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Why Leader’s Time Management Skills Depend on Large Blocks of Time

By
Eric Geiger
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

Calendars fill up quickly. If leaders don’t manage their calendars then their calendars will manage them. In my view, one of the most important decisions leaders make in terms of time management skills is how to plan their work. Do they just react to what comes their way or do they proactively plan how they will lead and create? Meetings, emergencies, and time with people are a given. But what about preparing messages, planning ahead, and crafting direction? Some leaders have excellent time management skills because they set large blocks of time for that work while others attempt to “squeeze that work in” to their busy schedules.

I have learned that it is significantly more fruitful to intentionally place large chunks of time on the weekly calendar for preparation. In other words, the “blocks of time” have to be planned and protected. When it comes to management skills, I have learned that:

  • One five-hour block of sermon prep is significantly more productive that five one-hour blocks.
  • One four-hour block of advanced planning is significantly more fruitful than eight 30-minute sessions in-between emails and meetings.

Here are 4 reasons leaders’ time management skills depend on large blocks of time (such as 3-5 hours of uninterrupted focus):

1. To maximize deep work.

In his book Deep Work, Cal Newport describes deep work as “a state of distraction-free concentration that pushes your cognitive capabilities to their limit. These efforts create new value, improve your skill, and are hard to replicate.” In other words, there is a place where you can go mentally that is hard to reproduce. I have heard leaders, writers, and preachers call it “the zone” or “being locked in,” but all speak about the sacredness of those moments, the amount of work that is accomplished, and the desire to not to get up from the desk because you don’t want the moment to end. Those moments of “deep work” cannot be microwaved; they take time.

2. To train yourself to not live and lead reactively.

There is always something to react to as a leader, always a problem to solve, always a question to answer, and always a correspondence to respond to. If you don’t block off time, you can easily spend your day just responding and not proactively leading.

3. To help others lead proactively.

Just as it is healthy for leaders to train themselves to not continually live in chaotic, reactive mode, it is healthy for their teams to also know they don’t have to, and shouldn’t, lead that way either. A leader who leads proactively teaches the team to do so and thus reduces chaos for the entire organization.

4. To encourage your team to solve problems without you.

A leader who loves to be, or needs to be, in every decision trains the team to not solve problems or make decisions without the leader. But a leader who is inaccessible for “large blocks of time” encourages the team to solve problems on their own. “Deep work” is good for the leader and the team.

This article about time management skills originally appeared here.

How to Listen to a Sermon

By
Derek Thomas
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

Shortly before college I read Mortimer Adler’s little classic How to Read a Book. That may sound like an odd title. After all, how could somebody read the book unless they already knew how to read? And if they did know how to read, then why would they need to read it at all?

How to Read a Book turned out to be one of the most important books I have ever read. Adler quickly convinced me that I didn’t know how to read a book after all–not really. I didn’t know how to ask the right questions while I was reading, how to analyze the book’s major arguments, or how to mark up my copy for later use.

I suspect that most people don’t how to listen to a sermon, either. I say this not as a preacher, primarily, but as a listener. During the past thirty-five years I have heard more than three thousand sermons. Since I have worshiped in Bible-teaching churches all my life, most of those sermons did me some spiritual good. Yet I wonder how many of them helped me as much as they should have. Frankly, I fear that far too many sermons passed through my eardrums without registering in my brain or reaching my heart.

So what is the right way to listen to a sermon? With a soul that is prepared, a mind that is alert, a Bible that is open, a heart that is receptive, and a life that is ready to spring into action.

The first thing is for the soul to be prepared. Most churchgoers assume that the sermon starts when the pastor opens his mouth on Sunday. However, listening to a sermon actually starts the week before. It starts when we pray for the minister, asking God to bless the time he spends studying the Bible as he prepares to preach. In addition to helping the preacher, our prayers help create in us a sense of expectancy for the ministry of God’s Word. This is one of the reasons that when it comes to preaching, congregations generally get what they pray for.

The soul needs special preparation the night before worship. By Saturday evening our thoughts should begin turning towards the Lord’s Day. If possible, we should read through the Bible passage that is scheduled for preaching. We should also be sure to get enough sleep. Then in the morning our first prayers should be directed to public worship, and especially to the preaching of God’s Word.

If the body is well rested and the soul is well prepared, then the mind will be alert. Good preaching appeals first to the mind. After all, it is by the renewing of our minds that God does his transforming work in our lives (see Rom. 12:2). So when we listen to a sermon, our minds need to be fully engaged. Being attentive requires self-discipline. Our minds tend to wander when we worship; sometimes we daydream. But listening to sermons is part of the worship that we offer to God. It is also a prime opportunity for us to hear his voice. We should not insult his majesty by looking at the people around us, thinking about the coming week, or entertaining any of the thousands of other thoughts that crowd our minds. God is speaking, and we should listen.

To that end, many Christians find it helpful to listen to sermons with a pencil in hand. Although note taking is not required, it is an excellent way to stay focused during a sermon. It is also a valuable aid to memory. The physical act of writing something down helps to fix it in our minds. Then there is the added advantage of having the notes for future reference. We get extra benefit from a sermon when we read over, pray through, and talk about our sermon notes with someone else afterwards.

The most convenient place to take notes is in or on our Bibles, which should always be open during a sermon. Churchgoers sometimes pretend that they know the Bible so well that they do not need to look at the passage being preached. But this is folly. Even if we have the passage memorized, there are always new things we can learn by seeing the biblical text on the page. It only stands to reason that we profit most from sermons when our Bibles are open, not closed. This is why it is so encouraging for an expository preacher to hear the rustling of pages as his congregation turns to a passage in unison.

There is another reason to keep our Bibles open: we need to make sure that what the minister says is in keeping with Scripture. The Bible says, concerning the Bereans whom Paul met on his second missionary journey, “that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11; NKJV). One might have expected the Bereans to be criticized for daring to scrutinize the teaching of the apostle Paul. On the contrary, they were commended for their commitment to testing every doctrine according to Scripture.

Listening to a sermon–really listening–takes more than our minds. It also requires hearts that are receptive to the influence of God’s Spirit. Something important happens when we hear a good sermon: God speaks to us. Through the inward ministry of his Holy Spirit, he uses his Word to calm our fear, comfort our sorrow, disturb our conscience, expose our sin, proclaim God’s grace, and reassure us in the faith. But these are all affairs of the heart, not just matters of the mind, so listening to a sermon can never be merely an intellectual exercise. We need to receive biblical truth in our hearts, allowing what God says to influence what we love, what we desire, and what we praise.

The last thing to say about listening to sermons is that we should be itching to put what we learn into practice. Good preaching always applies the Bible to daily life. It tells us what promises to believe, what sins to avoid, what divine attributes to praise, what virtues to cultivate, what goals to pursue, and what good works to perform. There is always something God wants us to do in response to the preaching of his Word. We are called to be “doers of the word, and not hearers only” (James 1:22; NKJV). And if we are not doers, then we were not hearers, and the sermon was wasted on us.

Do you know how to listen to a sermon? Listening–really listening–takes a prepared soul, an alert mind, an open Bible, and a receptive heart. But the best way to tell if we are listening is by the way that we live. Our lives should repeat the sermons that we have heard. As the apostle Paul wrote to some of the people who listened to his sermons, “You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart” (2 Cor. 3:2-3; NKJV).

*This post was first published at Reformation21 in June of 2006 under the title, “How to Listen to a Sermon.”

This article originally appeared here.

$1 Million Grant Provides Free Resources So You Can ‘Bless Your Pastor’

By
Jessica Lea
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) launched a campaign last week to help churches more effectively serve their pastors. Recognizing that many people in Christian leadership “face significant financial challenges,” the “Bless Your Pastor” campaign aims to raise awareness about those needs and assist church members in meeting them.

“Having been a pastor myself, with three children and a wife who needed major medical treatments, I understand the financial struggles many pastors and their families face—and the tremendous difference it makes when a congregation shows their pastor they are there for them, all the way, sharing God’s love and blessings in practical ways,” says Brian Kluth, the spokesperson for Bless Your Pastor.

