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5 Seconds of Awkward Can Save You from a Lifetime of Regret

By
Megan Briggs
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communicating with the unchurched

Sadie Robertson of the hit show Duck Dynasty gives five practical life savers that can deter you from a lifetime of regret. Sadie is currently on a 46-city-tour with Winter Jam where she gets to proclaim the name of Jesus Christ to sold out crowds all over the United States.

Robertson encourages her listeners: “God will speak to you if you ask Him to. He will give you eyes to see and ears to hear.” She also encourages people to listen to the Holy Spirit when you see a person you know you are supposed to witness to or encourage. She gives a great reminder to all ages that we should be avoiding gossip and that starts with refusing to listen to it.

Whether you are a youth pastor or a senior pastor, take three minutes of your day to listen to these five simple reminders. Sometimes the most profound wisdom can come in the simplest of forms.

5 Life-Savers

• If someone is drinking and they ask you to get in a car with them, say no.
• If someone asks you to drink and you don’t want to drink, you can say no.
• If the person you are dating wants to go farther than you want to, say no.
• Let God lead you
• If someone comes up to you and wants to tell you something juicy, tell them you don’t want to know.

A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret. – Proverbs 11:13

Reversing the Credibility Crisis Pastors Face: Suggestions from Barna Research

By
Megan Briggs
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communicating with the unchurched

According to a new study conducted by the Barna Group, 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. feel that pastors are not influential or credible. Only 24 percent of U.S. adults hold a “very positive” option of pastors in general. Nineteen percent hold a “negative” opinion, and nine percent hold a “very negative” opinion. So in an age when pastors’ credibility is in crisis, what can a leader do to regain some ground in his or her community?

During their State of Pastors conference, three leaders of churches sat down to discuss how pastors might involve themselves in community work to improve their credibility in society.

Rebekah Layton – Executive Pastor of Cherry Hills Community Church

Layton’s comments addressed another statistic Barna uncovered during its study: If a person knows a pastor personally, two in three regard them “very positively.” Illustrating this finding, Layton said when people see a life transformed, when they see the Holy Spirit work in a person’s life, when they see the gospel lived out, that is when credibility is established. “When people experience God’s power and his presence and his truth and his love, that is when that divide of credibility is bridged.”

Adam Edgerly – Lead Pastor, Newsong Los Angeles Covenant Church

Edgerly’s comments focused on the need for pastors to act. He explained, when Jesus preached to the crowds, they saw him addressing the needs of the community by healing people, turning over the tables of corruption, etc. “When there are needs going on in our community, we need to show up,” Edgerly admonishes. He explains that “people need to see us as stakeholders in the community,” actively working to address needs and make things better.

Mark DeYmaz – Directional Leader, Mosaic Church

DeYmaz uses Matthew 5:16 to illustrate his point. White evangelicals tend to think if our theology is right and we think right and speak right, that will win people over. But this isn’t what Jesus was referring to in Matthew 5:16. He didn’t say “let your light shine so they hear your good words…let them know about your great theology, your doctrinal statement.” Instead, Jesus said “let them see your good works, and that will become attractive. [Good works] shines a light on who Jesus is.”

We have a tendency (especially in the white evangelical church, which DeYmaz has been a part of for decades now) to limit the gospel to “let’s see souls saved.” But DeYmaz asks, “What about saving a community?” DeYmaz then lists examples of things that will garner a church attention in a community: When things like crime are reduced by 19 percent in a three-square mile radius of the church, that gets people’s attention, DeYmaz says. When half of the neighborhood depends on you for food three or four days of the month, that gets attention. When you use your very church building to help the local government and create jobs in the community, that garners you credibility.

The problem comes, DeYmaz explains, when “we simply want to talk and we don’t want to do this hard, difficult work.”

How do we balance fulfilling the Great Commission and simply getting to know someone (a group of people) with no agenda?

Edgerly addressed this question by explaining how, about a hundred years ago, modernism started teaching that the gospel is just a social gospel that doesn’t necessarily need Jesus to work. The reaction to this mindset was fundamentalism. So we have a divide now (that we are currently trying to heal) that says on the one side that we can’t talk about social justice issues because that’s liberal, and then you’ve got people on the other side who are committed to social justice but don’t feel you have to follow Jesus in order to do that.

But prior to this divide, we saw social justice leaders and Christians like William Wilberforce who had no problem committing themselves to things like stopping slavery while also printing Bible tracts and establishing schools and helping people because of what they learned from the gospel. “The gospel is the expression of what God wants—thy Kingdom come on earth. Yes, he’s going to bring it in its fullness when he returns, but he expects us to express it now,” Edgerly explains.

Conclusion

The take-away the researchers gleaned from the study is that people still seek the church’s guidance in areas of relationships, racial reconciliation and community. And despite the credibility problem we are facing, 40 percent of the people surveyed said the presence of clergy offers a “significant benefit” to the community and 26 percent say they offer a “small benefit.” So we’ve got a chance. If we were to whittle down the discussion between these three pastors, we may summarize this way: When pastors are engaged in good works, using the gospel to inspire and inform their actions, our community will find us credible and thereby be open to receive the gospel.

10 Fears of Young Church Leaders

By
Chuck Lawless
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communicating with the unchurched

Almost every day, I work with young people preparing for ministry. They are some of the most gifted, committed young adults I’ve ever met in 20+ years of serving as a professor. At the same time, though, they have fears that my older generation must recognize:

  1. They’ll have to minister alone. Often, this concern is a theological commitment to a plurality of leaders. At other times, though, it’s simply a fear that they’ll have to learn ministry without anyone walking with them.
  2. They won’t be able to provide well for their family. They plan to work hard to pay their bills, but they’re concerned they’ll always have to worry about finances.
  3. Their churches won’t grow. Even those who verbally say “numbers don’t really matter” still fear that churches will decline on their watch.
  4. They won’t know how to balance everything. They already struggle in this arena, and they’re smart enough to know that full-time ministry employment will make it more difficult.
  5. They won’t have genuine friends in ministry. They’re particularly concerned for their spouses and their children, especially when ministry calls them away from their family.
  6. They’ll fall morally. They’ve heard so many stories of pastors falling that they fear they’ll be the next in that tragic line.
  7. They’ll hit the wall of “old people who don’t want to change.” They’re often responding more to stories of others rather than their own (in)experience, but their fears are nevertheless real.
  8. They won’t know what to do. They’re beginning to see that ministry is complex, and cultural changes aren’t making it easier. Their ego struggles in admitting it, but they fear they won’t have a clue what to do in many ministry situations.
  9. They’ll make wrong career moves. They know others who’ve made moves resulting in misery and questioning, and they worry that they’ll make the same mistakes.
  10. Their friends will be better known than they are. This issue of pride lurks deep in the heart of a young church leader, but it’s frequently there.

Young leaders, what do you fear? Older leaders, what did you fear most when you were younger?

This article originally appeared here.

3 Myths Ministry Leaders Believe

By
Kenny Conley
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communicating with the unchurched

This last weekend, I was able to conduct some kidmin training/consultation in beautiful Billings, Mont. I love that I get to travel from time to time and help churches wrestle through challenges. When you visit enough churches and talk to enough leaders, you’ll learn so many things that you’d never fully understand otherwise.

Yesterday, I had two different conversations with a church leader and with someone from my staff about things that we believe are true but really aren’t. I’ve found that a lot of church leaders (including myself) believe things about their church or about their community that aren’t always true. Sometimes it’s just all we know know, and because certain things work the way that they do, it just seems to be true. I think that these beliefs would qualify as myths. So, let me share a couple of myths that ministry leaders often buy into.

