College Doesn’t Change Your Heart, It Reveals It

February 23, 2017

thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

Every summer the same thing happens to my inbox. I open it to find a steady stream of emails from concerned parents, youth pastors and older siblings, asking me to check in on so and so when they get to campus in August.

They all want the same thing: to see their beloved 18-year-old get involved with our ministry on campus and grow in their faith. The problem is that more times than not, this isn’t exactly what the beloved 18-year-olds want for themselves.

What do they want? That’s the question I’ve asked myself for the last eight years doing campus ministry. The question itself embodies everything I love and hate about campus ministry. College students, typically ages 18 to 22, are working out for themselves not what their parents want for them, but what they want. It’s thrilling. It’s maddening. It’s discouraging. It’s exhausting.

Some are trying harder than others to figure it out. Some come in thinking they’ve already got it figured out. It takes time. Few of them realize how precious time actually is. It also takes mistakes. Lots and lots of them typically.

The Drama of Emerging Adulthood

Few have put what college feels like better than Notre Dame sociology professor Christian Smith. He writes,

To an extent matched by no other time in the life course, emerging adults enjoy and endure multiple, layered, big and often unanticipated life transitions. They move out, they move back, they plan to move out again. They go to college, they drop out, they transfer, they take a break for a semester to save money, some graduate, some don’t. They want to study architecture, they hate architecture, they switch to criminal justice, a different career path. Their parents separate, make up, get divorced, remarry. They take a job, they quit, they find another, they get promoted, they move. They meet new friends, their old friends change, their friends don’t get along, they meet more new people. They get new roommates, their roommates don’t work out, they find a new apartment. They buy insurance, they wreck their car, they cancel their insurance, they borrow a car. They find their soulmate, they get involved, their soulmate dumps them, they are crushed. They believe in saving sex for meaningful relationships, they hook up, they get angry with themselves, they look for a meaningful relationship. They smoke, they want to quit smoking, they quit for some days, they start smoking again. In these and other ways, for emerging adults not a lot in life is stable or enduring. (Souls in Transition, 34)

If you read through the lines, college students are trying to answer two questions: “Am I loved?” and “Can I get my own way?” (According to Dan Allender, these are the two questions every child is born asking.) Their parents have already attempted to answer these questions for them (some better than others), but now it’s time for them to begin to answer these two questions themselves. In other words, every college student has a story and that story is a drama with the central storyline being twofold: Where will they find love and how will they learn to live for something bigger than themselves?

No Student Is Safe

Woody Allen once famously said that “the heart wants what it wants.” Thomas Chalmers would agree. The problem isn’t that we desire, it’s what we desire, and why. Our hearts are fickle things, and more than anything, that’s what college reveals. As Paul Tripp might put it, it’s not that college changes your heart as much as reveals it. It isn’t the secularity or the immorality that is to be feared. According to Jesus, it’s the propensity of our hearts to either want the wrong things or try to anchor themselves in the wrong places. All the while, Jesus is simultaneously the one we’re running from and looking for.

C.S. Lewis wrote about his own heart, “For the first time I examined myself with a seriously practical purpose. And there I found what appalled me: a zoo of lusts, a bedlam of ambitions, a nursery of fears, a harem of fondled hatreds. My name was legion.” Far from being a bad, morbid, overly introspective thing, this was how he became a Christian, how he saw his need for a Savior who promised he came not for the healthy but the sick. Sick-hearted people are the ones Jesus came for.

This means the only freshmen who will be completely “safe” in college are the ones with completely pure hearts. And the last time I checked my Bible, that’s none of us. Even the high school senior who was the youth group hero and “so mature for her age” isn’t safe. I’m sure she’s great—actually, according to Jesus, I’m not so sure. Because often that high school senior loves the approval and affirmation she gets from her youth group leader, her teachers, her parents, really just any adult in general. More than Jesus, she loves the religious pats on the back that simultaneously make you feel godly and better than all of your peers.

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Celebrities Join Evangelicals in END IT Movement to Fight Human Trafficking

Megan Briggs

February 23, 2017

Today, February 23, 2017, you may see several of your friends as well as pastors, leaders, athletes and celebrities—Christian or otherwise—posting pictures of themselves with red X’s on their hands. The purpose is to “Shine a Light on Slavery.”

Earlier in February, actor Ashton Kutcher testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Washington, DC on the topic of human trafficking. Known for his more light-hearted work like the widely popular TV show Punk’d, seeing the actor in a suit and tie and occasionally tearing up before a senate committee seemed a little out of character. However, Kutcher was not only well versed on the topic of human trafficking, he has been fighting against this social plague for several years now.

Kutcher is the chairman of Thorn: Digital Defenders of Children, which builds software to fight human trafficking. This is the role he calls his “day job,” along with being a husband and father. “I’m here today to defend the right to pursue happiness,” Kutcher said in his opening statement to the Committee. Taking his main point straight from the Constitution, he went on to say, “I believe it is incumbent on us as citizens of this nation—as Americans—to bestow that right upon others—upon each other and upon the rest of the world.”

In his address, Kutcher shed some light on the dire state of trafficking victims not only overseas but also here in America. He told the Committee about a tool he has developed with his team called “Spotlight.” This tool has already identified over 6,000 trafficking victims, a third of which are minors. It has reduced investigation time for incidences involving trafficking by 60 percent. Additionally, a program called “Solis” has taken the investigation of questionable web material from three years to three weeks.

In his address, Kutcher brought up the refugee ban, and what it may do to exacerbate human trafficking. “When people are left out, when they’re neglected, when they’re not supported and when they’re not given the love they need to grow, it becomes an incubator for trafficking… and this refugee crisis, if we want to be serious about ending slavery, we cannot ignore them, we cannot ignore our support for this issue in that space, because otherwise, we’re going to have to deal with it for years to come,” he said.

The actor turned advocate also spoke about other systems that need to be addressed in order to stem the problem of trafficking, including foster care and mental health care. You can watch his full address below.

When Kutcher made his appeal to the Committee, a bright red X could be seen pinned to the lapel of his suit coat. Similar pins could be seen on Committee Chairman Senator Bob Corker, and Senators Tim Kaine and Marco Rubio. The X represents the END IT movement, “a Coalition of the leading organizations in the world in the fight for FREEDOM.”

Here is just a sampling of the people joining forces with END IT today:

Louie and Shelley Giglio

David Crowder

British Prime Minister Theresa May

Not to mention, all of these people…

Louie Giglio made the END IT movement a prime focus at the Passion conference—a gathering of more than 60,000 young people in January. Giglio told reporters that Jesus was “the ultimate abolitionist, the original abolitionist.”

One Little Peek Won’t Hurt, Will It?

Kevin Carson

February 22, 2017

Growing up we often sang a song in Sunday school about being careful where we looked. The principle is simple: Where you stare matters. When we take time to look at, consider or observe something, that particular thing captivates our attention. Without exercising great caution, whatever it is that captivates your attention will inevitably influence your thinking and acting. Today, in part one of this two-part blog, we will examine a variety of case studies in the Bible that demonstrate how this influence works.