Bless and Support Your Pastor

Lilly Endowment Inc., a private philanthropic foundation, has given a $1 million, 3-year grant to fund the campaign, which, according to the Bless Your Pastor website, “empowers congregations to creatively care for their pastors.” The movement is open to all churches and, while targeted at pastors, the website notes that churches might choose to bless church staff as well. The Bless Your Pastor movement is based on 1 Thessalonians 5:12 and Galatians 6:6 and offers a number of free resources, including a Bless Your Pastor toolkit, online courses about financial health, and “50 Creative Ways to Show God’s Love for Your Pastor and Staff.”

support your pastor

According to the Times Free Press, some of the ways the campaign encourages people to serve are through providing child care, car repairs, and free gift cards for meals.  

Why This Campaign?

It’s easy for congregations to be unaware of the significant financial sacrifices many church leaders make. The Bless Your Pastor website says that pastors often have a 50- to 60-hour workweek. Half of pastors make less than $50,000 per year, and 60 percent of pastors receive no benefits (such as healthcare, retirement, etc.) from their churches. And this is not to lay the blame on churches, which often have limited budgets. Bless Your Pastor reports that half of all churches have a yearly budget under $125,000. 

The Bless Your Pastor website tells the story of a man God called to ministry when he was in his 50s. He and his wife spend a combined total of 100 hours per week ministering to the 75 people in their church body, all for $40,000 per year. Yet they are dedicated to their church because, the pastor says, “God called us to this church and we love these people.” 

Pastor Dwight Henderson told the Times that finances are a constant stressor for him and his congregation of 50. Even though his church would give him a raise if he asked for one, Henderson said he would never do that because it would mean the church would have to neglect other needs, such as repairing the building or parking lot. “I know the church struggles with budget,” he said. “The men of our church that I would deal with want to be more than generous. They want to be more than kind. And I think that is the same way at a lot of churches. I would never let them pay me to the neglect of other things.”

Henderson also told the Times it would be erroneous to think that pastors of large churches are free from financial struggles. Being larger comes with the expenses of maintaining a larger facility and staff. 

Ministry leaders all over the world make daily sacrifices out of love for God and others. Bless Your Pastor wants to serve those leaders in turn: “By inspiring believers to bless their pastors and providing them with free resources, we can create an outpouring of generosity in our communities for those who faithfully lead and teach the Word of God.”

Willow Creek Elders: Hybels ‘has chosen not to engage in dialogue’

By
Stephanie Martin
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willow creek
Wikimedia Commons

In what it says will be its “last public statement” about the “traumatic experience” involving church founder Bill Hybels, Willow Creek’s Elder Board said last Friday it believes the women who accused the pastor of sexual harassment. The statement, titled “Elder Update: Reconciliation,” also indicates Hybels “has chosen not to engage in dialogue” with the elders, who “welcome the opportunity to meet with him to aid in healing and reconciliation.”

Hybels, who launched the Chicago-area Willow Creek Community Church in 1975, resigned in April 2018 after the Chicago Tribune published allegations by several women of inappropriate comments and behavior. Hybels denied the claims, and the elders at the time initially supported him. A few months later, those elders apologized and resigned; several other leaders also left the eight-site megachurch.

New Elders Specify “harms” That Occurred at Willow Creek

Saying the allegations and their aftermath caused a “fracture…marked by disbelief, confusion, fear, and hurt,” the new Willow Creek elders have been “undertaking a systematic approach to actively listen, learn, and apologize.” After meeting with Hybels’ accusers and various church leaders, the elders say they “recognize that there are some specific harms that must be named.”

First, the nine elders apologized to “the women and their advocates,” who experienced “verbal and written attacks” as a result of Willow Creek’s initial response to the allegations. The board affirms unequivocal support for the March 2019 findings of an Independent Advisory Group, telling the women, “We believe your allegations against Bill.” The elders ask anyone who attacked Hybels’ accusers, referring to them as “liars and colluders,” to “prayerfully examine their actions, apologize for wrongdoing, and seek to mend the relationship.” The elders urge similar action for people who threatened leaders of Compassion International and Menlo Church for speaking up for Hybels’ accusers.

Next, the board extends “God’s grace” to the 2018 Elder Board, saying “there was an unfair assumption that you acted with malice.” According to the statement: “We believe that Bill’s denials and failure to acknowledge sinful, intimidating, and overly controlling behavior led leaders to make statements that were misinformed and incomplete.”

Finally, the statement addresses Willow Creek church staff and congregants, recognizing the harm suffered “in broken relationships, trust, and sense of community.” Citing Scripture, the elders say “the God who heals will help restore us all.” 

Elders Urge Hybels to Repent, Reconcile

The Willow Creek elders acknowledge Hybels’ 40+ years of service but add that “unchecked sin and intimidating behavior” caused continued damage. Following Jesus’ example of forgiveness, the board appeals to Hybels “to reflect on his years in ministry, repent where necessary, and seek to live out the ministry of reconciliation.”

Although they’ll no longer publicly address the matter, the elders say they remain committed to “work privately with individuals seeking renewed relationships and reconciliation.” They also announced that a special reconciliation-focused worship service will take place at Willow Creek on Tuesday evening. The Elder-led service will address “our vision for the future and the gospel-centered hope that anchors our church,” according to the board’s statement.

There Is No Perfect Formula for a Good Marriage

By
Megan Briggs
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

Author and former purity-culture advocate Joshua Harris announced last week that he is separating from his wife, Shannon Harris. The couple has been married for 20 years, following an experimental kind of pre-marital relationship Harris referred to as courtship and wrote about in his famous book, I Kissed Dating Goodbye. 

“In recent years, some significant changes have taken place in both of us,” the couple wrote in a dual-post they shared to their respective Instagram profiles. The post indicates Josh and Shannon are hoping to remain friends through the process of separation and also mentioned their three children: “We hope to create a generous and supportive future for each other and for our three amazing children in the years ahead.” 

Joshua Harris and Shannon Harris Are Separating

Harris is the author of the Christian mega-seller I Kissed Dating Goodbye, which was published in 1997 when Harris was just 21 years old. The book described Harris’ journey of coming to the conclusion that our culture’s modern dating system simply represents a glorified preparation for divorce. The book sold thousands of copies and almost single-handedly convinced a stunning percentage of young evangelical Christians to completely alter their approach to romance and finding a spouse. 

What If Loneliness Is a Gift?

By
Alison Cook
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

Loneliness gets a bad rap. And for good reason. But what if loneliness is a gift?

One of our deepest, most basic human needs is to experience healthy attachment—or in non-psychological terms, to experience loving connection with someone who sees us.

When you stop numbing, one of the first painful emotions you may encounter is loneliness. And loneliness is a double-whammy. It often shows up alongside grief or fear. But unlike those feelings, it tells you there’s no one out there who cares.

So please hear me loud and clear: if you’re lonely, I see you. And believe me when I say, there are so many others who see you too.

Your loneliness has valuable information that—when cared for tenderly—can lead you toward the love and connection you crave.

First, let’s take a look at what loneliness is.

—At its most literal, loneliness is the absence of close connection with friends, family, or loved ones. It shows up when you’ve moved far from home or had loved ones move away. . .or after the loss of a beloved companion, family member, or friend. It often kicks in after the loss of toxic relationships too, such as distancing from a family member or going through divorce. There’s a reason we hang on to people who aren’t good for us.

—Emotional loneliness is the experience of being alone, even when surrounded by others. You might be carrying a burden of loneliness from your childhood—maybe you were neglected or disconnected from your family. In that case, it’s hard for you to experience love as an adult, even when it’s near. Or you might be surrounded by people who just don’t get you.

Here’s the thing: as hard as loneliness is, you know what’s worse? Being so numbed out that you deny its existence.

Like the pain of a broken heart or a broken bone, loneliness is evidence that you are a fully functioning, vital, human being. It’s part of what helps you become whole.

I learned that the hard way. As a single woman and hard-working graduate student, I blocked loneliness for years until it caught up with me in my early thirties. Facing my long-festering loneliness was dreadful. . . and I don’t wish it on anyone. But it helped me cultivate the loving connections I cherish today. My trek through the wilderness of loneliness led me to unique characters, surprising insights and ultimately loving relationships that I never would have found had I not faced it.

At its best, when tended regularly, loneliness is a gift.