Myth #1: Our volunteers will never come on time

Almost every church I’ve been a part of uses the same funny phrase. Our people are on Gateway time. Or our people are on Graceland time. Our people are on ______ time. What does that mean? It means that they’re always late. They’re never on time. They’ll never be on time. Even as I work with other churches across the country, many of them have a similar sentiment. It’s a myth. The truth is that everyone is late. No one is on time. It’s a cultural norm. However, you can change this. Two years ago I heard Craig Groeschel respond to a similar situation. Instead of saying, “Our people are always late,” the correct response is, “We have not yet led our people to show up on time.” I know this is true. I’ve led ministries where the volunteers were always showing up late. We changed a few things and began leading everyone to a pre-service gather time. Now the norm is that people are on time/early. Don’t believe this myth, it’s not true.

Myth #2: This Sunday wasn’t a normal Sunday

Ever have one of those crazy Sundays? We like to respond with, “Yeah, today wasn’t a normal Sunday.” Ever have a Sunday where attendance was way down? We often like to look for reasons. I remember at my first church, we were always blaming something for unusual attendance. One week we would say, “It was raining, everyone wanted to stay inside.” The next week we would say, “It was beautiful outside, everyone wanted to get out.” The next week we’d say, “It was a holiday weekend, everyone was probably traveling.” After a few months of this I realized that this was stupid. There’s no such thing as a normal Sunday. Yes, you can look for reasons why things happen, but you can also lead differently to get a preferred outcome. Sundays in general aren’t always predictable. We have to be ready for what we don’t expect because they’re rarely normal.

Myth #3: This would be better if we were more like “that” church

We love the comparison game. When frustrated by our current situation, it’s easy to look around at those doing it better and wish for what they have. Sometimes we just wish we could be there instead of here. Essentially, this is the “grass is greener on the other side” dilemma. We are infatuated with what our neighbor has and we convince ourselves that what they have is better—but it’s a myth. The grass is rarely greener on the other side. Yes, some things might be remarkably better, but that other thing that you don’t see may be worse. Looking in from the outside, you only see what they want you to see. So yes, it’s great to learn from others and apply what you see to what you are doing to make it better, but be careful when playing the comparison game. Don’t be quick to jump ship because you might end up equally frustrated in entirely different ways.

This article originally appeared here.

Is It OK for Worship Leaders to Be Ambitious?

By
Bobby Gilles
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communicating with the unchurched

Ambition is a dirty word among many Christians and church leaders, although Paul uses it in Romans 15:20:

And thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation.

For Paul, ambition is a good thing when rightly motivated, directed and applied. And for today’s worship leaders, ambition is a good thing when rightly motivated, directed and applied.

  • Are you ambitious to lead your congregation in worship songs, so they’ll think you’re cool? Bad.
  • Are you ambitious to lead your congregation in worship songs, for the glory of God? Good.

We see why Paul was ambitious to preach the gospel in the previous two verses:

For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ. (Romans 15:18-19)

The only thing Paul wanted people to notice about himself was “what Christ has accomplished through me.”

This weekend as you lead worship, don’t feel bad about being ambitious. Don’t hesitate to pursue excellence. Don’t shirk from choosing the best, most solid worship songs you can find or write. Don’t apologize for insisting that your team members come prepared, that they play to the best of their ability. And don’t hide the fact that one reason you put them on the team is because they possessed that ability.

Be ambitious. Just make sure your ambition is rooted in a desire that Christ be magnified, for the edification of the church, the witness to those now outside the family of God, and the delight of God Himself. This is holy ambition.

Is Preaching Stressing You Out? This Is for You

By
Gavin Adams
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communicating with the unchurched

Are you communicating this weekend?

Maybe preaching at your church? Speaking in a student ministry? Or even training or casting vision to volunteers.

I am, and it got me to thinking…

No matter the environment, the audience or the type of message, communicating in any spiritual context brings a unique pressure. It’s a pressure that only communicators in the church can fully understand.

When I worked in the marketplace, I communicated quite a bit. I made sales calls, staged product demonstrations, presented data and strategy analysis, and even occasionally spoke to larger audiences about our business, our competencies and our industry.

None of these moments compare to what happens in ministry, though. There is such a unique weight in any ministry communication. The pressure comes from many places:

  • God: Let’s just start where everything in us as pastors and teachers should start. It doesn’t take more than a cursory reading of James (among other biblical books) to feel the weight of our position. And we should feel the weight. If we don’t, we apparently aren’t taking our position as seriously as God does. When we stand in front of people to encourage, admonish or anything in between, we represent more than just our opinion. That’s pressure.

“Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.” James 3:1

  • Others: The people who will hear our words can be quite critical. Not all, but many, are walking into our churches expecting to hear something true, helpful and biblical, presented in a way that is engaging, inspiring, relational, conversational and even humorous. I’m not sure that is even possible, but that doesn’t change the fact it’s somewhat expected. That’s pressure.
  • Ourselves: If we are honest, we might create the biggest pressure-cooker. I certainly don’t know everything there is to know about preaching. What I do know is how much pressure we can feel stepping onto the stage or behind the pulpit. We all work hard on preparation, content and delivery (if you don’t, you should!). We all have been given quite the opportunity to present hope in and through a relationship with Jesus. That’s pressure.

Bottom line: There’s a lot riding on our shoulders this weekend. Or at least it feels that way. But should it?

How should we handle the pressure? How should we navigate the challenge? How should we move into these speaking moments with confidence and clarity?

1. Let God Be God.

This is probably the only tip we need to remember (but I’ll give more just for fun). God is not expecting us to give “Sermon on the Mount” quality messages every weekend. We might at times, but that’s not His expectation. From what I can gather, God is asking us to be faithful to the truth, sensitive to who is listening and genuine in our presentation.

The best part is what God does between our mouth and our audience’s ears. It seems every time I preach someone eventually approaches me to comment on what they received from my message. At times, what they heard was exactly what I said. Many times what they heard was close—still true and still helpful for them—but not exact. And at times, though, God takes what is said, completely rewrites it, and allows it to enter the listening ear as it needs to be heard. It’s a beautiful thing that only God can do. And we, as preachers, get to participate in these little miracles all the time.

2. Prepare With Intentionality.

When we understand the weight and opportunity given to us, it should cause us to prepare with great intentionality. I have never been disappointed because I prepared in advance. And I’ve certainly never heard any pastor or teacher say a message would have been better had they procrastinated and opted for a “Saturday night special.” We always prepare for what’s important, so get ahead in your preparation to remove much of the pressure.

3. Be Happy With Singles.

Every message won’t be a grand slam. Some will, and when that happens, it’s a great feeling. But there will be some messages that are just average. I call those “get on base Sundays.” I prepare to hit a homer every time I preach, but there are some messages that just don’t come together as well as I would like. There are times when the delivery isn’t as good. There are times when a baby just won’t stop crying even though we have an incredible ministry experience for babies during the service. That’s part of the job. Singles aren’t strikeouts. And God can still do His thing with our singles.

4. Don’t Accept Average.

While we might not preach the best message in the history of preaching each weekend, we must fight the temptation to underwork and accept mediocrity. There are so many ways to improve as a preacher—from planning to preparation to interpretation to delivery. I don’t fully understand what God chooses to bless, but He seems to bless passion and hard work over apathy. So work hard and give it your best effort so you can trust God fully with the rest.

5. Give Yourself Grace.

God already has given you grace, so you might as well, too. Unfortunately, there will be times when all the preparation, effort and rehearsing sill don’t get us where we’re trying to get. Yeah, we’ll hit singles from time to time, and we will also strikeout. If we have done our best, that is ultimately all we can do. So don’t just preach grace, give yourself grace.

6. Find a Healthy Pace.

I hate to break it to you, but God didn’t birth you for 52 amazing messages a year. That’s just my humble opinion, but I believe it to be true. I work for arguably the best communicator in the world, Andy Stanley. No matter what you believe about his approach or his theology, there’s no arguing his message building technique and delivery is beyond superb. I get to watch it up close and personal, and I’m still often amazed. But do you know how many times Andy preaches each year? About 35, give or take. If Andy doesn’t attempt 52, we probably shouldn’t either.

