Pastors, Your Physical Health IS a Spiritual Matter
Do you believe your physical health is a spiritual matter? As pastors, we tend to like to focus on “spiritual” things. But God is the Creator of our physical bodies, and it’s in our physical bodies that we live our spiritual lives out before others.
Pastors have a tendency to let our physical health go unchecked, and we have plenty of excuses, such as our busy schedules, our calendar being heavy with meal-centered meetings and our need to be behind a desk a lot to feed people spiritually.
For every excuse we can come up with to ignore our physical health, there are other pressing reasons to consider it.
- Our longevity in ministry can be cut short by poor health.
- Our sharpness of mind is affected by what we eat and our activity level.
- We challenge others to live healthy lives, so we should set the example.
- Our physical energy level rises to the demands of ministry if we’re in shape.
- Our bodies are temples too, created by the Master Craftsmen and placed under our stewardship.
The Bible is full of health rules and guidelines. I want to remind leaders of just six principles from God’s word about building a healthy body.
When you feel bad physically, it affects everything else. Shakespeare said it’s hard to be a philosopher with a toothache. I’d say it’s hard to be spiritually alert when you’re physically dull, when you’re tired, fatigued, out of shape.
1. Maintain your ideal weight.
Scientists know that you have an ideal weight based on your bone structure and your height.
1 Thessalonians 4:4 says, “Each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable.” I realize there are many medical and glandular reasons for being overweight and having weight problems, but the fact is for many of us, we simply eat too much.
You cannot eat everything you want to eat and still maintain your weight. Ecclesiastes 6:7 says, “All the labor of man is for the mouth and yet the appetite is never filled.”
Shy but Mighty Gospel Legend, Rev. Maceo Woods Dead at 87
The Rev. Maceo L. Woods, a longtime pastor on Chicago’s South Side and an influential gospel musician, has died at age 87. A musical celebration, viewing, and funeral are being held this weekend for Woods, the recipient of a Legends awards from gospel music’s Stellar Awards and a Lifetime Achievement award from the Chicago Gospel Music Awards.
Upon hearing news of Woods’ death, colleagues, congregants, and listeners have been reflecting on the spiritual and cultural impact of the pastor-musician’s lengthy, multifaceted career.
Music Was Vital to Pastor Maceo Woods’ Ministry
Maceo Leon Woods was born in 1932 in Mississippi, and when he was a child, his family moved to the Morgan Park neighborhood of Chicago, on the city’s South Side. They joined Mount Calvary Baptist Church, where Woods began serving as organist by age 12. Eventually he formed a singing group, the Maceo Woods Singers, which went on tour and recorded a successful album titled Witness.
By 1954, Woods’ musical career took off with his organ rendition of “Amazing Grace.” According to gospel music historian Robert Marovich, that release from Vee-Jay Records remains the top-selling gospel instrumental. More than 200,000 copies sold in the first year alone.
Wood’s version of “Amazing Grace,” as well as other classics such as “Hello Sunshine” and “Jesus Can Work It Out,” continue to sell today. Pam Morris-Walton, a radio host at Chicago’s WVON, says of Woods, “His music has no expiration date.”
Woods played as house organist for Vee-Jay Records, and the popularity of his “Amazing Grace” recording drew greater attention to his choral ensemble. The sharply dressed group went on the road for live performances, with Woods playing an organ that lit up on stage.
In its obituary of Woods, the Chicago Sun-Times notes that he “shared friendships and concert stages with legends who made Chicago a center of gospel, including the Barrett Sisters, the Caravans, the Rev. James Cleveland, the Staple Singers and Mahalia Jackson.” Woods performed on venerable stages such as New York’s Apollo Theater and Madison Square Garden.
Eventually Woods branched into producing live gospel music programs, a radio show, and an annual musical extravaganza in Chicago called Gospel Supreme. In the early ’60s, he asked Detroit pastor C.L. Franklin to appear at one of his programs, and Franklin brought along his daughter Aretha—who joined in to sing “Amazing Grace.”
‘He was a preacher that played the organ’
For all his musical accomplishments, Pastor Woods also is being remembered for delivering powerful sermons. After studying at the Moody Bible Institute and briefly serving as music minister at Chicago’s Hyde Park Bible Church, he founded Christian Tabernacle Church in 1959.
The congregation, which grew from 11 members to more than 800 within the first year, recently marked its 60th anniversary with a Founders Day celebration. Church elder Julius M. Jackson says of Woods, “He was not an organ player that could preach; he was a preacher that played the organ.”
Rev. Mack Mason, who helped Woods publish an autobiography titled A Graceful Journey, remembers him as a “great mentor, pastor, and friend.” In a Facebook tribute, Mason writes: “I learned so much from this great man of God, watching him pastor all types of personalities.” Despite Woods’ musical fame, Mason says, the preacher was “amazingly humble, down to earth, and believe it or not, at times shy.”
In a 2004 interview, Woods emphasized that his choir “paid attention to the message of our songs” and performed to minister to people, not to entertain them. Yet Woods also admitted to enjoying some crowd-pleasing flourishes, such as walking around the organ as final musical notes resonated, dusting off the instrument with his white handkerchief.
Singer Mahalia Jackson once warned Woods against charging a bit more for tickets than other gospel music programs did. But turnout never suffered; in fact, fans reportedly came from as far away as China to hear Woods and his choir. Over the year, notable members of the Christian Tabernacle Choir included Doris Sykes, Pearl McCombs, and George Jordan.
Carman: My Cancer Is Back, Please Pray
Veteran Christian artist Carman recently announced on Facebook that his cancer, which had been in remission for six years, has returned. He requested that fans join him in praying he would be cancer-free by his birthday on January 19.
“Please pray,” wrote the singer on Sunday, January 12, “because I can’t quit, I can’t stop fighting…But I can’t do it without your prayers and support. Sunday January 19th is my birthday and what I really want is a cancer free body.”
Carman’s Cancer Is Back
In 2013, Carman was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, which is a terminal cancer that forms in plasma cells and causes cancer cells to build in the bone marrow. At the time, the singer underwent nine months of chemotherapy, and the following year he announced that his cancer was gone.
In his Sunday post, Carman said that doctors told him nine years is the average length of time myeloma goes into remission, an average he fell three years short of reaching. He first became aware that his cancer was back last January when his oncologist told him his myeloma levels were spiking. For five months he tried several treatments that were ineffective. Then he got a new doctor who decided to “take a more aggressive approach.”
“Since last July I’ve been on the more advanced medicine and getting chemo shots in my stomach every Tuesday,” he wrote. “That really hurts. They added a type of steroid, which bloats you up. So I immediately gained 20 pounds of water weight I couldn’t get rid of. (Ugh).” In his announcement, Carman said that on Tuesday of this week, doctors would be drilling into his hip bone to take a biopsy, which would tell them if this latest treatment is working. “What a week,” he said.
Carman’s Career
Born Carman Domenic Licciardello in 1956 in Trenton, New Jersey, Carman is one of the most successful Christian artists of all time. He has sold over 10 million albums, won multiple awards, and is known for songs like “The Champion,” “Lazarus Come Forth,” and “His Name Is Wonderful.”
Something that set Carman apart in his heyday was that he put on concerts for free, only taking love offerings to help cover costs. A concert in 1994 gave him the record for the largest attended Christian concert ever when 71,132 people attended his show at the Texas Stadium in Dallas. One reviewer described how Carman used his music in a unique way to share the gospel with people: “He doesn’t make music for the sake of music, or artistry. He makes music as an evangelism tool. Indeed, Carman is more like a singing evangelist than a singer. Attending one of his concerts is like going to a revival with a musical soundtrack.” In addition to his musical career, Carman has authored several books and was a host on Trinity Broadcasting Network.
The singer has received an outpouring of love and support on his Facebook page, with tens of thousands of people saying they are praying for him. As of this writing, there have not been any updates on the results of Carman’s surgery. “I’ll let you know as soon as I know,” he said. “I still trust God to have his perfect will done in the end.”