Loneliness. . .

—reminds you of who you are—someone capable and deserving of love and meaningful connection.

—signals that your numbing behaviors aren’t working anymore (and that’s a good thing!)

—can lead you to new discoveries and put you on a path toward change.

Loneliness is a gift: What if listening to your loneliness could lead you to a deeper experience of love and fulfillment?

As you learn to recognize the gift of loneliness, you’re closer to the cure. When you name loneliness for what it is, you’re getting some distance from it. You’re letting it know it’s only one part of who you are.

Loneliness needs boundaries. And those boundaries need to be made of flesh. It needs to hear itself speak. . . into the ears of someone who’s listening. Talk to a friend or loved one about it. And if you’re in a season of prolonged or extreme loneliness, find a counselor or pastor or coach to meet with you regularly to explore it.

Once you have some flesh and blood boundaries in place, ask yourself some of these questions:

—How long have I been lonely? You might be in a particularly lonely season. Or you might have felt lonely for as long as you can remember.

—Who are those people who take my loneliness away? Be honest. And don’t be discouraged if it’s not who you feel it “should” be. It only takes 1 good soul to take the edge off of loneliness each day.

—When do I feel lonely? It might be at church. . .at work. . at home by yourself. . . or in your family. Don’t judge yourself—or others—for what surfaces. Just become aware.

If you’re surprised by any of your answers, take note. And don’t assume immediate action is needed.

Just pay attention. And invite God into your experience.

Your loneliness might be an indicator that you’re carrying a burden from long ago. Or it might mean that you need to make changes in your current relationships. It also might mean you’re not showing up as yourself.

As you face your loneliness with loving compassion, it will relax a bit. It’ll learn to trust you. And it will help you find the relationships and purpose you seek.

In next week’s blog post, I’ll walk you through some steps you can take to carve out a path through loneliness.

If you’ve struggled with loneliness, drop a comment below to let us know what’s helped. We see you. We hear you. And we’d love to learn from your experience.

This article about loneliness is a gift originally appeared here.

The Privilege of Intercession

By
David Platt
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

“So the men turned from there and went towards Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord.”
(Genesis 18:22)

This begins the last part of Genesis 18, where Abraham intercedes for Sodom. The whole picture is Sodom and Gomorrah and rampant evil in these cities and the judgment of God coming upon them, but this picture in Genesis 18:22 is so strong because Abraham, knowing that God is just and right, which he says later in Verse 25, “Shall not the judge of all the earth do what is just,” he stands in the gap for Sodom and Gomorrah and he intercedes for these cities. He prays for them, he prays for God to not show his judgment. “If there are 50 righteous people, will you sweep them away,” Abraham says, and God says, “No. I won’t.” Abraham presses in even more and says, “Okay, what about 45? Or 40?” Abraham just keeps pressing in, like, “God, please, show your grace and show your mercy in this place.”

Genesis 18 is a powerful picture of the privilege of intercession, how God calls us to stand still before him and to plead on behalf of those who are in need, to pray on behalf of those who may be facing his judgment to come, to intercede for them and pray for God to have mercy. We see this in all kinds of different points through scripture. God has ordained prayer as a means by which he acts, he responds to our praying. We see this all over scripture, and so, I just want to encourage you today, even in my own life, today, to realize in a fresh way the privilege we have of intercession and to pray like it matters. To stand still before God and to pray for people in need, to pray for those who are right now separated from God and under his judgment, for God to show his mercy and save them and to believe that God is going to use our prayers as a means by which he answers and he works and he saves and he moves.

Our prayers are going to affect the action of God. I don’t understand the mystery how this works, and God’s complete and total sovereignty of all things but I do know God doesn’t just ordain ends, he ordains means, and he ordains our prayers to be a means by which his ends are accomplished, so we right now take full advantage of this privilege. God, we want to stand in the gap right now. Stand still before you and pray.

God, I pray for people I’m sharing the gospel with right now, I think about two guys I shared the gospel with yesterday, friends of mine. God I pray, please, please, please show your mercy. Please, as they process through what I shared, please, oh God, please open their eyes to your love for them. Help them to see Jesus. Cause their hearts to believe in Jesus. I pray, oh God, show your mercy God I’m interceding for them right now. God, I trust there are other people that come to others’ minds as we’re praying right now for people who are separated from you right now, people who don’t know your grace and your love and your mercy in Jesus. Lord, all these different names, I trust come to our minds so right now we plead for them, oh God. We plead for their salvation. We plead for your mercy and your grace and your love to be known in their lives. Please bring them to you. We pray for spouses and family members and kids who don’t know you. Please, oh God, please bring them to you. God, we’re interceding for them. We pray for co-workers and neighbors, and people we hang out with in this or that setting. God, we exercise with, we meet in restaurants.

God, please, please, please, show your grace, show your mercy, bring your salvation in their lives. God, help us. Help us to take full advantage of this privilege of intercession, to like Abraham did to stand still before you and ask you to answer, to boldly humbly cry out for you mercy on others’ behalf and we pray that you would use our prayers even right now as a means by which your purposes in salvation are made known. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

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This article originally appeared here.

The Surprising Places Where Kids Spend Time Online

By
Dale Hudson
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

Today’s kids are growing up immersed in technology and social media.  They’ve never known a world without it.  It’s critical to know where kids spend time online. Some big questions we must ask ourselves are…

  1. How much time are they spending online each day?

2. Where are they spending their time online?

3. How are they using their time online to improve themselves?

4. Are there any harmful sites or interactions that they are involved in?

5. How can we help them stay safe online?

6. How can their time online help them grow as a leader and more importantly as a person?

Let’s look at the latest trends of where kids spend time online.

The insight will help us answer some of these questions.

Kids are using:

83% use YouTube

21% use Twitter

38% use What’s App

33% use Instagram

35% use Facebook

34% use Snapchat

16% use Pinterest

Average amount of time kids spend online:

YouTube – weekdays -1 hr. 25 min. / weekends -1 hr. 49 min.

Twitter – weekdays – 1 hr. 18 min. / weekends – 1 hr. 22 min.

Instagram – weekdays – 1 hr. 15 min. / weekends – 1 hr. 25 min.

Facebook – weekdays – 1 hr. 15 min. / weekends – 1 hr. 25 min.

SnapChat – weekdays – 1 hr. 11 min. / weekends – 1 hr. 19 min.

Pinterest – weekdays – 1 hr. 11 min. / weekends – 1 hr. 17 min.

What’s App – weekdays – 1 hr. 6 min.  / weekends – 1 hr. 13 min.

What do they do online?

Watch videos  – YouTube – 87%

Communicate with Family Members –  Facebook – 35%

Communicate with Friends – Snapchat – 37%

Post and Feature Photos – Instagram – 33%

Play Games – 62%

  • Roblox is an amateur game-maker/-player system for Xbox, PC, tablets and smartphones. Millions of children play online together because of its varied and unusual games its makers have created.
  • Battle Royale pits up to 100 players against each other while a mysterious cloud steadily reduces the size of the war zone, creating knife edge and climatic gun fights.
  • Overwatch is a multiplayer shooting game in which two teams of six players compete to capture and defend various objectives.
  • Star Wars Battlefront II is a game that recreates an authentic Star Wars experience with less violence than the straight-up war titles such as Call of Duty. You play an elite special forces soldier in a new Star Wars campaign that bridges the events between the films Star Wars: Return of the Jedi and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Usage peaks around 5:00 pm and then drops off after 8 pm.  On weekends, the most popular hours are between 6 to 8 pm.

As children’s ministry leaders, it is important for us to keep parents informed about the good and bad sides of the internet.  There is danger to be found online and we must partner with parents… equipping them to guide their children.

And we should not only warn them about the dangerous aspects of the internet, but inform them about the good side as well.  There are many online Bible programs, games and videos that can help children grow in their faith.  We can guide kids and their parents to these sites and help them grow in their faith.

This article about where kids spend time online originally appeared here. 

The information in this article was taken from the UK study on Social Media, Television and Children, a summary of which can be found here.