Biblical Case Studies That Warn Us

Eve. We go no further than Genesis 3 to find Eve in conversation with the serpent. There are trees bearing fruit all over Eden. She has permission to eat anything she desires—and as much as she desires. Imagine that! However, the text describes her as looking at, considering and observing the fruit on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit” (Gen. 3:6).

The sons of God. Likewise, the sons of God in Genesis 6 determined to take wives for themselves from the daughters of men as they observed the women. “The sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful” (Gen. 6:2). They looked; they considered; and they acted.

Lot. Given the opportunity by Abram to determine where he wanted to live, Lot carefully observed the land before him, made assessments and chose. “And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar. Then Lot chose for himself…” (Gen. 13:10-11).

Achan. After the defeat at Ai, Joshua prays to God to figure out what happened. The LORD pointed to sin in the camp. As Joshua reviewed the tribe of Judah, he found Achan and offered him an opportunity to make confession. Achan responded, “Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and this is what I have done: When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them” (Josh. 7:20-21). The process began with observation and ended with coveting and stealing.

Samson. Traveling through Timnah, Samson met a Philistine woman. The text describes it as he “saw a woman in Timnah” (Judges 14:1). He liked the way she looked. He determined that she was right for him. He wanted her and demanded his parents get her for him. As he went down to get her, he returned to a dead carcass of a lion in order to see the carcass. He desired to go and observe it where he ultimately took some of its honey. Later while in Gaza, he “saw a harlot there” (16:1). He committed sin again. Then the story of Samson and Delilah appears in the text. Samson developed a life-long habit of not evaluating where he looked or what his eyes saw.

David. David serves as our next example of how this process develops. David stayed home instead of going out to battle with the troops. One night, he got out of bed and walked up to the top of the roof. “And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold” (2 Sam. 11:2). He continued to watch her bathe. He wanted what he saw, so he inquired about her and sent for her. David saw, inquired, sent and committed immorality.

Asaph. Asaph was the song director of the tabernacle (1 Chron. 6:39; 16:5-7). He led the people into worship. Psalm 73 provides his personal testimony of struggle and victory. He initially reveals that despite God’s goodness to the nation in general, he almost turned back from walking with God. The stated reason for his desertion: envy. “For I was envious of the boastful, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked” (Ps. 73:3). Asaph’s attention was turned toward the wicked, and he was envious at their lifestyle and possessions.

The Influence of the Eyes

Danger lies in the failure to protect your eyes. Essentially, in each of these texts, the individual took time to look, consider and observe something (all imperfect verbal forms of the Hebrew word r’h “to see,” depicting the action as continuing in a past time frame). These were not quick looks, fast glances or small glimpses. In each instance, the observation allowed for time to process what was seen. After considering and pondering the object of sight, the individuals made the determination to act upon what they wanted. In each instance, the enduring look encouraged further action. Furthermore, in each instance, the actions led to further wickedness.

In Part Two we will consider how to protect your eyes and live in victory.

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Seven Steps to Getting the Unchurched Interested in Your Church

Sam Rainer

February 22, 2017

Heroin is literally killing our city. The county where I live is the epicenter of Florida’s heroin epidemic. The area around our church is among the hardest hit.

A few months ago, I sat in a community town hall hosted by the Department of Children and Families. The purpose of the town hall was to address the problem of heroin addiction and the effects on children. The removal rates of children in our community are three to four times higher than the state average. The town hall was packed with people even though a large storm moved through at the same time as the meeting.

People were angry. People were hurt. Several there had firsthand accounts of how heroin has ruined the lives of people close to them. People were frustrated. There is no place to put children, and many of them end up back in dangerous homes.

The small gym overflowed with concerned people from the community. What was the draw? What was it about this particular problem—as opposed to others—that stirred up people and got them out in a torrential Florida storm? Why don’t people show up in droves for church in this way? Recent research helps explain what happened in my community and what the church can do to grab the interest of people.

Concern for the Neighborhood is a High Priority

LifeWay Research asked the unchurched what church activities they are likely to attend. At the top of the list was an event to help make the neighborhood safer. The figure below demonstrates how neighborhood safety and community service projects are top priorities for the unchurched.

A shift has occurred in the culture. Unchurched people have always been open to a personal invitation to church, but that openness is now more for problem-solving in the community than a worship experience at a church building. Almost two-thirds of the unchurched are willing to attend a church event to make the community safer, and over half are willing to attend a church-sponsored community service project. That’s not to say invitations to a worship service no longer work. The best approach is a both/and strategy. Invite them to both a church service project focusing on community issues and also a church worship service.

Seven Steps to Getting the Unchurched Interested in Your Church

In order for you to draw the interest of the unchurched, you will need to have tangible action items. I suggest seven steps, but you may change some or add more given your church’s particular context.

Connect church leaders with community leaders. What would people in your church say are the greatest needs in the community? What would community leaders say are the greatest needs? If the answers to both questions do not match, then your church is likely missing an opportunity to minister to people. Your church leaders must be connected with community leaders to understand what problems exist. By connecting with community leaders, you might be surprised by the opportunities for your church to help.

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6 Ways to Build a Loyal Team and Become a Better Leader

Todd Adkins

February 22, 2017

1. If you want a loyal team, help them see their future.

One of the quickest ways to endear yourself to your team is to ask them questions about their goals and aspirations. This can’t be just lip service; you actually have to want to see them develop and be willing to invest yourself in the process as well, even if it means you will have to replace them. In fact, if you’re good, they may even replace you. Put your money where your mouth is and be sure you have the necessary dollars set aside for training and development, but be sure both of you have a destination in mind. There are far too many churches and organizations out there that put money aside for development but don’t have a clear plan in place for their people. Have a clear development pathway for your staff and key volunteer roles. Without a destination in mind, many are on a “Cruise to Nowhere.”

2. Celebrate effort even if the results are less than expected.

I am not talking about creating an environment where everyone gets a trophy and has their turn as employee of the month. There are extenuating circumstances that can thwart the best-laid plans even when they were executed flawlessly. Nothing reveals character like how a leader loses. If they went down swinging, don’t treat them like a loser. They have just shown you what they are made of and learned a valuable lesson or three along the way. Coach them up and process it with them, but celebrate the effort privately and publicly.

3. Hand over more decisions to your team.

Congratulations, you are the leader. While you have every right to make all of the decisions for the team, if you do so, you greatly limit your impact and the impact of your team. Don’t be that guy who makes all the decisions and then complains that your people can’t make decisions for themselves. The truth is the higher the level of leadership, the fewer decisions you should be making. The best way to help your staff person make a decision when they come to you is by asking them questions, starting with: What do you think? Don’t offer ideas; guide them to their own conclusion by asking them questions.

4. Brag on your team.

If you don’t have good things to say about your team on a regular basis, you probably have the wrong team. No leader ever suffers because everyone underneath them is a rock star. Seriously, think about it. When is the last time that someone developed the people around them so well that they got fired.

Brag on them privately one on one.
Brag on them publicly in front of them.
Brag on them privately behind their back; they will hear about it.

When the time comes to have a difficult conversation or when you have to ask them to make a sacrifice, they won’t bat an eye.

