s Not Just the Catholic Church that Has Abuse Scandals

By
Megan Briggs
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communicating with the unchurched

Billy Graham’s grandson, Basyle “Boz” Tchividjian recently shared his thoughts on the overlooked problem of sexual abuse in the Protestant church. According to Tchividjian, whose organization investigates abuse in conspicuous Christian organizations, the problem of sexual abuse is as pronounced in the Protestant church as it is in the Catholic Church—if not more so.

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“It’s common to see a desire to protect the institution at the expense of the individual,” Tchividjian tells Vice.

Experience as a prosecutor opened Tchividjian’s eyes to the problems with how faith-communities react to a person who discloses abuse. Now, his organization, GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment), investigates high-profile Christian institutions such as Bob Jones University and New Tribes Mission.

As we all could guess, the problem of abuse is not exclusive to the Catholic church, and that’s not really where the focus of the interview lies. But, Tchvidijian gives the numbers on abuse cases reported to insurance providers for Protestant churches (260 a year) versus Catholic churches (228 a year). Although the Catholic church has been in the news more for this offense, Tchividjian says he is concerned that the church he grew up in—the Protestant evangelical church—sometimes glosses over these facts. He acknowledges there are more Protestants than Catholics in the United States, but explains “for me, it’s important to share that statistic when speaking with Protestant audiences so that they stop pointing their fingers at the Catholic Church and engage more with their own church.”

In the interview, Tchividjian highlights some things that make the church a particularly easy target for would-be abusers and an unlikely partner to those who have abused people and wish to keep their secrets hidden.

The Things We Do Wrong

Victim Blaming and Shaming

Tchvidjian spoke of victim blaming when abuse is disclosed. This might come in the form of telling the victim the abuse was provoked by dress, behavior, proximity, etc. Additionally, forcing the victim to forgive the offender does further damage, heaping shame on the victim and delaying healing. Tchvidjian explains shame is a particularly big problem for male survivors. Male survivors typically don’t “want anyone in the church to know because they thought that they would be labeled a future offender and everyone would keep their kids away, or they would be accused of being gay.”

The Hyper-Purity Culture

Some churches cultivate a culture where women especially are taught very little about sex—the main lesson being to avoid it all costs and in any minute form until one’s wedding night. The problem with this is that when women are taught this way, and men are placed in positions of almost unquestionable authority, the situation is ripe for abuse. Tchvidjian explains that oftentimes “the girl doesn’t realize what she’s experiencing is abuse until much later, because she’s ignorant of sex.”

Defending the Perpetrator instead of the Victim

Tchividjian recalls the sexual abuse cases he managed as a prosecutor where, more often than not, the church would send someone to defend the perpetrator and not the victim. The practice confounded Tchividjian, who thinks of Jesus’s words when he said it would be better for a person to have a large stone tied around their neck and be thrown into the sea than for them to harm a child.

While abuse is by no means exclusive to the church, we have to understand it can be particularly devastating when it happens inside the very institution that was meant to teach people about Christ and speak up for the marginalized, as Jesus did. Victims abused in this context have a hard time trusting God or Scripture, especially if their abuse included references to those things.

Tchvidijian is the first to admit his work helping sexual abuse victims has given him a very “low” view of the church. At the same time, though “It has also given me a much higher view of Jesus.” It is faith in Jesus, the greatest defender of children in Tchvidijian’s view, that compels him to continue in his very difficult work.

Six Lousy Ways to Get More Musicians, Pt. 2

By
Jon Nicol
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communicating with the unchurched

The third lousy way to get more musicians…

3. Let Your Non-Musical Pastor Do the Recruiting.

Senior pastor to me, the worship leader: “Say, Jon, there’s a new family that just started attending, and I heard that the wife played piano and sang at their last church. Incidentally, they sat behind us last week, and she does sing nicely. During the greeting time, I told her you REALLY needed people for the team. She acted excited. I told her you’d call her this week.”

Where’s a cliff I can jump off?

Sometimes, a scenario like this can surprise us for the better. Other times, not so much.

This is sticky. If your senior pastor is recruiting for the worship team, at worst, it’s political. At best, it’s just his way of genuinely trying to help. In most cases, it’s the latter. If you’re not sure, assume the best. But you still need to have a conversation.