Prayers Answered in Australia, But More Rain Needed
Australia weather has been on the hearts and minds of many due to the fires that have been raging for months now. Firefighters in Australia received a bit of help in their bushfire-fighting efforts on Wednesday: It started to rain. While the rain won’t end the drought conditions or put out all the fires, it is a welcome natural phenomenon for the firefighters and an answer to the prayers of many people.
When meteorologists predicted the rains on Monday, the New South Wales Rural Fire Service tweeted the rain would be akin to “all of our Christmas, birthday, engagement, anniversary, wedding and graduation presents rolled into one.”
They have since been celebrating the rains with various images and video footage.
Relief is here for a number of firefighters working across NSW. Although this rain won’t extinguish all fires, it will certainly go a long way towards containment. This footage was captured down at the Good Good Fire burning near Cooma. #nswrfs #nswfires pic.twitter.com/fxV9u2hN6K
— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) January 16, 2020
Australia Weather Bringing a Mixed Bag of Help, New Problems
The rain is currently concentrated in southeastern Australia. Some bushfire-affected areas are experiencing the most rain they have seen in months. Some areas received as much as three inches of rain, while others only experienced passing thunderstorms with little, if any, rainfall. The storms have brought more than just rain, too. Hail, damaging winds, and dust storms are also occurring. Lighting strikes have sparked some new blazes.
Still, the rains have given firefighters in some places the edge they need to contain more of the bushfires. Before the rain started Wednesday, over 100 fires were not contained. Now, that number has dropped to around 80.
Looking into the weekend, meteorologists are predicting the rains will continue in eastern New South Wales (where Sydney is located) and Queensland (a northeastern state where Brisbane is located).
However positive and highly anticipated the rain is, it could also present new problems. Some of the areas experiencing rain at the moment are now at risk of flash flooding. Since the trees and soil have been scorched in fire zones (and thus unable to absorb the precipitation), areas downstream are in danger of flooding due to enhanced runoff. Some experts are concerned that animals that have escaped the fires may now be in danger of being swept up in flooding.
The Bushfires Background
As ChurchLeaders reported earlier this week, since last September, catastrophic blazes have scorched more than 12 million acres in Australia, killed at least 25 people plus millions of animals, and destroyed more than 2,000 homes. Businesses and at least one church also have been lost.
The states of New South Wales and Victoria, along the country’s eastern coast, have been hardest hit. Images of evacuees huddling on beaches, koalas begging for water, and red, smoky skies are conveying the tragedy’s magnitude.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, an evangelical Christian, recently committed an extra $2 billion toward wildfire recovery efforts. Morrison has received criticism for his response to the fires, as well as for his policies regarding climate change. Uni Students for Climate Justice, one group protesting what it calls insufficient governmental funding, writes, “It’s scandalous that we have to rely so heavily on volunteers and charity to stop whole towns from being wiped out!”
Churches and charities, including Hillsong Church Australia, are collecting donations and mobilizing aid. To date, Hillsong’s Bushfire Appeal has raised $1.2 million.
Please continue to pray for favorable Australia weather and for the people and animals affected by these unprecedented fires.
Starting (or Restarting) Men’s Ministry In Your Church
Hardly any pastors are totally satisfied with what’s happening when it comes to their men’s ministry. It seems the women’s ministry runs circles around the men. It’s not necessarily a budget thing either. It’s just this sense that there could be more. More participation, more depth, more passion, more commitment is possible.
The Importance of Men’s Ministry
Before we jump into the how, let’s talk about the why. Churches need leaders…strong leaders. Male and female. But especially male because when a man goes all-in for Jesus, his influence reverberates through to his wife, his kids, his workplace, his community, and his church. He becomes a disciple-maker if only through the sermon of his life. He’ll become a more generous giver, both of his time and his treasure. He’ll draw other men to Jesus. Over time, his friends will be attracted to what he has and how he lives. Men in the church will respect and follow him.
HELP FOR THE PASTOR
As a pastor, about the only thing you can do all by yourself is prepare and preach sermons. You can visit the sick, do funerals and weddings, but the work of the church requires the effort of others. The first place you turn for help is your staff, but that resource gets exhausted pretty quickly. Depending on the size and budget of the church, you may have a few or a few hundred. One of the three largest churches in America has 400 staff people. You think, “Shoot, I could move mountains with that many people.” But imagine trying to minister to 50,000 people with 400 staffers. No way. At some point, you have to depend on lay people…on volunteers…on men who are willing and able to roll up their sleeves and help. That large church has almost 5,000 volunteers who are the ‘hands and feet’ of Christ to its attendees. The larger the circle of committed volunteers you can count on, the more you can do to lead people to Christ and minister to them.
Which brings us back to the criticality of a vibrant men’s ministry.
Here’s what we know. Men’s ministries tend to be event driven. There’s usually one guy who spearheads everything. He pulls together an ad hoc team to make events happen. Outsiders are always welcome but rarely come. There’s always fellowship, food and some sort of speaker or program. When it’s over, the room is cleaned up and everyone goes their way until the next event. In some churches, there are men’s Bible studies and ongoing programs like Men’s Fraternity, Man in the Mirror or CLC. But those tend to draw only the most faithful. They’re more curriculum-based than relational and the commitment level in terms of study time is significant. So, most men’s ministries are bifurcated…events for the masses, intensive Bible study and training for the few, and no system for consistently producing the leaders your church needs.
HOW JESUS LED MEN
We believe the best way to start (or restart) a men’s ministry is through small group mentoring. Why? Because that’s how Jesus did it. The Scriptures give us a good picture of how Jesus started His men’s ministry…
- Jesus was on purpose – He came “that they might have life and have it to the full.” He gave us life…eternal life when He died on the cross for our sins. He gave us the invitation to ‘life to the full’ by inviting us to be others-focused and by giving us the job of making disciples. We can’t fulfill our purpose through selfishness. It’s only through caring for others that we can have life to the full. God must raise up someone in your church to lead here. Maybe it’s you…maybe it’s someone you know. Or maybe it’s a prayer for Him to show you who it is.
- Jesus handpicked a few guys – We know Jesus had far more than 12 followers, but He just picked a few to be his inner circle. We know He prayed intensely about His choices. Our ‘event’ mentality is all about numbers. Bigger numbers equal more success, right? No. Jesus started small. He poured into those 12 guys and they multiplied. And multiplied. And multiplied.
- They walked through life together – Rarely did He sit them in rows (or even around tables) and teach them stuff. When He was asked about paying taxes to Caesar, He took a coin and taught a huge life lesson. They learned ‘along the way’ from real-time situations and people. A core men’s ministry leadership group has to ‘do life together’ for real bonding to happen. It can’t be a canned curriculum. It has to be authentic, flexible and relevant to what’s happening in their lives.
- Jesus explained and lived Scripture – Again, it was ‘along the way.’ Jesus knew the Law and He brought it alive and made it relevant through His words and deeds. His guys watched Him live it out through all kinds of circumstances. In a mentoring small group, guys memorize key Scripture verses together, apply them to their lives and talk about them regularly.
- Jesus prayed and taught them to pray – Jesus prayed with his guys, prayed for them, taught them a model prayer and then gave them a glimpse of His intimate relationship with the Father by going off to pray alone. Guys who are in community with each other know how to pray for each other…and they will.
- A high level of commitment was required – Jesus’ disciples made huge time commitments. They left their businesses and their families. There’s no evidence of them not showing up. We believe a strong men’s ministry begins with a small group of guys who are committed to growing in their walk. If they spend a year of intense effort under the guidance of a mentor, they’ll emerge understanding how important Jesus is to them and how important the church is to Jesus.
- It was a community – These guys traveled, ate, slept, worshiped…pretty much did everything together. Jesus was their leader and was there, but they were together, working together and challenging each other. They knew everything about each other. There’s no evidence of jealousy of the ‘group within the group’…Peter, James and John. The trust level was that high.