I wrote a lot more about this here: Stop Preaching Every Week!

I hope my message this Sunday is great. Even more, I’ve worked really hard on the content. I finished my studying and outline three weeks ago. I rehearsed it completely today (Friday). And I get to practice several more times tomorrow in my basement. Soon enough, Sunday will be here and I think I’ll be ready. But, if it’s not the best message I’ve ever delivered, I’ll be fine. If every single person doesn’t love it, I’ll understand. And if, after three tries, I just can’t seem to get it right, I’ll survive. And you will, too, I bet.

Good luck if you’re on deck this Sunday. I might not know your name, but I’m praying you have fun bringing your best to the people in your room.

Quick Note: If you found this helpful, feel free to share it with others using the social media buttons above. Thanks! 

This article originally appeared here.

Why Your Salvation Is More Than an Escape

By
Geoff Hsu
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communicating with the unchurched

About 10 years ago, after more than 20 years in ministry of proclaiming the gospel, the gospel started getting complicated for me. I was really good at talking about how Jesus’ work on the cross atoned for my sins. I was really clear about needing to confess, repent and enter into relationship with Jesus. I was also satisfied with how this made sense of my life and how I should live…until I realized I wanted more.

I started to learn about the way my heart ran after many things other than God to provide a sense of meaning, purpose and inner peace. I began to wrestle with the failure of merely trying to change my behavior without changing my underlying “wants.” I also began to learn that my salvation was more than just an escape from this world. I was not just saved out of the world for my sake, but I was also saved to be in the world for its sake.

Like many today, we have recognized that the richness of what Jesus accomplished on the cross can get flattened. I have penned the following language in an attempt to capture on one page a gospel that helps capture more of what Christ has done for us.

There is more to say of course, so I’d welcome your comments below.

We were created for God

We were created to live in a loving relationship with God, and to participate in his purposes in creation, and enjoy him forever. It is in this relationship that we experience God’s love in ways that give us a deep sense of peace and security. It is living under his benevolent reign that we find our significance, and satisfaction in life. Questions like “Who am I?” “What was I created for?” and “Why do I exist?” are answered in our call to be in relationship with the Caller.

We live for ourselves

Our sin is that we have chosen to be our own master, believing that we can do a better job than God to watch over our interests. Alienated from God, we try to fill the gap with inferior counterfeits like career, possessions, achievements, family, even religion, only to realize that we are enslaved by them. We know these have control over us because we experience anger (when we are blocked from them), guilt (if we don’t perform), shame (when I feel unworthy), fear (if I don’t work hard enough) and drivenness (because there is always more to do).

We need a Savior for us

Recognizing the sin and folly of being our own lord and savior, we turn to Jesus, confessing our sin and embracing his redeeming work on our behalf. We rejoice in knowing that we are totally loved and completely accepted by God because of Jesus’ record and not ours. In cooperation with God’s overtures of grace, this good news begins to free us to become the people God had always intended us to be. Fully us. Fully alive. We find ourselves becoming the kind of people that naturally love and serve others because that is who we have become.

We live for God and for others

As we continue to grow in Christlikeness, we grow in our desire to steward all that God has graced us with in service of God’s redemptive purposes on earth. With a grace-filled humility we work diligently to be both a sign and an agent of God’s shalom, and we do so in all our relationships whether in the home, in the community or in the workplace. We take great delight in being able to live into what we were created for, bringing “the presence of the kingdom and its king into every corner of human life.” [1]

[1] Willard, Dallas. Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2002. Page 15.

This article originally appeared here.

Bigness Is Overrated—Plus 9 Hard Church Leadership Lessons

By
Joe McKeever
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communicating with the unchurched

This is not the final list. I’m still learning.

Most of what follows about leading God’s church is counterintuitive. Which is to say, it’s not what one might expect.

In no particular order…

One: Bigness is overrated.

“It doesn’t matter to the Lord whether He saves by the few or the many” (I Samuel 14:6).

Most pastors, it would appear, have wanted to lead big churches, wanted to grow their church to be huge, or wanted to move to a large church. Their motives may be pure; judging motives is outside my skill set. But pastoring a big church can be the hardest thing you will ever try, and far less satisfying than you would ever think.

Small churches can be healthy too; behold the hummingbird or the honeybee.

Trying to get a huge church to change its way of thinking can be like turning around an ocean liner. Even so, the Lord’s teachings about the mustard seed (see Matthew 13:31-32 and Luke 17:6) should forever disabuse us of the lust for bigness.

I will spare you the horror stories of pastors who have manipulated God’s people and lied about numbers in order to create the illusion of bigness. Forgive us, Father!

Two: Lack of formal education in the preacher is no excuse.

The pastor of the small church often has far less formal training and education than he would like. As a result, he often feels inferior to his colleagues with seminary degrees. I have two thoughts on that…

One. It’s a mistake. He can be as smart as they are and more if he applies himself. Let the Lord’s preachers not be overly impressed by certificates on the wall or titles before their name.

Two. He can get more formal education if he’s willing. Some of our seminaries have online programs that make seminary education practical and affordable.

My dad, a coal miner, had to leave school after the 7th grade. But he never quit learning. He took courses and read constantly. When God took him to Heaven, Dad was almost 96. Our mom had to cancel four or five magazine subscriptions he was still taking and reading.

Some of the finest preachers of God’s word I’ve ever known have had little formal theological education.

Three: There are no lone rangers or solo acts on the Lord’s team.

He sent them out two by two. (Mark 6:7; Luke 10:1)

The preacher who says pastors are not allowed to have friends and thus shuts himself off from colleagues in ministry has bought into a lie from hell that causes him to deceive himself and limit his ministry. While a pastor may choose not to have close friends among his own members, there is every reason for him to make friends with other pastors and ministers who serve the Lord well. Failing to do so limits himself and hurts the kingdom work.

Furthermore, he must have co-workers alongside him. Paul needed Barnabas, Silas, Timothy and many others. Read the last chapter of I Corinthians and ask God to forgive you for trying to do this work alone.

Four: Doing a job by yourself is easier than enlisting and training someone else, but it’s violating your calling.

“Make disciples,” said our Lord. That mandate calls for us to help people come into the kingdom, then nurture and grow them to the point they will know the Word, can share the Word and can make disciples of others.

Barnabas did not find it convenient to leave Antioch and travel to Tarsus “to seek Saul” (Acts 11:25). But in doing so, he connected the man called as an evangelist to the Gentiles with the opportunity of a lifetime. We are forever grateful to the best disciplemaker in Scripture, Barnabas!

Five: I cannot lead people to do what I’m not doing.

God did not send me to be a talker, but a doer. Not as a coach only, but as a player-coach. It is enough for the disciple to become like the teacher, said our Lord.

So, as a pastor and church leader, my job is to show them how. Not just tell them (James 1:22 and I John 3:18).

Six: Not only is it hard to get started tithing my income or sharing my faith (and a hundred other discipleship things), God likes it that way.

Watch the butterfly emerge from its chrysalis. The struggle, we are told, is a necessary part of its development.

Only people of faith and determination will set out to learn to tithe and witness and understand the Bible, then stay with it until they are able to do it well. Everyone else drops by the wayside, intending to wait until it’s easy. In doing so, they’re asking for and expecting what never was and never shall be. “Without faith, it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6).

The members of your church need to be reminded that God does not need their money. He is not suffering from a cash flow problem. God is trying to grow disciples. That accounts for the hundreds of teachings on money in the Word. When are we ever going to understand this? When are preachers going to quit fearing criticism and teach stewardship until people do it!

Seven: God makes His leaders servants, not bosses or lords or bigshots.