Before you go off half-cocked and confront your senior pastor for meddling (not a good idea), consider doing a few things first. And regardless, if your senior pastor is actively recruiting for your team, these are good steps to take:

1. Communicate to your senior pastor the kind of musicians you’re looking for and the minimum qualifications they need. You might get push back, and that’s OK. He may point out some rigid, overzealous or overly-idealistic thinking on your part. We artsy types sometimes need the perspective of non-musicians to bring us back to reality.

2. Seek weigh-in and approval from your senior pastor for your audition process. You want the senior pastor to have your back when it comes to who does and does not get on the team. You’ll make it tough for him if he’s blind-sided.

3. Create a process that includes approval from the senior pastor or other higher leadership. You don’t want this won’t turn into a bureaucratic mess with an entire board needing to discuss and vote. But you do want wisdom, discernment and biblical authority on your side. Here are two ways to approach this:

  • The senior pastor or elder leadership gives ‘final approval’ to a person who you recommend. Hopefully, they’ve bought in and can trust your process so they won’t be concerned with musicianship. Their focus will be on heart and character. They might know or discern something we don’t. I want the leadership above me to give their approval and blessing. It keeps me under the cover of Christ’s delegated authority.
  • Include in the audition process a recommendation from the senior pastor (or elder or small group leader). This accomplishes three things: 1) it streamlines the process by avoiding the bottleneck of board approval, 2) it encourages accountability and mutual submission in the church, and 3) it creates a self-disqualifying step. In other words, if the applicant, for whatever reason, doesn’t take this step, you’ve just saved yourself time and energy and probably some Advil.

I think it’s worth addressing: Some of you non-musical senior pastors are in a situation where you HAVE to be the one who recruits. In that case, seek out somebody with musical experience, even outside your church, to help you assess people’s musical ability.

And lastly, if you’ve taken the three steps listed above and your senior pastor still operates “outside his gifting,” it’s time for a heart-to-heart. However, be prepared to learn something about yourself and your process that you maybe hadn’t seen before. And he may see one of his own blind spots. A little mutual understanding goes a long way. Read part 1 

What Should Christians Do With Unanswered Questions?

By
J.D. Greear
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communicating with the unchurched

When my third daughter, Ryah, turned 1, I took her to the doctor for a round of shots. (Veronica had taken the first two girls on her own, and now decided it was my turn.) The nurse asked me to hold my little girl on my lap as she stuck the needle in her tiny leg—three times. Each time, my daughter let out a scream that could have woken the dead. What was worse, though, was how frantically she looked around the room searching for help. When her eyes found mine, it was clear she expected me to do something to stop this cruel nurse. But there I sat—not only not stopping the nurse but helping her! I know she couldn’t understand why one of the two people she thought loved her most was not helping her. Her tiny mind couldn’t perceive that I was doing what I was doing because I loved her, not in spite of the fact that I did. She only felt abandoned and betrayed.

Many people—even Christians—who are struggling with some difficult circumstance in their lives often look to God and feel the same way my daughter did. They wonder, “When will this end? Why is this happening to me? Why would a good God allow this bad thing to happen to someone he loves?”

The world often doesn’t seem like it’s being ruled by a loving, all-wise, all-powerful God, and so we cry, why don’t you do something, God?

We Aren’t the First to Ask

The prophet Habakkuk asked a similar question: “O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you ‘Violence!’ and you will not save? Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong?” (Habakkuk 1:1-3 ESV)

Philosophers call this the “problem of evil,” and they trace this question all the way back to a 5th century B.C. Greek philosopher named Epicurus, who basically said that if God really is all-powerful, he could stop all the evil. And if he was really loving, he would want to stop it. So, the fact that pain, suffering and injustice run rampant on the earth means, then, that God is not all-powerful or good.

Here’s my shortened version of that: If he’s good, he would. If he could, he should. Since he doesn’t, that means he isn’t.

This is an age-old problem, and Habakkuk framed it long before Epicurus did. That brings me comfort, because it means we’re not asking new questions. People of faith have struggled with unanswered questions from the beginning.

It’s also encouraging to me that God gave Habakkuk a clear, prompt answer that is still relevant for us today.

1. God always has a bigger plan than we realize.

Habakkuk 1:5 says, “Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.”