- When you begin a men’s ministry by establishing a committed community of men (six to eight to begin with), they’ll replicate that community. Just as the disciples created ‘ecclesias’—small gatherings of Jesus followers who became the church—these men will replicate their community with other men. This is the ‘secret sauce’ of building a men’s ministry because men feel like they belong with the other guys in the church. It’s safe…and powerful.
- There was a defined period of time – Jesus chose these guys and poured into them for no more than three and a half years. Then He ‘graduated’ them…sending them out to do the work of the Gospel (Matt. 28:19-20). We’ve found that nine to 12 months is about the right amount of time for a group to be intensely connected. After that, it’s time to send them out, which is actually sending them in to do the work of the church…to lead, love, serve and give.
- It was about multiplication, not addition – Jesus told them up front, “Follow me and I’ll make you fishers of men.” From the very beginning, it was His stated intention to pass the baton. Men who experience Jesus through small group mentoring are chomping at the bit to ‘pay it forward’ to others. Not all of them…but enough to build from.
APPLY CHRIST’S MODEL
Since every one of Jesus’ guys had been taught the Law from birth, this was not about information transfer. It wasn’t about content, it was about application. Jesus modeled a small group process that led to total commitment on the part of the guys and from that group, the church began.
About 15 years ago, I began mentoring in what I now know to be a modern-day version of Jesus’ model…a system that can be used to launch a vibrant men’s ministry. It begins with you…the Senior Pastor. It begins with your commitment to seeing the men of your church go all-in for Jesus. You don’t have to do it personally, although we know pastors who’ll tell you that making disciples using this system brought huge new energy to them personally. But you must be committed to the process, leveraging your leadership position and personal influence to help get it launched.
Here’s the vision. Lay leaders of your church, each sitting at the end of their dining room table, pouring out their cups into the lives of six to eight younger men at a time for nine months to a year. Helping them find and follow Jesus…making disciple-makers a few at a time.
When Brian Moore, the Lead Pastor at Crosspointe Church in Anaheim, California, tells his story, one can see and hear the impact of following Jesus’ model for re-launching ministries. Brian took over a church in disarray. Two previous pastors under indictment for misusing church funds. Membership dropping below 100. Budget woes like you wouldn’t believe. Desperate for leaders, Brian heard about the Radical Mentoring model and decided to give it a shot. He handpicked four lay leaders and four staff folks (all he had!) and began this process. At the end of a year, four of the eight were ready to lead another generation of potential leaders. At the end of that next year, he had about 20 leaders ready to go. Now approaching 1,000 members and attenders, Brian is now surrounded by motivated, all-in lay leaders. Forty people have now led groups of their own and 140 leaders have been developed through the process over four years.
CHRIST’S MODEL, UPDATED
Here’s a fly-by of the system we’ve distilled from Jesus’ model. It’s adapted to 21st-century culture, using tools that didn’t exist 2,000 years ago.
It begins with one leader. One spiritually, emotionally and relationally mature man, handpicked by you. It can be a staff person or even yourself, but it has to be someone the men of your church look up to and respect. He has to be an on-purpose guy who loves Jesus and takes seriously the God-centric life. He is signing up to spend three hours with a group of six to eight guys in his home once a month.
Awakening in the Land of the Rising Sun
In Japan, statistics show that 99 percent of the population does not have a relationship with Christ. Those statistics represent people—living, breathing image-bearers of God whom Jesus Christ died to save. While the task of reaching them with the gospel seems daunting, God is stirring the church in Japan to reach the nation. Even now, churches and missionaries in Japan are praying and planning for gospel opportunities as the country opens its doors to host the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
What might happen if churches around the world committed to daily prayer for the churches, missionaries and people of Japan between now and the end of the Olympics?
With its complex nature of culture, history and former geographical isolation, Japan has been hard to reach with the gospel. Steeped in ancient traditions of Buddhism and Shintoism, religion in Japan is a cultural identity more than a personal reality. The concept of a collective identity through religious history has made for slow progress in reaching the hearts of Japanese people.
Today in Japan, however, winds of awakening are beginning to blow. Prayer strategy leaders in Japan long to see the nation transformed by the hope of Jesus, and they’ve committed to pray daily for the nation. There is excitement and enthusiasm for what they see God doing. Rather than yielding to the darkness, they are invigorated by the light of the gospel.
The signs point to a growing spiritual awakening in Japan.
Across Japan, Southern Baptists are hearing reports of God doing amazing things that offer hope of what may come:
- A church in the heart of a bustling shopping and social hub in Tokyo has been languishing. This church’s leaders wanted to know why Tokyo Baptist Church was healthy and growing. When they approached the church for answers, God opened the door for the leaders to speak of the importance of standing on the authority of Scripture and yielding to the lordship of Christ. Through ongoing discipleship efforts and prayer, this church could soon be revitalized and play a key role in reaching the city.
- A healthy church near Yokohama has been holding festivals with remarkable results. The festivals allow local residents to meet Japanese Christians and see the joy they have found in Jesus. This has prompted people to visit the church following the festivals to learn more about what they have seen and heard. The pastor of the church is praying for God to reach ten million Japanese people by 2024.
- Japanese people are choosing to listen to and believe the gospel as it is proclaimed during international sporting events, at ongoing festivals and through personal relationships. Additionally, Japanese business people are learning from Christian business leaders how faith and business can intersect.
Increasing prayer, churches working together, and more people hearing and responding to the gospel through the church’s desire to engage the lost have all been precursors to spiritual awakenings in past generations. The signs point to a growing spiritual awakening in Japan.
A spiritual awakening happened over a century ago in the small nation of Wales in the British Isles. Evangelist Evan Roberts was a catalyst to the Welsh Revival of 1904. When it became evident that God was moving among the prayers and the preaching of those who longed for revival, Roberts asked his best friend if he thought it was possible for God to save 100,000 people. Within six months, more than 100,000 people had put their faith in Christ. As news spread, this led to the larger global awakening that drew thousands more people around the world into relationship with God.
What about an awakening in our time?
Southern Baptist churches in the United States have already been in strategic prayer and planning with IMB personnel in Japan to learn how they can collaborate to be as effective as possible in reaching the nation. The statistics are not in our favor, but we can still believe that this supposed missionary graveyard will rattle to life like the dry bones in Ezekiel and that God will raise a vast army to proclaim His truth, not only across Japan, but around the world.
We can still believe that this supposed missionary graveyard will rattle to life like the dry bones in Ezekiel and that God will raise a vast army to proclaim his truth, not only across Japan, but around the world.
We could very well be on the brink of a spiritual awakening in Japan. Let us commit to being a church defined by prayer and obedience to the Great Commission with the blessed hope that an awakening will sweep across the world in our time, just as it has in the past.
For resources to help you pray for Japan, order IMB’s prayer guide for Japan and visit the Prayer page of IMB’s Olympic ministry website. To find out how you can serve with IMB during the 2020 Olympics, visit the Serve page.
This article originally appeared here.
The Pastor as Hourly Employee?
One of my favorite things is getting together with other pastors and asking them how their ministry is going. Most of the time a pastor will say that things are going great, and then he will share some of the joys of his ministry. However, occasionally a pastor will sigh deeply and tell me that things are getting difficult… and on more than one occasion, that the pastor goes on to tell me that he has a particular elder who demands to know how he spends his time.
There are few things that elicit a deeper groan of sympathy from my own heart than a fellow pastor of a smaller church who tells me that his elders are suspicious enough to resort to tracking how much time he spends “in the office.” To me, it is an immediate sign of an unhealthy session that distrusts the pastor when the elders want a man to keep track of his hours or when they take it upon themselves to do so. I once knew a fellow minister who had an elder who would drive past the church and take note of what time he arrived each day and when he left each day. If he wasn’t keeping the same hours as the elder did before he was retired, he was reprimanded at the next session meeting. Being treated like this makes the pastor feel like a pack animal or Ben-Hur rowing in the slave galleys, rather than what he is – a trustworthy minister and pastor.