I keep running into husbands who want to lord it over their wives because “God made me the head of the home and told you to submit!” Such men may call themselves believers, but they are pagan to the heart and have probably never been saved. They certainly don’t know the first thing about God’s word or Jesus’ heart. If they did, they would know that they are sent as servants. “Even so, Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it.”

Bullies on the playground or dictators in the pulpit are cancers on the body, and must not be tolerated. The parable of all parables on this subject is Luke 17:7-10. We must keep saying to ourselves—even when we have done everything Jesus required—“I am only an unworthy servant; just doing my duty.”

Eight: The more righteous we are, the less we will be aware of it. “Moses knew not that his face did shine” (Exodus 34:29).

I said to the 75-year-old saint in our church, “Marguerite, you are the most Christ-like person I know.” She didn’t flinch. “Oh honey,” she said to her young minister, “if you only knew.” I did know, in a way, but have learned a hundred times since: Those closest to the Lord are the last to know it. The nearer to the light we get, the more imperfections and blemishes we will see.

Beware of ever thinking you have arrived. “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.”

Nine: The Lord’s servants who serve well are going to run into the buzz saw of opposition from the nay-sayers, do-nothings, status-quo lovers and carnal. That’s no fun, but it’s not all bad.

Reading the mandate of the disciples in Matthew 10:16ff, we cannot say we were not warned. But it has ever been this way. We are swimming upstream in a downstream world.

Jesus prepared us for this by saying that whoever receives us is receiving Him, whoever listens to us is listening to Him, and whoever rejects us is rejecting Him (see Matthew 10:40 and Luke 10:16.) If being treated like Jesus is not enough for us, we’re in the wrong calling.

Ten: Not only does the Lord allow His choice servants to suffer sometimes, He even plans for that to happen. See Matthew 10:16ff.

Caesar ain’t coming to  your revival, preacher. So, the Lord is going to be needing someone to get arrested for preaching. Then, when the high and mighty ruler has to decide on this case, he will order the saint in chains to “tell us what you’ve been preaching.” That’s how it worked with Paul (see 2 Timothy 4:16-17), and how it has been with His choice servants ever since.

When Paul and Silas were falsely charged, then beaten and jailed, even though their backs were open wounds and they were hungry, tired and hurting, “about midnight, they began praying and singing hymns of praise to God. And the other prisoners were listening to them” (Acts 16:25). They’re always listening and watching when God’s people suffer unjustly. That’s a fact which God uses to reach many for Himself.

No one wants to suffer. No one volunteers to hurt. But sometimes it’s the only way.

What God’s faithful must never do is groan and bellyache and say, “Why me, Lord?” Your suffering may turn out to be the highest compliment the Father ever gave  you. Early believers rejoiced they were counted worthy to suffer (see Acts 5:41).

This article originally appeared here.

24 Practices of Great Pastors

By
Brian Dodd
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communicating with the unchurched
NorthStar Church is located in North Atlanta (Ga.) in the town of Kennesaw. I recently wrote about their 20th anniversary celebration HERE. The impact this church has made in its community will only be properly measured in Heaven. The church’s pastor is Mike Linch. In addition to being a dear friend, Mike is one of America’s greatest pastors. Recently, Mike’s alma mater Liberty University, did a story on the impact of his life and ministry which you can see above. As I watched the video, it became apparent why Mike is such a blessing to all who know him. The following are 24 Practices of Highly Successful Pastors Who Lead Great Churches which I gleaned from the video. First is the principle followed by supporting thoughts as well as Mike’s comments.

  1. Great Pastors Who Lead Great Churches Are Part of the Fabric of Their Communities – Mike helps coach the Allatoona Buccaneers high school baseball team.
  2. Great Pastors Who Lead Great Churches Have Longevity – They do not bounce from church to church looking for the next good opportunity. Churches are the Bride of Christ, not professional stepping stones. Mike said, “I’ve been at NorthStar since we started.”
  3. Great Pastors Who Lead Great Churches Develop Over Time – Mike started out as a youth pastor. This used to be the preferred career path for pastors—start out as a youth pastor and then become a senior pastor after a time of seasoning. This is why I think so many church plants fail. The pastors have not gone through a proper time of preparation. “I became the senior pastor in 2003.”
  4. Great Pastors Who Lead Great Churches Teach the Bible – The only thing that can change a human life is God’s Word. Great pastors prioritize the Bible. It is God’s Word in written form.
  5. Great Pastors Who Lead Great Churches Have Great Concern for Lost People – “We began as a church for people who didn’t go to church.”
  6. Great Pastors Who Lead Great Churches Want People to Become Everything God Created Them to Be – “I want to be a place they can walk into and say ‘I can learn. I can grow and be the person God created me to be.’”
  7. Great Pastors Who Lead Great Churches Have Taken Great Risks – God honors faithfulness. “A lot of sleepless nights because it was risky.”
  8. Great Pastors Who Lead Great Churches Are Always Doing Something New – God is always moving forward. He is always advancing, always using new wineskins. And so do great pastors. “There weren’t a lot of new churches back then.”
  9. Great Pastors Who Lead Great Churches Have Many Choices but Few Options – The higher up you go in your career as a pastor, the fewer options you have. There are more things you can’t do. Conversely, there are more things you have to do. “I had a great job. My wife was pregnant with my daughter and we knew we had to do it.”
  10. Great Pastors Who Lead Great Churches Have Had Great Struggles – “And there were a lot of struggles—raising money, people didn’t understand, there were traditional churches and nothing else.”
  11. Great Pastors Who Lead Great Churches Have Times of Great Loneliness – I want to restate what Mike said in the previous point—“people didn’t understand.”
  12. Great Pastors Who Lead Great Churches Paid the Great Price Needed to Experience Great Victories – Great joy, great happiness, a great sense of satisfaction and great victories are reserved only for those who have paid a great price. “There was a lot that went with it but I’m so glad we did it.”
  13. Great Pastors Who Lead Great Churches Have Paid the Price of Great Preparation – Mike attended Liberty University for four years.
  14. Great Pastors Who Lead Great Churches Were Taught to Dream Big – Early in our lives we have to borrow the faith and dreams of others. We need to have our minds and perspectives broadened. Great leaders do that for younger leaders. “Dr. Falwell taught you to dream big.”
  15. Great Pastors Who Lead Great Churches Are Worthy of Great Respect and Honor – “Every time you step foot on that campus you’re walking on a man’s vision and dreams. I could never get over that.”
  16. Great Pastors Who Lead Great Churches Give People a Great Picture of What They Could Be – “Well there’s a Champion for Christ.”
  17. Great Pastors Who Lead Great Churches Often Had No Idea How Much and Where God Was Going to Use Them – “I’ll never go to where that guy’s from because I’m tired and cranky. I remember thinking I’ll never go there. I don’t know what school that is. I’ll never go somewhere like that.”
  18. Great Pastors Who Lead Great Churches Did Not Seek Out Great Platforms –Pastors who have long-term success focused on their personal faithfulness, not the size of their platform. And because of their faithfulness, God gave them a great platform. The platform found them. They did not seek it out. This sense of humility allows them to maintain the platform. “Out of the blue Liberty called. Coach Bobby Richardson called my house…I visited and knew that’s where I was supposed to be.”
  19. Great Pastors Who Lead Great Churches Use Their Platforms to Serve Others –Mike does a lot of personal coaching for amateur and professional athletes. He teaches them, “It’s what you do. It’s not who you are…Sometimes we get wrapped up in sports. It becomes who we are and it really is just what you do.”
  20. Great Pastors Who Lead Great Churches Have Experienced Great Personal Successes and Great Personal Failures – “It’s a game. And you’re going to learn a lot of lessons. You’re gonna have a lot of successes. You’re gonna have a lot of failures.”
  21. Great Pastors Who Lead Great Churches Have Bounced Back From Great Personal Failures. They Have Great Resilience. – “Everybody’s got to learn to bounce back from their failures. And you’re ability to bounce back, whether it’s on the mound, in your marriage or in life, all goes back to things you learned while playing the game.”
  22. Great Pastors Who Lead Great Churches Help People Know Their Identity Is in Christ, Not Their Career – “At the end, you’re going to hang it up… Do you have something in your life bigger than the game?”
  23. Great Pastors Who Lead Great Churches Point People to a Relationship With Jesus – “Life makes a lot more sense when you have a relationship with Christ.”
  24. Great Pastors Who Lead Great Churches Are People of Prayer – Your success as a pastor will ultimately be determined by the amount of time you spend alone with God and how much He marks your life. Great pastors have calloused knees. “And it’s in Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”

What is one thing you have learned from Mike’s life which would make you a better pastor?