5. Offer real-time feedback.

Don’t wait for a performance review to address any performance issues that may arise. If you have done a good job with #4, this should be no problem at all. In fact, by keeping close accounts like this, you will further endear yourself to the people you lead.

6. Ask them to teach you something.

This can be personal or professional, but they will likely enjoy and appreciate adding value to their boss. I asked one of our finance guys to teach me how to build a budget that accounted for cannibalization from our main campus when we started doing multi-site. I didn’t just ask for it to be done, I took a genuine interest in his craft, became much more informed and in the process showed I truly valued his work.

Everybody wants to be liked and to have a loyal staff, but if you apply these principles, you’ll not only have a better staff, you will also become a better leader in the process.

This article originally appeared here.

When a Pastor Is a Growth Barrier: The Value of a Strong Work Ethic

Ed Stetzer

February 22, 2017

A church that breaks barriers needs a leader that breaks barriers.

Dealing with sin is of the utmost importance for a leader. But there is another issue that isn’t often discussed, and for those in ministry it goes hand in hand with confronting sin—the importance of a strong work ethic.

With sin, we cannot work hard enough to make God happy. Jesus did that for us. But when we experience joy in our forgiveness and salvation, God empowers us to work hard and accomplish things for His glory.

A barrier-breaking pastor is driven to do the work God has given that pastor. In the beginning of Genesis, God says a lot about our work. He has made us to do work, but sin has made it frustrating and difficult.

Sin can certainly lead us to be workaholics, and we burn ourselves or our people out. But it can also lead to the opposite, a poor work ethic.

As a church leader you often do a lot of the work outside of the view of your people, and that can be a temptation toward doing less and just trying to look busy.

Ministry is hard, but God empowers us for it. Leading churches that grow takes sacrifice, focus and hard work. Here are a few tools you can use to stay focused on your work so that you will lead your church through growth barriers.

Work All Six

Places like America have a five-day work week with everybody working for the weekend—and there are even some trends moving toward a four-day work week. I want to encourage you to work during all six days and take one full day of rest, just like God designed it.

That doesn’t mean you work every moment of every day, ignore your marriage and skip all of your kids’ events. But a six-day week in which you are working parts of those days engaged in your context helps keep your priorities centered on the world as God designed it to work.

Is your pursuit of rest idolizing God’s gift rather than using it to energize your God-given work? Work hard toward rest, and rest hard toward work.

Plan Your Work

It’s a lot easier to start your day focused on the task at hand when you planned your workday at the end of the previous day—or even your entire week at once. Maybe first thing Monday morning you set a general schedule of your week, then each evening you set a more detailed plan for the next day. How you use the blocks of unscheduled time will make the most difference.

It’s like a diet. If I plan the contents of my next meal, I’ll probably eat it. But if I go rummaging through the refrigerator I’ll too often end up being lazy and eating something not on my diet. Plan the productivity ahead of time, and then go for it.

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Brave Teen Tackles Harmful Messages Behind Teen Vogue’s ‘Post-Abortion Gift Guide’

Megan Briggs

February 22, 2017

Autumn Lindsey is 16 years old and she has a message for Teen Vogue: You were way out of line with your article about how to care for a friend who’s just had an abortion.

The article appears on teenvogue.com and features a slideshow titled “What to Get a Friend Post-Abortion.” The introduction to the slideshow of gift ideas includes some very concerning ideas about abortion and sexuality. Among the questionable advice to teenage girls given in the article are these lines: “The worst part of all this isn’t the procedure itself (which by the way is completely safe as long as you have access to a good clinic). The worst part is how you’re treated afterwards.” The article then goes on to suggest gifts a girl could get her friend who has just “made the right choice for her situation.”

Lindsey and her friends at Students for Life (a pro-life group consisting of high school and college-age students) have put together an articulate response in the form of a video. Lindsey doesn’t mince any words as she addresses the editors of the magazine that is marketed to girls like here: “You trivialized an issue that leaves millions of women struggling everyday. Such a blasé approach hurts women who regret their abortions. It minimizes their pain.”

Lindsey then goes on to point out the inherent problems with some of the suggested gifts featured in the article.

A funny movie

The implication here is that you will need a funny movie to get your mind off the experience you just went through. That may be a good idea after you get your wisdom teeth removed from your mouth, but not after you’ve had a baby “surgically removed” from your body.

Underwear that you can rock after your abortion

The article introduces the reader to Thinx brand underwear, which is intended for women to wear while menstruating. But, these revolutionary undergarments can also help after an abortion because “there will be blood.” Lindsey states the obvious problem with this gift: Cool underwear won’t fix it or make it better.

Angry uterus heating pad

This is a heating pad shaped like a uterus (complete with angry face). If this weren’t distasteful enough, the article points out that your friend will be experiencing things like “cramping” and the feeling of “two throbbing hot balls of lead are trying to escape your body, all while your stomach contracts over and over again.” So this is some serious pain your friend is about to experience, but Teen Vogue would also like to take this opportunity to reiterate: Abortion is no big deal.

Girl power hat

Because every girl who just had an abortion must think: “I just ended my baby’s life. Girl power!” Lindsey asks, When do girls begin to have power? To Lindsey, abortion seems like the opposite of girl power.

F U-terus pin

This is possibly the most curious thing on the gift list. It’s a pin in the shape of a uterus complete with middle finger. Some of the proceeds from the sale of the pin go to Planned Parenthood.

Become an abortion clinic escort

Another “gift” the article suggests is becoming an abortion clinic escort. These are people who help women after they are done at the clinic to get home safely and walk through the aftermath of the “procedure.” Lindsey articulates a pertinent point: “Encouraging teenagers to be abortion clinic escorts” doesn’t seem to be a good idea. “Minors don’t have the tools to deal with that kind of pressure,” Lindsey says.

Needlepoint that reads “We won’t go back”

Once again, Teen Vogue would like teen girls to know: “There is nothing to be ashamed of or feel guilty about.” However, Lindsey is not young enough to know that the guilt will catch up with your post-abortion friend, and more often than not, “depression drags them down.”

Lindsey starts wrapping up the video by giving the advice she wishes the magazine had given girls trying to help a friend recover from an abortion. “Sit with her in her grief, pray for her, remind her of God’s redemption and comfort her in her suffering. Offer your friendship and help her find healing.” Instead of treating an abortion like a stigmatized medical procedure that is actually completely harmless and ethical, Lindsey encourages teens to “treat it like a terrible loss.” Because it is, whether your friend realizes it now or down the road.

Additionally, Lindsey offers a handful of organizations committed to helping women heal from abortions:

Rachel’s Vineyard
National Hotline for Abortion Recovery (866-482-LIFE)
HealingAfter.com
StudentsForLife.org

To hear the well-articulated argument in its entirety, check out the video below:

4 Huge Lessons Children’s Ministry Can Learn From the Lego Company

Dale Hudson

February 21, 2017

The Lego Company began in the workshop of Ole Kirk Christiansen, a carpenter from Billund, Denmark, who began making wooden toys in 1932. In 1934, his company came to be called “Lego.” The word Lego comes from a Danish phrase which means “play well.” In 1947, Lego expanded and began producing plastic toys.