I hear enough of these stories that it seems like something that needs to be addressed. And part of the reason I feel I can address this, myself, is because I serve a church where the session does not treat me as a paid hourly employee. They don’t demand that I account for every minute of my day or scrutinize my schedule. In the church where I currently serve, I have never, ever felt like I am their employee; I feel I’ve been treated as a pastor, a minister who seeks to use his time well and live a life that is above reproach.
On the other hand, there are many pastors out there who don’t have the freedom to speak on this issue–and likely won’t even feel free to share this article on social media–because they are literally turning in timesheets and showing their work as if they were high schoolers clocking in at their first job at the Burger King.
There are a few things we can know about a small church that watches and scrutinizes the hours of the pastor:
1) Most likely, there are business leaders on the session.
2) The session members do not trust their minister.
3) The church will almost certainly chase their pastors away.
If you are a ruling elder on a session where you know the minister is being watched and scrutinized like this–if not by you, then maybe by another elder–I hope to give you a few reasons to stop this practice immediately, and consider even repenting to the pastor for how you’ve treated him.
1. Time =/= Increased Productivity.
In the business community, time equals productivity. If you’re working in a restaurant, another hour equals more food made and more people fed. If you’re running a lawn care business for which he was asked to give some troybuilt reviews, productivity means more grass cut as fast as possible. If you’re in banking, staying in the office for just another hour means that account will be completed, which means tomorrow you’ll be able to move on to something else, and over time that productivity turns into greater returns. The business world knows what productivity looks like: Greater return on investment and cash in the books. Time really does mean more productivity in the business world.
But what does pastoral productivity look like? More money in the church coffers? More behinds in the seats on Sunday mornings? More conversions? More baptisms? The biblical answer is that pastoring is not a job like making widgets or generating financial returns. Biblically speaking, productivity looks like the pastor fulfilling his calling with “a good conscience and sincere faith,” which cannot be numerically measured.
2. Time in the Office Is Not the Sum Total of Pastoral Ministry.
This is very important: If you think your pastor is being productive because his car is in the church parking lot, you have missed out on what a pastor does.
Sometimes pastors are outperforming visitations to people. That takes time and doesn’t look like any traditional definition of productivity.
Sometimes pastors work from home. I’ve been known to rise at 4 or 5 in the morning and work on my sermons. Many pastors relish the flexibility to work odd hours, or even to pepper their work throughout the day when they find spare minutes.
But let’s just say the session does consider visitation to be “work.” What about when a pastor is reading a book for his own edification? Or what about when a pastor takes a walk with his wife and discusses what he’s been reading? What about when a man talks to his daughter about the news of the day and discusses how to think biblically. What about if he is having lunch with a deacon?
There are parts of being a healthy pastor with a healthy family that simply does not fit neatly into the categories of traditional productivity or time well spent, and yet without them, the pastor’s life would be a mess and he would be entirely unable to minister in the long term. In other words, you could never really measure the time a pastor spends being a pastor, because he never stops. Probably even the man himself could not tell you when he stops being a pastor and when he shifts into “average joe” mode, and that is because of the next point I want to mention.
6 Practices to Overcome Criticism
Criticism is a reality in any leader’s life.
Constructive critique is welcomed.
Whether it comes from a coach who cares, another leader on the team who wants the best for you and the church, or a good friend, constructive criticism given in a genuine spirit of love is a gift.
Potentially destructive criticism, however, comes from both inside and outside the church.
Even when you’re making a positive difference in your community, someone will be offended and complain.
Christians too, will let you know what they don’t like and might even leave if you don’t comply.
In Acts 6:1, it says that “In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.”
Criticism isn’t new in the local church, but it has intensified in the past few years, and social media has made it more complicated. It’s easy to criticize anything or anyone with the click of a laptop key.
Candidly, years of criticism can wear you down. It can discourage you.
Some of my friends in ministry have tossed in the towel because it was just too much. While I hate to see them leave their churches, I understand.
Showing how to handle criticism makes all the difference.
6 Ways of How To Handle Criticism:
1) Feed your soul and remain in community
A prizefighter can’t take many punches unless they are in great shape physically. Similarly, great spiritual leaders can’t absorb all the hits if their spiritual tank is empty.
Inner strength and spiritual fortitude are the result of quiet reflection on God’s word and being steeped in prayer. There simply is no formula that replaces that truth.
If you run fast and carry the weight of leadership, meaning the bottom-line responsibility for something that impacts the spiritual welfare of those you serve, you need time to slow down.
You need time to slow down to hear from God and enjoy communion with Him.
From there, community with other leaders is necessary. Depending on your personality, it can be one other leader; it can be ten, that’s up to you. But the inner circle that you are open and honest with is essential.
Isolation gives fuel to our weaknesses and allows fears and insecurities to rise. Genuine community goes a long way to remedy that.
2) Absorb criticism with grace
Jesus said that when you are slapped on the cheek, turn the other cheek. (Matthew 5:39) That‘s usually in the context of something personal against you, but it’s difficult not to take criticism of your church personally as well.
Turning the other cheek to criticism is not easy! But it’s a worthy aspiration.
If you have a short fuse, this may be a challenge for you. I’m one of those with a long fuse, but it’s just as challenging for me. Neither one is a good option.
Powering up and striking back never solves the problem. It may temporarily shut a problem down but won’t solve it.
It takes less energy to absorb criticism than it does to fight it. If you can, let it go.
Give the benefit of the doubt, knowing that the person faces their own pressures, problems, and misunderstandings.
Love the person and extend grace. That doesn’t mean you rollover or become a doormat; it means there’s probably another approach that works better than retaliation.
3) Learn from criticism and take action when you can.
The good news is that as a leader, you can learn from criticism and complaints.
Resist the immediate reflex of defensiveness. Listen for something that is true and may need improvement or change.
If there is something legitimate about the criticism or complaint, thank the person and let them know you will work toward a solution.
Personally, I look for patterns.
I try not to overreact and “jump” to solve every criticism that appears legitimate. Churches are imperfect, but not everything demands attention.
If you chase every imperfection, you’ll lose the needed focus and energy to keep the purpose of the church in the forefront.
If, however, there is a pattern with a recurring issue of importance, I eagerly explore solutions. That may work for you too.
4) Ignore criticism when appropriate.
As you respond to criticism with grace and poise, remind yourself that you are not held hostage to respond to every complaint, or make everyone happy. That’s an impossibility.
It’s important to discern if it’s a potentially productive criticism or if it’s an expression from someone with a critical spirit.
If it’s a critical spirit, especially a chronically critical spirit, ignore it.
If it’s someone on social media who just wants to pick a fight, ignore it when you can.
Don’t let people with a critical spirit control your life or run your church.
5) Coach or teach someone who criticizes when the opportunity is appropriate.
There are moments where you have a window to help someone understand or gain a different perspective when the criticism is clearly misguided.
For example, I’ve listened to many people over the years that start by saying something like, “Everyone is unhappy about this.” Or, “Everyone wants a change with that.”
Who is everyone? “Everyone” is usually something between one and five people. That opens the door to a conversation.
This is not about drawing a line in the sand and starting a battle, but a genuine desire to help someone see something in a new light.
6) Take a stand.
It’s rare that the criticism is so strong or so damaging that it requires you to take a clear and hardstand. But when that very rare circumstance happens, don’t hesitate to act.
If you have moved through the first five points, and someone is intentionally attacking you or the church in a way that will harm the body of Christ, that requires a response.
If the attack is personal, it’s best if you don’t respond yourself. Someone else can step up and speak up for you, or with you.
If the attack is upon your church, let the leaders handle it together. Don’t let it go personal, keep the vision and mission in the forefront. That’s what you are called to protect.
Let me again say this is very rare.
I included this only because it does happen, and I’d love it if we help some of our best leaders from tossing in the towel because they were fighting a battle that was too big or trying to do it alone. The nature of criticism can be extremely draining, but if you lean into these ideas, my prayer is that you will lead better and lead longer.