The Dangers of Disobedience

By
Stacy Reaoch
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

Disobedience has consequences. Raising our four children I often think of the hymn, “Trust and Obey.” The refrain says, “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, than to trust and obey.” Our 4-year-old knows these lyrics well, as he’s often reminded, “If you disobey then there will be a consequence. We’re always happier when we choose to obey.” Sometimes the consequences of disobedience can be painful. A friend tells of a family vacation to Florida. Her daughter wanted to come back home with a perfect bronze tan, but the vacation was only a few days long. Against her mom’s clear advice, the girl decided to skip the sunscreen and spent the entire first day on the beach under a cloudless sky. Of course, that’s all it took for her to get a sunburn that kept her in agony for days. “I tried to tell her,” my friend said to me, “but sometimes you just have to learn the hard way.”

Consequences for Complaining
During the Israelites’ trek through the wilderness, they went through repeated cycles of disobedience, followed by God’s anger being stirred and Moses intervening on behalf of the people. Over and over again God was merciful, withholding the punishment they clearly deserved. But when we come to Numbers 14, God has had enough and declares judgment. “But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it” (Numbers 14:21-23).

The Lord is angered by the Israelites’ constant grumbling against him, along with their refusal to recognize the many miracles he has done for them. Their persistent disobedience and ingratitude have now brought about extremely serious consequences. Among those who left Egypt in the exodus, only Caleb and Joshua will enter the Promised Land; every other person will perish before their wilderness trek has ended.

But God speaks of his “servant Caleb, [who] has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring [him] into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it” (Numbers 14:24). So both Caleb and his offspring will be rewarded for his personal obedience to the Lord. In the same way, the judgment upon the Israelites of the exodus will also affect their children. “And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness” (Numbers 14:33). For each of the forty days Caleb and Joshua spied out the land, the Israelites and their children will spend a year wandering in the wilderness.

And so it was. For forty years, the Israelites received the consequence of their persistent disobedience and ingratitude to the Lord. If some two million Israelites had left Egypt, then on average, over the course of 40 years, about 130 of them died every single day. And every day their children watched it happen. Our choice to sin not only hurts us, but inevitably those who are closest to us. The Israelites’ disobedience affected their descendants, directly and painfully.

God keeps his promises. Near the beginning of their wilderness journey, when the Israelites were building the tabernacle, Moses took a census of the people (Exodus 30:11–12; 38:26). In Numbers 26, toward the end of their journey, a second census was taken. Verses 63-65 tell us that not one person from the first census appeared in the second . . . except for Joshua and Caleb. As God said, all the grumbling Israelites from the exodus had died in the wilderness.

Heart Check
This should be a sober reminder to us of the Lord’s desire for complete, heartfelt obedience by his people. Blessings will come to us when we choose to go his way. But severe mercies will befall us when we rebel and travel our own rocky path. Here are a few points to remember when we’re tempted to rebel against God…

1. Disobedience has consequences. Just as the complaining Israelites were disciplined through death in the wilderness, so we have consequences for our sin. Yes, God does forgive a truly repentant heart, but that doesn’t mean our lives are free from repercussions on earth. Living a life of gluttony will likely lead to health problems. Neglecting to teach our children about the Lord will often yield difficult relationships and unruly kids. Indulging in sexual immorality can wreak havoc on your marriage (or future marriage), as well as weigh you down with shame and guilt.

2. Disobedience affects more than just us. The grumbling Israelites weren’t the only ones reaping the consequences for their sin. Sadly, their children were also affected through their faithlessness and wandered for 40 years in the wilderness (Numbers 14:33). Our sin reaches far beyond our own life. The colleagues who witness you cutting corners at work, the children who see the duplicity of our lives when we’re one person at home and another at church, the spouse who is wounded through our infidelity. Our gospel witness is tainted when we walk in disobedience to the Lord’s commands.

3. True joy is found through obeying God’s commands. The lies of the world are eager for us to believe that money, or marriage, or beauty will bring happiness to our lives. But only Jesus will bring lasting satisfaction. “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).

How are you doing in living in joyful obedience to God’s commands? Our actions and words reveal the state of our hearts. How we live demonstrates what or who we’re putting our hope in, and whether we really believe the promises in his Word. Evaluate your heart today and repent of any stubborn, rebellious ways. And by God’s grace, choose to trust that his way will lead to ultimate satisfaction and joy in life. “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, than to trust and obey.”

This excerpt adapted from Wilderness Wanderings: Finding Contentment in the Desert Times of Life.

This article originally appeared here.

The Christian Bubble: 7 Evidences We Might Be Stuck in It

By
Chuck Lawless
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It’s a problem for many of us. In fact, I contend that for most of us, the longer we’re in church and the higher we go up the Christian ladder, the more likely it is that we’re stuck in the Christian bubble.

Beginning with me, we need to recognize some of the signs that we’ve insulated ourselves in a Christian bubble away from a world we’re called to reach.

  1. We’re in a Christian bubble if most of our prayers are about Christians, not non-believers. For some of us, all of our prayers are focused on brothers and sisters in Christ. And, even as we pray for those believers, we focus more on their physical needs than their spiritual needs. I fear we simply don’t think much about others and their walk with God.
  2. We’re in a Christian bubble if we can’t name five non-believers with whom we have a genuine relationship. I don’t mean superficial friendships; rather, I’m talking about real relationships built on God’s love that compels us to tell others about Jesus. The number “5” is arbitrary, of course, but I trust you get my point.
  3. We’re in a Christian bubble if we try our best to avoid any interaction with the world. I realize that’s almost impossible to do, and I grant there are good reasons not to put ourselves under ungodly influences—but some of us work so hard to escape non-believers that we offer no threat to the Enemy.
  4. We’re in a Christian bubble if we don’t proactively pray by name for non-believers to know Christ. A generic, “Lord, save people who don’t know You” is hardly evidence of a godly burden for unbelievers. And, when we do pray for non-believers, I suspect it’s primarily in response to a prayer request more than it is a brokenness over lostness.
  5. We’re in a Christian bubble if only people we invite to church are other believers. When we generally hang out with only church-going people, they’re the ones we’ll invite to our church’s weekly services and special events. Because many folks are looking for a church home, that’s easy to do, actually.
  6. We’re in a Christian bubble if we almost fear spending much time with non-believers. I understand this concern to some extent, especially for new believers or undiscipled believers who fear falling into previous sin patterns. On the other hand, the answer is not to shun the world; it’s to step into the lost world, arm-in-arm with other believers so we don’t do evangelism alone.
  7. We’re in a Christian bubble if we never concern ourselves with whether our church is reaching non-believers. In fact, we might have grown comfortable with “transfer growth” (believers moving their membership between churches) and been lulled to sleep evangelistically.

I’ve already stated that I’m the first one who must check my life regarding the Christian bubble. Would you say a quick prayer for me to trust the Holy Spirit to empower me and guide me back into a world that needs Jesus?

This article about the Christian bubble originally appeared here.

Kent Brantly to Return to Africa Amid New Ebola Outbreak

By
Stephanie Martin
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Five years ago this month, medical missionary Dr. Kent Brantly was fighting for his life. Now the famed “Ebola fighter” is returning to Africa with his family to pursue a calling he says is from God. “We’ve spent time praying and fasting and talking,” he says, “and God has really opened the doors every step of the way.”

Brantly, 38, was serving in Liberia with Samaritan’s Purse in 2014 when he became the first American to contract the Ebola virus. A week after becoming sick, he was flown to Atlanta for treatment that couldn’t have been done in Africa. After receiving an experimental drug that hadn’t yet been used on humans—and spending almost a month in isolation—Brantly experienced a recovery he labeled as miraculous.

Brantly thanked God and the “thousands and thousands” of people who’d prayed for him, saying he received “a direct answer” to all those prayers. He used his time in the spotlight to publicize the Ebola epidemic, which killed more than 11,000 West Africans from 2014 to 2016. Brantly and his wife were invited to the White House, and Time magazine named Brantly and his fellow Ebola fighters its 2014 People of the Year. The Brantlys told their story in the book Called for Life, and the documentary Facing Darkness also detailed their ordeal.

