Newsletters
Home Blog Page 848

On Becoming Conservative Liberals

By
Scott Sauls
-
communicating with the unchurched

I love being a pastor for many reasons and one of those is because of tolerance in our community.

In more ways than I am able to count, our community at Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville is a wonderful representation of God’s kingdom—a sweet manifestation of the aroma of Jesus. In a world of outrage, judgment, fear, posturing, and caricature, I especially appreciate how our community embodies love across lines of difference.

This excerpt from our Vision Statement tells the story best:

We will celebrate our diversity—opening our lives and hearts and homes to sinners and saints, doubters and believers, seekers and skeptics, prodigals and Pharisees, Presbyterians and non-Presbyterians, young and old, married and unmarried, leaders and followers, famous and infamous, our own races and other races, happy and depressed, helpers and those who need help, creative and corporate, conservative and liberal, American and international, affluent and bankrupt, public and private and home schooled—and all others who enter our doors. We will aspire to expand our “us” by carefully listening to, learning from, and being shaped by one another’s unique experiences and perspectives.

I guess you could say that we are advocates, as much as we are able, for the properly-defined gospel virtues of diversity and tolerance.

My former colleague and mentor, Tim Keller, says that tolerance does not require us to abandon our convictions. True tolerance, he says, is revealed by how our convictions lead us to treat people who disagree with us.

Tolerance that “tolerates” only people who think, believe, vote, earn income, and live like us is not tolerance at all. It is covert prejudice at best, and thinly veiled contempt at worst. It is scorn covered with a mask of insincere niceness.

For our Christian witness to be taken seriously in the West’s increasingly pluralistic and secular environment, Christians must learn the art of:

  • Remaining true to our beliefs and convictions;
  • Genuinely loving, listening to, and serving those who do not share our beliefs and convictions; and
  • Consistently doing both at the same time.

If we do not value this combination, then instead of being a light to the culture, we risk becoming products of it.

If we cling doggedly to our convictions but fail to love, listen to, and serve those who do not share them, we become products of a moralistic Pharisee culture, which is not gospel culture.

If we do the opposite, we become products of a capitulating Sadducee culture, which is also not gospel culture.

Truth without grace is unwelcoming and shaming. Grace without truth is cowardly and enabling. Only when we combine grace and truth do we rightly embody the gospel.

Effective Christian witness—especially when the prevailing tone in virtually all public discourse is outrage, not civility—requires Christians to adopt an irenic tone that is counterculture.

For example, there are plenty of places in Scripture where God’s people move toward and even cooperate and partner with people who do note share their beliefs:

  • The Israelite spies came alongside Rahab, a working prostitute, to advance the work of God’s kingdom.
  • Joseph served alongside Pharaoh, Nehemiah alongside Artaxerxes, and Daniel alongside Nebuchadnezzar.
  • Jesus, a Jewish male, received a drink from a promiscuous Samaritan woman.
  • Paul, a Messianic Jew, affirmed secular poets and philosophers as he quoted their works from memory to Athenian intellectuals.
  • All these were devoted, noncompromising people of faith living in deeply secular, pluralistic environments, who prioritized both grace and truth.

Should We Keep ‘Baptist’ in the Church Name?

By
Brandon Park
-
communicating with the unchurched

I have the privilege of serving a wonderful church that has been in the suburban Kansas City area for 175 years called First Baptist Raytown. My family has been here for nearly five years now and it’s been exciting to watch God work. This year was a pivotal moment for us as we became one church in two locations. We have merged with another church, in nearby Lee’s Summit, Missouri, which will become our first satellite campus. So this exciting venture leaves us with a very real dilemma? What do we do about our church name?

The Issues with Our Church Name

We can’t be First Baptist Raytown in Lee’s Summit. And we’ve been advised countless times not to use two different names for our two locations as it 1) doesn’t unify us as one church, and 2) it creates confusion among those we’re trying to reach. (You would never find a business calling itself one name in one location and a completely different name in another location. That’s what you call a marketing disaster!)

If your church ever navigates through a similar process, you may have to wrestle with this dilemma. Do we keep our denominational affiliation in our church name? In our case, would we keep “Baptist” in our church’s new name? I believe the short answer is: It depends. It depends mainly on that church’s target audience of who they are trying to reach.
Now I’ve personally been on both sides of this debate. You can probably find old sermons I preached a decade ago about how churches that are removing “Baptist” from their name are trying too hard to become “seeker-friendly,” “emergent,” and were diluting their message. But over the years, my opinion has shifted on this issue.

Here are 10 reasons why I believe it’s beneficial, at least in our situation, to not have “Baptist” in our new church name.

1. Our mission is to reach the 85% in the Kansas City metropolitan area who do not go to church.

As far as we can tell, 85% of our community is lost. Because of this, the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention has deemed Kansas City as a “Send City.” More dollars and resources for church planting and evangelism are being allocated here and other key cities in the United States more than any other region. So for me, the answer to any church’s question of “Should we keep our denomination in our church name?” is simple. It depends on your demographics. If you are in a region of the deep South where the majority of the population attends some church, then having a denominational name might actually help you to grow!  There are a lot of church people looking for a church like the one they grew up in. Yet if your predominate mission field is comprised of the unchurched – like Kansas City’s 85% – then your denominational name can actually be problematic. Denominational names were a positive back when the church was speaking to Christians who were looking for a church. But when we are talking about reaching those in a post-Christian era, it can either be a neutral thing at best or it can be a very big barrier at worse.

According to a recent survey, churches with a denominational reference in their name (vs. none) are:

  • Three times more likely to be perceived as “formal.”
  • Three times more likely to be perceived as “old-fashioned.”
  • Almost three times more likely to be perceived as “structured and rigid.”
  • The same study showed that the unchurched believe that a church with a denomination in their name would be less welcoming to visitors.

Thom Rainer, President of LifeWay Resources for the Southern Baptist Convention, recently conducted a survey to ask people “What comes to your mind when you hear the word “Baptist”? The top responses are as follows:

  1. Legalism
  2. Potluck
  3. Immersion
  4. John the Baptist
  5. Traditional
  6. Bible
  7. Outdated
  8. Southern
  9. Boring
  10. Conservative
  11. Sound theologically
  12. Fundamentalism
  13. Hymns
  14. Suits and ties
  15. Missions

Here are some responses that just missed the top 15: fighting, inerrancy, business meetings, men only, eternal security, Sunday school, Republican, religious liberty, pre-millennial, choirs, no alcohol, no dancing, and altar calls. Not all of those things are bad, but taken together collectively, it’s a perception that we don’t want to project.

So we have to determine our target audience. If we determine that our mission is to reach more Baptists, then we need to keep Baptist in the church name. If our mission is the reach the 85%, then we need to rethink whether or not we should have “Baptist” in the church name.

2. Many folks are unlikely to visit a Baptist church if they did not “grow up Baptist.”

I’ve had this conversation play out many times when I’m inviting people to visit our church. Their response oftentimes is, “Well, I didn’t grow up Baptist.” I’m thinking, “Who cares what denomination you grew up? This is an incredible church you need to come visit, regardless of your upbringing.”  Yet some folks shy away from a church that is different than the denomination they grew up in, but studies show that the same person will visit a church that is denominationally non-descript.

3. An unchurched person’s “bad experience” in one Baptist church causes them to stereotype all other Baptist churches as the same.

One bad experience in one restaurant will likely cause you to avoid that chain of restaurants for the rest of your life.

5 Ways You Will Be a Different Person After the Pandemic

By
Thom Rainer
-
communicating with the unchurched

In a recent article, I wrote that churches will never be the same after the pandemic. An important corollary to that thesis is that pastors will never be the same. Though the biblical standards of pastoral ministry remain constant, how pastors carry out that ministry will change dramatically. In many ways, the changes are already taking place.