This article on How To Handle Criticism originally appeared here.
Leading People to Be Driven By God’s Purpose
Every member of your congregation is driven by something, and you need to discover what those forces are in order to better disciple those under your care. Ultimately, you want to lead each member to be driven by God’s agenda—to live a purpose-driven life.
Most dictionaries define the verb drive as “to guide, to control or to direct.” In your congregation, there are some driven by a problem, a pressure or a deadline, and others driven by a painful memory, a haunting fear or an unconscious belief.
There are hundreds of circumstances, values and emotions that drive people’s lives, and understanding what’s driving them is a key to reaching them.
Here are five common “drives”:
Some people are driven by guilt—They spend their entire lives running from regrets or hiding their shame. Guilt-driven people are manipulated by memories. They allow their past to control their future, believing their past mistakes to be bigger than God. They often unconsciously punish themselves by sabotaging their own success. When Cain sinned, his guilt disconnected him from God’s presence, and God said, “You will be a restless wanderer on the earth” (Gen. 4:12, NIV). That describes most people today—wandering through life without a purpose.
Some people are driven by resentment—They hold on to their hurts and never get over them. Instead of releasing their pain through forgiveness, they rehearse it over and over in their minds. Some resentment-driven people “clam up” and internalize their anger while others “blow up” and explode. Both responses are unhealthy and unhelpful. Resentment always hurts you more than it does the person you resent. While your offender has probably forgotten the offense and gone on with life, you continue to stew in your pain, perpetuating the past.
Some people are driven by fear—These fears may be the result of a traumatic experience, unrealistic expectations, growing up in a high-control home or even genetic predisposition. Regardless of the cause, fear-driven people often miss great opportunities because they’re afraid to venture out. Instead they play it safe, avoiding risks and trying to maintain the status quo.
True Story: The Guiness Record for the World’s Longest Sermon
A 31-year-old pastor in Mount Dora, Fla., recently set the record for the longest sermon ever preached.
Pastor Zach Zehnder of Cross Church began his quest on Fri., Nov. 7, and by Sunday had preached for 53 hours and 18 minutes. I have to assume he has no deacons at Cross Church, or they would have pulled the plug after an hour.
During the two-and-a-half day homiletical marathon, Zehnder preached through 45 of his own sermons and displayed more than 600 PowerPoint slides as he moved from Genesis to Revelation, highlighting the theme of divine faithfulness. Personally, I’d say having a church put up with a 53-hour message is a sparkling example of congregational faithfulness.
According to the Broward New Times, “To comply with Guinness World Record rules, Zehnder had to speak before a minimum of 10 people the entire time, and there had to be two independent witnesses to sign off on its validity and monitor his break times. To ensure these rules were met, church members formed groups to help out and rotated shifts, moving in and out in groups of 10. Some spectators stayed nearly as long as Pastor Zehnder. Toward the end of the event, hundreds of community members came to see him complete his speech marathon.”
The sermonic display was done as a fund-raising event to raise money for a local recovery ministry. (In my past churches, I suspect the folks would have given money to have me preach shorter, not longer.) In addition to whatever spiritual benefit may have come from the lengthy message, the record-breaking sermon raised more than $100,000 for the local charity and drew national news attention. This got me thinking: What other record-breaking attempts could be made by preachers?
• The most fried chicken consumed at a church supper
• The most irrelevant stories packed into a single sermon
• The most “And finally” references included in a message before actually stopping
• The most deacons packed into a church courtyard to catch a last-minute smoke before the service begins
• The longest sermon introduction before actually beginning the body of the message
• The most points packed into a single sermon outline. (The record I’ve heard so far is 27. Trust me, you’re just as happy not having heard it yourself.)
So get ready, Guinness Book of World Records people. We preachers are just getting started. 
World Watch List 2020: China Is Greatest Threat to Global Religious Freedom
Open Doors has released its 2020 World Watch List, an annual report that ranks the top 50 countries in the world where Christians face the worst persecution. In a press conference about the latest research, Open Doors president and CEO David Curry highlighted three major trends from the list, emphasizing the increasingly disturbing actions of the Chinese government.
“China is creating what I believe is a ‘persecution roadmap’ against religious faith,” said Curry. “It is the greatest threat, in my opinion, to human rights today.”
The First Trend from the 2020 World Watch List: China’s ‘frightening’ Behavior
North Korea made the number one spot on the World Watch List for the eighteenth year in a row. Yet the press conference focused heavily on China, despite the fact the country only ranked 23rd this year. Curry did not pull any punches about the scope of the danger he believes the Chinese government poses to global religious freedom, a threat he said has “implications…not just for Christians within China but for every country and for religious freedom generally.” Curry was clear that the Chinese government endangers people of every type of belief, whether they are Christians, atheists, or followers of non-Christian religions.
The steps China is taking to restrict freedom are “frightening,” said Curry, who started by describing “the shocking rise of the surveillance state.” There are cameras everywhere in China, as Curry himself can attest since he traveled to the country only a couple weeks ago. He witnessed firsthand the fact that the government is tracking church attendance by means of facial scanning, as ChurchLeaders recently reported.
“The more often you go to church,” said Curry, “the more you may likely be considered a radical.” He drew attention to the persecution of Early Rain Covenant Church over this past year. In December 2018, authorities arrested 100 of the church’s members, including the pastor, Wang Yi. While most of the members have since been released, Pastor Wang Yi was recently sentenced to nine years in prison because of his faith. Curry also mentioned the fact that the government has been detaining and brainwashing Uighur Muslims in so-called “re-education camps.” “It’s not just fears. It’s not unfounded,” said Curry. “It’s already happening.” He stressed that while the World Watch List focuses on Christian persecution, “We stand for religious faith and freedom for all people everywhere.”
Curry went on to describe how, in something that seems pulled directly from Netflix’s Black Mirror, the government has been developing a system for giving people a social score. “Imagine a system where every citizen is given 2,000 points, and every time you do something that the government disagrees with, you’re marked down for it,” said Curry. “And eventually your travel is restricted, your children won’t get into the best schools. You lose points for taking your children to Sunday school.”
The reason Open Doors is drawing so much attention to China this year, he said, is that everything indicates that in 2020, the Chinese government will be merging its social scoring system with its surveillance system. What’s more, “It’s only a matter of time before the world is going to jump on this technology because China is selling it to Iran. They’re looking to sell it to Egypt and other countries as well.”
Also speaking at the press conference was Jian Zhu, the senior pastor of Chinese Christian Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Zhu has pastored in Albuquerque for the past 30 years, and for the past 20 has spent three to four months out of every year in China. He is in regular contact with pastors and church leaders there, and he confirmed the accounts ChurchLeaders has reported on that the government is pressuring people to renounce their faith and to spy on and betray their Christian neighbors.
Zhu also confirmed the ways authorities are implementing the sinicization of Christianity. The pastor (who idolized Chairman Mao before he became a Christian) said that the government’s present restrictions on religious freedoms are the worst he has seen since 1979.
Other Notable Trends
The second trend Curry highlighted from this year’s World Watch List was the spread of Islamic extremism. Countries that stand out as examples of this trend include Iran, where last year 194 Christians were arrested. Curry also mentioned Algeria and Sri Lanka, the latter of which is notable for the bombings that occurred there last Easter.
The third trend Curry mentioned was the oppression Christians are experiencing at the hands of dictators. Eritrea is one country that exemplifies this type of persecution, but North Korea is the undisputed leader in it. Said Curry, “The free world needs to unite and send a message to North Korea that they cannot join the world community without some transparency on human rights.”
Among other changes Curry called attention to was the fact that Burkina Faso has risen on the list in a “major way.” He also mentioned the suffering Christian women experience throughout the world, noting that 8,539 Christians were raped or sexually harassed last year. This averages out to 23 people per day.