What started in a carpenter’s small workshop has grown into a global enterprise that is now the world’s largest manufacturers of toys.

At the center of Lego’s success is the Lego brick. It has been named the “Toy of the Century” twice. In a day when many traditional toy companies struggle to compete with digital toys such as video games, the Lego brick remains a constant best-seller.

What makes Legos so appealing to kids? If you look closer, there are some huge lessons children’s ministries can learn from the success of Lego. Here are four of them.

Lesson #1 – Keep it simple.
Lego makes plastic, brightly colored blocks. They focus their efforts on these simple bricks and do it with excellence. They have not had a safety recall in over five years. Each brick contains a numerical code that can be traced if there are any issues. Their focus allows them have a high level of efficiency and precision.

Takeaways for children’s ministries:

Focus on doing a few things with excellence.
Constantly evaluate and track what is most effective.
Pour your time, energy and resources into what you are focusing on.

Lesson #2 – Find out what kids like.
A big secret behind Lego’s success is their commitment to studying how kids like to play. Lego is the largest private sponsor of play research in the world. They go beyond focus groups and study kids playing in real life. They have even gone as in-depth as watching kids’ brains at play under an MRI.

In their research, they noticed that kids were the most engaged in sustained play when they were focusing on mastering a skill and making something. Lego has used this research to build a deep understanding of what is fun for kids. They understand what’s important to kids and how to create experiences that are deeply meaningful to them.

Takeaways for children’s ministries:

Watch kids during your services, classes, programs and events. Make a note of what they respond to well.
Be willing to change and tweak what you are doing as you watch how kids respond.
Our goal should be to engage kids with God’s Word. Information without engagement will fall flat.

Lesson #3 – Stay current with the culture.
Notice how Lego packages their bricks based on what is going on in the culture. If Star Wars is popular in the culture, Lego will create Lego Star Wars kits. If superheroes are popular in the culture, Lego will create Lego superhero kits. If Disney Princess is popular in the culture, Lego will create Lego Princess kits. The foundation, the basic shapes of the Lego, stays the same, but how it is packaged changes to stay current with the culture.

Takeaways for children’s ministries:

Stay current with kid culture.
Our foundation, the Bible, doesn’t change, but how we package it must change so kids can connect with it.
Relevance is not an option. It is a necessity.

Lesson #4 – Involve parents.
Lego is the only toy company in the world that claims to capture the interests of both kids and parents. Parents see their kids concentrating, making things and learning. Kids enjoy building, creating and mastering. It’s a win for both kids and parents. It is also a toy that gives kids and parents the opportunity to build things together and have a shared experience.

Takeaways for children’s ministries:

Show parents the value of what their children are learning and experiencing in your ministry.
Provide opportunities for kids and parents to have shared experiences.
Extend what is happening at church into the home.

Praying for you and your ministry as you help kids and parents “build” a strong faith foundation!

This article originally appeared here.

7 Characteristics of Effective Change Agent Leaders

Ron Edmondson

February 21, 2017

If you want to be in leadership, get comfortable with change. It’s part of the experience of every leader. The best leaders get accustomed to leading change.

Every leader deals with change, but in my experience, some handle it better than others. There are change agent leaders who seem to have an innate gifting at leading through change. I love to learn from these special leaders.

I’ve observed some common characteristics change agent leaders share.

Here are seven characteristics of good change agents:

Flexible

It doesn’t have to be their design. They simply want progress toward the overall vision. These change agents are never stubborn on matters that seem to have no vision-altering value. They navigate toward a solution, letting others have “their” way. Everyone walks away feeling as though they have won.

Courageous

Change agent leaders are willing to receive criticism and still move forward. They know how to filter through what is valid criticism—worth hearing—and what’s simply a venting of personal interest. They unwaveringly push through the junk that clouds progress.

Relational

Good change agent leaders value the opinions of other people and work hard to gain trust. They know ultimate change can’t happen without human capital and they are constantly investing in relationships. Networking is one of a change agents greatest tools.

Strategic

A change agent leader realizes there are steps to take, and they carefully choose the timing of when to take them. They almost have a keen sense of discernment when it comes to knowing when to pull the trigger, when to wait and when to pull the plug completely.

Creative

Good change agents are able to see paths to success others can’t yet see. I need to be honest here and say I’d rather be strategic than creative. There are some who can always find a way to make their ideas work, but it comes at the expense of others. But, change often happens because someone chose to be creative. Effective change is one of the best forms of art in the field of leadership. This takes creativity.

Intentional

Change agent leaders make change for a specific purpose. They never waste a change. They know that every change has the potential to make or break a team, and they work diligently to bring the best results.

Thorough

A good change agent follows through on commitments made and sees the change to fruition. They don’t give up until the post evaluation is complete and the lessons of change have been learned.

Think about your experience. Who are some of the best change agent leaders you have known?

10 Reasons We Don’t Let Go

Pete Scazzero

February 21, 2017

Jesus models for us a letting go of control, earthly power and reputation. He empties Himself at the cross, trusting in the goodness and love of the Father. God intends that we follow the same path. Yet, in situations both the large and small, we find this incredibly difficult. Why?

I have been wrestling with our dilemma for months. Last week I preached a message on this titled: The Cross: The Deepest Wisdom of God. Afterward, I found myself listing the top reasons why I, along with so many others, continue to resist the very thing (our need to let go of control) that is the rich source of so much life and power.

The following are my top 10 reasons:

Fear. Is it any wonder God says to us over and over again in Scripture Do not fear?
Things will fall apart. That is true—at least the things that God never intended to remain in the first place. Regardless, we can only keep our plans and agendas from falling apart for a short time. Unless the Lord builds a house, we labor in vain who build it (Ps. 127:1).
I will fall apart. Yes, that is true, and it may be a very good thing. Our false selves, our protectiveness, and our striving need to be dismembered and dismantled by the Spirit. When we fall apart, it offers God the opportunity to rebuild us.
Our family of origin. For many of us, things were out of control in our families growing up. We were helpless and, in some cases, victimized. So now, as adults, we resist letting go of our control of life.
Past betrayals. A 26-year-old young adult recently told me how impossible it is for him to trust God since he was betrayed by so many authority figures in his life. With humans this is impossible, but with God all things are possible (Matt 19:26).
A distorted image of God. We serve a God who loves us with inexhaustible love and with no strings attached. Our heavenly Father seeks our good in any and every situation. Yet many of us relate to God as if He were an angry deity—demanding, and consistently frustrated with us. It is hard to let go and trust that kind of god.
Lack of stillness and silence before Him. Without a dimension of silence and stillness in our lives (arguably two of the most difficult spiritual practices in the church today), we don’t offer the Holy Spirit space where He can tenderize our willfulness and turn it into willingness.
Perfectionism. Many of us who seek excellence carry the shadow of a driving perfectionism. When we begin to learn to let go, we find that God is passionate that we become excellent at letting go and trusting Him (an interior state). And that is much more important to Him than having our environment marked by order and perfection (an exterior state).
Limited View of Letting Go. This is not about answering an altar call, having a crisis moment of surrender or praying this once a day. Letting go of control and trusting Jesus is the core of the Christian life—every day, every hour, every moment, of every day.
Denial. A day is coming when our earthly days will be over. We will let go of everything—health, relationships, status, possessions. We are all very vulnerable. In a moment, our lives can completely change. To think that we are in control is an illusion.