  1. Pastors will either thrive with an attitude of abundance or retreat with an attitude of scarcity. Some pastors are already adapting incredibly well during the pandemic. They are functioning more with an attitude of God’s abundant provisions than one of scarcity. These pastors are becoming amazingly creative and positive about the future. Unfortunately, others can’t wait to return to a church world that no longer exists. Those leaders will not do well. Some are looking to denominations and donors to rescue their churches even though they have all the resources they need right now.
  1. More pastors will see the building as a means, not an end. I spoke with a pastor who shared his amazement at how well his church is doing without a physical facility during the pandemic. For sure, he will be glad to be able to return to the building. But his views on church facilities have changed dramatically. If you want to see how churches have defined themselves by buildings, go to the “About” section on a church website. A number of churches narrate their successes in ministry by the different buildings the church has constructed. That world is changing.
  1. More pastors will see the digital world as an opportunity for the gospel rather than an evil to be cursed. Nope, I am not seeing many rants about the evils of the internet as a plethora of pastors are using Facebook live for digital services. What a difference a pandemic makes! Sure, the digital world has evil in it. The whole world has evil in it. Some pastors right now are re-thinking how their churches can engage the digital world. Others are just waiting for the pandemic to pass where they can do ministry as usual. Those leaders will not do well.
  1. More pastors are re-discovering and re-engaging their communities. For too long, some church leaders have devised strategies to get guests to “come to church.” The pandemic has forced them to see that the church building is only a gathering point, not an ultimate destination. These leaders are leading their churches right now to find ways to be a positive ministry and influence in the community. So, the church is going to the community rather than pushing the community to go to the church. 
  1. A number of pastors are looking at metrics differently. For example, what are the implications when a church of 125 in attendance has a digital service with 500 views? Who are those people? How many of them are local? How can we connect with them? How can we serve them? Most church metrics are focused on how many people show up in a facility or give funds to the organization. The pandemic has opened the eyes of pastors to countless new possibilities. 

The pandemic is changing the way we do church. The pandemic is changing the way pastors will shepherd and lead in the future.

Look at God’s possibilities rather than the artificial limitations imposed by COVID-19.

This article originally appeared here.

Worries? Nothing Is Certain Anymore—Nothing, That Is, But God’s Love

By
J.D. Greear
-
communicating with the unchurched

It goes without saying that this season has brought on for many of us a new set of worries:

How long will we be dealing with COVID-19? How long will these government restrictions last? What’s going to happen if I or someone I know gets sick? Will my parents be OK? How long am I going to be out of work? Will life ever return to “normal” again?

David Platt says Proverbs 12:25 depicts worry like extra weight you have to carry around: “Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down” (ESV).

Imagine you’re going through life with a backpack on, and into it goes everything you’re worried about. When you’re getting ready for college, you wonder if you’re going to get in the right school. *Boom, added weight.*

You worry you are stuck in a job you can’t stand. *Boom, added weight.*

You’re afraid you can’t avoid divorce, like your parents. *Boom, added weight.*

You wonder if you’re going to have enough money to retire. *Boom, added weight.*

And kids, of course, bring a whole new set of worries: whether or not they’ll do well in school if they hang out with the wrong crowd or date the wrong person. What if they need braces? Are you going to have enough money for that? If not, does that mean they’ll have crooked teeth for the rest of their lives? Maybe your kids will be jobless because of their messed-up teeth. Then they’ll live with you for the rest of your life.

*SO MANY added worries*

Each of those worries adds an additional weight to that pack you’re carrying around—some of them are 5-pound weights, others feel more like 100-pounders.

You already had this weighty backpack on. And then, on top of all that, comes a pandemic. You didn’t feel like you had any room in the pack. It was already too much. But now you have the added weight of uncertainty, loss, fear, and death.

But there’s more to Proverbs 12:25: “Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.”

The news doesn’t have a good word today. Your pastor may even be in short supply. But we can always find a good word from God in his Word.

You may not be strong enough to carry all your burdens, but Jesus is. Cast them onto him in prayer because he cares for you. He’s made many promises in the Bible about just how much he cares for you:

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28 CSB). God knew the world would weigh us down, and he made a way for relief through Jesus.

Peter, who knew Jesus well, tells us: “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7 NIV).

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, or lack compassion for the child of her womb? Even if these forget, yet I will not forget you. Look, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands” (Isaiah 49:15–16 CSB). God cares for you and thinks about you more than a new mother thinks about her baby.

“How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!” (Psalm 139:17–18 NLT). How much does God think about you? His thoughts about you number more than the grains of sand of the seashore, which is, for the record, 7,500,000,000,000,000,000. That’s pronounced “7.5 quintillions.” (Or, as my kids would say it, “7.5. bajillion.”)

I don’t know how to think about numbers that big. And yet, that is the number God chose to communicate how often he thinks about you.

And, what’s more, David said in Psalm 139, “Even when I made my bed in hell, you came after me.”

We are living in times when nearly everything we thought was certain is suddenly uncertain. But in the midst of that uncertainty, one thing remains: If you turn to God, you never have to wonder what he thinks of you or if he’s going to help you with your worries, big or small.

He loved you so much that even when you had wandered from him, rejected him, scorned him, and insulted him, he gave his life for you (Romans 5:8). Jesus rescued you when you were his enemy and solved your biggest problem, and, now that you are his child, he will not abandon you to take care of the rest on your own.

That’s how much he cares!

This article originally appeared here.

5 Keys to Unlocking Small Group Ministry Impact

By
Mark Howell
-
communicating with the unchurched

Having trouble figuring out how to unlock small group ministry impact? Maybe you’re just beginning to think about prioritizing small group ministry. Maybe you tried once and couldn’t get it off the ground. Or maybe you’ve tried multiple times to launch small group ministry and just can’t figure out how to make it work.

No matter what your experience has been, there are at least 5 very important keys to unlocking small group ministry impact.

1. Increase ministry acceptance by leveraging the influence of your senior pastor. Face it. Ministry impact almost never develops momentum without the endorsement of your senior pastor. Further, in most churches only those ministries championed by the senior pastor will attain enduring significance.

2. Decrease competition by streamlining the belong and become menu. This is an essential ingredient. Until you’ve narrowed the focus and streamlined your menu, you shouldn’t be surprised when your people can’t figure out their next step. It has been demonstrated conclusively that the more choices on the menu, the fewer purchases or selections are made.

3. Increase awareness by increasing the frequency of promotion. Keep in mind that unconnected people are often infrequent attenders. If you’re only occasionally talking about the importance of being connected in a small group, you shouldn’t be surprised if more than 50% of your unconnected adults never really understand the importance of a small group or know about the next connecting opportunity.

4. Decrease hesitation by eliminating inhibitors. An inhibitor is anything that causes alarm bells to go off inside the heads of unconnected adults. Lifetime commitments (anything longer than 6 weeks), topics that appeal only to seasoned Christians, and fears about the kind of people who will be in the group are just three of a number of damaging inhibitors. If you want to make it easy for unconnected people to say yes to a small group, you must eliminate inhibitors.

5. Increase response by creating great first steps out of the auditorium. Another very important key, many unconnected people stretched far out of the their comfort zone just to step into your auditorium. Some drove by your location for several years before they got up the nerve to attend one of your services. Others actually made it to your parking lot more than once before they ever got out of their cars. If you want to connect these people, creating great first steps out of your auditorium is essential.  

Introducing a Pandemic-Proof Way to Share the Gospel

By
Greg Stier
-
communicating with the unchurched

Introducing our newly updated, highly anticipated Life in 6 Words app! Through this app, not only can you share the Gospel face-to-face (from 6 feet away:)), but you can also share it using the app’s “audio story” functionality from the safety of your own home!

After all, you can’t quarantine the Gospel!

Finally, there’s a way to still have social distancing and engage in Gospel witnessing!

IMG_1269

And, as a bonus, it’s really cool looking, easy to use and super effective!

After you download the app, push “Start a Conversation” and choose the “Send audio story” button. Then record your own voice on each slide of the app, There are cues embedded in the app to help you articulate your story and the Gospel story in a clear and compelling way.