For the Second Time, Lauren Daigle’s ‘You Say’ Hits Platinum
Lauren Daigle reached some major milestones in 2019. The popular Christian artist’s song “You Say” has occupied the top of Billboard’s Hot Christian Songs for 69 weeks in a row, garnering it the record for the longest run on that chart. In October 2019, “You Say” surpassed the former record holder, Hillsong United’s “Oceans,” which occupied the spot for 61 weeks. Now, Billboard has released a handful of Year-End Charts, with “You Say” occupying the top spot of several. The song even took the number 20 spot of the year-end chart of Adult Pop Songs.
“I think a lot of times we build these complexes based on insecurity, based on fear, based on rejection, and just lies that we have to constantly overcome. So this song, for me, was just a reminder of my identity,” Daigle explained in a video about the story behind the chart-topping song.
Daigle says the inspiration for the song came after her very first Dove awards. She recalled reflecting on the “really high highs and really low lows” that constitutes the nature of a career in music production. “You Say” is about “trying to figure out how to exist when I feel like so many things are pulling me in so many directions,” Daigle explained.
More than anything, Daigle says the song is about God stepping in and superseding her “inadequacies.”
“You Say” was released on Daigle’s 2018 album, “Look Up Child.” Four days ago, the singer and Louisiana native took to her Instagram account to announce the album had received a Platinum Certification and that “You Say” had received a 2x certification.
For more on Lauren Daigle, check out some of the other articles ChurchLeaders has done chronicling her rise to fame:
Lauren Daigle Says Farewell to 2016 with Live Performance of ‘Trust in You’ on Good Morning America
Lauren Daigle on “The Ellen Show”: Watch Her Powerful Performance
Lauren Daigle Doesn’t Want to ‘miss the heart of God’ by Rejecting Secular Stage
WATCH Lauren Daigle Bring Christian Music to Late Night TV
Lauren Daigle Makes Controversial Statement About Homosexuality
Lauren Daigle: The Artist Formerly Known as Christian (?)
Lauren Daigle Tops Charts, Helps Those in Need
Lauren Daigle at KLOVE Awards: Please Pray for My Grandfather
Lauren Daigle Raises Hope, $17,000 for Maximum Security Inmates
You can also hear more of the story behind the song “You Say” here:
Muslim Fulani Herdsmen Kill 13 Christians, Wound Three in Central Nigeria
JOS, Nigeria (Morning Star News) – Armed Muslim Fulani herdsmen killed 13 Christians in Plateau state, Nigeria on Wednesday (Jan. 8), the same day four students were kidnapped from a Catholic seminary in Kaduna state.
About 20 herdsmen attacked the predominantly Christian village of Kulben, in Plateau state’s Mangu County, at about 8 p.m., area residents told Morning Star News. The 13 dead were all members of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN), as were three people wounded in the assault, they said.
“They were shooting with guns in all directions, forcing the villagers to scamper into surrounding bushes,” area resident Michael Mutding, 40, told Morning Star News in a text message. “Corpses of those killed have been evacuated by soldiers and police to the mortuary of Mangu Cottage Hospital; and all the victims are members of COCIN.”
Bala Fwengje, a legislator representing the area in the Plateau State House of Assembly, said in a statement that the attacks came in spite of efforts by security agencies.
“This attack on my people by these herdsmen comes as a rude shock to us, as efforts have been made by security agencies to curtail such incessant attacks on our people,” Fwengje said. “It is a sad thing that these attacks are still being carried out by the herdsmen on our people without provocation.”
Audu Tetmut, a 60-year-old area leader of the Christian community, said there had never been any problem between his people and herdsmen living in the area.
“Our community had lived peacefully with the herdsmen without any issues of dispute with them,” Tetmut told Morning Star News. “So we are surprised that they attacked us.”
Plateau state Gov. Simon Bako Lalong on Thursday (Jan. 9) vowed to bring the guilty to justice.
“We have toiled to ensure that peace returns to Plateau state, and we will not allow anyone to make nonsense of our efforts,” Lalong said. “We are determined to deal decisively and firmly with anybody found culpable in attacking or inciting people to carry out attacks against one another.”
Plateau State Command spokesman Terna Tyopev confirmed the attack in a statement on Thursday.
“We received a distress call that gunmen suspected to be herdsmen attacked Kulben community of Kombun District of Mangu,” he said. “As a result, 13 persons lost their lives and three were severely injured…Our team of detectives and other officers are on the scene of the crime to prevent further attacks.”
Seminary Students Kidnapped
Outside Kaduna city, capital of Kaduna state, four students were kidnapped from The Good Shepherd Catholic Major Seminary on Wednesday night (Jan. 8), an official said.
“Armed bandits” abducted the seminarians after the assailants shot sporadically at students, professors and staff members between 10:30 p.m. and 11 p.m., according to the Rev. Joel Usman, registrar of the institution.
Daniel Henderson: How to Lead Your People in Prayer
Daniel Henderson is the founder and president of Strategic Renewal. As a senior pastor for over 20 years, he has brought prayer-based revitalization to numerous churches and is now one of the most respected leaders on prayer. Daniel dedicates his time to helping pastors and churches across the country and around the world experience renewal. He has authored numerous books on biblical leadership and prayer, including Old Paths, New Power and Transforming Prayer: How Everything Changes When You Seek God’s Face. Daniel is also a husband, father, and grandfather.
Key Questions for Daniel Henderson
-What advice do you have pastors seeking to make prayer a central focus in their personal lives?
-Do you use any prayer tools, like the examen or centering prayer?
-Can you talk about the role the Holy Spirit plays in prayer?
-What are some of the challenges pastors and ministry leaders face when trying to develop a culture of prayer?
Key Quotes from Daniel Henderson
“We know that prayer is one of our primary priorities in ministry, both corporately and privately, but it’s hard to lead where you’ve not gone yourself.”
“Our time with God, our devotional life as we call it, can become very burdensome and routine if we haven’t really taken time to look at what our spiritual appetite is.”
“I really do believe those times of getting away just to be with Jesus, just to really let your soul get some rest and refreshment, is the key to making what approach you take really work in the course of the year.”
“In my Bible, I’ve written a personal theology statement that’s just a one-page summary of the attributes of God as relates to the struggles of my life.”
“My personal prayer life goals are really rooted in just this issue of knowing God, living my identity in Christ, fulfilling my mission, because really…usually it’s really not prayer. It’s what prayer accomplishes. Prayer is the means to the end of many things.”
“My daily prayer life comes out of my Bible reading.”
“What we really teach, and what I’ve learned, is when Jesus said, ‘Pray this way’…it literally means, you must pray this way, and you must always pray this way.”
“You don’t even know what to pray about until you’ve worshiped well and surrendered completely.”
“The only example of how the early church prayed, not that they prayed but how they prayed, is found in Acts Chapter 4, that great prayer meeting as persecution began to hit them. And what is so interesting about that prayer is they actually follow the model prayer that Jesus gave them.”
Is Francis Chan Right About the Lord’s Supper?
Francis Chan recently implied that the reformers relegated the Lord’s Supper to a “symbol,” elevated the pulpit and preaching in its stead and caused division in the church—which now has 30,000 denominations. Any clip excised from a full message (as this one) almost necessitates miscommunication. Almost certainly this is the case here.
Still, many cite narrative that Francis Chan gave above concerning communion to criticize the Reformation. For this reason, it is worth asking whether or not the argument about the Lord’s Supper is correct. As I see it, the major problem with the Lord’s Supper narrative is that it is entirely wrong.
The reformed did and do believe in the real presence of Christ, the pulpit did not replace the Lord’s Supper but complemented it, and there is nowhere near 30,000 protestant denominations. And besides, a denomination in Protestant theology means a denomination of the whole—it is a practical subgrouping of the catholic church.
First, the real or spiritual presence of the Lord’s Supper is the reformed view
The reformed almost without fail all believed and believe in the spiritual presence of Christ. Obviously, some outliers and now many baptists have a memorial view. But that is not the historical position of the reformed nor even of all baptists!