This article originally appeared here.

6 Ways to Motivate Millennial Leaders

By
Paul Alexander
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communicating with the unchurched

If you have any Millennials on your church staff, you know that they’re different. And while many traditional church leaders are quick to equate a different approach with being a wrong approach, wise leaders know that different just means different. Not necessary wrong. In fact, it could even be better. Millennials can, will and are doing some amazing ministry. Like it or not they are coming into their own in church leadership, and they’re the ones that are going to lead the church forward. So instead of complaining about them we might as well help them. Try these six approaches to motivate the Millennial leaders on your church staff.

1. Help Me Avoid Boredom

Millennials have grown up with the constant interruption of smart phones and sound bites. This has conditioned them to be great at multitasking. So don’t expect them to sit down and work the way you did with tremendous focus on one thing for an extended period of time. Help them avoid that monotony and dabble with multiple things at one time. They’ll have more fun and produce more results.

2. Help Me Join a Cause

Everyone knows that Millennials are cause oriented. But what most churches haven’t come to grips with yet is that one of the key reasons so many Millennials are leaving the church is they don’t view the church as a cause worth giving their life to. Is your church an institution or a movement? Have you turned the Gospel into something to be dissected and intellectually understood or something that is powerful and mysterious? Help them see the church as a cause worth giving their life to.

3. Help Me Manage My Heart

Feelings are more important than facts to Millennials. While it might not make sense to some previous generations, they think more with their heart than their head. That’s not to say they aren’t brilliant, it’s just to say their motivation is more centered around the question, “Does this feel right?” Church leaders can help Millennials by increasing their emotional intelligence and being more thoughtful about how their actions may be perceived and how they may affect the feelings of others rather than just give way to simple facts and plans.

4. Help Me See the Win

Millennials have grown up in a world of instant gratification, access and results. Anybody who has been in ministry for any length of time knows that’s not how it really works. Life just doesn’t work that way. So we’ve got to help celebrate the small wins of life change that happen along the way. Help them celebrate the first downs along the way and help them make the connection between their day-to-day ministry and the vision.

5. Help Me Be True to Myself

Millennials aren’t going to follow someone or be a part of something that feels inauthentic to them. The best gift that church leaders can give Millennials is to exercise real leadership and stop leading through position, title or power and learn to lead with humility and personhood. They won’t simply respect you for your position but instead for who you are and the value you add. In this way Millennials are a gift to challenge many church leaders to lead in a way that they may have forgotten.

6. Help Me Understand “Why”

In recent years Simon Sinek made the phrase “start with why” famous. Millennials don’t just want to know your plan. They don’t want to simply know what you want them to do, they want to know the why behind it. They need to buy into the reason behind the plan of action. Help them buy into the why.

This article originally appeared here.

An Open Letter to Pastors From the Church Media Team – We’re Frustrated

By
Jeremy Goldsborough
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communicating with the unchurched

Dear Pastor, the church media team is frustrated with you.

We understand that you are very busy and that there are other matters that require your attention, but…

The truth is, we feel that you are not giving the church media the attention it deserves.

There are so many amazing opportunities available right now, and you are not taking advantage of them.

We noticed that only two of your daily Facebook posts went up last week. We understand that hospital visits and counseling appointments are necessary, but we really don’t want our Facebook engagement to drop.

It has been three weeks since we set up your Snapchat account, and you still haven’t sent one Snap. We feel that you could be the Snapchat king if you weren’t so rigid with the amount of time you put into your sermon preparation!

The internet needs to hear from you, but you seem to be preoccupied with people and their problems. How are we going to reach the world if we can’t even connect with our Instagram audience?

The welcome video shoot has been rescheduled twice now. We know the second time was due to your kids’ sports schedule, and it might be a good time to reevaluate some of your priorities.

Also, are you aware of all the tech gear that our church could benefit from if the church could make some tweaks to the budget? We saw that the benevolence fund was doubled this year, but our A/V budget was only allotted a meager 20% increase.

Our video camera is almost a year old and needs to be replaced immediately. If we had an 8k RED Weapon cinematic video camera we might be able to finish that feature Christian film we started three years ago or at least take our announcement videos up a couple notches!

Speaking of video, we’re really trying to enhance the viewer experience during the Sunday morning live stream. We’re emailing you a list of wardrobe suggestions that we feel would resonate with our online audience. (Please make special note of the ‘skinny jeans’ section, and refer to Judah Smith’s Facebook page for inspiration.)

To be honest we’re feeling a little undervalued. We often put in long hours and late nights, but on Sunday most of the church rushes out the back door without recognizing us or saying thank you. How would you feel if the only time you were noticed or people wanted to talk to you is when things go wrong?

We’re trying to be patient in most of these areas, but the struggle is real. We feel like we could really move the church forward if we just had a little more cooperation and mutual understanding. Your attention in these matters would be much appreciated!

Sincerely, The Church Media Team

P.S. – We don’t feel like we are paid enough. Think about all of the different hats we have to wear! Sound guy, videographer, graphic designer and on top of that we’re expected to be ‘experts’ in all of these areas. Have you ever worked a job like that? It’s exhausting.

Thank you, Pastors…

for being willing to care about lights, sound, and social media, even though there are a hundred more important things you deal with every week. Thank you for pouring into people and loving them with the heart of Jesus.

Thank you, media teams…

for being patient with your pastors as they navigate the incredible challenges of church ministry. Thanks for taking the tools you’ve been given and leveraging them for the kingdom of God!

This article originally appeared here.

Christian Leaders Respond to Trump’s Budget: We Can’t Turn Our Backs on Those in Need

By
Megan Briggs
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communicating with the unchurched

Over 100 Christian leaders signed a letter addressed to lawmakers in Washington, D.C., concerning the Trump administration’s proposal to cut the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)’s budget by 28 percent. The leaders urged House and Senate representatives to reject the proposal, stating we can’t “turn our back on those in desperate need.”

There are some influential leaders among the signees, including two clergy who participated in Trump’s inauguration ceremony in January—Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Rev. Samuel Rodriguez. Other big names include Michael W. Smith, Southern Baptist Convention leader Ronnie Floyd, World Relief President, Scott Arbeiter, president of InterVarsity, Tom Lin, Denver Seminary President, Mark Young, and the president of Compassion International, Jimmy Mellado.

The letter is addressed to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Paul Ryan, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi; additionally, President Trump, Vice President Pence, and Secretary of State Tillerson are cc’ed.

The following excerpt captures the essence of their argument that continuing to fund foreign assistance is really in the best interest of every American:

America is blessed with fertile land, abundant natural resources, a strong economy, and faithful citizens who value religious freedom. But beyond our borders, many countries experience unparalleled suffering and loss of life due to extreme poverty, disease, natural disasters, and conflict. Today, there are 65 million displaced people, the most since World War II, and 795 million people still go to bed hungry every night.

Matthew 25 tells us when we serve the least of these, we are serving the Lord. As people of faith, we cannot turn our back on those in desperate need. We are grateful for America’s global development and diplomacy programs that have been instrumental in saving lives, safeguarding religious liberties, and keeping America safe and secure. Both Republican and Democratic administrations have strong legacies of supporting humanitarian and development programs that enable countless people to pull themselves out of poverty and live life with dignity. It is through these diplomatic and development tools that we’ve seen countries and communities build peaceful, productive societies that do not turn to violence or terrorism.