For Habakkuk, the “work you would not believe” was an imminent invasion from the Babylonians. Not exactly good news. And yet, even in the coming invasion of the Babylonians, God was setting up a situation that would ultimately and more clearly display the rescuing work of his Son. It was beyond anything Habakkuk could understand at that moment, to the point he wouldn’t have believed it, even if God told him.

2. God wants us to walk by faith.

Habakkuk 2:4 says, “The righteous shall live by his faith.” If we are going to walk with God in the world, it will have to be by faith, which means we must acknowledge that there are a number of things we won’t be able to fully see.

God doesn’t do this to torment us but because we simply can’t see like he sees. Think of my daughter and her shots. At 12 months of age, she wasn’t going to understand the importance of vaccines. I couldn’t sit her down and reason with her until she calmed down. She simply had to trust me. And we are far more like infants than we are like God.

3. God desires a lot more people to come to salvation.

I said a moment ago that God was setting up a bigger situation with the Babylonian invasion. The bigger thing that God was doing was covering the earth with the knowledge of his glory: “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14). Habakkuk wanted to know why God seemed to be so harsh to his people; God wanted Habakkuk to know that he intended for many more people to be saved.

What would change in your life if you considered your unanswered questions in light of God’s will to use you in the lives of others?

4. God is still on his throne, and we can trust him with unanswered questions.

Habakkuk knew that God was on his throne because God gave him a vision of it: “The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him” (Habakkuk 2:20).

God may not give us a vision like he did Habakkuk, but he is doing the same work in our lives today. And just as those painful shots produced a healthier life for my daughter, God can use the circumstances in our lives that are difficult and painful to yield a greater and happier eternity for his children.

You might say, “I can’t see any good coming out of this!” But just because you can’t see God working doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.

Faith trusts that God is on his throne, that his plan is better than ours, and that his character is more compassionate than ours could ever be. When we walk by faith and trust our unanswered questions to his good purposes, we are given enough grace to press on through our circumstances to eternity.

This article originally appeared here.

How to Evaluate Your Ministry Events

By
Sam Luce
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communicating with the unchurched

At our church, we have just completed two large events with a couple more staring us down. One of the things I try to do after each event is to evaluate the event’s effectiveness and my and my team’s competence. I realize that for each church this may look different, but I also realize that we sometimes need a starting point to get us going.

I break those questions down into three categories. People. Church. Me.

People

Did the right people come?
Who was missing that should have been at this event?
Who came that I didn’t expect to come?
Where were their opportunities for God to move in the lives of our kids?
Did we create memories that will last a lifetime?

Church

Did this event help build the church?
Did this event point people beyond their own need?
Did we preach Christ Crucified?
Did we as a ministry represent the values and vision of the church? Or did we do our own thing?
Was the church fully aware of what took place?

Me

Did I do what only I could have done at this event?
What did I do that someone else can do next time?
Did my team learn something from this event?
Did I grow in my dependence on Christ through this event?

It’s very easy to measure the effectiveness of what we do by how many people came or how much money we earned. Both are valid and helpful, but not ultimate. We are a church, not a Chic-fil-a. Our aim is to primarily pastor and love people, not to be a CEOs. We are more interested in helping those God has brought into our care to maintain a long obedience in the same direction. Large events to the extent they build the church and deepen our dependence on God are helpful. To the extent they are a spectacle, they are unhelpful. Let us by God’s grace create events that drive us deeper into God’s heart for our good and His glory.

This article originally appeared here.

The Necessity of Deep Thinking About Church Among Students

By
Seth Dahl
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communicating with the unchurched

“Hey man! Welcome to the Student Ministry! How are you?”

“I’m good.”

“Awesome. Is this your first time at church in a while, or have you been going somewhere else?”

“Yeah I grew up in the church! But I’m kinda going to a few different places right now.”

“Like you are looking for a new church?”

“Oh no, nothing like that. We just go to a lot of different churches. My Mom goes to the Greek Orthodox church early Sunday Morning, and I go with her to that sometimes. But my Dad goes to the big-box mega church’s late service—I like the worship there. And I go to a couple different youth groups. I have friends in one, but I heard your youth group had some cool stuff going on so I wanted to check it out.”

“Oh man, that’s crazy. Why do you go to so many places? Are your parents divorced?”

“Oh, no. They just like different churches and want to go to the places that they ‘connect’ with best.”

