5 Questions About Invitability and Its Impact on Your Church

By

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May 6, 2019

thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

The difference between churches that are growing and those that aren’t is prevailing churches enable their people to invite friends to church.

Growing churches are full of people who invite their friends.

What separates churches that have plateaued or are in decline from those that are seeing growth is that growing churches are inviting churches.

“Invitability” describes how a church is growing its ability to have its people invite friends and family. It’s a key approach at the core of thriving churches.

How likely are people in your church to invite their friends and family to attend your church?

What are you doing to encourage your people to invite others to your church?

What tools have you given to your people to enable them to help create the culture of invitation you are developing?

Do your people understand that a part of being a follower of Jesus is reaching out to the world around them? That being an “inviter” is an essential part of every Christian’s life?

Here are five questions about church invitability to consider as you think about how this dynamic impacts the growth of your church.

Wait…invitability isn’t a real word. Right?

True! It’s totally made up. We created it to capture this idea that some churches seem to be easier for people to invite their friends to than others. I imagine a scale of invitability. On one end is a church whose people don’t ever invite friends to join them on Sunday while on the other end of the spectrum are churches that are growing because its people are constantly saying to their friends, “You have got to see what’s happening at my church this weekend!”

Even though invitability isn’t a real word, its meaning has a very real impact at your church. In fact, the invite culture of your church is at the very heart of your church’s ability to reach its full redemptive potential.

Why is invitability an important factor in church growth?

On average, only 2 percent of people invited a friend to church in the last year. [ref]

The factor separating churches that are growing from those that aren’t is that growing churches have a robust invite culture. They are high invitability churches. Their people are more likely to be active in asking their friends and family to attend.

A sustained strategy for church growth needs to be built around invitability. Rather than looking at the latest shiny marketing tool, church leaders who are working for continual growth focus their efforts on increasing the invite culture of their churches.

The local church is the only organization in the world that exists for people beyond its walls. Our mandate is to be constantly looking to consider the needs of other people and inviting them into a relationship with Jesus. Unless our churches have a strong approach to increasing invitability we will fail to live out the mandate that Jesus called us to in the Great Commission.

Inviting someone to church is just a first step toward discipleship and evangelism. Invitation shouldn’t be reserved for “super-Christians” who see it as their duty, but it needs to become a normal practice for all Christians!

How can a church leader measure the level of invitability at their church?

The best way to start your journey toward understanding invitability and its impact on your church is to explore your experience with inviting people to your church. Start by exploring your own experiences with inviting as well as those of people close to you. Take a few minutes and answer these questions to gauge the level of invitability at your church:

When was the last time you invited someone to your church?
- If it was recently, what happened when you asked? What happened when your friend came to church?
- If you haven’t recently invited someone, why not? What is holding you back?
Think of the last time someone at your church invited a friend and told you about it. Did they indicate that it was a positive or a negative experience?
- What part of that experience went well?
- What part of that experience was negative?
How urgently does your church sense the need to reach the community around you?
- If it’s low urgency, what can you do to increase the vision for community impact at your church?
- If it’s high urgency, are you connecting with and making an impact in the community and consistently inviting people to church?

What invitability factors of your church are people most likely to talk to their friends about?

A recent study by Gallup asked people to rate the reasons they attend church. [ref] It would be fair to infer from this study that these top four factors are the ones that those who are inviting people to your church talk about the most. Churches that are looking to increase their invitability would be wise to invest time, effort and energy into these four areas:

Sermons that teach you more about scripture
- People are looking for transcendent truth, not a repackaged TED Talk. This probably goes without saying, but at the core of churches with high invitability is teaching that is based on the Bible. These churches are teaching timeless truths.
Sermons that help you connect faith to your own life
- It’s not enough to just teach from the ancient text but people need us to connect it to today’s reality. Churches with high invitability have learned that when they handle the Bible their teaching also needs to answer the question, “What difference does this make in my life today?”
Spiritual programs geared toward children and teenagers
- Nearly 9 out of 10 adults will be parents at some point in their lifetime. [ref] Raising kids is a universal human experience. Every parent worries about their kids and wants the best for the next generation. Churches with high invitability know the importance of passing the message of Jesus on to the next generation in a compelling manner.
Lots of community outreach and volunteer opportunities
- People want to make a difference in their world. We all want to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. We’re eager to be a part of a church that serves the community around us.

How can a church leader learn more about church invitability?

How “invitable” is your church?

How is invitability connected to church growth?

What can you do to gain momentum in seeing your church reach more people this year?

Invitability is at the core of prevailing churches. The first step to reaching more people is understanding how invitable is your church. Church leaders who want to see their churches grow should be wrestling with invitability and its impact.

unSeminary is launching the 5 Day Church Invitability Challenge in May to help you gain a better understanding of your church and its level of invitability.

The best part? The challenge only takes a few minutes each day.

Each day you will receive a short video and exercise that you can complete in a matter of minutes.

This challenge is designed to help your church gain momentum in reaching more people in your community. At the end of the five days you will have deeper understanding of invitability and how to increase it in your church.

This article originally appeared here.

Find Your Calling: How to Renew Your Passion for Ministry

By

Dale Hudson

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May 5, 2019

Do you sometimes find your passion for ministry flickering?

Do you feel like you need to step out of serving in children’s ministry?

Are you just going through the motions?

Are you weary in well doing?

Is your spiritual tank drained to the point where you’re about to run out of gas?

If so, don’t worry, you’re not alone. All leaders go through times where they feel drained, discouraged and defeated.

The good news is you don’t have to stay drained. There are some steps you can take to renew your passion for the ministry. Let’s look at some of them.

Remember your calling. Think back to the time when God called you into ministry. Remember the joy you experienced when you said, “Here am I, Lord. Send me.” God’s call for your life hasn’t disappeared or expired. The calling is for a lifetime. God hasn’t changed His mind about you. His calling on your life is just as real as the first time you felt His gentle tug on your heart.

Spend extra time with Jesus. In Jesus’ presence is fullness of joy. Get alone with Him. Let Him infuse your soul with a renewed passion for ministry. Your first calling is to spend time with Jesus. When your passion for spending time with Jesus wanes, your passion for ministry will wane as well.

Grab your Bible and find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed. Read God’s Word and ask Him to speak to you. He will. Then talk to Him and ask Him to renew your passion. He will.

Identify what is draining your passion. What is causing you to lose your passion for the ministry? Look at your schedule. Go over your weekly tasks. Think through your interactions with individuals. What do you walk out of feeling drained? Who is the person who leaves you running on empty?

Identify these and see how you can adjust them, so they don’t drain you so dangerously low.

Lean into the promises of God. God’s promises can settle all the doubts, discouragement and drain you may feel when your passion is waning. Go to His Word. Lean on His promises and claim them for your life.

Make a list of the blessings you have received. Sit down and write out how God has blessed your life and ministry. You will see that He has blessed you in so many ways. Those blessings will renew your hope and rekindle the flame God placed in your heart for ministry. Go back to that list often.

Keep looking forward rather than backwards. Be thankful for the past blessings as mentioned above. But spend more time looking forward to what God is going to do in you and through you. Your best days of ministry are ahead.

Let that fill your heart with a renewed passion for the ministry.

This article originally appeared here.

Slow and Steady Wins the Church Growth Race

By

Julie Wenckowski

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May 5, 2019

I live in a suburb outside of Chicago that has experienced a lot of growth in church plants. Just take a drive down the main streets or Google churches in northwest Illinois and you are sure to find a church within a mile of another. This newfound realization led me to ask, is the church growth race a good thing?

When experiencing fast growth, churches tend to make decisions in a short amount of time that can have a long-lasting effect on the health and direction of the congregation.

Here are a few dangers to consider when experiencing the church growth race.

Assuming the Growth Will Continue

Church leaders are quick to react to this surge in attendance. But handling this increase must be accompanied by a lot of prayers, consideration and planning. It is important to know your new guests. Find out what drew them to your church. Is there a population boom in your area? Are you experiencing growth while another church in the area is adapting to a decline? How can your church reach others in search of a church home? Is the community surrounding your church a growing and thriving area? These questions will help you check the longevity of your growth.