The app then gives you the opportunity to send your friend, family member, co-worker, classmate or neighbor a text, e-mail or DM that invites them to check out the six words that changed your life. Your message includes a link that takes them to an introduction slide (with your voice narrating) and then through six G.O.S.P.E.L. slides that unpack the full story of the Good News of Jesus. Again, it’s your voice explaining each slide and helping them to understand the Gospel.

 

Life in 6 Words App from Clear Design Group on Vimeo.

The newly updated version of the Life in 6 Words app went live on Saturday, and I used it to engage two people in Gospel conversations. I was surprised that, within seconds, I got a text response from Kaitlyn. Although she had only listened to 13 percent of the audio story (you can tell from the app when they open it up and how much they listened to), we immediately began a texting conversation that allowed me to unpack the Gospel.

IMG_1244

Tristan listened to 87 percent of the audio story and sent me a long text in reply. He loved the way I explained the Gospel on the app and we have a conference call set up for tonight to talk through the message of Jesus.

We are living in unprecedented times and this is an unprecedented tool to rise up with a Gospel solution!

If you are a parent, why not have your tweens and teens use it to start a Gospel conversation with their friends? If you’re a youth leader, challenge your youth group on your next Zoom call to download and use it. Pastors, encourage your entire congregation to download and use this one-of-a-kind app.

In addition to the audio story functionality, you can put the names of your unreached friends in a “Cause Circle” that will send you push notifications to remind you to pray for, care for and share the Gospel with them those whom they want to reach with the hope of Christ.

CauseCircleUse this pandemic-proof way to share the message of Jesus. Encourage other believers you know to share the the Gospel as well using this unique and powerful app.

When it comes to using different methods of sharing the Gospel I’m reminded of the old story of DL Moody, the great 19th Century evangelist. Someone told him once that they didn’t like his method of sharing the Gospel. He asked them what their method was. They said that they didn’t really ever share the Gospel. He said, “Well then, I like my method of sharing the Gospel better than your method of not sharing it.”

Whether you choose the Life in 6 Words app to share Jesus with others or some other method, make sure you are doing something to communicate this life-transforming, hope-giving, destiny-changing message to those you know.

People are more open now to the Good News of Jesus than any time I can remember in recent history. The very foundations of what many have put their hope in (wealth, health, job, safety, etc) have been shaken beneath them. The Life in 6 Words app will help point them to a sure and firm foundation which will never crack, crumble crash…Jesus!

This article originally appeared here.

No Pews, No Problem: Churches Serve Communities This Easter

By
Stephanie Martin
-
communicating with the unchurched

Although the coronavirus kept most pews empty this Easter 2020, it didn’t prevent churches from reaching out in innovative ways to meet people’s needs and offer support. Throughout America, congregations distributed food, treats, masks, gas—and lots of holiday joy.

Easter 2020: “Giving is a form of worship”

In Jonesboro, Arkansas, staff and members of Kingdom Nation Ministries gathered at a service station to buy gas, wash car windows, and provide face masks and Bibles for people in need. The area also has been hit by tornadoes recently, and Pastor Carlos Turner says the church wanted “to show the city that we love them and that we want to invest back into them.”

Worship has always been a priority on Easter, but the format merely changed this year, the pastor points out. “We’re not able to come together as far as worship in the building, but we’re able to worship in a different way by giving to the community,” Turner says. “What better way to worship than to give. The Bible says, ‘For God so loved the world that he gave,’ so giving is a form of worship.”

Impact Church in Waterloo, Iowa, also bought gas for drivers on Easter—blessing the occupants of more than 140 cars. Though the pandemic has forced the church to temporarily suspend its free monthly community meal, “God still shows up through his people,” says member Gail Greer.

With the coronavirus causing unemployment to spike, food insecurity is a major concern in many communities. Harvest Ministries Outreach Center in Wadesboro, North Carolina, distributed free groceries to hundreds of families on Easter 2020. Cars began lining up three hours before the event was scheduled to kick off. Staff members wearing gloves and masks handed out nonperishable goods, toys, and Easter baskets. “This is a difficult time,” says Pastor Steve Adams, “so we just thought, ‘Let’s put our heads together and see what we can do.’”

Churches Spread Joy Throughout Communities

In Beaumont, Texas, the pandemic meant that Harvest for Lost Souls Church had to creatively adapt its annual “Serve 24” campaign. Every Good Friday, church members perform 24 good deeds in 24 hours. This year’s event included delivering baskets to sheriff’s deputies and setting up a prayer-request wall for community members.

Medical workers in West Palm Beach, Florida, benefited from the generosity of members at Christ Fellowship Church. Congregants brought cinnamon rolls, offered prayer, and delivered hundreds of bags of Easter treats to personnel at several local hospitals.

Two pastors in Pekin, Illinois, hopped to the challenge of bringing smiles to young congregants on Easter Sunday. City Church’s annual 5,000-egg hunt was canceled because of the coronavirus, so Pastor Shane Hawkins and Children’s Pastor Nate Springer donned bunny costumes and delivered treats to 72 homes. On social media, Springer shared photos and praised Hawkins, writing, “Many Pastors would send their kids pastor out dressed as a bunny to hand out Easter baskets. Not many pastors would insist on going with you and dressing as a bunny themselves.”

WATCH: Christians Reimagine the Easter Choir

By
Jessica Mouser
-
communicating with the unchurched

Christians across the U.S. have been sheltering in place during the weeks leading up to Easter, but that has not stopped congregations from celebrating, even from a distance, what Christ has done for them. In lieu of the choral performances that would be a feature of many Easter services in a more normal time, several churches and groups have re-imagined the Easter choir by forming virtual ones.

Church Guide to Coronavirus 1

In the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area, 30 churches collaborated to virtually sing “The Blessing” by Kari Jobe, Cody Carnes, and Elevation Worship. “There are so many people who have lost jobs and small businesses that are suffering,”  said Alan Hannah, the assistant lead pastor at Allegheny Center Alliance Church. “As church leaders and as churches…we pray this blessing over the city. We truly believe God is going to bring us together and He’s going to get us through it.”

It took about two weeks to complete the video, but the result is powerful. The song proclaims God’s love and favor upon his people, opening with the blessing from Numbers 6:24-26, which says,

The Lord bless you
And keep you
Make His face shine upon you
And be gracious to you
The Lord turn His
Face toward you
And give you peace

Only a few weeks ago, singers in Nashville recorded a virtual rendition of “It Is Well with My Soul” in order to provide hope to people. Here is how other groups have followed suit by re-envisioning the Easter choir to encourage others during this difficult time.

Re-Imagining the Easter Choir for 2020

The Episcopal Church Virtual Choir and Orchestra put together quite a production with its rendition of “The Strife is O’er, the battle done.” The church provided vocal and instrumental parts online, as well as advice for the participants regarding how to record themselves. There were over 800 submissions to the project from people all over the world, and the result is stunning.

The triumphant hymn was very fitting for Easter, as the third verse reads:

The three sad days are quickly sped;
he rises glorious from the dead.
All glory to our risen Head.
Alleluia!

Craig Groeschel’s Life.Church posted a video of the church’s pastors and singers performing a virtual rendition of “Amazing Grace.” Said the church, “While we may not be able to gather together in person for Easter, that won’t stop us from worshiping together from wherever we are.”

Over 300 people around the world with the United Methodist Church performed “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today”—including at least one person who performed in sign language. 

This virtual choir’s beautiful rendition of “In Christ Alone” was actually posted in 2018, but it is even more timely now than it was then. The video was produced by David Wesley, who has a YouTube channel featuring a cappella versions of different types of worship music. 

According to CBN News, Wesley is a registered nurse currently working in the ICU to help with the coronavirus pandemic. He said he chose “In Christ Alone” in part because “It’s a deeply meaningful song, presenting the gospel in a nutshell.” 

Alan Hannah believes these virtual performances are powerful because of how they portray unity and speak about faith. He said, “(God) hasn’t abandoned us. He can bring hope, He can bring joy through the most uncertain of times.”