This conversation is not an exaggeration, and it isn’t something I made up. It was a real conversation I had with a student. And while he was certainly the most extreme example I’ve experienced, he is not alone. Author and pastor Matt Chandler has said that Christians (at least in the South) tend to treat church selection like an “ecclesiological buffet.” They choose which parts of which church they like best, and continue to attend as long as that particular need is met in that particular place. I have many students who view church this way:

“Well, I like this church because this group of friends goes here”
“That group of friends goes there.”
“I like the worship here.”
“I like the preaching there.”
“I really like the small groups at that church.”

I have many students who tell me that they do not go to the same church as their parents. Their parents will go to one church, and they go to the student ministry of another. I have also noticed a tendency to replace church community with para-church ministries, worship nights and weekly religious events. Even more fascinating is that many of these students treat their pick-n-mix ecclesiology as if it were a virtue. They say “God led them” there, or that since a particular ministry “resonates” and “connects” with a different part of their spiritual experience, making the effort to go to multiple places actually brands them a “better Christian.”

All of this is anecdotal evidence based on my particular experience as a student pastor in the Bible Belt. So I want to be careful about making definitive pronouncements. I also want to remind myself that youth group isn’t church (even though many of my students treat it that way), so a little bit of bouncing around isn’t the same as chronic church-hopping. Youth ministry is, at best, a supplement to the church gathered on Sunday morning, and an appendage to a parent’s discipleship.

Very few of my students are church-hopping for nefarious reasons. Very few parents allow them to do so because they are bad parents. Most people treat church like a buffet because they honestly believe it is in their best spiritual interests. However, I have four issues with the ecclesiological buffet:

  1. It treats church like a product. If you treat “church” as a product, a service rendered (as buffet-line mac n’ cheese), the natural result is that you will only attend if you feel like your desires are being met. If the worship leader changes, if you aren’t making friends quickly, if the pastor isn’t funny, then you’ll leave.
  2. It turns students into mystics. This approach reduces “church” to nothing more than the feeling of having a spiritual experience. If I ask students why they came to our youth ministry, or why they left another, it’s fascinating to hear how often the word “felt” comes up. “Feeling connected,” or “feeling the Spirit,” or “enjoying the music/sermon/small groups” becomes the only barometer to judge whether your presence should continue. It turns students into mystics because their decisions are being made on subjective “religious” experiences.
  3. It terminates on the self. No parent or student would ever say “church is ultimately about me and my preferences.” But this attitude betrays the fact that church-goers see themselves as consumers rather than worshippers. It betrays the fact that church is seen as another method for self-gratification.
  4. But perhaps the greatest concern is that this view of church ignores God’s Word. If the evangelical default is to treat church mystically, and as selfish consumers, Scripture describes the church as ruthlessly grounded, and entirely selfless.

RUTHLESSLY GROUNDED AND ENTIRELY SELFLESS
It’s only things that I buy that I treat like products. I will analyze products endlessly, read dozens of reviews, get what I can out of it only to forget it in a drawer, or upgrade to the newest model. I don’t do that with costly gifts.

The church was bought with Jesus’ blood.

“Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God which he obtained with his own blood.” Acts 20:28

While that is directed to pastors, it is equally applicable to every youth grouper and parent. We have a responsibility to remember that the church is ruthlessly grounded on Jesus Christ’s entirely selfless act. And that as members of that church we are to treat that gift, and the others who have received it, in kind. We are not to chase mystic experiences and subjective impressions. We aren’t supposed to bail when we can’t “get connected.” We are meant to stick our feet in the mud and die meeting the needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ, because of Christ who did exactly the same for them.

This article originally appeared here.

5 Ways Tracking Church Attendance Messes With Your Soul

By
Carey Nieuwhof
-
communicating with the unchurched

If you’ve spent more than 10 minutes in church leadership, you’re aware of the tension that tracking church attendance creates inside you and around you.

Sure, for starters, the way other leaders talk about numbers is an easy gateway for criticism (he’s totally obsessed with numbers).

But it’s deeper than that. It’s easy to criticize what an obsession with attendance, giving and growth trends might be doing to another leader, but it’s more important to ask what tracking numbers might be doing to you.

Before you think that you’re immune from this, or that “you don’t care about the numbers,” I’m not sure any of us gets a pass on this one.