Offering Too Many Ministries

An important question to ask is if your staff, facility and congregation can sustain each ministry. Is there a plan to accommodate a growth of 30 percent or 50 percent throughout the year? Can the plans grow with you? Do you have the available staff and resources to fulfill the needs of a growing church? Conduct an evaluation of current ministries to see if they still fulfill its original goal. Use the assessment to view which ministries will lead your congregation forward. However, it is important to remember the key mission of your church when analyzing ministries.

Failure in Taking Responsibility for Mistakes

I was part of a children’s ministry leadership team during the growth of my church. We met regularly to discuss safety concerns, facility management and programs. Some decisions were made quickly to accommodate immediate needs without considering the long-term effect our decisions had on our ministry. As a leadership team, we had to acknowledge the mistakes we made, learn from them and make appropriate adjustments. This took time and patience on our part as well as the families we served.

Building Other Sites Too Quickly

Unless your elders hear the soft whispers, “If you build it they will come,” I caution you on building a new church plant or an addition. Building means money, time and planning. Before investing these resources, try modifying your space with portable room dividers.

The dividers can create classrooms, a worship center, fellowship hall or create storage rooms. My church has Screenflex Room Dividers in every classroom. Why? To give us more usable space. Instead of 10 rooms to serve our congregation, we now had 20 classrooms. Additionally, in recent years there’s been an increase in churches renting schools, theaters, storefronts or vacant churches to host service. These sound absorbing portable walls can roll into any facility to allow you to use the space more efficiently and effectively.

Hiring Frenzy

So you need more staff. Do you hire frantically from the inside or take the time to seek the best candidates from outside the congregation? This situation can lend itself to keeping or hiring the wrong person. Are the candidates you are considering experts at growing a church? Are they willing to put in extra hours and time when and wherever needed to fill the need? You may have an amazing staff, but do they have the skills and experience needed to grow the church in a positive way? Can your current staff be used in another area more effectively?

Burn Out

Calling on your core volunteers to do more can be dangerous. I’m speaking from experience. During a season of growth, it is easy to ask volunteers to direct, teach, lead or minister to more people without fully appreciating the volunteers. Or you may find yourself asking volunteers to serve at a new church site to help the church get started. Take time to celebrate and honor your volunteers during this season. Try to recruit more volunteers to give the “regular” volunteers some time off if needed.

Forget to Plan for a Season of Slow Growth

We have a great example of this in the Bible. Even Joseph planned for a slow season. In a season of plenty, Joseph set aside a part to feed Egypt through a famine. Be a good steward and plan for the worst while making the most during a season of growth. Have a financial plan in place to retain surplus funds in a reserve for future needs. You will be glad you did.

As you seek wisdom on how to handle church growth, focus on making decisions for the long-term well-being of the church along with fulfilling the immediate needs of the church.

Get Rid of Your Bloated To-Do List and Get Your Life Back

By

Brian Jones

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May 5, 2019

167. That’s how many things I had put into my electronic task-management system called Wunderlist for me to do.

That’s no exaggeration.

One hundred sixty-seven items.

ONE HUNDRED SIXTY-SEVEN.

Why did my to-do list get that bloated?

Any time I thought of something that I should do, I’d add it to my list:

“Read this book.”
“Call this person.”
“Start this thing.”
“Fix this link.”
“Pray about hiring that person.”
“Lose 20 pounds.”

And my personal favorite,

“Clean out my to-do list.”

Sometimes I’d put “clean out my to-do list” on my to-do list TWICE.

Thanks to David Allen and his book Getting Things Done, I forced myself to get into the habit of collecting anything that came to my mind and quickly put it down on my list before I lost that good idea.

Idea? Put it in Wunderlist. Got another one? Perfect. Put it in Wunderlist too.

On and on it went.

Supposedly, according to Allen’s GTD system, I was supposed to take a day once a week to winnow my list down to a manageable size, delegate certain items, focus on what’s essential, then shove everything else into other files to attend to them when it was appropriate.

The fatal flaw in this plan? That weekly day of reckoning NEVER came for me.

That’s because collecting and writing down everything that popped into my head created this monstrosity of bloated mental fogginess. Managing my “tasks” was turning into a part-time job in and of itself.

In his Confessions, Augustine said, “The punishment of every disordered mind is its own disorder.” I was living that truth every single day.

Thankfully one gloomy Monday morning I had a eureka moment of God-given inspiration.

I looked at my 167-item list and uttered the three greatest theological words in the English language: “This is stupid.”

Brian’s Productivity Tips for Pastors

I deleted Wunderlist, abandoned the GTD process of task-management, and never looked back.

What was the problem?

Almost all task-management “systems” are perfect for a manager.

As a pastor, the majority of my time is spent as a maker.

Makers vs. Managers

In his classic article “Maker’s Schedule, Manager’s Schedule,” Paul Graham observed,

“There are two types of schedules, which I’ll call the manager’s schedule and the maker’s schedule. The manager’s schedule is for bosses. It’s embodied in the traditional appointment book, with each day cut into one-hour intervals. You can block off several hours for a single task if you need to, but by default you change what you’re doing every hour.

When you use time that way, it’s merely a practical problem to meet with someone. Find an open slot in your schedule, book them, and you’re done.

But there’s another way of using time that’s common among people who make things, like programmers and writers. They generally prefer to use time in units of half a day at least. You can’t write or program well in units of an hour. That’s barely enough time to get started.”

These two very different roles and approaches to managing a weekly schedule are wholly overlooked by the majority of pastors I end up coaching.

As Graham points out, when you are a maker, being called into a meeting doesn’t just change your schedule. It changes the mode in which you work.

Makers can’t just “flip the switch” and get back into “making mode” after they’ve been called into a 20-minute impromptu meeting.

To a manager, a 20-minute meeting is invigorating. To a maker, they have to sit back down and try to get back to that place they were in before they were interrupted. The problem is 9 times out of 10 the “attention residue” (as Cal Newport calls it) is too strong and the maker can’t get back into their groove.

To a manager, a quick 20-minute meeting is but one tiny little cog in a productive day. To a maker, a hastily-scheduled 20-minute impromptu meeting will most likely end their day’s productivity.

Makers work in large blocks of uninterrupted time. Managers work in units of time.

And therein lies the problem for Pastors.

Pastors Are Both Managers AND Makers

Senior pastoring, by its very nature, forces us to wear a manager’s hat and a maker’s hat in the same week.

In some situations, next week you will put on your manager hat:

You will go to the office.
And hold office hours.
And conduct staff meetings.
And meet individually with staff and parishioners.
And do paperwork and return emails and phone calls.
And collaborate on service design.
And work on building projects and fundraising.
Etc.

But in that same week, you will also put on your maker hat:

You will need to read and reflect on Scripture.
And pray.
And write sermons.
And prepare Bible studies.
And read books.
And reflect on your church’s situation and strategy.
Etc.

Every single one of us knows how these two hats compete for the most coveted real estate in our weekly schedule.

Which hat is the most important for us to wear?

We all know the answer to that: the maker hat.

Everything we do as a manager should emanate from the time we spend as a maker in prayer and study and sermon prep and reflection.

When we are busy and unhealthy and lack intention, we all know which hat wins the day: the manager hat.

Sermons get put off until Thursday. Or Saturday. Or Sunday morning at 3 a.m. when we walk up and cry out with the passion of Elijah, “Dear God save me!!!” (been there, twice).

Prayer gets rushed.

Meditating on Scripture simply to listen to God becomes non-existent.

Want to block off three to four hours to go to a coffee shop and pull out a pad of paper and reflect on the problems we need to solve?

Please. Not happening.

In the middle of all this manager busyness, we ALWAYS sense an internal draw to put our maker hat back on.

Acknowledging the Dilemma

In his book Spiritual Leadership, Henry Blackaby wrote,

“God has a plan for each person that is uniquely suited to that individual. Unlike people, God never piles on more than someone can handle. God never overbooks people. God never drives his servants to the point of breakdown. God never burns people out. God never gives people tasks that are beyond the strength or ability he provides.”