At a time when we’re especially security conscious, the International Affairs Budget is crucial to demonstrating our values to the world, building friendships with other nations, and lowering security risks around the world.

The letter also appeals to a practical return on investment, stating that the Internal Affairs Budget only accounts for 1 percent of the national budget, yet has a “drastic” impact on the millions of people who benefit from it. The letter concludes with a reference to Puritan America ideals, stating the goal is to ensure “our country continues to be the ‘shining city upon a hill’” we have worked toward.

This is not the first time evangelical leaders have tried to influence the Trump administration by voicing their concerns over its policies. Several leaders pushed back on Trump’s travel ban in February, and some even stood outside the National Prayer Breakfast to protest.

6 Steps to Planning an Easter Party for Kidmin

By
Tamera Kraft
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communicating with the unchurched

Easter parties are great events to have for children in your ministry. Here some things to consider.

When will you have the party? Easter Sunday after church is not a practical time. But you could have the party during church on Easter. Or you could have the party after church on Palm Sunday. The Saturday before Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday are good times to have it as well.

What type of party will you have? 

Easter Egg Hunts: These are very popular, but they have drawbacks. You need to have church property large enough to hide the eggs to make if fun. If you don’t, look for a park or a parent’s yard where you can hide eggs. Don’t use real eggs. Buy the plastic eggs from the dollar store and stuff them with candy or toys you can buy in bulk. Or you can put tickets in the eggs the children can use to purchase prizes. That way, each child gets prizes. You’ll also want grand prizes you can give away to children who collect the most eggs. Easter baskets work well for this. In some areas of the country, snow and rain are problems at this time of year. If that’s the case, make sure to schedule a rain date.

Easter Carnival: A carnival can work well even indoors. Call your local carnival rental place and see if they’ll donate the games for the carnival. Some places will if the games aren’t being used. Also, if you have a carpenter in your church, consider having him make some games you can use. You can give out tickets, candy or prizes for each game won.

Fun Sunday: If you have the party during or after church on a Sunday, consider having pizza, pop and treats for the children. You could also show an Easter movie in the sanctuary on the “big screen” like in a movie theater. You could have gospel illusions, games, crafts and other activities.

How will you present the message: An Easter party is a prime opportunity to present the message of salvation to children. Think of a gospel illusion, story or object lesson you can use for a short five-minute message.

Get donations: Contact pizza places, bowling alleys, skating rinks and fast food restaurants to see if they’d be willing to donate free gift certificates to their establishments that you can give as door prizes. Most businesses are willing to do this.

Plan ahead: Get the workers you need. Decide how you’ll spread the word. Find people to set up and do follow-up. The sooner you contact a marquee hire company, the better this party will be.

Pray: This is a great opportunity to reach unchurched children. Pray for God to move during this party.

This article originally appeared here.

The Spirit Creates

By
Scott Boren
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communicating with the unchurched

Where the Spirit of the Lord resides, there is freedom. There is no one way to do church. There is no one way to do small groups. Many churches have fallen into the trap of thinking that they have found “the” biblical model of ministry. With this belief, they succumb to pride and judgment of others who do not follow their pattern. Yet, as soon as a church camps out in one place, it will find that the Spirit leaves. The Spirit is like the wind. He is always moving. And many times, in fact most of the time, the creative work of the Spirit arises in unexpected ways at the fringes, not the center.

Church leaders and group leaders cannot succumb to the temptation that they must figure out God’s plan from the center and give that plan to the “worker bees” at the fringes. The winds of the Spirit push people to venture into new and creative paths when people start asking new questions, face new challenges and have the freedom to explore generative options. When the Spirit comes, he comes with his wisdom, the gift of applying truth to unique situations, and there is no way that the designated leaders can come up with all of the right plans. The way the Spirit wants to move depends upon the gifts, strengths and skills that everyone brings to the table. In other words, the way that God wants to move in our groups, in our homes, workplaces and neighborhoods will generate through the prayerful creativity of the people in the group. We don’t need experts to provide magical solutions.

Of course this is risky. Most of us would rather have a clear-cut plan provided by the experts. But the best way for a group to serve one another is to let the group talk about it and come up with ideas. The best way to learn to pray together is for the group to contribute different ways of praying. And the best way to reach our friends is to collaborate about ways to build relationships so that they might see Jesus through the group. The Spirit is alive in the group and the Spirit can give us creative ways to manifest his love.

I remember going to dances as a kid and being embarrassed by my two left feet. I would lean up against the wall with the other non-dancers and look smugly upon the risk-takers on the floor, secretly wishing I could share in the fun. The words we spoke to one another were often critical of those dancing. We did not like the fact that they were enjoying themselves.

When I finally learned to dance, my two left feet did not suddenly change. I was, and still am, an awkward dancing partner. The only way I was able to learn was to admit that I did not know how to dance and get out there and try, following the lead of someone who knew the dance steps. Even more than learning the steps, I had to learn to loosen up, to let my body move with the music, following its rhythms. It isn’t always pretty, but it is a lot more fun than watching others!

Making space for everyone to contribute to the creative work of the Spirit is risky, and it is not always pretty. In fact, creativity is usually messy and unpredictable. It’s a bit like the wind, a common biblical metaphor for the Spirit. However, if we take the risk and learn to offer our ideas to one another, knowing that some ideas are better than others, we might be surprised at the organic, spontaneous life that arises.

This article originally appeared here.

Does God Punish Us With Pain When We Sin?

By
John Piper
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communicating with the unchurched

This is one of the most important questions we’ve gotten in the Ask Pastor John inbox, and it comes to us from a listener named Jesse. “Dear Pastor John, in a recent episode (#948) you note that: ‘God sent his Son into the world to suffer with us and for us. This means that, if we trust him, none of our suffering is punishment for sin. Christ bore all of our punishment for sin.’ But there are very real consequences for our sin in this world, both on ourselves and on others, both for believers and unbelievers alike. For example, financial hardships following selfish overspending, or sexually transmitted disease following promiscuity. How do we see this as discipline and not punishment? And what really is the difference between the two?”

The difference between God’s discipline of his children and God’s judgment on his enemies is an infinite difference. So, I hope I can help Jesse feel the difference, because it is so important for his or her own walk of faith.

So, let me begin by defining the difference with a cup full of biblical passages—just two. And they are massively important. When I speak of God’s judgment upon his enemies, I am referring to the misery that he brings upon them, not for any purifying or restoring or rehabilitating purposes, but solely to express his holy justice, his retribution, not restitution. And it is purely on the basis precisely of what the enemies deserve. It is not to demonstrate mercy. It is to demonstrate righteousness and justice. For example, Revelation 16:5–6, “I heard the angel in charge of the waters say, ‘Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was, for you brought these judgments. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve!’” So, there is the mark of pure retributive justice. It comes upon the sinner solely because of what they deserve, not because of any good that the punishment will do them.

You can see it even more clearly in Revelation 19:1–3, because here the judgments are eternal, not temporary. So, clearly they are not helping at all for a person to become holy. They are punishing him for not being holy. Here is what it says: “After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, ‘Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.’ Once more they cried out, ‘Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.’”

So, this is what I am talking about when I speak of God’s punishment upon sin in contrast to the discipline of God’s children. It is what the guilty deserve. It is holy and just retribution, and it is eternal. Therefore, is not designed for rehabilitation. It displays God’s justice, and it highlights how valuable mercy is to those who receive it.

On the other hand, God describes his discipline for his children very differently and extensively in Hebrews 12:5–11). Notice, this is discipline, not retribution. This is happening to God’s son, whom he loves and means to improve, even though it involves God’s displeasure. You can see that in the word reprove. And it goes on:

“For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. (Hebrews 12:6–10)

There is the great difference: “for our good, that we may share his holiness.” That is different from punishment on God’s enemies. “For the moment all discipline seems painful, rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11).