Now, as Ebola outbreaks spread in Africa again, Brantly says he’s ready to get back in the trenches as a medical missionary. The destination this time is Zambia, where he has committed to serve at least two years. Joining him will be his wife, Amber (a registered nurse who’s worked with World Relief); their two children (ages 8 and 10); his cousin, Dr. Stephen Snell; and Snell’s wife and two children. A woman who attends the same church as the Brantlys—Southside Church of Christ in Fort Worth, Texas—will accompany the families to teach their children.

For Kent Brantly, Physical Healing Was Just the Start

Brantly, who received a Bible degree from Abilene Christian University before attending medical school, regained his strength within a few months of his alarming diagnosis. But the “emotional healing and spiritual healing and growth” was a five-year process, he says.

Part of Brantly’s recovery involved coping with the fact that he lived while many other Ebola patients did not. “To suggest that there was something about me that made God choose to save my life while he allowed 11,300 other people to die, I’m not really okay with that,” he tells The Christian Chronicle. “Do I believe that God saved my life? Yes. Do I think that God saved my life for a predetermined purpose because there was something he wanted me to do, like move to Zambia? I’m not sure I understand the work of God in the world that way.”

Brantly says he’s motivated by gratitude to live faithfully. “Right now, I think that means moving my family to Zambia to serve at a Christian mission hospital,” he says. “To serve the poor and have compassion for the people in need and to participate in God’s work of making all things new and fixing the broken things in this world.”

Steve Cloer, pastor of Southside, has seen the Brantlys preparing for more fieldwork and says, “It’s exciting to see that dream coming back around.” Cloer told his congregation, “The last time we sent Kent and Amber out, God did amazing things, and I have no doubt that he will do so again this time.”

Ebola Is an Ongoing Concern in Africa

While in Zambia, Drs. Brantly and Snell will partner with Christian Health Service Corps and work at Mukinge Mission Hospital. The 200-bed facility is located 100 miles from the nearest grocery store and three hours from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which has been dealing with a widespread Ebola outbreak for almost a year.

This week, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Congo outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern,” its highest warning. That declaration, which the WHO has made only four previous times, is “an opportunity to ensure the international community does not turn its gaze but rallies to support [the Congo] and Africa in the fight to end the Ebola outbreak,” according to a WHO official.

This latest outbreak has been especially difficult to contain, experts say, because cases are occurring near active war zones filled with many refugees. Displaced people tend to be distrustful of health workers, some of whom have been attacked and even killed.

God Will “pave the way,” Says Kent Brantly

Dr. Lance Plyler, director of World Medical Mission (the medical arm of Samaritan’s Purse), broke the news to Brantly in 2014 that he’d tested positive for Ebola. Five years later, Plyler contacted Brantly again, this time to see if he was interested in the Zambia placement. Brantly says he’s especially looking forward to working with his cousin, who served at Mukinge from 2013 to 2015.

21 Inmates at Rikers Island Prison Trust in Jesus After Hope Event

By
Jessica Lea
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On July 3rd, the day before Americans would celebrate their country’s freedom, Hillsong NYC and Prison Fellowship collaborated to bring an evening of worship to 43 men in New York’s Rikers Island prison. When presented with the gospel message, at least 21 inmates came forward to dedicate their lives to Christ.

“It just moved me so much. The guy right next to me couldn’t stop crying. It was amazing to see,” Jennifer Lowrey told The Christian Post (CP). Lowrey is the senior director of programs and special events for Prison Fellowship, and the evening was particularly significant to her because her parents had been imprisoned at Rikers when she was a child.

Bringing the Gospel to Rikers Island Prison

About 35 volunteers from Hillsong NYC and Prison Fellowship took part in the event, which was held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in a gymnasium on the Rikers Island prison complex. Prison Fellowship field director Jose Negron shared a message, and Hillsong NYC’s team led the inmates in worship with assistance from Hillsong United’s Chris Davenport. Lowrey told CP that an especially moving moment was when the band played a song called “Another in the Fire.” She said, “It has an amazing lyric about not being alone and about how Jesus is our other person in the fire with us. I was standing back next to the men so I could see the lyrics. … I just couldn’t stop crying.”

Lowrey told CP that being at Rikers provided a kind of closure for her. As a girl, she lived with her grandparents, who were her legal guardians. At one point, her parents kidnapped her and then were arrested and imprisoned at Rikers. Lowrey’s father has since been pronounced dead by her family after disappearing about 10 years ago. She said, “The thing I’m really grateful for is that the Lord has given me an opportunity to kind of come full circle. It really is illustrative of the kind of change that we hope for.”

Hungry for Hope

According to its website, Prison Fellowship is the largest nonprofit in the U.S. that serves people impacted by incarceration, whether they are offenders or offenders’ loved ones. The site says, “We seek to share the real, living hope of the Gospel with people who long for its power to make them new.” Among their strategies for providing encouragement for inmates are “Hope Events,” described as “dynamic one- or two-day events [that] feature inspirational speakers, musicians, and performers who bring the light of the Gospel to men and women who desperately crave hope.”

The Rikers Hope Event was the first time that Hillsong NYC and Prison Fellowship have teamed up, having connected after someone on staff with Prison Fellowship attended a Hillsong service. Said Lowrey, “They have been just super excited about finding ways to serve. So they now have volunteers that are coming in, working as volunteers in our [Prison Fellowship Academy] at Rikers.” Lowrey said Prison Fellowship would like to continue collaborating with Hillsong NYC for upcoming Hope Events. 

For Lowrey, the Rikers Hope Event emphasized the importance of bringing the gospel to  incarcerated men and women. “I am so grateful that we have an opportunity to bring hope into places like Rikers,” she said. “At the same time, it makes me really sad because when I see the guys, a lot of times I wish that my dad had somebody to intervene and do that for him. You wonder, what if someone had been able to be there for him at a key point. His trajectory could have changed.”

‘Save Chick-fil-A Law’ Passed in Texas

By
Megan Briggs
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After the city of San Antonio blocked Chick-fil-A from opening a location in the airport due to the company’s leaders’ traditional stance on marriage, a new law in Texas aims to protect the rights of companies and their owners to hold their moral convictions without fear of retaliation. The “Save Chick-fil-A” bill was recently signed into law after an expedited trip through Texas’ legislative process. 

“No business should lose a government contract because of their religious beliefs,” Governor Greg Abbott said during a signing ceremony for the bill. 

The bill specifically states government entities may not take “adverse action” against an individual based on their “religious beliefs and moral convictions, including beliefs and convictions regarding marriage.” 

Save Chick-fil-A Law Dubbed ‘victory for religious freedom’

Abbott put the bill’s purpose in layman’s terms on Monday, when he signed it, explaining “Discrimination is not tolerated in Texas. No business should be discriminated against simply because its owners gave to a church, the Salvation Army, or any other religious organization.” The governor also called the bill’s passing “a victory for religious freedom in Texas.”

While the bill itself (S.B. 1978) does not mention Chick-fil-A by name, it’s nickname makes no secret of the fact that the bill came into being in response to the city of San Antonio blocking the fast-food chain from opening a location inside the airport in March of this year. At the time, city council member Roberto Trevino said the city did “not have room in our public facilities for a business with a legacy of anti-LGBTQ behavior.” In addition to this snub, a Christian college in Texas, Trinity University, also blocked the popular chain from opening a location on its campus. The college cited Chick-fil-A charitable giving as the reason for its hesitation. Some believe the company’s giving to “‘anti-LGBT+’ organizations” implicates them in discrimination.

The bill’s lead author is Bryan Hughes, a Republican who serves in the Texas Senate. Hughes is also the author of S.B. 784, which would prohibit a school district from proving human sexuality instruction unless the school provides parents with “a summary of the basic content” of the curriculum. The bill appears to be stalled. Nevertheless, S.B. 784 and the Chick-fil-A bill have garnered Hughes a lot of support from conservatives in the state.  

Governor Abbott’s Personal Endorsement of Chick-fil-A

Abbott made no qualms about the fact that he enjoyed signing the bill into law. The Republican governor posted a video to his Twitter account in which he, Hughes, and several of the lawmakers key in bringing the law to pass are seen with Chick-fil-A cups and sandwiches. 

Earlier in the year, when the bill hit his desk, Abbott posted a picture with a cup from the fast-food chain balancing on his computer. The caption reads “What are the odds I’ll sign the Chick-fil-A bill? I’ll let you know after dinner.”