We have enough time next week to finish the things God wants us to make and the things God wants us to manage.

If we don’t have the time, then the problem is with us, not God.

We have enough time next week to finish the things God wants us to make and the things God wants us to manage. If we don’t have the time, then the problem is with us, not God.CLICK TO TWEET

But if you’re not consistently accomplishing both your maker and manager tasks, I have good news for you.

There’s a better way.

An easier way.

A life-giving way.

It’s not the only approach that’s out there, but it works for me, and I think it can help you.

A Task Management Process That Works

1. Delete Whatever Task-Management System You’re Using

Get rid of that weird calendar thing that you do.

That convoluted task-management system you found out about on that podcast.

That app on your phone.

That expensive planner a social media celebrity got you to buy.

Pitch all of it.

2. Buy a Moleskine Notebook

I use and recommend: Moleskine Classic Hard Cover Notebook, Ruled / Lined, Large (5″ x 8.25″). It will last you more than six months.

3. Buy a Pen Holder to Attach to Your Moleskine

For some reason, Moleskine doesn’t provide a pen holder, so I have purchased these elastic band pen holders that you can attach to the back of the Moleskine.

The pens I use are Uni-ball micro-point (0.5mm), blue.

4. Place Your Ideal MAKER Priorities on the Left Inside Cover of the Moleskine

On the hard inside left cover of the Moleskine, I want you to write down your MAKER weekly priorities.

Here is a picture of mine:

If you can’t read the picture, here’s what it says:

Maker Priorities

Eat 2,000 calories
Read 1 chapter and pray
Social media posts
Sermon overview
Sermon
BrianJones.com article
SeniorPastorCentral.com article
Exercise
Read 1 book
“A” leader meeting ideas
Leadership Team ideas
5 podcast interviews
Mountain hiking adventure
Lisa date
Call/text all family
Finances
4 hours writing a new book

This is the list of my ideal weekly “if everything goes right in the universe” MAKER tasks that I’d like to get done in an absolutely perfect week.

Will I ever accomplish them all? Of course not.

But we must have a clear picture of what we’re aiming for, and more importantly what we’re NOT aiming for.

FYI: I always tell the pastors I coach to dedicate Monday through Thursday, 4 a.m.-noon as “maker” time for personal/God/alone maker stuff. Noon to 5 p.m. becomes “manager” time when they meet with people.

Maker tasks are always done in a separate location from where the manager tasks are done. I do all of my maker tasks in my home office or at Starbucks. I do all my manager tasks in the church office or in remote meeting locations.

That way there’s a clean break.

Mornings are for making.

Lunches and afternoons are for managing.

The clear shift in locations helps me know which hat I’m wearing.

To help you create your list I would highly suggest you read my article My Monthly Trip to The Monastery and/or follow a similar process to get away and arrive at your ideal MAKER weekly calendar.

Again, at this point you want to settle on your ideal weekly MAKER tasks: read, pray, write a sermon, write articles, read, etc.

5. Place Your MANAGER Meetings in a Different Calendar

Conventional wisdom says to put your tasks and meetings on the same calendar or in the same system.

[insert “the three best theological words in the English language” here]

“Conventional wisdom” is always written by managers for managers, not makers.

You WANT to have your maker tasks housed in one location and your manager appointments housed in another.

These are completely different kinds of work that you have to protect from each other. Otherwise, the manager will always cannibalize the maker’s time.

Did you hear that?

Pastors must protect their maker time from the manager.

Pastors must protect their maker time from the manager.CLICK TO TWEET

What calendar do I use? I use Outlook, so that’s where my meetings go.

FYI: If you haven’t read my article How Senior Pastors Can Schedule Their Week for Maximum Impact I would highly encourage you to do so.

That article will help you think through the flow of your week.

While you are going through this process think like a minimalist.

Challenge every single meeting on your calendar.

Cut everything that can be cut.

Condense. Shorten. Minimize.

6. Late Sunday Afternoon Set Aside an Hour to Pick No More than five to six MAKER Tasks to Focus on for the Week

At this point, you have your ideal week in your Moleskine, and you’ve whittled down your weekly MANAGER schedule to the absolute bare minimum.

Now you’re ready to plan your week.

Here’s how this works for me:

On Sunday mornings I preach and love on people, then go to lunch with the family, then go straight to the grocery store to do grocery shopping, and then come home and take an hour-long nap around 4 p.m. Hopefully, there’s golf on TV because I can nap like a boss when golf is on.
Around 5 p.m. I wake up, drink a bottle of water, and take out my Moleskine and my laptop.
I review my weekly priorities list on the left-hand side of my Moleskine. I look at my weekly calendar. Then I pick the five to six MAKER tasks that I need to get done that week.
Then I schedule the manager meetings I need to have as well.
Then I put those five to six tasks on the right-hand side on a Moleskine sheet of paper, opposite of my ideal weekly priority list.

This takes about an hour.

Here is my actual list from this past week:

If you can’t read the picture, here’s what it says:

This Week

Sermon
Plan next sermon series
Write SeniorPastorCentral.com article
Read Predictable Success by Les McKeown
Mountain adventure
Plan next 7 days social media posts
Write Leadership Team report

You’ll notice in the picture that I only wrote down seven things to get done this past week and only crossed off four of them (I’m writing this on Friday).

I consider this week a RAVING success.

Why?

Because last Sunday I leisurely took the time to comb over my upcoming meetings for the week, calculated the time necessary to accomplish my MAKER tasks, and decided that if everything went perfectly, I could get seven things done.

In short, I was intentional.

If things went very well, I could get four to five done.

And if it was an average week, I could get two to three things done.

I got four MAKER tasks completed so I was pumped!

Bible study, prayer and exercise are so habituated that I don’t even need to list them on my to-do list anymore.

My mind this week was clear. I didn’t feel rushed. There was no disorder.

7. What to Do When Other Tasks Come to Mind During the Week

No doubt during the week you’ll think of stuff you need to do.

DO NOT randomly jot down anything that comes to your head.

If something comes up that fits with your maker priorities, then it’s OK to write those down. Much of what you write down will be things you don’t want to forget and will delegate to other people.

Over the years I’ve gotten into this nasty habit of emailing myself stuff. And that’s OK to do in a pinch. But I have to remind myself that I’m creating more work for myself because I’ll need to go back through my inbox and write them down in my Moleskine anyway.

So during the week whenever I think of something I need to write down, I turn the page and write down those items.

The reason I put them on the back page is it communicates to me that unless these items are an absolutely high priority, I don’t touch them until I’ve accomplished my entire list on the front of the page.

8. Next Sunday Rip Out the Page You Used for the Past Week and Start Fresh with a New Page

After you do this with a couple of sheets the moleskine papers stay perfectly in place and won’t easily fall out.

9. Begin the Process All Over Again Each Sunday Afternoon with a New Page

Each Sunday afternoon I begin the whole process all over again by comparing my top MAKER priorities with the time I actually have to get them done.

10. Enjoy the Benefits That Come From a Simple, Clear and Intentional To-Do List

Here’s what will happen as you adopt this approach to your daily and weekly tasks:

You’ll stop wasting time because you’ll realize how much time you’ve wasted in the past trying to accomplish more things than were humanly possible.
Your mind will feel clear and focused as you untie yourself from the mental weight of an unwieldy and bloated task management process.
You’ll start to do a better job of estimating how long certain projects will take, like writing sermons.
You’ll start devoting longer blocks of time to a handful of tasks.
Your increased focus will cause you to become more vigilant about protecting your MAKER time from the MANAGER side of you.
You’ll slowly realize that the manager side of you exists, in part, to enable the maker side of you to be successful. You are a praying, writing, thinking and reflecting maker first, then an acting, deciding, relating, empowering relational manager second (think Acts 6:1-7).
Best of all, over time your mind will become clearer, you’ll become more productive, and you’ll end up having a heck of a lot more fun.

Trust me on this.

Get rid of that bloated to-do list and get your life back!

This article originally appeared here.