Continue

Why Do Spiritual Highs Fade

By
James Beevers
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communicating with the unchurched

Why does rededicating your life do so little in the way of rededicating?

Every year at Christian camps, conferences and other events, kids, teens and adults get fired up and often tearfully rededicate their lives, claim victory over pornography, over marital strife or anger, and resolve to give Christ their all. However, within months, weeks, sometimes even days, the resolve weakens and crumbles before the onslaught of the return to everyday life.

This past summer I was a camp counselor to eight boys. Most of them tearfully rededicated their life on a “decision night.” Afterward, I tried to stay in contact with them, asking them how I could pray for them. And I observed how the pattern repeated itself: Some fell back into old sins, others hadn’t read their Bible for a month. But thank God, next summer they will be back at camp and get it right this time…right?

Why do Christian events have a nearly miraculous ability to apparently free us from sin for a week, and more importantly why does it not last?

What Drives the Highs?

First, why does the atmosphere of Christian events seem to enable us to take steps in our spiritual life? What drives the “camp high”?

There can often be many factors that make these environments particularly impactful on us. Sometimes, it’s simply the highly emotional atmosphere of a conference or retreat, the moving music that’s played, the camaraderie and fellowship with fellow attendees, the prospect of being free from the negative effects of our sin.

But you don’t have to be a Christian to love any of these things. At one point in his ministry, Jesus himself rebuked a massive crowd of his own followers because they were “fired up” for reasons that had nothing to do with seeing his beauty or his glory—they just enjoyed seeing Jesus’s miracles (John 6.25–27″ data-version=”esv” data-purpose=”bible-reference”>John 6:25–27).

So, if there is to be any lasting effect from these events and experiences, it must have at the bottom seeing and savoring Jesus Christ—and this is often what camps, conferences and events provide. Anything of true, durable worth from these experiences comes from seeing God clearly as he really is. This can come from sermons, or discussions, or singing in worship, or late night conversations, prayers and devotions.

When we see the light of the glory of Christ most clearly, the things of this world seem dim and worthless by comparison. Why have sin, good as it may look, when we can have Christ?

What Causes the Crash?

A house does not fall if its foundation is firm (Matthew 7:25). A tree does not wither when its roots are deep enough to reach water (Psalm 1:1–3). So, when the house of our spiritual life and our war against sin comes crumbling down or withers, we should ask ourselves, “Why?”

The answer is simple: We are not seeing God. If our sight of God and our worship is dependent on the conference center, or the high-energy sermons, or the packed crowd, or the worship band, our spiritual lives will fall apart again when these things are taken away. The house falls because the foundation is destroyed or, more accurately, because the foundation is weak.

Prepare for War

Jesus warns of those who receive the word of God with gladness, but then fall away because they have no root (Mark 4:16–17)? How do we cultivate joy in Christ at home, away from the training wheels and spiritual crutches of youth camp? The first step is to prepare for war.

Striving to rejoice in the glory of God is an act of rebellion against Satan’s dominion over this world (1 John 5:9). Therefore, we must put off the false security of an emotionally charged decision, made at the last camp or conference, and realize that there is a war being waged over our souls.

As John Owen writes, “Be killing sin or sin will be killing you.” Allowing ourselves to be lulled into idleness and complacency, because of our confidence in a “rededication,” is like stripping ourselves of our armor mid-battle.

Behold Him

There is a far more intimate connection between our understanding and sight of the truth than most of us realize. Satan’s most insidious method for drawing people away from Christ is blinding them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:4).

God himself has given very ordinary ways to provide this grace for us: We sing together (Ephesians 5:19).

Beyond these, there are very practical steps we may take to see more of Jesus. It may mean turning off the television if it clogs our spiritual vision. It may mean taking time to read theology. It may begin with taking time to listen to sermons that further our understanding of the word or taking time to read books that increase our sight of God and taking time to worship and pray and to meditate on the person of Christ.

The bottom line is, do whatever it takes to see Jesus more clearly.

The Effects of Sight

The clearer our vision of a holy God is, the more it drives us to our knees by the sight of our own sin. The clearer our vision of our sin becomes, the deeper is our sight of God’s mercy and grace through Christ. The deeper we understand his mercy and grace, the more we are amazed by the beauty of this God, the Creator of the universe. For “what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” (Psalm 8:4).

And as we are amazed by the beauty of God, the more willing we become to take up our cross and lose everything to be with him (Mark 8:34).

This article originally appeared here.

10 Questions About Future Church Attendance No One Really Knows How to Answer

By
Carey Nieuwhof
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communicating with the unchurched

Talk to any church leader, and they’ll tell you it feels harder than ever to get people to come to church on a Sunday.

Even in growing churches (like ours), the competition for peoples’ time, attention and devotion seems to get more intense every year.

You’ve felt it too.

So what’s up? And where is future church attendance heading?

Well, first, even people who attend church are attending less often (here’s why). Second, we know that non-attenders remain interested in spirituality but less interested in church than ever before.

You’ve also noticed that what used to work in church a decade ago doesn’t anymore.

None of this means it’s all gloom and doom. Not at all.

But for centuries, church attendance on Sundays has been a primary way for Christians to connect, as well as to connect people who want to explore a relationship with Jesus.

So what happens when regular attendance isn’t nearly as much the norm as it used to be?

I’m a firm believer in the future of the church and the gathered church. It’s here to stay not because we always get it right, but because the church is Jesus’ idea, not ours.

While I think there are some good guesses as to what the future church will look like (here are 10 predictions about the future church), we’re at the point where there are almost more questions than answers.

Hence, this post.

As you chart the future, questions can become your best friend.

Why? Because usually the future isn’t pioneered by the clarity of the answers nearly as much as by the quality of the questions.

Ask the right questions, and you’ll eventually get the right answers. Fail to ask the questions, and you’re sunk.

If you’re upset about the current trends, good for you. It means you’re positioning yourself for a breakthrough. Or at least someone is because discontent drives far more innovation than contentment ever has.

History belongs to the innovators.

So, in the name of driving some innovation, here are 10 questions that no one knows the answer to when it come to future attendance.

1. Will Infrequent Church Attendance Become the Universal Default?

If you grew up in church, you were likely raised never to miss a Sunday. Well, those days are pretty much gone. I outline 10 reasons for that in this post.

Frequent church attendance (say three weeks a month) seems to be most prevalent among

  • Volunteers
  • Long time (and older) church attendees
  • Families with very young children
  • Some new attendees and new Christians (at least for a season)
  • Quite honestly, lower income families for whom travel is not an option

As infrequent attendance becomes more normative, it raises a series of other questions.

Continue

Learning From the “Godfather” of Youth Ministry

By
Jeremy Zach
-
communicating with the unchurched

Recently I was on a call with a youth pastor. He was explaining how frustrating it was for him—working in a church when the church politics, tradition and policies get in the way of him doing youth ministry.

Basically, the church is an obstacle to reaching students.

I have been here. And I know most of my readers have experienced the same thing.

What does a youth pastor do when he/she is feeling down and discouraged?

You read and watch the youth ministry Godfather—Mike Yaconelli.

Reading and watching Mike is basically getting an injection of youth ministry steroids into your veins. This particular youth pastor that I was chatting with  had no clue who Mike Yaconelli was.

Mike co-founded Youth Specialties and wrote many books. But these are my favorite:

Dangerous Wonder

Messy Spirituality

Devotion: The Raw Truth Journal on Following Jesus

The Core Realities of Youth Ministry

And my ultimate favorite: Getting Fired for the Glory of God

Some of you may know Mike Yaconelli and others don’t.

If you are in youth ministry you need to be exposed to MIKE YACONELLI.