The Chick-fil-A law goes into effect on September 1, 2019. 

EasyWorship’s NDI Integration Fits Into Your Production Workflow

By
EasyWorship
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Whether you have already added broadcast capabilities to your church service workflow and are looking to raise the bar, or you are just starting to think about broadcasting, there are a number of variables to consider. From the equipment, to the hardware and software as well as the volunteers and staff, it’s important to think through all the dynamics involved before moving forward. One critical aspect of this intricate broadcasting puzzle that is worth investigating is: which church presentation software will be the best for your church? EasyWorship is a great option that not only assists with broadcasting but helps you build your entire church service: song lyrics, Scriptures, announcements, videos and sermon notes, all in one place, quickly and efficiently. This software is designed to meet the needs of churches, big and small, around the world.

The most important point to note is that EasyWorship was primarily designed for ease of use. A second point to note is EasyWorship was also designed to be dependable. There are many times when volunteers call in at the last minute and customers are able to quickly and easily train new volunteers on the spot. Also, with every feature EasyWorship continues to look for ways to make the software as user-friendly as possible. After all, why make something complicated when it doesn’t need to be?

NDI Integration

One big innovation in broadcasting which simplifies your workflow is NDI. If you’re not familiar with NDI, we’ll give you a brief overview. NDI was pioneered by NewTek and takes your audio and video source, like a camera, and sends it over your local area network (LAN) as a broadcast. Any device or software on the same LAN that can receive an NDI feed can pick up the feed from another NDI device and rebroadcast it, or it can mix it with other content for rebroadcasting.

But how does this simplify your workflow?

The greatest benefit is that with NDI you no longer need to run SDI cables from every video source into a hardware video mixer. Adding a new camera to your video monitor is as simple as plugging a camera into your LAN and setting the mixer to receive a video signal from that camera. Another benefit of NDI is that it’s a free API, which any software or hardware vendor can access. This makes it much easier for NDI to be ubiquitous and allows for more hardware and software vendors to add support for NDI as we have already seen.

How does EasyWorship 7 fit in?

The developers at EasyWorship made it possible for EasyWorship 7 to integrate with NDI as an input or an output. You can bring in a camera feed through NDI, and also send out worship lyrics, scriptures, alpha channel video (which EasyWorship 7 also supports), or sermon notes out via NDI. All of this comes included in EasyWorship 7. Just adjust your output or add a video feed and you’ll be ready to integrate EasyWorship and NDI into your production workflow.

Remote App

There’s nothing more frustrating than being tied down to your media computer when you’re needed in other areas. With a Remote App for your church presentation software, you can free yourself to keep the service moving forward while attending to things like checking the batteries on a mic for the guest speaker.

With EasyWorship 7, you’ll get the Remote App feature for iOS and Android that simply allows you to control the flow of the slides on your screen. It can control the simple plain-text-over-background slide, the text-over-an-NDI-camera-feed slide, or it can control an Alpha-Channel-video-over-an-NDI-camera-feed slide. Either way, this App is easy to understand and navigate, so anyone from the guest speaker to the newest tech team member will feel cool and confident on or off the stage.

Another way the Remote App can help you is with Viewer mode. This allows the speaker to use it as a Confidence Monitor to allow him/her to follow along with the service using an iPad or Android Tablet. Or place it in your green room, giving your guests the opportunity to follow along with your service as well.

Midi Integration

Midi Integration allows you to control your whole worship experience from lighting, to song lyrics and song tracks. With Midi Integration, you can connect your EasyWorship with software that supports midi out, such as Ableton Live. If your church does a more intensive production, it’s more than likely that Ableton is already a part of your workflow.

Another benefit of using a midi software like Ableton Live is that you can control multiple computers, so that your live streaming and in-house broadcasting line up. For example, let’s say you have one computer with EasyWorship managing the lyrics along with the camera NDI input for in-house. Then you have another computer with EasyWorship managing the camera NDI output, with an Alpha Channel video of your church’s logo, along with the lyrics for your live streaming service. Your favorite software that supports midi out keeps these two, or even more, computers running in-sync. The intricacies of the workflow are up to you, but with the midi integration feature in EasyWorship, you’ll have more options available to you.

It All Works Together

The worship experience for your congregation should be simple. At least, it should always seem simple. With EasyWorship, you get a trusted software that is used around the world in a variety of churches with varying congregation sizes and media configurations. If you would like to try out EasyWorship, you can download a demo version at easyworship.com/software.

More information…

If you’d like more information on what EasyWorship 7 software can do for you, visit the website: easyworship.com/software. Or take advantage of 25% off your first year of subscription at easyworship.com/promo by entering the code: (THANKS25).

How to Be a Pastor to Your City (5 Tips)

By
Lizzie Burke
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There’s more happening in your city than meets the eye. It can be easy to think God’s activity is confined to what we see in our single church congregation or non-profit organization. But do you know how to view God at work at work to reach your city? Our team—City Gospel Movements at Palau—champions leaders who are not content running programs in the four walls of their church. These leaders are restless to see local churches unite and work together for the peace and prosperity of their city.

This tapestry of God at work to reach your city through dynamic collaborations is what we call a gospel movement.

These collaborations pursue holistic city flourishing and invite the participation of anyone who believes Jesus can transform their city through the unity of the Church (Jeremiah 29:7; John 17).

Is your heart beating for the same thing? If so, you’re in good company. Over the last two years, our team has spoken with over 300 leaders from the USA and around the world who are working to unify and mobilize local churches to participate in the gospel movement in their city.

Learn five steps we see these leaders consistently taking so you can join the gospel movement to reach your city:

1. Reach Your City by Searching for Fellow Collaborators.

Don’t go alone. Take time to find and develop relationships with those who already have a passion for your city. They’re out there! You aren’t alone in your desire to see your city flourish, but you may need to step outside of your industry to discover others with the same passion. You will know you’re in the company of a collaborator if they are willing to share connections because they recognize you share a common mission; they don’t care if their name or organization is displayed on a program; and they understand they have a key role to play in the city but believe greater impact can be had through working with others.

Some of the most dynamic collaborators won’t share your job title. If you’re a pastor, reach out to a fellow businessperson. If you’re an executive director, offer to buy coffee for a school superintendent. Hear their dreams for your city and be expectant to find overlapping visions. This process takes time because it is all about building genuine relationships. But be encouraged because once you meet one collaborator, they’ll likely connect you to another. As you meet these people of peace in various channels of culture, each leader’s expertise adds invaluable perspective to a citywide strategy, and a unique network they are uniquely called by God to influence.

2. Reach Your City by Picking Brains to Learn What Not to Do.

Sometimes we think we’re the only one thinking a certain way. We can think: “Why am I the only one who cares that pastors are dying for a safe place where they can show up as they are?” or “Why don’t all people in our city care about the homelessness epidemic?” Full of passion—or angst—we start an initiative, program or non-profit to address these issues, often forgetting to do the research to understand who’s already in the game. Give yourself permission to pump the breaks and do a little market research to find out who in your city is already working towards a similar goal. This process may motivate you to join or partner with a good thing that is already moving, or tweak your plan so that you’re filling a real gap that exists.

3. Reach Your City by Giving Yourself Decades, Not Years.

Seeing a city change takes years (if we’re being completely honest, think decades). City transformation is a long game. Building relational trust on which collaboration is driven takes years, and then planning initiatives to pursue together also takes time. It can feel like an overwhelming goal to change the statistics on homelessness, foster care, and education in a matter of years. We’ve found that leaders experience more creativity and freedom to dream big when they frame their engagement in the city in terms of decades.

4. Reach Your City by Planning Events but Don’t Forget to Strategize for Lasting Impact.

Events are catalytic moments in the timeline of a gospel movement. Events spark conversations around critical topics and can unify local leadership around a common goal. They can also provide an opportunity for multitudes to hear what God is doing in the city and receive an invitation to participate in the wider movement. Leaders who have hosted successful events like community-wide service days, Global Leadership Summits, or large-scale gospel festivals enjoy the benefits of increased conversations, unified leadership teams, and more people wanting to participate in the movement of God in the city. But it is common—and healthy—to ask: “What’s next?” When leaders understand that an event is not really about an event, their strategies and metrics for success take into account the long game, rather than a short-term win.