Like many other leaders, I tend to be a little too obsessed with numbers. Some leaders say they don’t care about numbers at all, and if that’s you, just read to the end. There’s a danger there too.

Having been in church leadership for most of my adult life, tracking numbers has done a number on me too, both positively and negatively.

Here are five ways church attendance tracking can mess with your soul, whether you care about them or not.

1. You Feel Like God’s Only Happy With You When Your Church Is Growing

The basic thrust of the Gospel is this: Your salvation doesn’t arise from how good you are, but how good God is. Jesus didn’t come for you because you were awesome, but because you weren’t and he loved you anyway.

I have to admit there have been whole seasons where I’ve felt like God must be happy with me because things are going well, only to realize that—of course—that isn’t true.

But sometimes we leaders are like third graders who show up with our report card hoping that we gain mom and dad’s approval by our good marks.

Look, you have God’s approval. That was settled on a hillside outside of Jerusalem two millennia ago, and you gained it personally when you decided to place your trust in Christ.

God’s love for you in Christ is unconditional. His love for you is no different when your church is growing or when it’s stuck or even declining.

That understanding will give you the security you need to tackle whatever is ahead of you to further advance the mission of the church: whether that’s to build on a strong season or throw fresh energy into a tough season.

God doesn’t love you because of what you do, leaders. He just loves you.

2. Your Self-Esteem Rises and Falls With the Numbers

In the same way your relationship with God shouldn’t be impacted by trends in your church, your view of yourself also shouldn’t be impacted by them either. But it’s so hard to remember that.

Momentum distorts reality.

When you have momentum, you think you’re better than you are. When you don’t, you think you’re worse than you are.

In leadership, having a steady view of yourself is just as important as having a steady view of God.

Otherwise, everyone around you suffers. Your family will suffer. Your team will suffer. And of course, you’ll suffer.

If your self-esteem rises and falls with the numbers, you’ll be arrogant in the good seasons (and fail to address any underlying weaknesses) and despondent in the bad seasons (incapable of leading forward with humility and resolve).

Keep a steady view of God, and a steady view of yourself, and you’ll lead so much better.

3. People Become a Means to an End

When you’re obsessed with numbers, it’s so easy to start seeing people as a means to an end.

You can start viewing people through the lens of what they give you. When you do that, your heart goes dark and you start caring about all the wrong things.

People become a way of jacking up your numbers, increasing your fragile self-esteem or giving you bragging rights.

Leaders, there’s one reason people should matter to you: because they matter to God.

Over time, people will start to sense whether you care about them or whether you only care about what they give you.

Sadly, the world is full people who came to church looking for God but felt used in the process. Many have left church. Some are never coming back. That’s devastating.

If people become a means to an end, eventually you won’t have many people. And the people you do have will never know the kind of joy that’s possible in a healthy relationship with God and with each other.

4. Progress Becomes Your Idol

One of the greatest dangers you face as a driven leader is that progress will become your god.

I know for me, my fascination with the numbers is not as much an about the numbers as it is about progress. I just want to see progress in the mission, and that means that I love to see all the trends moving up and to the right.

But like most things, progress makes a wonderful servant and a terrible master.

When I idolize progress and the numbers that go with it, I substitute what’s secondary for what’s primary.

And that’s just wrong.

Progress serves God. It isn’t God.

5. You Don’t Even Care Enough to Count

One final way that tracking trends and numbers messes with your soul is this: Sometimes you just stop caring.

I have run into more than a few leaders who say, “I don’t even track numbers anymore.” They wear it as a badge of honor.

Not tracking is almost as bad as tracking too closely. Because then, accomplishing your mission doesn’t matter at all.

You know what all those leaders have in common (at least in my experience)? They lead stagnant or declining churches.

I feel for them…I know that leading when you have no momentum is hard. I’ve been there.

But here’s what’s ultimately true: To stop counting is to stop caring.

People matter, whether you have a few or whether you have many. They matter whether you’re losing or whether you’re gaining.

The numbers tell you something. And even if they’re telling you something you don’t want to hear, as a leader you should listen.

Sure, you can create all kinds of justifications in your mind for not counting:

We don’t measure breadth, we measure depth.

It’s not about quantity. It’s about quality.

God disciplined King David for counting. There you go—counting is sinful. 

Everyone else has sold out. I haven’t.  