Mike is the guy who advocated for youth workers from day one.

Youth ministry is really hard and Mike remindes youth pastors why it’s so important to keep loving on today’s youth regardless of the limitations our churches put on us. If you are feeling down, hopeless, fearful or ineffective, you need some Mike.

Here are a few incredible quotes by Mike:

The power of the church is not a parade of flawless people, but of a flawless Christ who embraces our flaws. The church is not made up of whole people, rather of the broken people who find wholeness in a Christ who was broken for us. 

Spirituality isn’t about being finished and perfect; spirituality is about trusting God in our unfinishedness.

Spiritual growth is more than procedure, it’s a wild search for God in the midst of the tangled jungle of our souls, a search which involves a volatile mix of messy reality, wild freedom, frustrating stuckness, increasing slowness and a healthy dose of gratitude.

The church is the place where the incompetent, the unfinished and even the unhealthy are welcome. I believe Jesus agrees.

Jump first. Fear later.

I just want to be remembered as a person who loved God, who served others more than he served himself, who was trying to grow in maturity and stability.

I’m in awe of youth workers, and I think Jesus is, too. I just wish the church felt the same.

Youth group should be an adventure, a cauldron of fire and passion, an uncontainable terrifying presence of the Holy Spirit overflowing into the souls of students resulting in a volatile desire for Jesus regardless of the chaos caused by following Him!

I’m beginning to believe that if those who are called into youth ministry follow the lead of the One who called them, getting fired is inevitable. Why? Because, in general, the institutional church doesn’t get it. The institutional church has become hopelessly corporate, hopelessly tangled in a web of secularism. Instead of the church being the church, it has opted instead to be a corporation.

I want to be “dangerous” to a dull and boring religion. I want a faith that is considered “dangerous” by our predictable and monotonous culture.

Here’s the best youth ministry video of Mike:

Enjoy. Whenever you are feeling exhausted, listen to Mike!

10 Things You Should Know about St. Patrick

By
Michael A G Haykin
-
communicating with the unchurched

This is a guest post by Michael A. G. Haykin, author of Rediscovering the Church Fathers: Who They Were and How They Shaped the Church and Eight Women of Faith. The following article first appeared on Crossway.org; used with permission.

1. Patrick was not Irish.

His background was Romanized British, and he was a part of the upper class who ran Roman-British society before the fall of the western Roman Empire in the fifth century. This means he was from either what is now Wales or England, or even possibly southern Scotland.

2. Patrick left two genuine writings: his Confession and his Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus.

The first is a defense of his mission to Ireland and the latter a deeply emotional response to the brutal killing of some new Christians by a warlord named Coroticus.

3. Patrick’s conversion came as a result of his being taken as a slave to Ireland by Irish raiders.

He had been raised in a Christian home, but tells us in his Confession that he had paid no attention as a youngster to what he had heard in church. He was sixteen when he was taken captive and that would have been around AD 406 or 407.

4. Patrick’s mission to Ireland from around AD 430 to 460 was virtually the only evangelistic mission in fifth-century Western Europe.

It would seem that many Roman Christians felt that the so-called “barbarians” beyond the Roman Empire were not worth evangelizing. People in his home church in Britain actually opposed his mission to Ireland because they felt he was throwing away his life among the godless Irish.

5. Dreams play a prominent role at key turning-points in Patrick’s life, but Scripture was the central factor in the major decisions of his life.

For example, he had a dream confirming his call to be a missionary to Ireland. But it was passages like Matthew 28:19–20, what we now call the Great Commission, that were decisive in his going to Ireland. His mission was centered on the northern half of Ireland and thousands of Irish men and women were converted under Patrick’s preaching.

6. We have no idea if Patrick read any other books than the Bible, for that is the only book he ever quotes.

However, he did cite a creed, which may have been the confession of his home church in Britain. The creed shows the clear influence of the Nicene Creed from AD 381 that confesses the full deity of each of the three persons of the Godhead.

7. Patrick’s love for the written words of the Bible was passed on to the Celtic church, which became the most learned body of churches in Western Europe during the early Middle Ages.

When Patrick came to Ireland he would have found a society that was by and large mostly illiterate, but within two generations, the Celtic church was the most literate body of churches in Western Europe. One of Patrick’s great gifts to the Irish was literacy.

8. At the heart of Patrick’s faith was his love for the doctrine of the Trinity.

This love is found in a number of places in his Confession, and actually was at the heart of his reasons for going to Ireland as a missionary. The Celtic church that he founded was also deeply trinitarian and in this regard is a great model for churches today.

9. Legends about Patrick are legion.

For example, the reason that there are no snakes in Ireland is that Patrick kicked them all out of Ireland. Or that Patrick taught the doctrine of the Trinity by means of the shamrock. Or that he regularly had showdowns with the leaders of Irish paganism, namely the Druids. There is no evidence he did either of the first two, and while he does tell us he was often in danger of losing his life because of opposition, he never mentions the Druids.

10. Patrick’s mission to Ireland has been an inspiration to a number down through the years.

For example, it inspired William Carey in his mission to India. And hopefully can do the same in our day!

Why Great Leadership Starts Here

By
Brandon Cox
-
communicating with the unchurched

When I served as a pastor at Saddleback Church, one of the things that impressed me most about the church was the hiring requirement Pastor Rick Warren laid down:

If you haven’t been through pain, you’re not ready to be on staff at Saddleback Church.

Pastor Rick understood the power of a broken heart.

Andy Stanley understands it, too. When speaking to leaders, he often asks the question, what breaks your heart?

Usually, knowing what breaks your heart is knowing what you should do with your life, and how you should be leading others.

Nehemiah, of the Old Testament, is considered one of the greatest models of successful leadership in history. And his story started with a question: How’s Jerusalem?

When the answer was, not good, Nehemiah’s heart was broken. He records:

When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted and prayed to the God of heaven. (Nehemiah 1:4 NLT)

Nehemiah’s burden drove him to lead the nation of Israel into a successful rebuilding campaign.

My wife, Angie, and I talk about this often. Her heart breaks for those in our community suffering with emotional and relational brokenness, so she started a counseling practice in Northwest Arkansas. My heart breaks over the spiritually lost around us, so I’m giving my life to leading Grace Hills Church.

Great leadership doesn’t start with a great education, although that is incredibly valuable. And it certainly doesn’t start with a particular position within an organization.

Great leadership often starts with a broken heart.

Drive, determination and competitiveness are valuable. Talent and charisma are great assets for leaders to possess. And no one could overestimate the vital role that relationships play in a leader’s path to success.

But none of those things are as powerful as a heart, broken over the condition of something and burdened to fix it and make it better.

So how do you have your heart broken?

  • Make an honest evaluation of what you see around you.
  • Listen to the truth-tellers who bear bad news.
  • Embrace reality rather than an idealistic version of the world.

We used to sing this song about the Holy Spirit and the lyrics would say,

Break me.
Melt me.
Mold me.
Fill me.

That’s an excellent plan, especially for the Christian leader—the church leader, in particular.

This past Sunday, I helped fill communion cups. And as I did, I found myself peering into each one and thinking about the person who would later pick it up and drink from it as an act of worship.

I realized that many would be celebrating communion with a sense of joy, a sense of purpose and belonging. But others would be crying out for hope and healing. They would be taking communion as a declaration of their utter dependence on the goodness of God and the saving power of Jesus.

My heart broke for those whom I knew were struggling with recent job losses, marital conflict and emotional issues. So I prayed. And then I preached my heart out and invited people to come and take communion. And we solemnly worshipped together, some with rejoicing, and others with broken hearts.

And my prayer on this Monday is that those whose hearts are shattered by the condition of what they see around them will sense the courage to rise up and lead their tribes and their generation to action.

What is it that breaks your heart? What burden drives you to lead?

By the way, if you’re a leader, a pastor, a church planter, I offer leadership coaching!

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