There are few greater gifts we can give those we serve by letting go and trusting Jesus. And may you let go and experience the promise of Jesus: Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds (John 12:24).

Performing a “Time Audit” of Your Life

J.D. Greear

February 21, 2017

One of the benefits of a new year is stopping to take stock of our lives—to assess whether we’re actually spending our time doing what matters most. We’ll never live the life God intends for us unless we intend to, and intending starts with an honest look at how we’ve created our schedules.

Our Spiritual Formations team has created a great tool to help us “audit” our most precious resource—our time. Check it out:

Five Life Resources:

Spiritual – Every person’s heart yearns for something. Additionally, Jesus said that man was not meant to live on bread alone. Think of your soul as something with an appetite—and we are what we eat. Every human shares the same problem in that we love and trust the wrong things. When we love and trust things more than God, we begin to direct our lives toward those things in ways that do not bring glory to God.
Relationships – God made people to live in community with others. The only aspect of creation that God did not deem good was that Adam was alone without Eve. More importantly than the basic need for others, Christ’s death created a new community that is essential for engaging in the pilgrimage from grace to glory: the local church.
Physical & Emotional Energy – Our bodies have minds and muscles. Each of which need, at times, to be strengthened, fed, healed and rested. We are prone to worship or abuse these resources just like any other.
Finances – Possessions are a resource that will either be stewarded by us or will come to control us. We are prone to love things more than God who gives them; this is idolatry. When we see God as the one who owns everything and ourselves as the steward, they become a means to bless others and glorify God.
Time – Time is the resource that governs all the others. Your time is your life. As your time goes, so goes your life. We will invest or waste our time just like any other resource. Our lives are “a vapor” and the time we have is a resource and a gift from God to be stewarded just like the others.

The Summit Margin Audit
1) List the three to five resources you view as most valuable in your life. What depletes them most? What “recharges” them?

2) Time Audit. We have 168 hours every week. This tool is meant to give you a snapshot of how you are spending yours and how you wish you were spending yours.

Complete columns #1 & #2 and be ready to reference it for subsequent questions.

3) Prioritize. Think through your Time Audit and major commitments over the last year, and then complete column #3. What are your current priorities based on your time and resource commitments?

4) Simplify. We can create margin by combining commitments to intersect and therefore reserve resources. What are some ways that you can cause intersection between different activities? How can your small group do this together?

Begin completing column #4.

5) Stop. Based on what you have discovered so far, what are some commitments or resource drains that you need to bring to a close in the near future.

6) Start. What is something you need to start that will allow you to steward and prioritize your resources biblically in order to glorify God.

7) Build habits and rhythms. Reflect on your activities, the time they take, the resources they use and give, and the changes that may need to be made.

Megachurch Suspends $1 Million in Contributions to SBC Over Mosque Support, Anti-Trump Comments

Megan Briggs

February 21, 2017

SBC — Screengrab Youtube @Prestonwood Baptist Church

In an effort to help an Islamic group build a mosque in May 2016, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) joined an amicus brief to help protect the religious liberties of this group. This action, combined with comments the president of the ERLC, Russell Moore, has made about Trump-supporters, has caused a church in Texas to express concern over the direction of the SBC and to temporarily withhold their financial support.

Jack Graham, senior pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, and former president of the SBC, told the Baptist Message he and his congregation are “concerned about the direction of the Southern Baptist Convention, and feel the need to make some changes in the way we give.” This conviction is going to cost the SBC $1 million worth of support for its state and national initiatives from the 41,000-member megachurch.

The amicus brief the ERLC joined was to help the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge, New Jersey (ISBR) secure their right to build a mosque. The court ruled in favor of ISBR in December, 2016. The judge decided the Planning Board of Bernards Township, New Jersey, violated the law when it required the ISBR to include “more than twice as much parking in its site plan for a proposed mosque as it required for local Christian and Jewish houses of worship,” the Baptist Press reported.

In addition to the ERLC, the missions arm of the SBC, the International Missions Board (IMB) was also involved in the amicus brief to help ISBR. The IMB has also been met with opposition to its involvement in the case, with several pastors and lay leaders expressing their concern. In November, Tennessee pastor Dean Haun resigned as an IMB trustee because he felt the move did not lend itself to the mission of IMB and that it could be seen as an improper alliance with followers of Islam.

David Platt, president of IMB, recently apologized to the SBC for how “distracting and divisive” this move was. He met with a group of editors representing different Baptist papers and journals on February 15, 2017 and said, “In the days ahead, IMB will have a process in place to keep us focused on our primary mission: partnering with churches to empower limitless missionary teams for evangelizing, discipling, planting and multiplying healthy churches, and training leaders among unreached peoples and places for the glory of God.”

It is not unusual for IMB to join an amicus brief. As Platt noted in a statement, going back to 2010 (before he took the role of President of the Board), IMB’s legal department has been involved in similar briefs concerning religious liberty. It is also not unusual for the ERLC to take up a religious liberties cause. In fact, Moore addressed the reasoning behind fighting for the religious liberty of all people at the SBC Annual Meeting in 2016.

However, Russell Moore has stirred up even more tension by calling out Trump-supporters who call themselves evangelicals. In a Washington Post article, he said such self-identifying “evangelicals” may actually be people who are “drunk right now, and haven’t been into a church since someone invited them to Vacation Bible School sometime back when Seinfeld was in first-run episodes.”

Graham assured the Baptist Message he’s not “angry at the SBC, and neither are our people.” Furthermore, he’s not “working to start a movement to fire anyone,” but he and his congregation are concerned—a fact they are making painfully clear with their withdrawal of support, however brief it may be.

The Best Long-Term Strategy for Church Growth

Dan Reiland

February 21, 2017

The best long-term strategy for church growth is not church growth.

Focusing on numbers (attendance) is a short-term and short-sighted strategy.

It’s tough to maintain an event-driven and program-focused approach. It requires more staff and volunteer energy, rarely provides significant or lasting growth, and is often exhausting.

Spiritual formation (discipleship) is an essential foundation to growth, but I’m referring more to training your volunteers and especially your leaders.

There are two critical elements in training:

Equipping
Developing

Both are important, and though you can build a strong church through equipping, great churches also include developing.

The difference between equipping and developing is significant.

Without clarity in your practice of both components, you will nearly always default to equipping only and miss the great benefit of development. Equipping is required for a healthy and growing church. Development is part of the additional investment that compounds over time to grow strong people and leaders.

Here’s a closer look at the difference:

Equipping

1) Equipping is the process of training a person for a specific ministry task.

There is no shortage of examples. For illustration, training your children’s leaders in how to lead a child to Christ, training a small group leader how to facilitate a productive conversation, or training your ushers and greeters in hospitality. Every ministry needs to provide high quality, practical and relevant equipping to prepare volunteers for effective ministry.

2) Equipping is focused on the church’s agenda.