In fact, the great Baptist minister Robert Hall once wrote: “To consider the Lord’s supper . . . as a mere commemoration of [our Lord’s death and passion] is to entertain a very inadequate view of it.” Charles Spurgeon likewise promoted the reformed view of real presence.
As an exemplar of this view, John Calvin once wrote: “So the bread is Christ’s body, as it assures us certainly of the exhibition of what it represents, or because the Lord in extending to us that visible symbol, gives us in fact along with it his own body; for Christ is no juggler, to mock us with empty appearances.”
For a fuller discussion and definition of the reformed view of the supper (often called the spiritual presence view), consider Brad Littlejohn’s essay linked here. But suffice it to say, the accusation that the reformation denied the real presence of Christ at the Supper is false—very false.*
Second, the reformed did not replace the supper with the pulpit
The reformers did elevate preaching. Yet anyone who has ever entered an Anglican or Lutheran church will know that the Lord’s Supper is not relegated to a mere symbol! The other reformed communions following their reformed forebears also promote the importance of the Supper.
Many reformed churches placed the pulpit at the front towards the side of the church (not in the centre of it where the table lies). Some baptists too would celebrate the Supper not at the front of the church but at the centre of the building!
I grant that in the 19th century even many Presbyterians bought into the idea that the Supper was a sort of internalized spiritual act. Even Charles Hodge criticized the real presence of Christ as the Supper—at least as presented by John Nevin.
Thankfully, due to the availability of historical documents now freely distributed through publishers and the internet, many reformed believers are again reclaiming their heritage—the doctrine of the spiritual presence of Christ at the eucharist has once again been put into its rightful place.
Besides, the testimony of the first millennia of the church shows how central preaching was to the worship of the church. Many sermons from Gregory of Nazianzus have been preserved, and they could easily have taken a large portion of time to preach. The same goes with Augustine or even later fathers like Photius.
The point here is that preaching had been central. And it may have been the medieval, Western European context of the Reformation that perhaps gave the impression that preaching was not central. This can be seen for example in the Latin Mass, which many could not understand since it was not in the vernacular of the people.
The pulpit did not replace the Supper, although we must grant that the march of naturalism did harm the doctrine of the Supper in the 19th century so that now the memorial view has taken hold in many baptists or non-denominational churches.
Third, there are not 30,000 denominations
The statistics here are fairly clear, and I will link to this article and this article for further reading. I would also like to register an affirmation that a denomination is just that a denomination of the whole.
The protestant understanding of the church is that it is birthed by Word and Spirit. Hence, any true church is united spiritually to one another by the Holy Spirit. Denominations are generally local and agreed upon rules for union. Yet the real union is Spiritual.
Hence, a denomination is a part of the whole. Granted, many in North America (and likely elsewhere) practically ignore the catholicity of spiritual unity, which we should lament. But many do not. A number of organizations like T4G, TGC, and others work hard to evince the unity won by the central affirmations of theology rather than by denominational allegiance.
These organizations, I think, do have the potential to show what is true about denominations—namely, that they are parts of the whole, a unity by the Spirit and Word.
*Note: the reformed understood real presence as a real spiritual presence.
This article originally appeared here.
3 Ways to Kickstart Your Students’ Spiritual Growth
All of us want to see our teenagers grow deeper in their faith. But is there a way to kickstart their spiritual growth?
The answer is “YES!” Here are three of them …
1. Pray for them and get them praying!
The great first-century church prayer warrior Epaphras shows us how to pray with impact. Paul wrote these telling words about his spiritual co-worker, “Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.”
Praying for your teenagers accelerates the work of the Holy Spirit in their hearts, breaks down Satanic strongholds and pushes the spiritual gas pedal down in their souls. Never underestimate prayer power when it comes to seeing your teenagers spiriutally transformed. Pray for them and get others to pray for them, but don’t stop there …
Get your teenagers praying too! Do a series on how to pray, tie prayer into worship sets, get students praying for the salvation of their unreached friends and the spiritual transformation of their Christian friends. This brand of intercessory prayer will help build in them a Christ-centered, other-focused perspective, which becomes a fertile ground for faster-than-usual spiritual growth.
2. Use a question-based approach to teaching God’s Word.
Jesus taught by asking questions. Throughout the Gospels the Master-Rabbi-Teacher asked somewhere around 300 questions to his friends and foes. At Dare 2 Share we encourage youth leaders to use what we have nicknamed an “A.L.T.ernative” teaching style.
A.L.T. stands for: Ask. Listen. Teach.
When you ask questions like, “How do we really know there is a God?” or “Will people who never hear the Gospel still go to hell?” or “Does it really matter if Jesus rose from the dead physically?” it allows teenagers to share what they really believe. As they express their beliefs, don’t immediately correct them. Listen to them deeply. Try to find out not just what they believe but why they believe it. Affirm their honesty (not their heresy!) and then take them to the Scriptures.
This style of teaching will show them how authoritative and comprehensive the Word of God is. It will also help them realize that the Word of God is more than capable of handling their toughest questions. After a few sessions of A.L.T.ernative teaching, your teens will have a new appreciation for the Word of God’s relevance and your willingness to listen to them deeply and then point them to the Word of God for answers.
3. Put them in situations where their faith can be stretched and strengthened.
Tim Keller said, “Teenagers have a lot of information about God, but little experience of Him. Teens need to be put in positions where they are forced to rely on God.”
Maybe this is why mission trips are so effective. They force teenagers to rely on God like never before. This accelerates the spiritual development process like no curriculum ever could.
Even more effective than mission trips to a foreign country are the mission trips your teenagers take every day to their schools. As I’ve said before, if you give the average teenager a choice to go to the Amazon to build a mud hut for the poor while fighting off pythons or going to their school cafeteria and dropping the message of Jesus on a group of their classmates, most would choose the pythons. They’d rather risk getting choked by a giant snake than getting choked out of their peer group.
This risk forces them to trust in God and plug into Christ to energize them to gospelize their peers. This connection to Jesus is the ultimate key to kickstarting spiritual growth. Jesus reminds us in John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
These three simple action steps will help your teenagers grow deeper faster. Put them into practice and watch what God will do in them and through them!
What are some more ways a youth leader can kickstart the spiritual growth of their teenagers?
10 Ways to Identify and Develop Missionaries From Your Student Ministry
Student pastors have a unique opportunity to raise up missionaries from within their student ministries. During the 2019 Student Pastor Summit at Midwestern Seminary, I had the opportunity to address a room chock-full of student pastors on the topic of how to help students take their first steps toward missions.
Student pastors must be intentionally taking steps to identify and develop prospective missionaries. If we don’t, then we won’t see them rise out of our student ministries. But how are future missionaries identified and developed from scratch? Just as we would prepare a young man to be a pastor by giving him opportunities to lead a small group Bible study or preach on a special occasion, we can prepare students to become missionaries by giving them opportunities to be involved in missions now.
Here are 10 simple ways to identify and develop future missionaries from your student ministry.
- Read the Bible in 90 days.
Challenge your students to read the Bible in 90 days. Why such a short time frame? Students can do it! Even more, reading this much this fast highlights the interconnectedness of the story in ways the mind is unable to recognize when reading at a slower pace. This will help them to see the overarching narrative of the Scriptures, which is God’s plan to redeem sinful humans to make a glorious people for himself. - Read missionary biographies.
Give away books on Jim Elliot, David Brainerd, Adoniram Judson, William Carey and Amy Carmichael. The stories of these heroes of the faith have reinvigorated my zeal for the nations. - Read books and listen to sermons that cast vision for missions.
Books such as Radical and Let the Nations Be Glad! have challenged innumerable young Christians to consider giving their life to Christ’s glory among the nations. Encourage your students to listen to missions sermons from pastors who are passionate about missions. - Pray for unreached peoples and places and the missionaries seeking to reach them.
If your local church has sent a missionary or adopted an unreached people, make this your first priority. You can also use resources such as IMB’s prayer list, Operation World or a local prayer guide for the peoples in your city. - Give to a missionary.