Some ways leaders strategize for lasting impact around an event include: planning smaller luncheons with roundtable conversation for marketplace leaders leading up to or following a Global Leadership Summit; inviting other local churches to pray for people on the streets in a 6-month lead up to a public gospel festival; or setting meetings with government officials to learn how they see a community-wide service day as an on-ramp for further engagement in the city.

5. Reach Your City by Watching God Do Everything Humans Can’t.

As much as we believe in developing strong networks of leaders, crafting strategic plans, and learning and re-learning our city, human efforts can only move the needle so far. God is the one who ignites and sustains gospel movements. God is the One who transforms cities through the power of His Holy Spirit. We get to co-create and partner with Him in this incredible endeavor of creating Kingdom culture in urban centers, but we live in dependence on God to open the eyes of those who don’t know Him yet, and redeem broken systems and mindsets to align with the truth of Jesus Christ.

One of our favorite—and reoccurring—moments is when we are talking to a leader in a city who is doing incredible work who says: “It’s really not me. It’s all God’s grace. He’s doing the impossible in our city. We are so grateful.” They may be seeing large numbers of people coming to events, pastors deepening genuine relationships with one another, funding coming in innovative ways, and visions casted for the next big thing, but at the end of the day, they know Who’s to credit for lasting transformation.

Are you leading collaborative work in your city? See if you’re on our gospel movement map, or let us know so that we can include you!

Setting the Stage for Worship (Literally)

By
Staging Concepts
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Staging equipment can be found in most worship venues. Equipment can be as simple as a rectangular stage with skirting, 24” above the floor to elevate speakers or musicians. Or it could be an expanded, multi-tiered choral riser to house the performance choir. Another option could be a stage extension. Stage extensions are a preferred choice for venues that already have a stage but are looking for more space. These extensions are portable stages, designed to perfectly match the size and shape of the existing stage to create an appearance that looks and feels permanent. As a leading designer and manufacturer for performing art centers, theaters, and worship facilities, Staging Concepts continues to impress the nation with top-of-the-line staging solutions.

For nearly 30 years, they have excelled at designing unique solutions that enhance the experience for both the audience and those on stage, and each solution is bound to make an impact. No matter the size of the venue or the size of the congregation, Staging Concepts delivers superior staging and riser solutions to suit any worship facility.

Staging Platforms

Multiple products make worship staging solutions possible. For instance, the leading SC90® Platform is well known throughout the performing art and worship industries. These durable stages are designed to be portable, affordable, easy to use, and easy to transport. Each SC90® Platform is made with the finest quality, requiring no tools, making setup and tear down efficient. To create larger staging solutions, simply lock the platforms together using the included T-handle. The load capacity for a standard 4’ x 8’ platform is 150 lbs. per square foot. If additional support is needed, more support beams can be installed to increase the load rating.

In addition to the SC90® Platform, the SC Choral Riser is another preferred choice to heighten the performance experience for worship halls. The SC Choral Riser is versatile, demountable, and ideal for holding choir or band members. It is both compact and durable, making it ideal for worship performances of any size. To accommodate various settings or events, the riser system can be easily transformed into several configurations, such as an arced or straight layout. The mobile casters make moving the SC Choral Riser easy and can be done by just one person. This feature is ideal for worship facilities that have a limited number of staff available for setup and tear down between performances. Equally important, when not in use, the SC Choral Riser can be folded up and stored using minimal space, all without using any tools.

Aside from the SC Choral Riser, another option is Staging Concepts’ new Riser Platform. The Riser Platform was designed with worship and small theater spaces in mind. It is similar in design to the SC90® Platform but is lighter and offers a 100 lb. per square foot load rating. Like the SC90® Platform, the Riser Platform is available in multiple sizes, both standard and custom, and multiple finishes. Finishes for both platforms include polyvinyl (black or gray), plyron, carpet (black or gray), and acrylic (opaque or clear).

To accompany any of these products, a variety of accessories can be sold as part of the solution. Multiple guardrail options are available to provide safety to the patrons and comply with various building codes. Standard options include the IBC Guardrail and 2-Line Guardrail, and ornamental railing options include the Invisirail, Tensiline, and Gridguard guardrails. All styles can easily attach to any platform.

Additionally, chair stops and closure panels can be added to any platform solution. Chair stops prevent chairs from falling off or slipping between various levels of riser systems. Closure panels also act as a chair stop and create a finished appearance for the overall staging layout.

For any potentially dimly lit performances, aisle lighting is a great addition to seating risers. Aisle lights help guide patrons up and down the aisles, primarily in dark settings.

Create a Custom Solution

Performance facilities of all sizes rely on multiple components to make a groundbreaking performance. Often, this is accomplished with a one-of-a-kind custom solution. Because no two worship venues are identical in appearance, functionality, and adaptability, custom staging and riser solutions are a great way to make a lasting impression.

Designing and providing customized staging solutions is Staging Concepts’ specialty. They are known throughout the entertainment industry for their ability to develop and bring to life creative solutions to suit any venue or architect’s needs. The team has more than 50 engineers in-house, and a vast group of sales representatives and project managers to carefully and appropriately handle all staging requests – both standard and custom. Custom staging solutions can maximize the functionality of any space, while providing a durable, long-lasting system that complements the venue.

Venues with limited space for their performers, speakers or congregation are a great candidate for a custom Staging Concepts solution. In these cases, Staging Concepts’ experienced team will design a solution to precisely meet the required specifications for the limited setting, and still provide an overall pleasing atmosphere. Time and time again, Staging Concepts has proven that their team can and will design a superior staging solution that will shine during each performance.

Visit www.stagingconcepts.com for more details on Staging Concepts.

Nigerian Imam Protects 262 Christians From Fulani Herdsmen

By
Megan Briggs
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

A Nigerian imam is being hailed a hero for saving the lives of some 262 Christians who were being targeted by Fulani herdsmen in 2018. Imam Abubakar Abdullahi received the International Religious Freedom Award from the U.S. State Department yesterday. The 83-year-old Abdullahi even offered the attackers his life in exchange for the people he was sheltering.

“God had a reason for creating us as diverse humans. No one has a reason to question the existence of the other,” Abdullahi told David Young, the deputy chief of mission at the United States Embassy in Abuja, Nigeria.

The imam is a firm believer that “we should all respect one another, follow the rules, and be selfless advocates for peace.” He has lived for decades in “peace and harmony” with Christians in his village in Plateau State, Nigeria, which is why the recent attacks by Fulani herdsmen (who are mostly Muslim) took him by surprise.

Abdullahi Pleaded With Fulani Herdmen to Spare Lives

On June 23, 2018, around 3:30 pm, Abdullahi was in his mosque with other worshippers (wrapping up mid-day prayers) when they started hearing gunshots in the distance. As the sound of gunshots got closer, chaos erupted in the village where the mosque is located. Abdullahi and his deputy directed the people running around the village to come inside the mosque and his home for shelter.

Abdullahi told everyone to lay down on the ground to avoid being shot and also locked the doors to the mosque and his home. Then the imam stood guard outside the buildings. Abdullahi says he pleaded with the attackers to leave the people alone inside the buildings. He called it a “tense moment,” but he refused to allow them to harm his “guests.” The attackers sought other ways to get inside the mosque and the house, which gave Abdullahi a chance to try calling for help. The phone lines weren’t working, though. 

Abdullahi pleaded “in the name of God” for the armed attackers not to harm anyone—making himself vulnerable by prostrating on the ground in front of them. The attackers couldn’t find a way into the locked buildings, so eventually, they left. 

Everyone in the mosque and the house joined Abdullahi for a meal after the attack, as they could not go back to their homes. Some of the people were later transferred to a camp for displaced persons. 

Muslims Can Live in “Peace and Harmony” With Christians

The imam says he protected the people because he has been living in “peace and harmony” with them for several years. He says Christians and Muslims even intermarry in his village. When Christmas comes, the Christians and Muslims exchange food and gifts. He believes the reason these conflicts are happening now between Muslims and Christians is due to selfishness and greed.

Abdullahi says the experience left him traumatized and he couldn’t sleep for a week. However, he believes his faith is helping him overcome the trauma and stress. 