Rachel Held Evans, the Doubt-Filled Prophet, Has Died

By

Megan Briggs

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May 5, 2019

Rachel Held Evans, a prophetic voice in the progressive Christian church, went to be with the Lord on May 4, 2019. Evans fought a brief health battle during which time she was placed in a medically induced coma. She did not recover.

“I keep hoping it’s a nightmare from which I’ll awake. I feel like I’m telling someone else’s story,” Evans’ husband, Dan, wrote in an update on his wife’s website.

On April 14, Evans announced to her followers on Twitter that she had been hospitalized for “a flu + UTI combo and a severe allergic reaction to the antibiotics they gave me.” By the 19th, doctors had placed Evans in a medically induced coma because she was suffering seizures. Support for Evans’ family and prayers flowed in from readers and other faith leaders. Some of Evans’ friends and colleagues set up a GoFundMe page to try to assuage the medical costs the Evans family rapidly incurred.

Dan’s full update is included below:

Rachel was slowly weaned from the coma medication. Her seizures returned but at a reduced rate. There were periods of time where she didn’t have seizures at all. Rachel did not return to an alert state during this process. The hospital team worked to diagnose the primary cause of her seizures and proactively treated for some known possible causes for which diagnostics were not immediately available due to physical limitations.

Early Thursday morning, May 2, Rachel experienced sudden and extreme changes in her vitals. The team at the hospital discovered extensive swelling of her brain and took emergency action to stabilize her. The team worked until Friday afternoon to the best of their ability to save her. This swelling event caused severe damage and ultimately was not survivable.

Rachel died early Saturday morning, May 4, 2019.

This entire experience is surreal. I keep hoping it’s a nightmare from which I’ll awake. I feel like I’m telling someone else’s story. I cannot express how much the support means to me and our kids. To everyone who has prayed, called, texted, driven, flown, given of themselves physically and financially to help ease this burden: Thank you. We are privileged. Rachel’s presence in this world was a gift to us all and her work will long survive her.

How Will Rachel Held Evans Be Remembered?

In an interview with Slate, Dan shared about her character:

She put others before herself. She shared her platform. She always remembered how others had helped her. She enjoyed seeing other people in contexts where they thrived. She didn’t hold grudges, would forget as well as forgive. She had little time for pettiness and a big heart for people. And these are all things I wish I had told her more while I still had the privilege to keep her company.

It is significant that Dan mentioned Evans’ aversion to pettiness. Evans was known in the evangelical world for asking questions about long-held tenants and generally trying to rock the status-quo. She frequently questioned male leaders in the evangelical church like Russell Moore, John Piper, Rod Dreher and Mark Driscoll. Eventually, she became fed up with “evangelicalism’s culture wars” and left the evangelical church to join the Episcopalian community. Still, Evans was widely read by evangelicals and mainline protestants alike.

Evans was a big voice in the #exvangelical community and those who have gone or are going through a crisis of faith. Her work speaks about doubt, unbelief and trying to hold on to a faith that often does not make sense in light of the harsh realities of our world. Evans wrote about her faith evolving into a deeper, richer experience as she wrestled through questions like whether Scripture is inerrant and whether patriarchy serves as a prescription or simply a backdrop in the Bible.

Distracted by Porn, Weed, Fortnite and Social Media…

By

Jonathan McKee

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May 3, 2019

With porn, weed, Fortnite, and social media, it’s never been more difficult to be a young guy.

Today’s guys face a lot of distractions—a lot more than I faced as a young man. Sure, when I was 13 in 1983, I had access to porn, drugs and raunchy entertainment media.

But porn wasn’t just a click away in my pocket; it was in a magazine at my friend’s house if we dared to sneak into his dad’s bedroom.
Marijuana was available, but it wasn’t mainstream and encouraged—and it sure wasn’t legal.
I loved movies, music and television, but my house had one screen and a boombox. Now we have a dozen screens, and my entire entertainment media library is available in the cloud. Name a movie or music video. We can click and watch it within seconds, regardless of rating.

But I think the biggest difference between then and now is self-esteem. Sure, it’s always been tough. Back then it was difficult to measure up at school. You had to wear the right clothes, say the right things and blend in. I wore knee-high socks with yellow and blue stripes at the top, an OP shirt and my Members Only jacket, even when it was 90 degrees! I couldn’t afford Vuarnets, but I had some knockoff Ray-Bans. (Tom Cruise appeared on movie posters wearing them in 1983—Ray-Bans were the rage!)

But all the right clothes didn’t make me popular. People are people (Depeche Mode articulated that in 1984). I struggled fitting in.

The one saving grace was that at 2:43 the bell rang and I could go home away from all that pressure until the next morning. Today that pressure never ends. At 2:43 the bell rings, the phone comes out of the pocket, and young people enter an entirely different world where they not only face the continued pressure to measure up but actually have a numeric value for exactly how well they are “liked” and how many “friends” they have, along with a never-ending stream of comments from sources known and unknown. It’s like a personal self-esteem barometer. Is it any surprise anxiety, depression and suicide are at an unprecedented high?

Today’s guys are bombarded with distractions, and it has never been more necessary to talk with young men about self-esteem, screens, sexual temptation and substance abuse.

Without fail whenever a parent or a youth worker asks me a question about the young man they care about, it’s always about one of these four battles.

“If I didn’t limit my son’s screen time he’d play X-box all night long.”

“I was looking through my son’s browser the other day and I discovered he was looking at porn.”

“My son seemed so confident, but his self-image is growing more and more dependent on ‘LIKES.’”

“I never even fathomed my son would try drugs, and when we confronted him about smoking a bowl with his friends he actually replied, ‘What’s the big deal? It’s legal.’”

This is parenting today. These are the battles our boys are fighting—maybe not every one of these…but every guy struggles with at least one.

So how can we help today’s young men develop a strategy to fight these battles?

One word: conversations.

Sure, screen time limits and Internet filters and all the other loving guardrails Mom and Dad provide can help, but nothing equips our kids to fight these battles more than conversations about truth. The best way to counter the bad information they’re getting in their Insta-feed is the good information they are getting at breakfast with dad, after school with their young pastor…from Mom at the dinner table.

Are you proactively initiating meaningful conversations about these four potent distractions? Have you ever dialogued with your kids about if getting wasted is really a big deal?

Where will your kids hear truth?

How about at breakfast this week?

JONATHAN McKEE is the author of over 20 books, including the brand new THE GUY’S GUIDE TO FOUR BATTLES EVERY YOUNG MAN MUST FACE, THE TEEN’S GUIDE TO SOCIAL MEDIA & MOBILE DEVICES, and other books helping parents engage their kids in conversations about truth. Jonathan speaks to parents and leaders worldwide all while providing free resources and help for families on TheSource4Parents.com.

Missionaries You Should Know: Samuel Zwemer

By

Paul Akin

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May 3, 2019

Samuel Zwemer contributed more to mission work among Muslims in the Middle East and North Africa than perhaps any other individual in history. He was a faithful missionary, a fervent mobilizer and a foundational theologian for Christian mission efforts among Muslim peoples. Though he did not see scores of Muslims trust in Jesus for salvation, church historian Kenneth Scott LaTourette wrote of him: “No one through all of the centuries of Christian missions to Moslems has deserved better than Dr. Zwemer the designation of Apostle to Islam.”[1]

Pioneer Missionary

Until Samuel Zwemer set sail for Arabia in 1890, very few, if any, missionaries had intentionally focused on taking the gospel there. Arabia’s scant resources, scattered population, extreme climate, and government by foreign powers were significant barriers to entry.

But immediately upon his arrival in Arabia, Zwemer devoted himself to learning the Arabic language. Before even leaving the United States, Zwemer had already taught himself the Arabic alphabet and some basic grammar rules.

“No one through all of the centuries of Christian missions to Moslems has deserved better than Dr. Zwemer the designation of Apostle to Islam.”