I get that. We have to be so careful how we handle what we measure. It is a soul issue.

But I can’t escape the sinking feeling that leaders who have stopped counting are either hiding their insecurity or have stopped caring.

Or at least let me put it this way: I know when I stop counting it will be because I’m trying to hide my insecurity or it will be a giant red flag that I’ve stopped caring.

If it’s insecurity that’s bothering you, get over it. Admitting the truth is the first step forward.

And if you’ve stopped caring—here’s the bigger question—why are you still leading?

How Do You Handle Numbers?

We all get owned by how we handle numbers, whether we pretend to care about them or not.

Idolizing big can be a thin mask for ego.

Idolizing small can be a thin mask for insecurity.

This is a really tricky conversation that owns most of us at some level.

How do you handle the fragile relationship we all have with numbers? What’s helping you?

This article originally appeared here.

10 Reasons Church Members Don’t Trust Pastors

By
Chuck Lawless
-
communicating with the unchurched

I’ve previously written about why pastors don’t trust other pastors. If that lack of trust weren’t tragic enough, the truth is that many laypersons don’t truly trust their own pastor. Based on my years of doing church consultation interviews, here are some reasons your church members may not trust you:

  1. They’ve been burned in the past. It takes only one pastor to wrongly share private information to cause church members to struggle ever trusting pastors again.
  2. They’ve at least heard too many bad stories about pastor betrayal. Listen long enough, and you’ll hear some church member talking about a pastor somewhere who broke a confidence.
  3. They don’t trust pastors in general. Refer to points #1 and #2 above. Even if you and I have never betrayed them, they can’t get beyond what some other pastor did.
  4. They don’t trust our spouse. If church members don’t trust our spouse, they won’t trust us, either. Talkative spouses cost pastors a lot.
  5. They fear being a sermon illustration (even anonymously). Once again, they’ve heard it happen somewhere, and they worry it will happen again. If they never tell a pastor anything private, though, they never run this risk.
  6. They’ve read something negative we put on social media. Maybe it was an off-color comment or curse word. Perhaps it was a veiled exposure of another church member’s issues. Whatever it was, they no longer trust us as spiritual leaders.
  7. They don’t really know us well enough to trust us. We might carry the title of “Pastor,” but they know us as only the Sunday morning preacher they never see again until the next week. They may want to trust us fully, but they’re not yet convinced of our integrity simply because they’ve spent little time with us.
  8. They’ve seen too many pastors fall—often publicly. They’ve learned that nobody—including us—is immune to the possibility of falling. Why, then, should a church member deeply trust leaders who could be off the scene quickly after a fall?
  9. Some grew up in, or around, pastors’ homes. That is to say, they saw too much to ever fully trust a pastor again. It’s tough to overcome our family of origin when that family borders on hypocrisy.
  10. They know that pastors come and go. Why open their heart to leaders who could already be looking for the next green grass?

Pastors, what other reasons would you add? Laypersons, what are we missing?

This article originally appeared here.

When Disaster Strikes, Is It Enough to Pray?

By
Jesse T. Jackson
-
communicating with the unchurched

One of the most-used phrases in our Christian communities is “I’ll pray for you” or “I’ll be praying for that.” I also believe one of the most-used lies we tell people in our Christian communities is “I’ll pray for you” or “I’ll be praying for that.”

Please understand: I’m not pointing the finger at anyone—rather you are witnessing me falling to my knees in repentance. It is so easy to say those words to someone or about something (natural disasters, cities in crisis, world problems, etc.) than to actually stop what I am doing to speak to the One that has the power to help in any situation or crisis.

When thinking about how I have abused those words just because I want to be kind to someone in a time of need, I have been a fool, neglecting a gift that was given to me by the death of a perfect King. His death effectively paved a highway of communication, linking me to the one true almighty God. In light of this reality, I need to stop using that phrase unless I intend to take action and actually PRAY.

But Is Prayer Enough?

Now that I have that off my chest, I want to ask an important question that has been swirling around in my heart and mind over the past couple of days: Is prayer enough in a time of disaster? Or should we as His church focus our efforts toward other methods of assistance?

The Holy Spirit reminded me of what the Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4: “Praise be to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, The Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” Brothers and sisters, God comforts us so that we may comfort others. Let me say that again: God comforts us, the Father and creator of real true comfort and compassion so that we can have the opportunity to comfort others in times of affliction.