One way we participate in the missionary task is through supporting missionaries. Show your students how to leverage God-given money for God’s fame among the nations. Make it your first priority to give to a missionary sent out by your church or give directly to a sending organization or partner with another local church to support a missionary. - Participate in local cross-cultural ministry.
Most cities and even rural towns have refugees or immigrants in tight-knit communities. God has brought the nations to us. Lead your students to participate in an ESL program or other outreach strategies to engage them where they are. - Partner with long-term missionaries.
Avoid the temptation to create only a fun experience for students overseas. Let a romantic view of missions die and allow the hardships of global missions to be on full-display as your students partner with long-term missionaries in their fields. As you communicate with these missionaries, ask them how your students can be a genuine help to them, even if it’s not glamorous. - Introduce your students to other students who have already gone on mission.
If you don’t have a student from your ministry who has gone overseas, ask around and invite a student from another ministry to come. Many students begin to consider missions as a realistic option when they see a peer do it first. - Provide experiential learning.
It’s difficult to grasp the concept of other worldviews until you’ve stepped into a Muslim mosque or a Hindu temple. It’s difficult to grasp the concept of unreached peoples until you’ve stepped into an ethnic shop or worshiped with Christians from other cultures. Open your students’ eyes to missions by providing real experiences with other cultures. Research your city to find a Middle Eastern grocery store, West African restaurant, Hindu temple or Muslim mosque that is open to public visitors. Partner with a church in your area that is made up of people from another culture who worship in a different style and language. - Do evangelism today.
There is no more important step toward missions than evangelism. While missions is more than evangelism, it is never less than that. Model evangelism by taking students out to share in bold, public ways. Share the gospel in every sermon and lesson you give. Have your students practice sharing the gospel. Be specific about who they’ll share with and when. Follow up. Remember, the best gospel tool you have is the one you use.
“While missions is more than evangelism, it is never less than that.”
No one knows exactly what it was like when the Holy Spirit told the leaders at Antioch to “set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them” (Acts 13:2 NIV). But he certainly continues to set aside some of the church for the missionary task. And often he is setting them aside through the prayerful, proactive work of pastors.
Many young missionaries serving in hard places today wouldn’t be there except for a faithful student pastor lighting a flame for the nations in their hearts. It is the responsibility of church leaders to identify and develop tomorrow’s missionaries today. If we’re not leading our students to take steps toward missions, then we’ll forfeit the future joys of sending missionaries.
This article originally appeared here.
18 Questions to Ask Prospective Church Plant Team Members
Although we have three main full-time positions we would like to fill for each scheme we engage in—church planter, female outreach worker and ministry assistant—our fledgling ministries are always on the lookout for potential team members. A solid team of people committed to the gospel and the same vision have a far greater chance of success on the ground than the lone ranger.
The temptation from the get go is to panic into recruiting and allowing just about anybody who shows interest to join the initial team. This can be because of internal pressure to succeed and look like something is happening or because of the unrealistic expectations of the mother church (where there is one) to get the thing moving so that they have something positive to report to their church and/or denomination.
We must not give in to these subtle pressures and distractions, otherwise we can find ourselves in real trouble almost from the off dealing with all sorts of crackpots who can become a real strain, not to mention a drain, on the church planter and the rest of his team. Things will be difficult enough without the added complication of dealing with team members who are a constant drag on the vision and momentum of the work.
The right team members, on the other hand, can be a breath of fresh air and a real boon to the ministry. Here are some things to look out for (not in any specific order):
1. Local people are an absolute must. Nobody is going to understand an area like the person who has lived there for his/her life. Their perspective will be invaluable.
2. Failing that, cultural insiders are the next best thing. They may be from another scheme (or council estate if from the rest of the UK), but their insights and way of looking at the world will be of real value.
3. If not local, will they move in to the area?
4. Do they love the Lord Jesus? I mean love Him enough to sell all they have and live and die among the people they are trying to reach.
5. Are they teachable? Watch out for the ‘experts’ who have all the answers and want to join you to ‘save’ the locals. You are looking for team members who will listen to, understand, accept and, sometimes, enhance the vision of the leader. The last thing we need are ‘competitors’ always looking to undermine the team with their ‘opinion.’
6. Are they prepared to serve the tea and pick up a sweeping brush?
7. Do they understand the gospel? Never assume this.
8. Are they in agreement with the statement of faith and theological distinctions of the group?
9. Do they love and see the importance of the local church? Never accept anybody on the run from their last church or who has a patchy past when it comes to having been part of a local body. Church crawlers and spiritual nomads love new things, but their commitment never lasts. Do they have a good history of service from their previous church(es)? ALWAYS take references.
10. Are they motivated by a desire to honor God rather than a romantic notion of what ministry is all about?
11. If married, is it happy? If single, are they stable? A new work can seem like a ‘new start’ for some couples just masking their real issues, and some singles can be so caught up in finding a mate that you spend all your time counselling them rather than releasing them to ministry.
12. Do they understand the notion of generous giving?
13. Are they flexible and adaptable to change? Always make it clear that doctrinal distinctives won’t change but the methodology might according to events ‘on the ground.’ A good team member will understand this and go with the flow.
14. Do they trust you as the leader?
15. Are they godly?
16. Can they tell you how they have grown in grace over the last 12 months, three years, five years?
17. Will they make a 10-20 year commitment?
18. Do they want power or authority? Watch out for those who want the world to know how gifted they are by being given a position of leadership. Never make anybody a leader until you have seen them in a consistent area of humble service and submission to leadership.
Don’t make the mistake of picking and choosing people who are only like you. Deliberately seek out those with different personalities and gifts. Allowing them to flourish and using them wisely means your group is likely to grow, not only numerically but culturally as well. This process could take years in the schemes, so settle in and don’t be in a rush. Keep in prayer and the Lord will provide in the right time. However, be proactive and constantly on the lookout. Take risks on people, but make sure the biggest risks you take are with new believers and those with a teachable spirit.
Write Your Name on the Wall
Last night, my little girl got in trouble. No, not for cutting her hair with scissors (this time)! She didn’t get in trouble for teasing the dog either. Nope, this time she got in hot water for writing her name on the bathroom wall in two separate places and, if that weren’t enough, the toilet seat!
My son, Jeremy (aka “the informant”), ran downstairs and told me what she had done, and I ran upstairs to see it for myself. He was right, and she was wrong.
When I grilled Kailey as to why she did this act of toddler tagging (micro vandalism!), she kept saying, “I don’t want people to forget me! I don’t want people to forget my name!”
Don’t worry Kailey, we won’t.
Already, at the ripe age of six, she wanted to leave her mark on the world…with a not-so-magic marker.
How did I respond? Suffice it to say that I don’t think she will do it again But, then again, I could be very, very wrong.
How could I have responded? Brad Keirnes, one of the board members of Dare 2 Share (the ministry I work for), responded on my Facebook page with an alternative approach. He wrote, “My Aunt’s granddaughter drew on her hallway wall with permanent markers when she was a toddler. Rather than scold her, my Aunt framed the ‘masterpiece’ with a wooden picture frame 2 feet off the floor. It is still there today, 20+ years later…”
Okay, I feel guilty now. Instead of getting punished, this other little girl got her scribbles framed.
I must be a bad dad. But I serve a good one and so do you.
God takes our scribbles and frames them. He lets us leave our mark on the world both now and forever. How? By “scribbling” the gospel onto the souls of those we are in proximity with every single day!
The Apostle Paul reminds us of this in 2 Corinthians 3:2-3, “You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”
When we share the gospel, we are etching and sketching the Name of Christ into the souls of our classmates, co-workers, family, and friends. For us, leaving our mark on this world means sharing His message to this world.
Want people to remember your name for time and eternity? It takes more than a Sharpie. It takes you sharing the best news of all time with them. It takes getting the Name of Jesus imprinted with permanent ink on their lost souls. For all of eternity, they will never forget your act of holy tagging…and neither will Jesus.
Frame that.
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