After a period of studying Arabic in Beirut, Zwemer journeyed along the Red Sea, braving the threat of dangerous storms, pirates and makeshift ports before ultimately arriving in Yemen. Of the inherent risks in missionary life Zwemer later wrote, “With God’s sovereignty as basis, God’s glory as goal, and God’s will as motive, the missionary enterprise today can face the most difficult of all missionary tasks—the evangelization of the Moslem world.”[2]

Refering to Zwemer’s impact in Arabia, one author wrote, “Today all along the whole Persian Gulf coast the sheiks of Araby still talk of these pioneer missionaries [Zwemer and Cantine] who had the courage to tell the story of Christianity to the fanatical Moslems…”[3]

Effective Mobilizer

Zwemer was not only a faithful missionary, but he was also known as a fervent mobilizer for the cause of mission to Muslims. At that time, few Westerners had been exposed to the Islamic world. But in 1905, he and his family returned to the United States for a furlough. He journeyed to campuses and conferences all over the country. Over the next several years, Zwemer traveled widely throughout the U.S. sharing about God’s heart for Muslim people and informing Christians of the urgent need to engage in taking the gospel to Muslims.

God blessed Zwemer with the ability to communicate well and to inspire young people to pray, give and engage in the mission of God among Muslims. Renowned missiologist, J. Christy Wilson, commenting on Zwemer’s talent as a mobilizer later wrote that “John R. Mott has stated that Zwemer was responsible for sending more young men and women overseas as missionaries than any man from the days of Christ on earth to the present. … At the great student conventions, John R. Mott would call for Zwemer to come from wherever he might happen to be in the world. Zwemer and Speer were so filled with power that thousands of students who heard them dedicated their lives to foreign missionary service.”[4]

Although he was not in the heart of Arabia as he believed God had called him to be, Zwemer made the most of his life during this season to help mobilize and inspire scores of people to engage in mission among Muslims.

Writer, Publisher and Theologian

Today, Samuel Zwemer is best known through his extensive writing and theological contributions to Christian mission among Muslims. Over the course of his life, Zwemer authored over 50 books. He was more prolific with the pen than perhaps any other missionary to Muslims in history. One cannot accurately understand Zwemer’s influence on Christian mission to Muslims without understanding his role as a foundational theologian.

After his seven years of mobilization in the United States, the Zwemer family moved to Cairo, Egypt, to help make it a Christian center for Islamic studies. Wilson adds, “Zwemer knew well the strategic value of Cairo as a center for Christian Missions to Muslims, and after due thought and much prayer, accepted the call.”[5]

Zwemer’s writing career took off during this time, and he understood that the gospel could travel farther and quicker through the printed page than perhaps any other means. It was during this time that Zwemer founded and served as editor for the Publication The Moslem World, a quarterly journal that Zwemer would edit for the next 36 years, from 1911 to 1947.

After traveling around the world and living in Cairo for more than 16 years, Zwemer was asked in 1929 to consider joining the faculty at Princeton Theological Seminary. This was the second time the distinguished institution had offered Zwemer a teaching position and this time around, Zwemer accepted the invitation to serve as professor of The History of Religion and Christian Mission. Upon his election to the Princeton faculty, Zwemer said, “My experience has been in practical evangelism, rather than in the classroom. It is a far call from the camel’s saddle in Oman or a seat in a coffee shop in the bazaars of Cairo to a Professor’s chair. I count myself happy, however, henceforth to have a small part in promoting those high ideals…for which Princeton has always stood.”[6]

An Enduring Legacy of Faithful Service

Zwemer taught at Princeton from 1929 to 1936. He then moved to New York City where he continued to edit, write, and speak on Christian mission to Muslims. Several years later on February 17, 1952, Zwemer died there at the age of eighty-four. He left behind an amazing legacy and a plethora of missiological insights through his written work.

More importantly, he demonstrated a life of faithfulness wherever God placed him. Whether he was in the deserts of Arabia with the Bedouin or surrounded by seminary students at Princeton Seminary, Samuel Zwemer devoted his life to seeing the gospel proclaimed, individuals mobilized, and churches motivated to support and partner with missionaries to win the Muslim world for Jesus Christ. Lord willing, it will continue to be a legacy that inspires and encourages missionaries among Muslims until our King returns.

Sources:

[1] J. Christy Wilson, Apostle to Islam: A Biography of Samuel M. Zwemer (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1952), 5.

[2] Samuel M. Zwemer, “Calvinism and the Missionary Enterprise.” Theology Today 7 (1950): 214.

[3] Zwemer and Cantine, Golden Milestones, 5.

[4] Wilson, “Epic of Zwemer”, 83.

[5] Wilson, “Epic of Zwemer”, 83.

[6] Wilson, Apostle to Islam, 210.

This article originally appeared here.

Enough Is Enough—Why the Church Has to Stop Enabling Abusive Men

By

Gary Thomas

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May 3, 2019

The church must stop enabling abusive Christian men.

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:26

What does it mean to “hate” someone we are elsewhere called to sacrificially love? We are told to love even our enemies, yet Jesus here tells us to hate some of our closest family members. What could that mean?

Hatred here is Semitic hyperbole. In essence, it means “love less than.” There are times when our love and allegiance to God may be at odds with human loyalties; in those cases, love for God, His light and the way of truth must always prevail.

It’s OK (actually, commendable) for me to love the Seattle Seahawks. But if my wife needs me to take her to the hospital in the middle of a game or needs me to pay her some attention, I have to act like I hate the Seahawks and not even consider my love for them in service to my wife.

Let’s apply this principle in regards to how the church views marriage and divorce.

Abusive Christian Men

I recently spoke at a long-standing North American woman’s conference and was overwhelmed by the quantity and horrific nature of things wives are having to put up with in their marriages. Between sessions, I was bombarded by heartfelt inquiries: “What does a wife do when her husband does this? Or that? Or keeps doing this?” It broke my heart. I felt like I needed to take a dozen showers that weekend.

This may sound like a rant, but please hang with me, as I think this conference was a divine appointment. I can’t get what I heard about these abusive Christian men out of my mind.

One wife began our conversation with, “God hates divorce, right?”

“Yes,” I said. “I believe He does.”

“So I’ve just got to accept what’s happening in my marriage, right?”

When she told me what was happening, I quickly corrected her. “If the cost of saving a marriage is destroying a woman, the cost is too high. God loves people more than he loves institutions.”

Her husband is a persistent porn addict. He has neglected her sexually except to fulfill his own increasingly bent desires. He keeps dangling divorce over her head, which makes her feel like a failure as a Christian. He presented her with a list of five things he wanted to do that he saw done in porn, and if she wasn’t willing, he was through with the marriage. She agreed to four of them, but just couldn’t do the fifth. And she feels guilty.

Religious Health Care Workers Will Now Have the Right to Refuse

By

Stephanie Martin

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May 3, 2019

During a National Day of Prayer event at the White House yesterday, President Trump mentioned a new rule aimed at guarding religious freedom. The Office of Civil Rights (OCR), a division of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), released a final 440-page ruling Thursday that protects health care workers from participating in procedures that violate their personal beliefs.

The new law, expected to take effect in about two months, safeguards the jobs of medical professionals who refuse to be involved with abortion, assisted suicide, sterilization and other procedures that go against their faith or moral convictions.

“Finally, laws prohibiting government-funded discrimination against conscience and religious freedom will be enforced like every other civil rights law,” says OCR director Roger Severino. “This rule ensures that health care entities and professionals won’t be bullied out of the health care field because they decline to participate in actions that violate their conscience, including the taking of human life. Protecting conscience and religious freedom not only fosters greater diversity in healthcare, it’s the law.”

New Law Consolidates Existing Regulations

More than two dozen separate laws were on the books to guard health care workers’ civil rights, but this new ruling pulls them together and expands the protections. “This rule is consistent with decades of federal conscience law,” says Jonathan Imbody of the Christian Medical Association. “Education about and enforcement of these laws has long been neglected.”

The new rule extends beyond medical facilities to social-service groups such as adoption agencies. It also protects employees who won’t refer a patient elsewhere for a procedure. Health care institutions that violate workers’ rights could lose federal funding.