He also prays this will be the last time his community experiences “this type of violence” and that God would “touch the hearts of those behind these conflicts toward the path of peace.” If they can’t be ushered toward peace, Abduallhi says, he prays God would do with them what he will.  

You can watch the full interview with Imam Abubakar Abdullahi below.

FL Kids to Get Help with the #1 Problem They Say Affects Them

By
Jessica Lea
-
thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

A new mandate in Florida now requires public schools to provide a minimum of five hours of mental health education for students, beginning in the sixth grade. The state Board of Education approved the widely lauded policy on Wednesday. 

“We know that 50 percent of all mental illness cases begin by age 14, so we are being proactive in our commitment to provide our kids with the necessary tools to see them through their successes and challenges,” said First Lady Casey DeSantis, according to the Orlando Sentinel. DeSantis has been instrumental in getting the new policy passed and says, “Providing mental health instruction is another important step forward in supporting our families.”

Casey DeSantis and Hope for Healing

DeSantis has prioritized addressing the issue of mental health in the state of Florida. She recently launched the Hope for Healing initiative, which will examine the state’s spending when it comes to substance abuse and mental health. Another goal of the initiative is to help Florida residents be aware of the mental health resources available to them. “Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t know what’s out there,” she said. 

Speaking to The Florida Times-Union, Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran described the benefits the new mental health training will have for students, saying, “We’re going to have a tremendous amount of awareness and just common sense solutions. So if all of a sudden a friend comes to school and starts talking about serious negative thoughts about their life, [the student] knows exactly how to handle it, what to say and where to go.” It is not yet clear whether the new policy will be implemented this coming school year. 

The State of Student Mental Health

Studies show that mental health issues are a significant concern for youth in America. According to Pew Research Center, “Serious mental stress is a fact of life for many American teens,” with recent years demonstrating a rise in depression among teenagers. Besides data on stressed out teenagers, Pew also cited research stating that less than half of young people who had significant depression received treatment for it within the past year when the study was conducted.

Other data from Pew found teenagers themselves recognize that mental health is a concern. Seventy percent of teens believe that anxiety and depression are serious problems for their peers. In fact, the majority of American teens believe that mental health is more of a concern than drinking, drug addiction, teen pregnancy, and bullying. Also, the National Alliance on Mental Illness says that “One in five youth live with a mental health condition, but less than half of these individuals receive needed services.”

While there is a lack of mental health resources available to public school students, more and more states are beginning to take action to address that need. Last year, New York and Virginia became the first two states to pass laws requiring mental health education in public schools. New York now requires such education for K-12 students, while Virginia requires it for students in the 9th and 10th grades.

After the board approved the mandate, Corcoran said, “We are going to reinvent school-based mental-health awareness in Florida, and we will be the number one state in the nation in terms of mental health outreach and school safety.” 

On Twitter, DeSantis wrote, “I thank the State Board of Education for their vote today…This is an important step forward in supporting our kids and parents.”

What Does Your Church Do That Your Phone Can’t Do?

By
Karl Vaters
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

What does your church do that your phone can’t do? The answer may surprise you.

For generations, churches were the center of community life in many towns.

Want to know what time it is? Listen for the chimes from the Lutheran church steeple.

Going to the store? Turn left at the Baptist church.

Bored on a Sunday night? Check out the revival at the Pentecostal chapel.

Today, all of that and more can be done with apps on your phone. We no longer need the church for directions, time or to relieve boredom.

In fact, the idea of going to the church for any of those things is so far in the past that most people reading this have no more than a vague recollection of those times, if at all.

Why People Don’t Go To Church

When long-term churchgoers try to imagine why people don’t go to church, they assume it must be some combination of sin, disobedience or rebellion.

They imagine unchurched people thinking about God and the church, then consciously choosing to say “no” to it.

The reality is that most people who don’t go to church haven’t chosen against it, they’re not thinking about it at all.

It’s not rebellion, it’s apathy and ignorance.

It used to be that you couldn’t ignore the local church and its effects on the community. Now, most people can drive by multiple church buildings every day and not have them register in their consciousness at all.

So, what should we in the church do about that?

What We Don’t Need Churches For

If churches are going to be effective in the future, we need to ask and answer the question in the title:

“What does your church do that your phone can’t do?”

Great sermons? Nope. Those are live streamed and on podcasts.

Worship music. Sorry. Spotify, SiriusXM and YouTube have every type of worship music you can imagine. And some you can’t.

Bible study? Nuh uh. There’s an app for that. Several, actually.

So what’s left for what does your church do?

If your church hasn’t figured that out, you need to. Fast.

What Only The Church Can Do

There’s always been one thing the church can do that nothing else can ever duplicate:

An IRL (in real life) experience that cannot be fully realized online. The opportunity to be in the same room, worshiping Jesus, loving each other and learning to work together.

  • Encouragement
  • Accountability
  • Baptism
  • Community
  • Fellowship
  • Responsibility
  • Communion

In other words, being the church.

There’s no substitute for that. And there never will be.

This article about what the church can do originally appeared here.

Where Do You Get Your Power to Lead?

By
Brett Powell
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

What gives you the power to lead? Ministry leaders have little authority over their people. In other organizations, the person who has a leadership position has incredible leverage to get people to do what they want them to. In business for example, managers have leverage in the form of salary, benefits, and perks. Most followers are pretty cooperative when their livelihood is at stake.

There is a significant difference between power over people and power with people.

If you are leading a business team, ministry team, team of academics or medical professionals, you would be wise to take your leaders into a soup kitchen or other environment where they have no position or title and observe how they work with others to get the job done. Watch how your leaders interact with volunteers and the people they are serving.

Are they gaining influence or losing influence over time?  Do the volunteers and people they are serving willingly following their lead? If so, then you probably have good leaders on your team. If not, you might have leaders that rely on the power of their position.

The fundamental question is this: where do you gain your power to lead? Another question you may ask is this: “Why do people follow me?” Clarifying the reason people follow, might indicate where you gain your power to lead.

People may follow you out of fear. They are afraid of what might happen to them if they don’t follow, if they don’t do what you ask them to do. Followers get along with you by going along. This isn’t real followership and therefore, it’s not real leadership. It’s lip service loyalty. Leadership by coercive power.

Others might follow you because of the benefits that come to them if they do. The power of this relationship is based on the exchange of goods and services. The followers have something you want and you, as the leader, have something they want. It is a very transactional relationship – give and take. Sadly, outside the area of transaction there is no other influence. You will rarely, if ever, be asked to help one of your staff solve a personal issue or to join them in celebrating a personal milestone. This is a deficient form of leadership – a mere utility power over followers.

The third level of followership is different not only in degree, it is completely different in kind. In this case your followers are following not because they have to and not because of the transactional benefits. They follow because they want to. In short you have authentic influence based on the foundation of trust. You have earned the right to lead. That is power with people not just power over people.

This is not blind faith nor mindless obedience. It’s not robotic servitude. It is wholehearted commitment resulting from a perceived sense that you are someone worth following.

The surest way to be someone worth following, is by following Jesus, the greatest leader of all time.

Jesus was a servant. There is no such thing as servant leadership, either you are a servant or no leader at all.  Use the power you have in the organization to serve others, remove obstacles and help them succeed in their work.

Jesus was an encourager. When it comes to believing in themselves most people are agnostic. Jesus recognized the dignity, worth and potential of everyone He met. He related to them in that way and that is what they became.  Be a strong and clear voice of encouragement for others. Affirm the good you see and speak to the potential they have for greatness.

Jesus was magnanimous. He handled every leadership situation perfectly well, but He never followed a repeatable script. He was as likely to be fierce as he was to be tender.  Following His lead, we should strive to be tender with every vulnerable heart and fight against any systemic hypocrisy, misalignment of values and toxic elements of the culture.

Ministry in the Church is the most leadership intensive endeavour in the world. Ministry leaders should never rely on a position or title to lead and influence their people. Rather, focus on becoming the kind of person that has power with people not just power over people.

Jesus is the ultimate leader and willing to help you become more and more like Him. And that’s what your staff could really need right now – more of Jesus. He must increase and we must decrease.

This article about the power to lead originally appeared here.

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