Suddenly, Everybody Has Time for a Small Group

By
Allen White
-
communicating with the unchurched

Unless they offer an essential service, suddenly everybody has time for a small group. The #1 excuse people give for not joining a group is that they are too busy or they don’t have enough time for a small group. Small Group Pastors know what they are really saying is, “Small group is just not a priority.” I get that. But, now the “I don’t have time” excuse has been erased, and small groups should become a greater priority — even if they can’t meet in person.

Why do you need to start new groups during a pandemic?

Whether by choice or by mandate, people are staying away from other people right now. Church services have gone online. School has gone online in many places. While people are making their best attempts to curtail the spread of a disease, isolation and loneliness coupled with a steady intake of cable news and social media is a breeding ground for fear. Isolation and fear come straight from a page in the enemy’s playbook. The devil is having a heyday with this.

People have spiritual and emotional needs. With all of the conflicting information and no one to discuss this with, the monsters in our people’s heads just become bigger and bigger. Last week I wrote about practicing the “one anothers” of the Bible while in quarantine. People need more than worship and a sermon to reassure them and help them deal with what’s going on. Beyond that some people have practical, physical needs. How is your church keeping up with older people or people with medical conditions. We must find a strategic way to care for our members. Here’s a tough thought — your people can find a better online service. How you help them right now will determine where they go and where they give after this is all over. This is fertile ground for the enemy to do his work. This is a tremendous opportunity for the church to do its work.

As a church staff, you are working hard to transition worship and sermons to online services, but what about the social time people spent in the lobby or even in the parking lot. How are you meeting your members’ need for connection? This is the time to launch new groups. Groups could meet on a video platform. Groups could meet on a free conference call line. While many are forced to be apart, there are ways to be together.

How to Start New Groups in a Time When Everyone Has Time for a Small Group

Starting new groups online is not so different than starting groups offline, except you have one advantage. People need connection more than ever. Now is the time to get all hands on deck and start as many groups as possible. Churches must mobilize the most people they can for ministry right now. Your people need personal care like never before. You can do this. Here’s what you need to get started:

A willing, caring person to initiate.

If there was ever a time to bypass bulky requirements for group leaders and get all hands on deck, the time is now. Invite every person who will willing and caring to start a group right now. If you are insecure about that method, then review a copy of your church’s membership roster. Who would you feel good about? Call them and invite them right now. Who is willing and caring? Remember, they suddenly have time for a group.

A system to connect.

Once you have invited people to lead these groups, then ask them who they know who would be interested in a group. Take a week and have them invite everyone they know inside the church or outside the church to join their group. Then, invite the rest of your congregation to sign up online or even give out some names for leaders to call and invite to their group. The idea is that everyone in the congregation would have someone to connect with personally every week.

A platform to meet on.

Some localities are still allowing meetings of groups less than 10 people. If people are comfortable meeting in person, then they can. Personally, I would recommend an online option like a teleconference or a conference call. This will prohibit any unnecessary contact and potential spread of disease. Teleconference services such as Zoom, Google Hangouts, and other services offer a stable platform and an easy way to connect online with video. Most services offer a call-in number for those who might be less tech savvy. For a comparison of video platforms, click here. If video is not a good solution because of the internet service in your area, then a free conference line could work as well. Several services are available.

For families with children, encourage them to meet later in the evening when their kids have gone to bed. Wear headphones to eliminate background noise. Mute yourself when you’re not talking. And, do not take your device into the bathroom with you!

Curriculum to guide.

Your groups could start with just a weekly check in to see how everybody is doing. Start the meetings by allowing people to debrief what’s going on in their lives and in their minds. Another great way to start a new group is to ask people to tell their stories or at least the part of the stories that they’re willing to tell. This is an important way for the group to begin to understand each other and have context for what they share in the group.

For new leaders I have discovered that it’s best to use some sort of video-based curriculum that contains the teaching on the video. This makes things safe for both the new leader as well as the pastors. The new leader doesn’t have to be the Bible expert, and the pastors don’t want the new leader to teach or be the Bible expert anyway. By giving them a curriculum that you’ve created or a curriculum that you trust, you could assure that the group will follow the topic that you’ve given them and have a great meeting to encourage each other, build up their faith, and grow spiritually in an unusual time.

Just-in-time training and coaching. Don’t skip this step!

There won’t be a lot of time to train these leaders at first. I have discovered that if you recruit an established leader to follow up with new leaders, you create a win-win situation. The new leaders get help and support right when they need it, and the experience leader gets a trial run at being a coach. Once the trial is over, you can determine whether the new leaders will want to continue and whether the coaches should continue.

Just like groups can meet over a teleconference or conference call, training can also happen in the same way. In the last church I served we had an immediate need for coaches. I knew it would be difficult to add another meeting to an already busy schedule which included all of the coaches leading their own small group, so we met together on a conference line at about 8:30 at night for 30 minutes and did this for about six weeks in a row. Why did we meet so late? Well everybody was home from work, finished with dinner, and their kids were hopefully in bed. With all of these distractions removed, I was able to conduct the training and get these new coaches started. The same can be true for leader training, but I would recommend letting the coaches do the work for at least the first six weeks, then offer more formal training when the leaders are ready to move forward and when the leaders feel like they actually need the training.

Follow up and feedback.

Leading a small group and coaching is important work so you must inspect what you expect. If you’ve asked your coaches to call the new leaders every week, then you need to call the coaches every week and hear what’s going on with the groups. As a pastor, you want to know what’s going on with your people especially during a crisis. Your coaches can give you the needs that you need to address that maybe they cannot. You also get an accurate picture of what’s going on in your small group ministry. If you wait for a report, you are already in the weeds.

Do for your coaches what you expect them to do for your leaders. Just like your people need the care of a leader and your leaders need the care of a coach, your coaches need care from you. Now that your schedule has changed, it shouldn’t be too hard to pick up the phone and give each of your coaches a call.

Supervision and accountability.

While you have successfully given away the ministry to new leaders and new coaches, the only thing that you cannot give away is the responsibility for the ministry. The buck still stops with you. I don’t say this to make you nervous, but I do say this so you will avoid an entirely hands off approach. The coaching structure is effective, but it cannot run on auto pilot. While you are not in the day-to-day care of leaders, you cannot be completely out of it either. This is still your baby.

The End Result

In this climate, everything you do is essentially a startup. You cannot call a meeting and gather people on campus. You cannot do on-site training. You can’t even visit your people in their homes. But you can start online groups that will accomplish all of this. This may go against your personality. This may go against everything that you’ve done before. But the message is the same — We are better together even if we are apart.

By starting new small groups right now, your people will feel less lonely, less isolated, and less fearful. These groups can help your people build their faith and experience the care that they deserve. And the hard truth is that you cannot create that with an email.

My hope for you is that the end result of starting online groups will be at the beginning of something new for your ministry and your church. Pastors and staff cannot possibly meet all of the needs of any congregation. And they shouldn’t. Now more than ever, you need to get your people to engage their gifts and serve others in groups like never before. Don’t waste this moment. Suddenly, everybody has time for a small group!

This article about everyone has time for a small group originally appeared here.

How God Uses Isolation to Advance His Kingdom

By
Os Hillman
-
communicating with the unchurched

Several years ago I wrote a book entitled Change Agent: Engaging your passion to be the one who makes a difference. During the writing of that book I discovered 6 unique stages God took his leaders through to become His change agents. One of the 6 stages I discovered was a Time of Isolation.

It seems God often set aside a leader away from his normal life for a greater purpose. For some it was jail time like the apostle Paul. Paul wrote many of his epistles when he was imprisoned. This would be said of Jeremiah, Isaiah and many others. And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me, and made Me a polished shaft; in His quiver He has hidden Me” (Isa 49:2).

The apostle John was put on the Island of Patmos where he received the vision of Revelation. He did not die on this island, but God used his time of isolation on Patmos to download an important part of the Bible for God’s people.