Your church is based on a mission, a purpose that is driven by your vision. Your agenda connects to the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:18-20. That’s a good thing; it’s the purpose God designed for the church!

3) Equipping is an exchange based on transaction.

Many of the good things in life are based on a productive exchange, or a positive transaction. If you go to a coffee shop and exchange a few bucks for your favorite brew and a warm cinnamon bun both parties are happy!

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Barna Report: Pastors Experience Greater Satisfaction in Personal Relationships

Megan Briggs

February 21, 2017

We all know the pressures of the pastorate are straining, considerably on personal relationships. But to what extent do the unique pressures pastors face in their careers affect their personal relationships with their family, friends and peers? This is precisely what the Barna Group wanted to answer with numerical data from their State of Pastors report.

The findings from the study show that while pastors seem to enjoy more marital satisfaction and more positive relationships with their children than the national average, they still struggle mightily with the pressures on their shoulders. Those who are at a higher risk of burnout (another report Barna conducted), and are dissatisfied with their ministries are more likely to be struggling in their personal relationships.

Marriage

Surprisingly, the marriage front is especially strong for pastors. Ninety-six percent of married pastors are satisfied with their marriage. Seventy percent of those call their marriage “excellent,” and 26 percent say it is “good.” Compared with the broader U.S. population, these statistics are high. Only 46 percent of married Americans call their marriage “excellent,” and 35 percent say it is “good.” Additionally, the divorce rate among pastors is lower, with only 10 percent nof Protestant pastors having experienced divorce. Compared to the general population at 27 percent, this is good news.

Pastors who make less than $40,000 a year don’t seem to be struggling in their marriages, either. Considering finances are usually a stressor point in marriage, this is encouraging. Eighty-three percent of pastors in this financial bracket rate their marriage as “excellent.”

Children

Another relationship the study examined was a pastor’s relationship with his or her children under the age of 18. Sixty percent view these relationships as “excellent,” while 36 percent labeled it “good.” This is higher than the national average, which is 46 percent “excellent” and 32 percent “good.”

Perception of difficulty on the family

Pastors were asked if their position has been difficult on their family, and 40 percent said it was “somewhat true”, 33 percent say “not very,” 19 percent say “not at all true” while 8 percent say “completely true.” That “completely true” response jumps up dramatically if you just look at the the pastors who rank in the “high risk” category for burnout. In this category, 41 percent say it’s “completely true” and 34 percent say “somewhat true.”

These statistics become even more interesting when they are linked to another question: whether or not pastors feel satisfied with their current ministry. Of those pastors that qualify as high-risk, only 30 percent say they are satisfied with their ministry, compared with 65 percent of pastors who are satisfied with their ministries and qualify as low-risk. The report on the findings conclude, “The effect of ministry on a pastor’s family, whether positive or negative, is tied to the pastor’s ministry satisfaction.”

Friendship

Thirty-four percent of pastors called their friendships “excellent” and 33 percent called them “good.” Compared to the national average (28 percent “excellent” and 33 percent “good”), pastors don’t have such a strong lead in this area as they do in marital satisfaction.

Additionally, the study found pastors 50 and older are more likely to call their friendships “excellent.” Another category of pastors who are more likely to report high friendship satisfaction are those in the lower financial bracket.

Pastor-Elder Relations

First of all, the majority (80 percent) of pastors surveyed report to a board of elders or group of laypeople. Sixty-seven percent say their board is “hugely supportive” of them, 60 percent say their board offers “healthy accountability,” and 57 percent say they share “vision and values” with their boards.

The research found that positive pastor-elder relationships are more often reported in larger congregations. Sixty-four percent of pastors of 250 or more congregants call their relationship with the elders a “powerful partnership,” while only 34 percent of pastors of smaller congregations claim this.

Again, when these statistics are linked with the burn out risk factor, it is evident that those pastors at a lower risk of burning out tend to have better relationships with their elders, while those at higher risk are more likely to express tension discontentment with these relationships.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Barna report indicates that pastors who express more satisfaction in their relationships are the same ones who rank lower on the burnout risk. Naturally, this research brings up all kinds of questions of causation (for instance, are pastors at a greater risk of burn-out when their relationships are strained, or do their relationships become strained as a result of burn-out?). The only thing the report offers as a definite conclusion is that “allowing time for nurturing these relationships and emotional support (such as through counseling or coaching) to work through challenges is essential to a pastor’s overall well-being and that of their family.”

10 Signs You’re About to Be Fired From Youth Ministry

Greg Stier

February 20, 2017

1. You’ve ticked off the church treasurer…who is the sister-in-law to the head elder…who is brother to the pastor.

2. You used the “pitched your tents” clip on Youth Sunday during your sermon and now a special meeting has been called.

3. The pastor refers to you as the next ex-youth pastor in staff meeting.

4. A group of church leaders are chatting quietly in the foyer but suddenly go silent and smile at you as you walk by.

5. You drove a motorcycle into the youth room last Wednesday night and left skidmarks on the tiles…and now the custodian is in a meeting with the pastor.

6. You just committed to becoming a Gospel Advancing youth leader but you are in an purely attractional church.

7. The super compassionate pastor’s wife cries when she sees you and your family walking into church on Sunday morning and runs away screaming, “Why? Why? Why?”

8. The church sign reads: “Youth Pastor needed. Apply within.”

9. The state superintendent of your denomination calls you and asks, “Are you OK? I heard the news.”

10. A key tither’s teen no longer goes to youth group because of the “bad element” who are now attending (raw new believers your other teenagers have reached).

What are some other signs you’re about to get fired as the youth pastor?

3 Principles to Follow When You Preach a Memorial Service

Ronnie Floyd

February 20, 2017

Dr. Paul Powell was a major leader in the Baptist General Convention of Texas and the Southern Baptist Convention. As a young pastor, his leadership in the Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler, Texas, as well as his writings, served as an influence in my early pastoral ministry. Sadly, on December 28, 2016, Dr. Powell passed away at 83 years of age in Tyler.

I only had the privilege to meet Dr. Powell a couple of times, but I will never forget reading in one of his books about conducting and preaching someone’s memorial service. Although exceptions occur, I have practiced these three principles to this day. I must admit that while I remember the three principles from many years ago, I did not remember what Dr. Powell said about each one. I have, however, learned a lot about each of the principles over the years. It is amazing that what I learned in these principles in my very early twenties, I am still sharing with other pastors. These three basic principles are from the overflow of pastor and leader, Paul Powell.

1. Be Biblical

A sermon for any person’s memorial service needs to be based upon a biblical foundation. It may be from one verse, a section of verses, or even a chapter. Whether a person was a Christ follower or not, the sermon people hear from the pastor conducting the service should be a biblical sermon.

In this sermon, the pastor should be unapologetic in his conviction relating to salvation being in Christ alone, experiencing eternal life and the promise of heaven to everyone that believes. Regardless of the circumstances surrounding the one who died or the uncertainty of any matters relating to it or to the family themselves, as pastors we need to share the message of salvation for each person who believes and that God has given us a future and a hope.

Therefore, be biblical when you preach a memorial service.