So should we be doing more than just praying for Texas right now? Should we be donating our cup of coffee money today? Should we fast from our lunch today and donate that money? Those that are close in proximity, should we as the church find out how we can be the literal hands and feet of Jesus Christ to those in need? Not only meeting their physical needs but also proclaiming to them how Jesus has met our spiritual needs as well? Should you and your church plan a trip to Houston in the near future?

What You Can Do Today

These are just some super simple ideas, and I encourage you to pray (not just say it to someone or post on social media that you are or that we should) about what God wants you and your church to do in helping during this and any disaster or someone in crisis.

Ed Stetzer wrote a brilliant article about how best to help in times of crisis. His suggestions focus on helping organizations that are already equipped to help people in the most efficient ways. This kind of help—whether it is financial or volunteer work done under their umbrella—is often the best thing we can do. Organizations such as the North American Mission Board’s relief fund and the Red Cross are already on the ground in disaster areas. Additionally, you can donate money through iTunes to the Red Cross.

To put things in perspective, 5 million people spent $100 each to watch two men punch each other in the face this past Saturday. It was an event that lasted less than an hour. Let’s make sure as Christ-followers we are not only good stewards of our money but of our time as well. Let’s give it to those in need not just to our own entertainment.

7 Reasons Your Fall Group Launch Could Fail

By
Allen White
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communicating with the unchurched

I wrote this post one Fall as a postmortem of a church’s group launch after a colossal failure. They ignored some fundamentals, allowed their communications department to take over the messaging, and the whole thing would have tanked except for an 11th hour appeal. Please take the following into consideration, so they next postmortem won’t be about your launch!

Fall is a prime season to launch groups in churches across the country. In my consulting work with hundreds of churches across North America, I am working with churches from Florida to Washington and Southern California to New Hampshire. Among churches of various sizes and denominations, we are seeing some tremendous results. But, not every church hits a home run with their group launch. Here are some reasons why.

  1. You picked the wrong topic.

Small groups are a great vehicle for people to grow spiritually. But, in order for people to grow in a group, they need to actually be in a group. If a church’s goal is to connect their congregation into groups, then a felt needs topic is very attractive. If you give people something they want to study, they will jump right in. If you offer something they “should” study, it may not go so well.

Let me go on the record: Healthy, balanced small groups cannot live by felt-needs topics alone. But, kicking off groups usually doesn’t go well with series on evangelism, stewardship, fasting or other self-sacrificial studies. You need to establish your goal. If you want to increase the number of groups, then go felt needs. If you want to grow your people deeper, then offer these topics to your established groups.

  1. You set the bar too high.

The more requirements for group leadership, the fewer leaders you will recruit. If you required all of your new leaders to be church members, complete a lengthy leadership training process, or graduate with their Master of Divinity, you certainly limited the number of groups you could launch this Fall.

Your level of acceptable risk will greatly determine the reward. If you invite people to do a study with their friends, then you are only limited to people with friends. If you increase the requirements, you lessen the impact.

If you choose to lower the bar next time, then lessen the risk by forming “unpublished” groups. If the groups don’t appear on your church’s website, group listing or bulletin, you are not implying any kind of official endorsement of the groups. If friends invite friends, you will form good, lasting groups, and if someone gets in a bad group, well, it was their friend’s group after all.

  1. You focused on recruiting group members.

As a pastor, if the invitation is for potential group members, you may or may not actually start groups. You will certainly give yourself a lot of busy work trying to find enough leaders to accommodate the prospects or trying to place people in the right group. But, you’ve missed the mark and the point.

If you have a bunch of prospective group members, you might have a group. If you have a leader, you WILL have a group. In fact, the best way to get into a group is to start a group—you’re automatically in! When the focus is on recruiting leaders, you will greatly increase your number of groups. If your focus is on members, you will probably just end up with a mess.

  1. You put too much distance between the invitation and the response.

When you or your senior pastor made the invitation for people to start a group, how and when did they respond?

If they were sent to the church website to register, they didn’t go.

If they were sent to the church lobby, they walked right by.

If they were invited to a meeting in the near future, they forgot.

If they had a sign up card in their hand during the service, bingo, they’re in!

If they were sent an email to remind them to sign up at church on Sunday, they forgot again.