John Bunyan was imprisoned twelve years for preaching the Gospel. What came from his time in prison was one of Christianity’s greatest classics – Pilgrim’s Progress.

Sir Isaac Newton’s Greatest Discoveries Came in a 2-Year Time of Isolation

On Christmas Eve in 1664, a London resident named Goodwoman Phillips was found dead in the run-down district of St. Giles-in-the-Fields. Telltale “buboes” on her corpse left no doubt about the cause of death. Her house was sealed and the words “Lord Have Mercy On Us” were painted on the door in red: Phillips had died of bubonic plague.

Only a few other deaths from plague were reported over the next few months. But by April, the numbers had begun to climb markedly. When summer arrived, death was everywhere. Records from mid-July showed 2,010 deaths, spread among every parish in London. The death toll a week later had jumped to 7,496. Over a period of 18 months, the Great Plague of London, as the epidemic came to be called, would claim more than 100,000 lives – roughly a quarter of the city’s population.

Then as now, social distancing was an important response to the deadly outbreak. Urban residents who could afford to do so fled to the countryside. Among the institutions that closed for the duration was Cambridge University, and among the students who headed home for what today we would call self-quarantining was a 23-year-old mathematics student by the name of Isaac Newton.

For the next year and a half, Newton remained at his family’s farm in Lincolnshire, reading, studying, and thinking alone. While the bubonic plague raged elsewhere, Newton embarked on what he would later describe as the most intellectually productive period of his life.

One subject that had always interested Newton was light and color. Two years earlier, visiting the annual Sturbridge Fair near the university, he had purchased a small glass prism. He had been fascinated by the way the prism seemed to change white light into a spectrum of rainbow-like colors. No one understood where those colors came from; one theory was that the glass somehow added color to otherwise colorless light.

This wasn’t the only discovery Newton made during his time of isolation. Newton’s laws laid the foundation for classical mechanics, and upon it, generations of physicists would build towering edifices. The mathematics required to derive these laws – which involve multiple variables with continuously changing quantities – did not exist in Newton’s day. So he invented an entirely new mathematical discipline. Without calculus, modern mathematics, engineering, and statistics would be impossible.[1]

God often used isolation to prepare his leaders for a greater assignment. Joseph was sold into slavery and later accused of a crime he did not do which landed him in prison. God used over 13 years of preparation for what would be an 81-year assignment as second in command of Egypt.

Nelson Mandella would be imprisoned for 27 years for his anti-apartheid, revolutionary political activities in South Africa. He would move from the jail cell to the presidential palace for five years as president of South Africa from 1994-1999.

He turns messes into messages and messengers.

What I observed is God turns our messes into messages and creates messengers in the process. God initiates a time of separation from past dependencies to realign values of the leader. King David was forced to flee Saul, who was trying to kill him. He ended up in the Cave of Adullam as his hiding place. During his time in the cave he wrote three of the Psalms — Psalm 34, 57, and 142. The down and outs joined him in the cave. They became known as David’s Mighty Men.

God often gave the leader treasures in darkness. “I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the Lord, Who calls you by your name, am the God of Israel” (Isa 45:3). I recall God doing this in my own life in the mid-nineties. I was in a time of isolation from a difficult season. I began to reflect on what I was learning in that season that resulted in my writing a devotional series entitled TGIF Today God Is First. That devotional is now read in 105 nations around the world. Recently I wrote another book during a time of isolation that is just now being released called The Hidden Place: One man’s journey to freedom.

How might God be using this quarantine time in the nations for His purposes? Maybe you are being isolated right now. Perhaps there is a book or a message God is downloading to you right now. I encourage you to use this time to listen. Allow this mess to download a message from God that might be used for His people at this time as His messenger.

***************************************

Os Hillman is author of 20 books and the popular devotional TGIF Today God Is First.

His most recent book is The Hidden Place: One man’s journey to freedom.

[1] https://www.aish.com/ci/sam/Sir-Isaac-Newtons-Self-Quarantine.html

Is the Bible the Foundation of Our Faith?

By
Dan DeWitt
-
communicating with the unchurched

It is idolatry to make the Bible the foundation of your faith. That’s what one Christian leader said in recent history. It’s also a trend in popular apologetics. Is this a good way to talk about the Christian faith? 

For starters, I understand, I think, what is the motivation behind this kind of statement. Often Christians are in a position of responding to claims from their unbelieving friends that faith in Jesus is somehow disconnected from evidence. “There’s plenty of really good evidence for the resurrection!” they want to respond.

But why this move to disparage the idea of making the Bible our foundation?

I’ve heard some leaders put it in the context of the very first believers, those who, for example, came to faith at Peter’s preaching at Pentecost. They didn’t have a New Testament, they argue. So, they conclude, the foundation of the faith of the first believers was the resurrection of Jesus, not the New Testament. This seems logical enough, doesn’t it?

The problem is the first believers actually did situate their belief in the resurrection in Scriptures, the Old Testament. For example, consider our oldest Christian creed, which scholars across the spectrum, Christian and skeptic alike, agree was developed within less than three years of the resurrection. Look at the way the Apostle Paul talks about this creed he received and later passed on:

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he raised on the third day in accordance with Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. (1 Corinthians 15:3-7)

This early creed was on the lips of the first believers after the first Easter Sunday. What was the foundation of their faith? It is the resurrection of Jesus as interpreted by the Scriptures. What Scriptures? This is a reference to the Old Testament. These believers were interpreting the historical event of the resurrection according to the Old Testament. This was their foundation.

Isn’t this merely splitting hairs? No, actually it is not. Experiences and historical evidence are not self-interpreting. This early creed doesn’t discount the historical evidences for the resurrection. Look at all the references to eyewitnesses! It’s almost as if Paul is saying, “Hey, most of these eyewitnesses are still alive. Go talk to them for yourself!”

But don’t miss the important construction of the creed. The event of the resurrection is seen as authoritative because it is interpreted in light of the Messianic promises of the Old Testament. That Christ died . . . according to the Scriptures . . . that he was raised . . . according to the Scriptures. When Christians separate the resurrection from Scriptures they are doing something that the earliest believers did not do.

That’s why when I hear apologists or Christian leaders argue against making the Bible our foundation by referencing the first believers, I’m a little perplexed. What evidence do they have for making evidence the foundation of their faith? The earliest Christian creed is the one found in 1 Corinthians 15. If we want to start looking for evidence for how to think well about these issues, this text should be primary. And what do we find there? We find the foundation of faith is Scripture, God’s revelation of himself—God’s interpretation of himself and his actions.

I can give you a long list of people who understand the historical evidences surrounding the resurrection quite well yet reject the conclusion that Jesus indeed rose from the dead. Gary Habermas, Christian apologist and author, has compiled a massive list of scholars who accept a surprising number of historical facts surrounding the resurrection yet reject the resurrection.

From Atheist to Deist to Denier of the Resurrection 

Consider Habermas’s friend and debate partner, Antony Flew. Flew spent most of his career as an atheist before coming to believe in some sort of deity. In his debate with Habermas, Flew conceded that the evidence for the resurrection is superior in quantity and quality to any other miracle claim from any other religion. Yet he didn’t believe Jesus rose from the dead. He was willing to overturn the body of his academic writings from a lifetime of teaching atheistic philosophy, but he was unwilling to accept the resurrection.

Why? Was he confused? Was he unintelligent? No. The problem was, he was unable to properly interpret the evidences for the resurrection.

That’s because evidence doesn’t interpret itself. Without the work of the Spirit opening our eyes and removing our bias we will not properly interpret the evidence for the resurrection. We will see it as foolishness.

Let me frame this like a catechism to summarize the simple point I’m trying to make:

Question: How do we properly interpret the evidence for the resurrection?

Answer: According to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15).

I’m reminded of what one atheist friend told me a few years back. He said even if I could convince him the resurrection happened, which he was impressed with the breadth and depth of evidence, he would be forced to conclude that some really odd event happened that must have a natural explanation since he rejects the supernatural. He would interpret the evidence in light of his larger worldview commitments.