The new law is “a victory for common sense and religious diversity,” says Montse Alvarado, executive director of Becket, a religious-liberty law firm. “We need more health care in this country, not less,” she adds. “We all win if nurses, doctors and other health care professionals can heal others without fear of being forced from their life’s work because of their religious beliefs.”

Opponents Say Law Will Limit Health Care Access

The American Civil Liberties Union is one of several groups speaking out against the rule. “Denying kids health care because they have two moms is not religious liberty,” it tweeted. “Denying patients IVF because they are unmarried is not religious liberty. Denying patients surgery because they are trans is not religious liberty. Discrimination is not religious liberty.”

Americans United for Separation of Church & State calls the law the Denial of Care Rule. “It’s clear that women, LGBTQ people and religious minorities are the intended targets, but it doesn’t stop there,” says president and CEO Rachel Laser. “The rule is so broad that everyone—including sick children, pregnant women and senior citizens—is at risk. It is un-American for the Trump administration to authorize medical professionals to circumvent our shared secular values to deny patients lifesaving medical care.”

In January 2018, the administration established a new Conscience and Religious Freedom Division within the OCR. Last week, HHS changed OCR’s mission statement to emphasize that the agency protects the “exercise of religious beliefs and moral convictions by individuals and institutions.”

The ‘Hand of God’ Rescues Teens Stranded in the Ocean

By

Jessica Lea

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May 3, 2019

Teenagers Tyler Smith and Heather Brown, who attend Christ’s Church Academy in Jacksonville, Florida, were swimming at Vilano Beach when they got pulled out to sea by a riptide. The two grew increasingly weaker, wondering if they would make it back to shore, when they prayed to God and a boat named the “Amen” came to their rescue.

“For [God] to send someone for us to keep living and a boat named ‘Amen,’ there’s no way that it wasn’t Him,” Smith told Fox News.

A Fun Day Turns Perilous

Smith and Brown, who will graduate May 19th, are 17 years old and have been friends since the fourth grade.

Action News Jax reports that they had cut school for a senior skip day on April 18th and were swimming on the Florida coast when they realized they were unable to make it back to shore. At one point, they tried to swim to a red buoy so they could hold onto it and wait to be rescued, but the current kept pushing them off course. “We lost the buoy all together and that was the moment we needed something miraculous,” Brown told ABC News.

They were stranded two miles out from the shoreline for two hours. Smith eventually started cramping and then he started praying. He said, “I cried out, ‘if you really do have a plan for us, like, come on. Just bring something.’”

Surviving at sea: Two teens stranded off shore in St. Johns county are saved by a man sailing to New Jersey. Hear their prayers, and you will not believe the name of the boat that saved them. @ActionNewsJax at 6:00 pic.twitter.com/0U209wl2Si

— Bridgette Matter (@bridgetteANjax) April 30, 2019

That’s when they caught sight of a boat. “I started swimming towards it,” said Brown. “I was like, ‘I’m going to get this boat. Just stay here. I’m going to get this boat. We are going to live.’”

The ‘Amen’ to the Rescue

The crew of the boat that rescued them was en route to New Jersey. Captain Eric Wagner says they had decided to go out despite the sea’s rough conditions. He told ABC that it was a day when only fishing boats, which don’t go up and down the coast, go out, so if the “Amen” hadn’t been there, it’s unlikely any other vessels would have come across the teens. About two miles out from shore, the crew heard “a desperate scream.” Looking back, about 200 yards behind them, they saw an arm amid the swell of the waves. They did a U-turn and headed to where the teens were, tossing them life jackets and a line. Brown says after they saw the boat, Smith told her, “‘Heather, just keep screaming, just keep screaming’…I was like, ‘This is it, this is it, we’re getting out of here!'”

Brown and Smith were too weak to climb aboard, so the crew had to push and pull them onto the vessel. This was difficult because the engines were off, and the waves were tossing all of them while unsecured items slid back and forth on the boat. Wagner said, “Both were shivering and pale, his lips were white. She was lucid, he seemed to be struggling to answer our questions but coherent.”

Once the teens were safely on board, the coast guard had been contacted, and things settled down, Wagner told them the name of the boat. He said, “That’s when they started to cry.”

“There’s no other reason or explanation in the world that that wasn’t God,” Smith told Action News Jax. Wagner agrees. He told ABC, “I don’t want to call it dumb luck, it wasn’t, it was the hand of God.”

The Great Bridge Builder Warren Wiersbe Is in Heaven Now

By

Megan Briggs

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May 3, 2019

Warren W. Wiersbe passed away yesterday. The beloved scholar and elder in the Christian faith was 89 years old. Among his contributions to modern Christendom are more than 150 books.

“Grandpa built bridges from the world of the Bible to the world of today so that we could get to the other side of glory in Jesus,” Wiersbe’s grandson, Dan Jacobson said. (Wiersbe’s autobiography is titled Be Myself: Memoirs of a Bridgebuilder.)

Warren Wiersbe Wore Many Hats in the Evangelical World

During his lifetime, Wiersbe served as the pastor of Moody Church in Chicago for a stint, was the General Director and Bible Teacher for Back to the Bible, served Youth for Christ, pastored a couple local churches, taught at and developed curriculum for seminaries, and wrote numerous Bible commentaries utilized by pastors all over the world.

Warren’s popular BE Bible commentary series covered every book of the Bible and sold more than 4 million copies. He was affectionately known as the “pastor’s pastor.”

Not only was he a prolific writer (Jacobson jokes in his remembrance of his grandfather that no one knew exactly how many books he had written), Wiersbe also was an avid reader. His personal library is said to contain over 10,000 titles.

An Interim Between Giants

Jacobson’s moving tribute to his grandfather gives us a picture of a man who was comfortable leading behind the scenes and only taking the spotlight when necessary. Jacobson writes:

The metaphor for his life is rather simple—he wrote it in his autobiography—he was a bridge builder. When he said it, he meant that he had a knack for filling leadership roles as the interim between giants. The hallmark picture of this has always been his tenure as senior pastor at the historic Moody Church in Chicago. (Grandpa high-fives that I mention the historicity of the place.) The outgoing pastor, George Sweeting, had just been installed as president of Moody Bible Institute. Enter Wiersbe. After a handful of years of faithful preaching, leading the church out of debt and setting the congregational chaos into order, my grandfather kept “arranging” for a young professor named Erwin Lutzer to preach on Sundays. (Grandpa recites the line I’ve heard him say most of all, “You know the best thing I ever did for that place was leave so that Lutzer could pastor there.”)

Among all his stunning accomplishments, though, Jacobson is thankful his grandfather contributed to a legacy of faith and preaching the Bible in his family. Jacobson recalls his grandfather teaching him what it means to pray, even in the last years of his long life.

Wiersbe was born May 16, 1929, in East Chicago, Illinois. Jacobson describes his grandfather as a “German Swede.” He attended Indiana University in Indianapolis, Roosevelt University, and graduated in 1953 from Northern Baptist Theological Seminary in Lombard, Illinois. Ordained in 1951, Wiersbe started off his ministry career at Central Baptist Church in Lombard. He would go on to serve another local church: Calvary Baptist Church in Covington, Kentucky.

Wiersbe went to be with the Lord on Thursday, May 2, 2019.

A Letter to the Tired Children’s Ministry Leader

By

Matt Morgan

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May 2, 2019

As Children’s Ministry leaders, we have all lived in seasons of hard ministry. We have faced the temptation to call it quits and move on. I’ve been in those seasons before, and this is my attempt to offer encouragement and words that you can come back to whenever needed.

Dear Tired, Undervalued, About-to-Burnout Children’s Ministry Leader,

I see your tired mind and weary body. You love what you are called to do, but you’re not sure how much longer you can make it. There are nights when you can’t sleep and mornings when you don’t want to wake up. You work yourself to the bone as if eternity depended on it. And while the results are not up to you, eternity really is our focus. The weight of such a calling is heavy. It has made you tired and weary. You need to hear these words:

Do not give up.

In your weariness, remember that wondrous God is using you to introduce Himself to wide-eyed children who desperately need to know Him. In your moments of feeling under appreciated, remember that every conversation with a child is a chance for the Holy Spirit to reach their heart and transform their eternity. You are making a difference and God is using you to fulfill His good purpose (Philippians 2:13).