2. Be Personal

Regardless of the size of the church membership, it is difficult for the pastor to be personal with every member. You are called upon at times to perform a service for someone you may not even know. What do you do?

Ask the family to send to you anything they would like for you to share that would be helpful for those who attend the service or at least provide a background that may help you to understand the person more. This information can be shared via email or a phone call, but nothing is more valuable than a personal meeting. Pastor, your message will rarely surpass your intentionality in being personal with those who attend. It just takes it to another level.

For example, two weeks ago, I preached the memorial service for a member of our church that I knew quite well. Yet, due to his condition the past few years, this limited my interaction with him and the family. I asked the family to send me anything they would want me to share or to call me to talk. They not only sent me some interesting information, some of which I knew already, but a member of the family called me. I was out of town and arrived home the evening before the service, therefore I was unable to meet with them personally prior to the service.

Therefore, when you preach a memorial service, be biblical and be personal.

3. Be Brief

While being biblical and personal can always be done, being brief is dependent on the person themselves and the desires of the family. I realize people are not there to simply hear a sermon, they are present to show their compassion toward the family.

Most of the time, preaching a brief sermon at a memorial service is best. I consider being brief to usually be somewhere between 18-25 minutes. Yet, please know, there are times when we have the privilege to preach the sermon at someone’s memorial service who was deeply connected to us or our church and perhaps even a person regarded as a living legacy. While this may take the sermon more into the 25-33 minute range, we do need to remember, the message is not about us, but about how Christ was exemplified in this person’s life and legacy of leadership.

There may be experiences when several people are asked to speak. In that case, plan on each of them having three minutes or less for their comments. If you have three people speaking and one or more go over their time limit, you should cut your time, being sensitive to the moment and situation. The family will be appreciative as well as the guests attending.

Pastor, whenever you are called upon to perform the grand task of preaching someone’s memorial service, always practice these three principles: Be biblical. Be personal. Be brief.

Preaching That Is Biblically and Politically Correct

J.A. Medders

February 20, 2017

The United States of America may be one of the most powerful and influential countries in the world, but she isn’t Lord over all. It’s been said before that the U.S.A. isn’t mentioned anywhere in the Bible. That’s so wrong. America is found smack-dab in the middle of Isaiah’s prophecy.

“Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales.” (Isaiah 40:15)

There’s the land of the free and the home of the brave—like a single, barely noticeable water droplet falling out of the bucket. If you lose that droplet, do you lose your mind? Nah. If you ask the server at the ol’ Cheesecake Factory to fill your glass, and you notice a teeny drop hits the table as he pulls the pitcher away, would you say the glass isn’t full? Of course not. One little drop of water falling from the bucket is nothing.

God likens the nations to dust on a scale. Before the doctor weighs you or your kids, they don’t purge the scale of particles. They are negligible. Nothing. While it is good and right to love our country and to seek its welfare, remember, America is like a drop of water, a speck of dust. At the end of the day, at the end of the age, non-impressive.

God doesn’t panic over a speck of dust. He doesn’t wonder if a lost drop of water is going to shake things up. He knows the nations for what they are in the grand scheme of his sovereignty.

“All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.” (Isaiah 40:17)

It’s not that the nations are unimportant. God cares about the people in the nations (Matt. 28:18–20). But the nations—their power, pride, government, military, policy and place in the world—to God, they are nothing. Less than nothing. Do we see our nations as God sees it? We need perspective.

Christians in America Are Aliens (and We’ve Always Been)

When we see America for what it is, we’ll see we are strangers in this land—sojourners, aliens, exiles (1 Pet. 2:11). We haven’t always realized it, but we’ve always been strangers in this land. We don’t have a lasting city in the United States. “For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come” (Heb. 13:14). We look forward to the Kingdom whose founder and architect is God (Heb. 11:10). We are to let our light shine before others, and this light isn’t red, white and blue. Our light is Christ.

It is good for American Christians to remember our place in the universe, our place in eternity. We are trending toward the place where voices from every tribe, language and nation will live in harmony, with a co-heir and co-reign with Jesus Christ. We need a more robust politic in mind. You won’t be Democrat or a Republican forever. You will be Christian forever. Our citizenship is in a lasting monarchy.

A Powerful Politic

Jesus is Lord of all—that is a politically charged statement. A wonderful politic.

Presidents are powerful but just like everyone else, their job will end, and they will fade out of public life. Then one day, it’ll come across the newswire that President so-and-so has died. Folks will read it on social media, a moment of nostalgia will strike, and then people will roll over and watch reruns of Seinfeld. It sounds cruel and cold, but that’s how things happen under the Sun. “There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be among those who come after” (Eccl. 1:11).

The coming generation won’t pay much attention to this generation’s President. Presidents are fleeting. Here today and gone in a few years. They are given the keys to the car for four years—eight if they don’t total the country—but only Jesus has a name that is above every name. Only Jesus has a name where every knee will bow, and every tongue declares that Christ is Lord.

These are the kind of politically-powered sermons we need. Ones with gigantic enjoyment and exaltation of Jesus. Most Americans can’t name the 23rd President. What does that tell you? It tells you Solomon is right. “For of the wise as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten” (Eccl. 2:16). We can’t bank on the steam and vapor of this world.

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Belong, Believe, Become: A New Process of Evangelism

Eddie Cole

February 20, 2017

“Churches aren’t growing because of conversions. Churches are just swapping sheep.”

Have you ever heard someone make this claim or something like it? I have—way too many times, from pastors and church members alike. What do we make of this kind of comment, and how do we respond?

First, a note of encouragement: Just because you don’t see conversions, it doesn’t mean they aren’t happening in churches in America. They are.

The gospel has never stopped being powerful. Conversion growth will continue to happen. Nothing can prevent the power of the gospel from working in the lives of those who believe it enough to act on it.

Some Practical Suggestions for the Disheartened

#1: Don’t pout—PRAY! God is able to make you and your church mighty in gospel ministry. Do you remember when the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles and empowered them to be His witnesses? The Holy Spirit came when they were gathering for prayer.

When God’s people pray, things happen.

#2: Consider spending some time addressing what needs to change in your approach to reaching people. In a recent meeting with Evangelical leaders, I learned that many American churches experiencing conversion growth have discovered a slight but significant change in the process for how to effectively evangelize.

Compare the old American Evangelical process to the new…

For decades, the most effective process used by American Evangelicals followed this pattern:

Using a tool like the Four Spiritual Laws, a gospel tract or the EE presentation, a Christian presented an unbeliever with the opportunity to believe in Christ by sharing truth with him or her.
The Christian would then invite the new convert to become a part of a church.
The Christian would then help the new convert to enjoy a sense of belonging with the church.

Today’s process looks more like this:

The Christian invites people to belong to your community (love them even if they don’t believe), and through that…
The Chrisitian helps them see why they should believe in what the Bible claims about Jesus.
Once they believe in Jesus, the Christian encourages them to become a part of the church and join in the mission of evangelizing others.

Simplifying it, the process shift looks like this…

Old Process = Believe, Become, Belong
New Process = Belong, Believe, Become

This reminds me of how my friend Jeff became a follower of Jesus. Jeff saw me and another friend working out in the park that was right next to our church and he stopped to talk. My workout partner and I took a break and chatted with him for a few minutes. We ended up inviting him to come to church with us that Sunday. Not only did Jeff come to church Sunday, but he loved it and kept coming.