Gary Habermas is again helpful on this point. He has perhaps written more about using historical evidences for the resurrection than anyone else I know of. Yet he doesn’t pit evidence over or against Scripture. Consider his warning about using his minimal facts approach when talking about the resurrection:

But it should always be remembered that this is an apologetic strategy. Thus, it is not a prescription for how a given text should be approached in the original languages and translated, or how a systematic theology is developed, or how a sermon is written. So it should never be concluded that the use of such methods in an apologetic context indicate a lack of trust in Scripture as a whole, or, say, the Gospels in particular. Nor should it cause others to question or doubt their beliefs. Thus, it should only be understood and utilized in its proper context.

So, a short admonition is in order to conclude. Preach the resurrection. Use all the evidence you can find. Trust me, there’s plenty. But don’t relocate the center of your faith to something other than Scripture. The first disciples didn’t. You shouldn’t either.

This article originally appeared here.

Video Conferencing is Convenient… Until…

By
Jonathan Smith
-
communicating with the unchurched

The recent wave of shelter in place orders has created tremendous demand for work-at-home services, especially video conferencing. Video conferencing has been around for a long time, but it was always just one of the options. If you wanted to walk down the hall and call a meeting, or even jump on a plane for a face-to-face. You could do that. The Covid-19 pandemic has taken those options off the table for many, so video conferencing is once again a trend.

The rush to either begin using video conferencing or ramp up usage of video conferencing can lead to unwise decisions when it comes to security and privacy. The age-old question when it comes to internet security and privacy is balancing convenience and security. Due to the current demand convenience may win out but when convenience triumphs over security, the bad guys also win.

While all software has bugs, it is important to watch how vendors respond when bugs are reported in their systems. For video conferencing consider what you are ok becoming public knowledge. A teacher doing a video conference with a class of high school students teaching algebra probably doesn’t care if someone can spy on their video session. A CEO sharing a financial spreadsheet among a board probably does care if someone can spy on their meeting, discussion, and the data being shown.

As of this writing, one of the more popular video conferencing platforms, Zoom, has known security vulnerabilities. My intent is not to call them out but to use their example to help others think through video conferencing options. Zoom is used by many, but they have 2 issues right now, and the known issues should have been fixed before being exploited.

The first is for Mac users and was discovered in July 2019. When you uninstall the program from a Mac it leaves behind some Webcam code that is still active and easily exploitable. Any program should honor an uninstall request and remove everything.

Second, for users of any platform, the default security setup for Zoom allows bad actors to find meeting ID numbers and join the meetings. For the reasons listed before, this can be bad. The issue can be mitigated if the meeting organizer sets different security settings when creating the meeting, but many just go with the default settings, which in this case can be bad. Nick Nicholaou, one of MinistryTech’s contributing editors, said, “We’ve heard of people in Zoom meetings that were shocked when a bad actor crashed into the call and began showing unwelcome things via their webcam.” The internet has started calling this #Zoombombing.

Zoom has recently stated that they are going to spend the next 90 days fixing these issues. There are countless articles listing up to 10 steps you can take to have safe Zoom meetings. At this point the question to ask is if you want to use a program that is so poorly designed it requires you to configure it for safe use as opposed to being safe to use by default.

It is also important as you consider and are asked to provide video conferencing resources to look at tools and options you may already have. The last thing we need when this pandemic is over is to come out of it with 5-10 video conferencing apps running on our computers. Evaluate what tools you may already have and standardize. If you use Office 365 or G-Suite you already have such tools built in that work well. If you are connecting with others who use other programs like GoToMeeting or WebEx, ensure the security settings are appropriate and if you won’t need to use the program again be sure to uninstall it. Regardless of what security flaws are discovered and patched everyone in your organization will benefit from some cross-platform standardization.

Video conferencing is a powerful tool but as with most tech, it is important to do your research before charging ahead. For more details on Zoom’s security vulnerabilities, including #Zoomboming and some additional remote working tips check out the following from Nick Nicholaou.

 

 

Jonathan Smith is an author, conference speaker, and the Director of Technology at Faith Ministries in Lafayette, IN. You can reach Jonathan at jsmith@faithlafayette.org and follow him on Twitter @JonathanESmith.

5 Ways to “Mix It Up” in Your Small Group Ministry

By
Spence Shelton
-

Twice a year, we have a major small group connection weekend at the Summit. Small group listings take over the worship guide, leaders are everywhere, and the main action step at of the service is plain and simple: go get into a group. These weekends play a huge role in our connection strategy, but this is not our only means of connecting people to small groups. In fact, this truthfully is not even our most successful connection avenue. Maybe this is my business background coming out, but we’ve built multiple avenues into our small groups that each serve a different purpose and will sometimes reach different audiences. Think: “Marketing Mix.” Below are our various avenues where people connect to groups. The Summit Mix:

  • GroupLink: Large on-campus event. High cost, high administration, very high visibility, low frequency (2x/yr). Key values: Major visibility among entire church, many connected at one time. The win here is a loud and clear statement from our leadership at all levels that small group is a must here at the Summit Church.
  • Web site: Low cost, high administration, medium visibility, high frequency. Key Values: Always on, meets people on their time, non-intimidating. The win here is a constant opportunity to learn about and connect to a group in a low-risk environment. It’s up to you to point, click, and request group info. Note: Some churches have gone away from this; I still like it for constant connection value.
  • Weekend Worship (Worship guide mention and on-campus kiosk with group experts): Medium cost, medium-high visibility, low administration, high frequency. Key values: Consistency, instant response opportunity, face time. The win here is an on-site, immediate response opportunity to learn more about group life in an anonymous way (worship guide tear out card) or in person (kiosk). Also a great place to connect informally with group leaders on the weekend.
  • Starting Point (Monthly “learn more about Summit” course): Low cost, medium visibility, low admin, medium frequency. Key values: Connects the very-interested, presents clear expectations of group life. Those who come to starting point are looking to connect, so it isn’t important to sell them hard on group life. It’s important to explain what it is. Usually, this is one of our best connection points.
  • Word of Mouth: No cost, no admin, high frequency, low visibility. Key value: Nothing beats a personal invitation to your small group. Bottom line, personal invitation trumps all other connection avenues at our church. So we are making the most common phrase you hear at the Summit to be, “Are you in a small group?”

That’s it, I think. What about you? What are the ways you’ve tried connecting people that the rest of the small group world needs to hear about?

5 Things Every Congregation Must Understand About Worship

By
Dan Wilt
-
communicating with the unchurched

I’ve now spent most of my adult life (30 years) thinking about, leading and teaching on the topic of worship. It’s been central to my life’s call to reflect on why we do what we do in worship in settings like local churches, conference events and universities. After interacting with contemporary worship ideas around the world over these past three decades, here are the top five most important things I believe every congregation needs to understand about worship.

As each of the following sections is a summary, I promise that I will leave out language about worship that is important to someone. But in this setting, the summaries will have to suffice.

Under each point, I suggest “What We Get Wrong” and “How We Get It Right.” I hope these insights are helpful to our shared understanding of worship.

Five Things Every Congregation Must Understand About Worship

I will use the words 1) Who, 2) What, 3) Where, 4) Why and 5) How to cover these five ideas.

1. Who Do We Worship? We Worship the God of the Scriptures.

If Christian worship is distinctly anything, it is a response of affection to the God who has pursued us since the beginning of time. That God is not the generic God of all faiths, or all religious narratives.

That God is the specific God revealed in the creating Father, the saving Son, Jesus Christ, and the empowering and comforting Holy Spirit.

Creational stories (not to be confused with “Creation” stories) may resonate with similar human virtues between religious faiths, but our Redemptive stories are radically different, as are our Descriptive stories of Who God is and how He works in our lives. (I explored that idea in 2008 here.)