If they were sent an email with a registration link, then they signed up.

The less distance between the invitation and the response, the greater the result.

  1. You gave too many steps from “Yes” to starting the group.

If the pathway from the response to the group starting took too many steps, then you lost leaders at every phase.

If you recruited months in advance of your group launch, there were too many days before they started. Cold feet and good intentions didn’t get them there.

If you required a training class, a membership  class, a pastoral interview, a group orientation, a group connection and a final debrief meeting, you lost, lost, lost, lost and lost new group leaders.

If you kept the steps to a minimum, based on your own acceptable level of risk, you kept far more than any of the above scenarios.

  1. Your recruitment period was too short.

A few years ago, I was working with two churches of similar size who were launching groups on the same week. One church recruited 20 new leaders. The other recruited 60. The first church recruited leaders for one week. The second church recruited for three weeks in a row. Triple the recruiting equaled triple the result. You do the math.

  1. Your senior pastor was not on board.

If your senior pastor was hesitant about your next series in any way, it hurt you. Half-hearted appeals and hit or miss invitations lead to lackluster results.

If your senior pastor didn’t make the invitation for leaders, that was a huge miss. The senior pastor will get three times the result of any other staff member. I’ve served as an associate pastor for 20 of my 24 years of ministry. As soon as I learned this, I never made the invitation again.

How do you get your senior pastor on board with the series you recommend? You don’t. If you want your group launch to succeed, you have to get on board with where your senior pastor wants to go. If you respect your senior pastor’s direction, you will see respectable results. If you try to pressure your senior pastor into a series that is not his idea, you are on your own (literally).

Last Sunday, I worshiped with a church who had never had small groups. Their senior pastor decided it was time. He cast vision for groups. He kept the response close to the invitation. He focused on recruiting leaders. He did it all right. Then, on Sunday afternoon, 360 new group leaders showed up for training (and they have two more weeks to recruit!)

Between January and May this year, we have helped 12 churches launch nearly 3,000 small groups. One church of 2,500 adults now has 500 small groups. Another church of 4,000 adults recruited 1,200 people to LEAD groups. A church in the Harrisburg, Pa., area has grown by 7.5 percent over last year, and giving has increased by 7 percent because of connecting people into groups. Big things are happening if you follow these principles.

Learn the lessons from your failed attempt. There is no shame in failure, but there is shame in not learning.

This article originally appeared here.

Here’s How Many Volunteers Your Ministry Needs

By
Dale Hudson
-
communicating with the unchurched

Children’s ministry is made possible by volunteers. The success of your children’s ministry rises and falls on the strength of your volunteer team.

I am often asked how many volunteers should a ministry have? To operate at the optimal level, here’s how many volunteers you should have in the rooms or environments. This does not include greeters, check-in team, etc.

Infants – 1 volunteer for every 2 children (minimum—ideally 1 volunteer for every 1 child)

Crawlers – 1 volunteer for every 3 children

Toddlers – 1 volunteer for every 4 children

2-year-olds – 1 volunteer for every 4 children

3-year-olds – 1 volunteer for every 8 children

4-year-olds – 1 volunteer for every 8 children

5-year-olds thru 5th grade – 1 volunteer for every 10 children (minimum—ideally 1 volunteer for every 8 children)

Monitor your numbers carefully and strive to reach these ratios. The younger the children are, the more critical it is to meet these ratios for safety reasons. This should be a top priority. Parents who walk into a nursery that is not meeting these ratios are far less likely to return. Some churches even hire people to work in their nurseries to ensure ratios are met. I have never done this, but if you choose to do so, it is definitely money well invested.

The primary reason you want to have these ratios for older children is because of the relationship factor. These ratios help ensure that kids are personally known by a caring volunteer. When you get above these ratios it can turn into crowd control rather than discipleship happening.

If you aren’t currently at these ratios, don’t be discouraged. Keep building your team. You will always need more volunteers, especially if you are growing and reaching new families. You can also get key insight about building a dynamic volunteer team in my book The Formula for Building a Great Volunteer Team. In this book, I share the steps I took to build a volunteer of over 2,600 in a local church. You can get the book in paperback or ebook formats at this link.

Volunteers is one of, if not the most important, aspects of your ministry. Focus on it and you’ll see your ministry flourish.

This article originally appeared here.

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