It might feel like no one understands or cares, but don’t give into that lie. Your church needs you to continue pouring into children and families. They may not see all that it takes or understand the sacrifices that you make. Your struggles to find volunteers and get support may feel like failures, but you must keep going. You are providing opportunities for others to be involved in everything God is doing to raise up a new generation who will love and serve Him.

Do not give up.

In His sovereignty, God could have placed anyone in this role, and He chose you. He chose you because you are made for this role. While He has certainly gifted you for this role, your abilities will never be enough. But His grace and power are enough. Find rest in what Jesus has done for you and who the Gospel proclaims you to be. Find strength in the God who has made and cares deeply for all things—including the kids in your ministry and you. Find hope in His promise that His word—faithfully taught in your ministry—will not return empty.

I’m sorry that you are tired and undervalued. I know that Satan has undoubtedly used those feelings to make you feel like throwing in the towel. If I could put a voice to what I think God might be saying at this very moment, I would simply say:

Do not give up.

If you are enduring a hard season and need prayer, please leave your name in the comments or contact me. I want to spend this month praying for you and your ministry.

This article originally appeared here.

How Do You REALLY Follow Your Passion?

By

Brooklyn Lindsey

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May 2, 2019

How Do You REALLY Follow Your Passion?

Weekly mantra that never becomes reality…

“I’m going to give myself enough time and space to tell the stories that I have lived.”

They are stories about the crazy inside, about love and family, and laughs on the kitchen counter (usually after we’ve cried first). They are stories about people I couldn’t imagine I would get to meet. They are stories of challenges I couldn’t imagine that we or others would face. They are stories of redefining what we thought ministry was and stories of rebuilding what we think it could be. They are stories of heartache and also the exact opposite—the kind of joy that cracks your bitter shell to pieces. They are stories of a Love so generous nothing in the universe could outgive it.

I want to tell the stories, every single moment—but wanting to tell them ALL often keeps me from telling just one.

So my personal challenge is to write just one story. Or reflect on one thing at a time. This is my thing for today.

I was on a dirt road leading to somewhere. I literally didn’t know where I was. I knew where we were trying to go (a village in Sri Lanka), but I had never been there before. I didn’t know which fork in the road was intended for us. There was a guide waiting for us after an eight-hour journey by van. But we couldn’t continue, because there were challenges—the evening was wild. Wild with elephants and fear and a people plagued with memories of terror in the night. Could this dead end and wild shift in plans be what it means to follow my passion? I stood thinking of the photos that wouldn’t get to be taken. But that’s when the passion conversation erupted in my heart. Was my passion and purpose in life to get in the field and capture a photo to send back to my Instagram account? I knew it wasn’t. That was never and never will be God’s intention for me. God was asking me to trust in the unraveling story. Because what was really happening was a return to basecamp, a backwards hike, a reset…so we could experience a level of connection that we may not have been prepared for otherwise.

Is this how God shows us how to live? By taking our breath away and upsetting the equilibrium just long enough for us to say—hey—there’s nothing else I can do but trust in you. Is this how it’s supposed to be—the seeming lack of forward motion giving us the strength we need to move further forward than anything we had planned?

I learned in the red dirt of a distant land that following our passions isn’t so much about us as it is about the story we get to be a part of when we give up some of the story we hoped we would live.

Passion is just as much about surrender and loss as it is about a positive life pursuit. Passion is the glue that keeps us on the journey. It’s both vivid mission and heartbreaking agony. It’s both. It really is both.

Following our passions looks a lot less like going after what gratifies us and more like going after the thing that takes our breath away.

It’s a journey of surrender and often surprises us with a story we couldn’t have imagined on our own—not without a guide to take us to the fork in the road that was much more beautiful than we could have ever imagined. It may have been the longer hard route, but it refined us in a way that nothing else could.

Our passions tend to line up with the “go” that causes our knees to shake, the kind that lend to worries because there are more “what if’s” than we have answers and more “how do we do this” questions than we have “we know how to do this” statements.

The Hard Sayings of Our Lord

By

Joe McKeever

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May 2, 2019

“This is a hard saying; who can hear it?” (John 6:60)

Let’s not be foolish or naïve. While we celebrate the magnificent sayings of our Lord—“No man ever spoke like this man!” (John 7:46)—let us admit He said some other things that befuddled His hearers then and provoke modern disciples to scratch their heads.

Jesus said, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you” (John 6:53), which was what drove His disciples to ask the question above in the first place. Jesus went on to explain that He was speaking spiritually. “The words that I speak to you are spirit and they are life” (6:63). Whatever else that means, it means those words should be interpreted “spiritually” and not literally. We recall that Scripture also says, “The letter of the law kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Corinthians 3:6).

Does that help?

It does. But we are still left with a basket-load of questions. And the church has wrestled with that issue ever since: To what extent is the eucharist, the Lord’s Supper, literally or symbolically the body and blood of Jesus? The history of the Christian church has entire chapters devoted to that single question and is littered with the bodies of those brave soldiers who dared take an unpopular position. To our shame.

There are more such statements of our Lord that left His audience—and many of us—scratching our heads, wondering what to make of them. (In all that follows, I’m including only those spoken by the Lord Jesus, not difficult passages from the apostles or prophets, of which there are quite a few.)

Here are three of my (ahem) favorites…

–“All sins will be forgiven the sons of men…but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness but is subject to eternal condemnation” (Mark 3:28-29).

Some preachers have done great harm by their faulty interpretation of the doctrine of the unpardonable sin, and have ended up burdening weak disciples with unbearable guilt and unendurable anguish.

In numerous cases—as here in Mark 3—as soon as the Lord’s statement is given, the Scripture writer explains it. Mark says, “(He said this) because they said, ‘He has an unclean spirit’” (3:30). So, clearly that infamous unpardonable sin involves attributing the works of the Lord to the enemy. These people were so far gone that they looked at black and called it white, at good and called it evil.

So, if you worry that you have committed the unpardonable sin and are in danger of eternal damnation, the very fact that it matters to you is proof you did not do it.

–“Whatsoever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you” (John 16:23).

Is that ever a get-out-of-jail card or what? You’re in trouble, just ask the Father in Jesus’ name and you’ve got it! Say what we will, that’s how it reads. On the surface at least. (And reading it “in context” doesn’t help. It says what it says.)

Kingdom at War: Or, How to Balance Contending and Consenting

By

Geoffrey Holsclaw

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May 2, 2019

OK, insert here [right here] your favorite illustration about the need for balance. Something about riding a bike, learning to walk, or Luther’s example about not falling off a horse, or stacking rocks.

Because that’s what I’m talking about here—the need to balance contending for the kingdom and consenting to the kingdom.

In different church traditions there are different ways of understanding how God’s kingdom comes.

Contending For…

On the one hand, as Jesus reminds us, “the kingdom of heaven has forcefully advanced, and the strong take it by force” (Matt. 11:12 MEV). The kingdom comes through those who strive, work, contend and take it by force. After all, “the gates of Hades shall not prevail against” the church (Matt 16:18 MEV).

Jesus, after all, didn’t come to bring peace, but a sword (Matt. 10:34)!

The more charismatic and pentecostal interpretations of these verses think of spiritual warfare, personal evangelism, revival nights and power encounters.

The more activist minded think of combating structural injustice, neighborhood outreach and support, and street protests.

For those who contend, if you aren’t doing something then you are part of the problem.

Consenting To…

On the other hand, as Jesus also says, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me. For I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matt 11:28-30).

Indeed, Jesus is Prince of Peace, the one who is our peace, making peace between all who war (Eph. 2:14-17).

The more contemplative and liturgical view these verses as a call to rest in God, to consent to God’s will and ways, to lay down and let go.

The more anabaptist and peace-church traditions see this as a call to give up all violence, all attempts at control, coercion and power.

For those who consent, if you are striving then you are part of the problem.

Let’s break this into lists…

Contending is…

for the Kingdom.
against the flesh.
pressing forward.
in the power of the Spirit against kingdom of darkness.
warring in the Spirit.
for the charismatics, pentecostals and activists.