According to the Gospel of John, where the Spirit is, there is Jesus and the Father. Where the Son is, there is the Father and the Spirit. Where the Father is, there are the Son and the Spirit.

We worship the trinitarian God, and we worship each Person of the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and give thanks for specific things each does and has done.

If we mess up who we worship, we become lost in idolatry—and when we miss who God is, we skew who we are as well as others around us. Injustice always follows idolatry.

We worship the God who is Creator (Gen. 1:1), King (Ps. 142:1), Trinity (Deut. 6:4) and Savior (Matt. 1:21).

What We Get Wrong

It is cool to be “non-specific” about God today. But not everything everyone believes is true. It can’t all be true, as many things people believe contradict other views of the world—and the results of belief systems have extreme impact.

Christians worship the specific God who reveals Himself in Jesus Christ. It sounds good to today’s tolerance-generation to say we’re all worshipping the same God, but the reality is this: Not all of the competing stories about God can be simultaneously true, and we are being lazy if we think they are.

The Trinity centers us. The Trinity keeps us focused on worshipping God in the Person of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who reveals Himself in both Love AND Truth.

We also sing too generically about God. It reminds me of some of my Hindu friends whose homes would have hundreds of images of gods in them, along with a picture of Jesus, just in case one of the other religions is right!

Derwin Gray: I Prepare My Sermons by Dancing

By
Derwin Gray
-
communicating with the unchurched

I’m writing this blog for the church planters and pastors who have asked me, “How do you prepare a sermon?”

And I’m writing it for the Transformation Church Family so that “Transformers” will know how to pray for me as I prepare sermons for them that will hopefully cause us to reflect Jesus to our broken planet.

So, here it is: I dance to the rhythm of God’s grace.

Now, keep in mind, I’m still a young preacher, so my dance moves aren’t very polished. But I’m a passionate learner and here’s what I’ve learned so far.

DANCE MOVE ONE:  PRAY

Before I prepare a sermon, Jesus must prepare me.

Within weeks of becoming a Christ-follower, Ezra 7:10 inspired me to pray, “Lord, empower me to study Your word, obey Your word and teach Your word.”

When we pray before preaching we’re saying to Jesus, “I need a revelation of You,”  “I need Your power for my life and the lives of the people I’m preaching to.”

By the way, be on guard … the better you get at preaching, the easier it’ll be not to pray.

DANCE MOVE TWO: CHRISTO-CENTRIC PREACHING

It’s vitally important that the preacher knows that all Scripture points to Jesus (Luke 24:13-49). This is called Christo-centric preaching or historical-redemptive preaching. Jesus said:

“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” John 5:39-40 ESV

In every one of my sermons, Jesus is the hero!

In every one of my sermons, it’s ultimately about what Jesus has done to redeem humanity and bring His kingdom to earth through His redeemed, glorious Bride, the Church.

If we don’t preach Christo-centrically, the hearer of the sermon might conclude that Jesus exists to help them fulfill their dreams, instead of being agents that colabor with Him so His dream — the Kingdom of God — can become a life-giving reality here on earth.

Or we become moralistic preachers. The Bible becomes a lifeless, flesh-satisfying, self-help book of principles on “how to be successful” or “how to get God to do what we want Him to do.” Moralistic preaching produces legalists or people who quit under the weight of not living up to the standards. By the way, moralistic, legalistic preachers don’t live up to their own standards either; that’s why they always seem mad.

How to Cultivate Personal Growth in Your Life

By
Rachel Blom
-
communicating with the unchurched

We’re blessed with a huge garden and a reasonably sized vegetable garden. Spring is in the air and that means there’s a lot of work to be done in the garden. I’m preparing the soil, pulling weeds, pruning trees and bushes, sowing seeds and planting out seedlings I’ve already grown inside our house. And all that work is focused on just one thing: growth.

Everything that’s planted is supposed to grow.

It’s a really simple principle. I’m pruning the rose bushes so they’ll grow strong and have beautiful flowers. I’m preparing the soil and make it loose so my carrots will grow big. I’m watering my seedlings daily so they’ll grow strong enough to be planted outside. I’m digging deep to pull out weeds so the roots of the ‘real’ flowers have room to grow deep. I’m doing everything I can to facilitate growth, because that’s what it’s all about in a garden.

Everything that’s planted is supposed to grow.

But it’s the same for us, isn’t it? God has planted you in the church or ministry you’re in right now and His goal for you is to grow as a person and as a leader. He doesn’t want you to produce just one or two apples, He wants you to produce abundant fruit. So are you growing right now, in leadership and in your relationship with God?

Everything that’s planted is supposed to grow.

That means you too. So are you doing everything you can to facilitate growth for yourself? Are you making the right choices, doing those things that will help you produce fruit in your life? Here are some things you could do to promote growth for yourself:

Fertilize

Feed yourself with the Word of God to grow daily. Make reading your Bible your number one priority. Also: make time to read books. Today a reader, tomorrow a leader sounds like a cliché, but it’s true. If you want to grow as a leader, you have got to read, you’ve got to become a lifelong learner. If you’re not intentional about this, it’s never gonna happen so block a few hours each week to read.

Pull weeds

Stinging nettles are a big problem in our garden and they’re very hard to get rid of because they have deep roots that are widely spread out. If you want to get rid of them, you have to dig deep and really pull out each and every root. What sin keeps popping up in your life and is hindering your growth? What sins have you become too comfortable with? Pull them out, roots and all and get rid of them once and forever. Remember that weeds are far easier to pull out when they’re still small and the same goes for sins. Remain vigilant about sins in your life and pull them out as soon as you spot them. It will make room for some serious growth.

Prune

Accept that pruning is God’s way of preparing you for bigger growth. If you don’t prune certain trees or plants, they’ll put all their energy into developing beautiful leaves, rather then a lot of fruit. So God may decide to prune you, to take things away from you or allow hardships in your life to deal with. Rejoice in this season of pruning, for He’s preparing you to bear a lot of fruit later on!

Sow seeds

Sow the right habits in your life, those that honor God and help you do your work better. Every good habit starts with a simple decision to do the right thing. Having a daily quiet time, spending time in prayer, taking care of your body, eating right, having a Sabbath day, these are all habits that will help you produce fruit. What bad habits do you need to get rid, which habits are holding you back of and what good ones do you need to sow?

Plan

If I want to be able to harvest ripe tomatoes come August, I have to start prepping in March. I need to sow seeds indoors, plant out the strongest seedlings into bigger pots, acclimatize them to being outside, transplant them into the vegetable garden and then keep watering and pruning them to make sure they develop well. Growth is always intentional, always planned. It never ‘just happens’. If you want to grow, be intentional about it, plan it. What areas do you think you need to grow in? Define those and make a plan.

Everything that’s planted is supposed to grow. What will you do to grow right now where God has planted you?

The Story That Makes The Whole World Stable

By
Toni Ridgaway
-
communicating with the unchurched
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY5K_j1A2PY&feature=share&list=UUHWFEZ_ta4VkmECA8iWq1fw

What Box? Tradition, Rationality and Revelation

By
Anthony Coppedge
-
communicating with the unchurched

I recently posted an Instagram photo of a piece of art that said “color outside the lines”. My comment was simply “what lines?” Perhaps it’s my personal viewpoint of looking at things through God’s hard-wiring of my mind, but I really don’t like the idea of being restricted to artificial limitations. I do, however, like knowing the boundaries because they help frame the conversation and focus. I said all of that to set up today’s #thinkchurch post: How are you approaching your ministry work?

Tradition. I have preferences. We all do. Some of these preferences have meaning to us, so we create a consistent pattern around them. Before you know it, we’ve told others how to operate within our preferences. One step removed from us, what was once a preference is now a tradition. I think traditions are a lot like money: they’re neither good nor bad – it’s all about how you approach it. If a tradition gets in the way of loving people, it’s a clear sign that the tradition has to change or go.