The church family wrapped its arms around him and welcomed him. He loved the music and even appeared to like most of my messages. Eventually, the gospel took hold of his heart. After several months of coming, he gave his heart to Jesus and I was privileged to baptize him.

Jeff was the kind of person who stereotypes would dictate ‘hates’ Evangelicals. Some would suggest he’d never come to one of our worship services. But God did a powerful work in him because of the love he was shown by Christians. The way God worked in his life shows an example of the shift in the process of evangelism.

The newer process—belong, believe, become—worked with Jeff. It’s working in many lives and for a growing number of congregations.

Be ready at all times to share the gospel truth, because it is the gospel that changes lives. Let us begin the process by simply showing gospel warmth until that door of conversation opens. In other words, love people until they ask, “Why?”

3 Reasons Most Time Management Attempts End Up Frustrating You

Carey Nieuwhof

February 20, 2017

You probably think you need to get better at managing time in 2017.

Don’t we all?

After all, as you’ve probably already discovered, time management is more disappointing than you thought it would be.

Why? Because eventually, almost all of your time management attempts will leave you with diminishing returns.

Don’t get me wrong, when you’re a teenager or finishing college, you probably have loads of room to grow in your time management skills. And you should definitely seize every growth opportunity you can find.

But for many of you, that’s not the struggle.

Your phone is already filled with productivity apps, you’ve implemented every time management hack you’ve found, and you STILL struggle to find the time to get it all done.

And you’re probably thinking, well…I guess that’s it. I’ll never get more done.

As a result, your dreams and ambitions max out because of a lack of available time, no matter how efficient you try to be. You no longer want the promotion because you don’t want longer work weeks. You’ve given up on writing a book, launching a blog or starting a podcast because you just can’t find the time.

And that’s just…sad. Especially if God created and called you to do more.

That’s why your time management efforts eventually frustrate you. You just can’t figure out how to get it all done, let alone how to get more done.

The High Impact Leader Course is my top learning on how to get time, energy and priorities working in your favor. It’s available for four days (until midnight PST on January 19, 2017). Learn more here.

One of the things I tackle in the course is how to move far beyond time management to get more accomplished.

In my view, time management alone brings you diminishing returns.

Why is that? There are at least three reasons.

1. Nobody Will Ever Give You More Hours

Wouldn’t it be amazing if every time your church grew or you were given more responsibility, someone gave you a few extra hours each day?

The reality, of course, is that time is fixed.

Did your church double in size? Great. Manage it in the same fixed 24 hours you had when it was half the size.

Did you get a promotion? Awesome, except now you have to do twice as much in the same amount of time.

Have a spouse and kids? Wonderful. Now you still have to get it all done in the same fixed 24 hours you had when you were single.

The challenge with time management is that time is fixed. Hours never expand with responsibility.

As a result, focusing on time management alone can only get you so far.

Everyone gets the same amount of time every day. It doesn’t matter if you’re the President of the United States, the president of a Fortune 50 company, or the founder of a fledgling business or church plant, you only get 24 hours in a day.

Whenever you’re handed a complicated task, or when your life undergoes a major change, nobody gives you an extra five hours in the day to handle it. You have to manage everything that comes your way in those same 24 hours.

Almost every capable leader discovers that the opportunities available always exceed the available time.

If you’re relying on time management alone to handle the growing demands on your leadership, you will always be disappointed. Because no one is ever going to give you more time.

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Norma McCorvey: Former Roe v. Wade Poster Woman Turned Pro-Life Advocate Dies at 69

Megan Briggs

February 20, 2017

Roe v. Wade McCorvey — Norma McCorvey, the "Jane Roe" of Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision, is seen in 1990. (AP Photo)

The conversion of Norma McCorvey from a pro-choice activist to pro-life advocate is probably the most surprising of all the conversions. Jane Roe was a pseudonym for McCorvey, who was 22 at the time she linked arms with lawyers to take her plea for abortion rights all the way to the Supreme Court. McCorvey underwent a conversion in the 1990s, however, and turned into a Christian and a pro-life advocate. On Saturday, February 18, 2017, she passed away at the age of 69.

McCorvey’s death, brought on by heart ailment, was confirmed by journalist Joshua Prager, who was working on a book about the case. McCorvey was living at an assisted-living facility in Katy, Texas, when she passed away.

Brief History of the Case

MCorvey was pregnant for the third time in 1970 when she sought an abortion. She scoured the state of Texas trying to find a doctor who would perform an abortion on her, but the procedure was illegal at the time. Lawyers Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffee filed the lawsuit for her, which eventually worked its way up the court system all the way to Supreme Court in 1973. At that point, McCorvey had already given birth and had given her child up for adoption.

What the Supreme Court decided in that landmark Roe v. Wade case was that a woman’s right to an abortion is a fundamental right under the Constitution.

Evolving Opinions

McCorvey became a Christian in the 1990s and renounced her position on abortion rights as well as the lesbian lifestyle she had been living. She channeled her energy into working for the pro-life group Operation Rescue. Speaking of her dramatic conversion, McCorvey said, “I’ll be serving the Lord and helping women save their babies. I will hold a pro-life position for the rest of my life.”

But McCorvey’s change of attitude on abortion is in contrast to the changing opinion of the public, which has grown favorable over the years following the Supreme Court ruling. While abortion is still a hotly debated issue, the general public has held its position in support of legal abortion over the last couple decades. As the chart below from Pew Research indicates, public opinion fluctuates from year to year.

As far as the church’s opinion is concerned, white evangelical protestants are among those most in favor of making abortion illegal.

McCorvey is survived by her daughter, Melissa, and two grandchildren. According to Prager, nothing is publicly known about the other two children to whom McCorvey gave birth and gave up for adoption.

The Drama of Emerging Adulthood

No Student Is Safe

Biblical Case Studies That Warn Us

The Influence of the Eyes

Concern for the Neighborhood is a High Priority

Seven Steps to Getting the Unchurched Interested in Your Church

1. If you want a loyal team, help them see their future.

2. Celebrate effort even if the results are less than expected.

3. Hand over more decisions to your team.

4. Brag on your team.

5. Offer real-time feedback.

6. Ask them to teach you something.

Work All Six

Plan Your Work

A funny movie

Underwear that you can rock after your abortion

Angry uterus heating pad

Girl power hat

F U-terus pin

Become an abortion clinic escort

Needlepoint that reads “We won’t go back”

Here are seven characteristics of good change agents:

Equipping

1) Equipping is the process of training a person for a specific ministry task.

2) Equipping is focused on the church’s agenda.

3) Equipping is an exchange based on transaction.

Marriage

Children

Perception of difficulty on the family

Friendship

Pastor-Elder Relations

Conclusion

Christians in America Are Aliens (and We’ve Always Been)

A Powerful Politic

Some Practical Suggestions for the Disheartened

1. Nobody Will Ever Give You More Hours

Brief History of the Case

Evolving Opinions

New Articles

New Podcasts