Rationality. Oh, boy, do I fall into this one all the time. I am l.o.g.i.c.a.l. all of the freaking time. Rational thought is useful, but it can easily miss the mark of being redemptive. If this, then that can lead to decisions without heart. It’s a good management technique, but a poor one for leadership.

Revelation. What box? I have often been told I’m an excellent conference speaker because, as one young man put it, “Coppedge is a quote machine!” I used to think that this was proof of how smart I was, until Holy Sprit gently said to me “You think those are your thoughts that come out of the blue?” Hmmm. I now recognize that when I say something and I have to repeat it to know what I just said, yeah, those are not me, that’s revelation from God. I’m not that good, but He sure is! The Lord’s Prayer says “…Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.” How much of our thinking is Kingdom focused and under the subjection of God’s will?

NOTE: This thought process came from reading a wonderful post this morning by Dr. Skip Moen, entitled Rationality Fatigue. Skip is one of the greatest theologians concerning Hebrew thought and meaning, and I cannot recommend his daily Hebrew word study highly enough. Skip uses the tax-deductible funds (you choose how much to pay) to fund ministry for others.

QUESTION: What has been your experience with tradition, rationality and revelation?

Lessons Through Busyness

By
Justyn Smith
-
communicating with the unchurched

Back to the wonderful world of blogging. The last two weeks looked like this for me…

Our team had to move one of our campuses in just four days. Not from high school to high school, but from high school to permanent location. This included build out, painting, décor, cleaning, etc. You name it—we did it in just four days!

We launched another addition of our very successful family experience. This time it’s called “Angry Words” and it won’t take a rocket scientist to figure out our theme.

On top of all that we had to get ready for Easter. To say the very least, my last two weeks were probably some of the busiest weeks I’ve ever experienced.

Here are a couple lessons I learned along the way:

• I totally bombed at hiding my frustration. As you can imagine, moving an entire campus in four days put me a little over the limit in the stress category, especially since this wasn’t a planned move AND we were getting ready for our family experience launch AND Easter was just one and a half weeks away. Why was this bad? Well, I feel as a leader I’m allowed to be frustrated, but I’m not allowed to let it affect other people. There were people “under” me who were given a negative impression of leadership because of my attitude. I had to eat some humble pie and ask forgiveness.
• Serving God isn’t always “cookies and cream”. As a staff pastor I have to trust my leadership. This doesn’t mean I have to agree—it means exactly what I said—I have to trust them. If my pastor feels like this is the best move, I need to bring up my disagreements behind closed doors (which I did), but in the end I need to do my best to make it happen with a great attitude.
• A lot can happen when people are excited about the vision. We got A LOT done in a very short amount of time. It was due to volunteers getting excited about what God can and will do through serving our community. I want to find and create ways to excite our volunteers at all our campuses.
• I wanted everything to be perfect in my four-day move at our new kids building, however I was reminded that parents, members and guests at our church have no idea what “perfect” is. Because we went from temporary to permanent—anything (almost) we would’ve done would have been a great improvement and they would have loved it. Then, we could continue to finish up the building over the next several weeks and with every new added item would add new excitement.

So, as you can see we’ve been busy and God’s been refining me. There’s one thing that I’m absolutely certain of—I love what God is doing through our church and I love leading a great group of world-changers. I’m reminded that as crazy as things get, this is the best “job” ever!

-PJ

7 Lessons Each Navy Deployment Taught Me About Thriving While Socially Isolated

By
Steve Curran
-
communicating with the unchurched

As some of you may know I was in the US Navy for 23 years. During that time I experienced Navy deployment on ships countless times. There are days I miss my time at sea, and then I remember that I get to have dinner with my family every night, so I’m good.

With #socialdistancing #quarantine #shelterinplace causing upheaval in all of our lives I have been reflecting on how my time in the Navy gave me skills that help in this current reality. My goal every time I deployed was to come back better than when I left. Sometimes that meant in better shape physically, sometimes that meant better spiritually, sometimes there was another area of life. My hope for you is that during this time you won’t just survive, but that you will thrive. And be better when this is over.

Here are seven lessons Navy Deployment taught me about thriving while socially isolated. Hopefully some of these help you in your situation.

1- Accept that this is the way things are going to be for a while. The first two weeks and the last two weeks of every Navy deployment were always the most difficult. It takes time for each of us to adjust when everything in our life changes. Whether you are heading into week 2 or week 4 or week 6 of isolation, accepting that things will be this way for a while longer is the first step to thriving.

2- Set a routine. For many of us this is the first time we now work where we live. And it is easy for the schedule to become fluid. And for work to creep into hours that used to be off time when we were not at the office. As you work from home set a schedule. Wake up at the same time, shower, get dressed, and then “head” to work. Then set an off time. “Leave” work. Shut down the computer, relax, do something not work for the rest of the evening. Make sure you take your days off as well.

3- Go outside everyday. During deployments, if you did not intentionally go to the weather deck to see the sun,  there could be days when you did not breathe fresh air because you were inside the hull of the ship. While stuck at home there is a temptation to just curl up in bed or on the couch. Resist! Get outside for at least 20 minutes every day.

4- Exercise. This can be combined with number 3. Move more. This does not have to be P90X or 50 pushups a day. However, you are going to take less steps than you normally do. So maybe take a walk. Do push ups that match the date on the calendar. Do jumping jacks with your kids.

5- Stay connected with others. My first Navy deployment was in 1993. The internet was still new then. We still wrote letters. So staying connected with my wife took days, if not weeks. During my last deployment we emailed multiple times a day. So many of us have the technology to stay connected with friends and family today. So, whether it is facetime, zoom, google hangout, messenger or just plain old text messages, reach out to the people you used to see in person and just talk.

6- Set a reading goal. During deployments I used to set a reading goal. I will read X number of books during this one. Multiple times I used a Read the Bible in a year plan. If the Navy deployment was six months, I would double up the readings. If you do this, just muscle through Numbers, it gets better. I hope we will not be isolated for six months, but if it is a month you could read all four gospels by reading 3 chapters a day. Or maybe just focus on reading a single gospel and do a chapter a day.

7- Do something non-digital. The truth is your screen time is going to go up. That is okay. Do not beat yourself up over it. However, find some non-digital way to have some fun. Play a board game with family, build a lego set (even if you are an adult), draw your thoughts instead of writing them, pull out your Grandma’s recipes and cook something you have never tried. What you do is not important, finding something enjoyable that is non-digital is the key.

While we do not know how long this time of social isolation will last we do know two things. First, Jesus is still in control and he is still good. Second, this will not last forever. It is not a zombie apocalypse. My hope for you is that when this time comes to an end you will not just have survived, but you will have thrived. And your life on the other side will be better.

This article about Navy deployment lessons originally appeared here.

1...847848849...1,208Page 848 of 1,208
855,266FansLike

New Articles

31 summer children’s ministry ideas

31 Summer Children’s Ministry Ideas for Churches of Any Size

Stephanie Martin -
These 31 summer children’s ministry ideas will delight kids, welcome families, and reach the community. Try some at your church!
kidmin volunteers

KidMin Volunteers Who Don’t Quit: How To Retain Team Members

prayer bottles

Prayer Bottles Help Children & Families Connect With God

puppet ministry

Puppet Ministry Helps You Share the Bible With Children

New Podcasts

Joby Martin

Joby Martin: What Happens When Pastors Finally Understand Grace

Jessica Mouser -
Joby Martin joins “The Stetzer ChurchLeaders Podcast” to discuss what happens when a church leader has truly been run over by the “grace train" and understands the profound love and grace of God.
Jennie Allen

Best of 2024—Jennie Allen: Why Church Leaders Need To Pay Attention...

Jon Acuff

Best of 2024: Jon Acuff—How To Pursue Success Without Destroying Your...

Libin Abraham

Libin Abraham on God’s Surprising Job Description for the Pastor

ChurchLeaders.com is dedicated to resourcing, informing, and connecting a community of church leaders for greater Kingdom impact worldwide.
Contact us: support@churchleaders.com

Company

Trending

Popular Categories

© ChurchLeaders