Consenting is…

to the Kingdom.
to God.
resting in.
by the peace of the Spirit within kingdom community.
waiting on the Spirit.
for the contemplatives, liturgical and anabaptist.

Problems when out of balance

For those who contend

Those who emphasize contending, who focus on warfare imagery, who dwell on pressing in and striving for, problems arise when our work for God begins to work against the ways of God.

This happens when in worship we subtly manipulate people, when we seek to manufacture experiences of God’s presence, when we have to make IT happen (whatever “it” may be).
This happens when we pray for healing and seek deliverance, and then blame those we are praying for when something doesn’t happen (something, anything!).
This happens when we align ourselves with violence for the sake of peace.
This happens when we seek to control God’s plans and purposes for us, others, our churches or our country.
This happens when the complexity of life is too easily forced into crude categories of good and evil, forgetting that Jesus came to seek and save the lost, and lost his life in the process.

For those who consent

For those emphasizing consenting, who focus on waiting, who seek to dwell in God’s presence, problems arise when our longing for peace is less peace-making and more conflict-avoiding.

This happens when resting slips into resignation, that things will never change, that God wills as he wants.
This happens when seeking authenticity becomes a call to comfort and an abdication to challenge ourselves and others.
This happens when a casual acceptance of difference and division replaces the hard work of discernment.
This happens when a call to slow down keeps us from making necessary decisions.

A community of those who contend & consent

Individuals and churches are wired differently, have different life experiences, and different hopes and expectations. But we must learn to balance these impulses and kingdom callings, otherwise our churches—and we as individuals—will miss the high calling of following after, and resting in, Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.

Let us learn to say with Paul, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me” (Phil. 3:12 NIV).

This article originally appeared here.

What The Church Can Learn From Tesla’s Marketing Strategy

By

Yvon Prehn

-

May 2, 2019

Quick: name one advertisement you’ve seen recently from Tesla Motors. Now: name any advertisement you’ve seen from the company, ever! Tesla’s marketing strategy is as disruptive as its business model. It lets you and me advertise for them, for free. Tesla does not spend millions of dollars [on] a traditional ad campaign. They let you and me discuss their product, rave about it, hate on it, or rejoice in the spirit of going electric in a Tesla, be the catalyst to a viral and brilliant marketing campaign. At the end of the day, Tesla pays little to nothing for their “advertising.”

How can this help the church?

As someone who has been active in the church for many years, I know when someone is excited about their faith,they are actively living as an apprentice of Jesus. When their lives are being changed as they walk with Him and study his Word, they want to tell their friends. When they love without judging, are helpful and accepting while being honest when needed, when they genuinely care and forgive because they’ve been forgiven, others are drawn to Jesus. And they want to share.

A growing disciple, someone who loves his or her church because the church is the source of growth and family, is a disciple doesn’t need to be told to invite friends to church — they can’t quit asking!

Perhaps when we look at outreach and marketing in our churches perhaps we should first ask ourselves what are we doing to help our people become the kind of disciples who will share their faith and invite people to church because they are excited with what they’ve found and can’t wait to share it.

What is your church doing to grow people in their faith?

ALSO: CHECK OUT “BASIC TECH TOOLS FOR CHURCH MARKETING”

What I’m going to say next might not be terribly popular, but when I ask what you are doing to grow people in their faith, I’m not asking how exciting and contemporary is your worship service, or whether the 15-minute sermon is cool. Those things might be fine and we can all use an hour of upbeat music and a few encouraging words, but that in and of itself probably won’t make an unchurched person into a committed follower of Jesus when life gets difficult and the noise of everyday struggles drowns out their Sunday-joy.

People need to know the spiritual resources they have in Christ. They need to know God’s viewpoint of life and how He wants them to live. They need to know how to take what’s in God’s Word and apply it. The only way they will get this is by studying and applying the Bible.

In the Bible, the Creator of the universe and Savior of our souls talks to us.

Think about that; stop and think for a minute what that truly means. If we really believe perfect love and wisdom are available to us; that the answers we need and the peace we seek can be found; that there is little new that God’s people haven’t experienced and conquered, I imagine it won’t be very hard to get people into Bible studies.

I’ve seen it often: when people start reading their Bibles, when they are taught both the big picture and the instructive details, when they learn, think about it, talk about it, and try to live what they learn, their lives change. They get excited and they want to share with their friends. That’s authentic communication!

(This column is adapted from Yvon’s new podcast, Bible 805. Check it out!)

If You Want to Pastor in Uganda, You Better Have a Degree

By

Megan Briggs

-

May 2, 2019

The Ugandan government is trying to crack down on false prophets and con artists by passing legislation that would require a minister to have a theological degree from a recognized institution in order to lead a church. The proposed law would also require churches to be forthcoming with their finances. While some church leaders see this as a responsible move by the government, others, mostly in Pentecostal churches, see the move as the government overreaching into their work.

“Once God has called you, he has positioned you in that area to preach the word of God. You know by the Spirit what to tell to people. I don’t think you need to go and study to be a pastor or what,” Kezia Koburungi, a follower of Prophet Elvis Mbonye, told Deutsche Welle.

The new policy would mostly affect Pentecostal churches, many of whose pastors and evangelists lack formal theological training. Other faith leaders in the country, including Muslim imams, Catholic priests, Seventh-day Adventist pastors and ordained Pentecostal ministers will not be noticeably affected by the proposed law.

Amos Mugabi, a Pentecostal minister, says the policy represents Satan “fighting the church.” Mugabi points to the example of Jesus to rebuke the government’s proposed law: “We have great men in the Bible including Jesus Christ who preached the gospel, but they didn’t have a bachelor’s degree in theology. It’s time we all follow the Bible.”

The Government Cites Concerns With Ministers Taking Advantage of the Faithful

Uganda’s minister for ethics and integrity told Religion News the government is trying to save Ugandans from “being exploited by unscrupulous clerics.” The Rev. Simon Lokodo explains, “Some churches ask youth for money before they will pray for them to get jobs—this is against the word of God.”

The government is also concerned about so-called ministers staging miracles to take advantage of people. Their concern is not only limited to Christian-looking “ministries” and false prophets, but Lokodo also cites concerns over cults, beast worship, blood sacrifices and witchcraft.

The concern seems to be coming from the President himself, who warned citizens about false prophets “as pronounced by Jesus in the Bible” in 2015.

One does not have to look far to see the reason for the government’s concern. Taking a glance at Prophet Elvis Mbonye’s website certainly raises some questions. The minister claims to have predicted several monumental events such as the devastating 2004 tsunami and terrorist bombings. His about page explains:

It all started in 1998 after an awe-provoking encounter with the Person of the Holy Spirit in which Elvis’ “old” identity was virtually dissolved, supplanted with a new nature in Christ. Subsequently, the world of unusual dreams, visions and prophetic revelations was open to him.

The prophet’s page also includes an offer to “partner” with him in prophecy by donating to his ministry. The site promises that “when you partner with Prophet Elvis Mbonye, you become a sharer in the matchless grace that the LORD has lavished upon him.”

What Will Come From the New Policy?

The proposed policy has been in the making since 2009, according to Uganda Christian News. Apparently, some religious organizations including Seventh-day Adventists, Muslims, the Orthodox Church, Church of Uganda, the Catholic Church and Baha’is bought into the policy early on. These religious organizations also have established higher education institutions that they can utilize.

Still, some faith leaders are concerned the government could use the policy to stymie ministry in the country. Some leaders such as Pastor David Kiganda of Christianity Focus Ministries says his organization of over 70,000 Pentecostal churches is ready to go to court to challenge the policy if Parliament passes it. “They should leave Pentecostal churches (alone),” Kiganda says.

In Rwanda, the government passed similar legislation in 2018. Besides requiring ministry leaders to have a degree in theology, the Rwandan policy also articulates requirements for church buildings. Several churches in Rwanda have closed due to the new restrictions, which some believe are really just a cover for the government’s attempt to secularize the nation.

If Rwanda is any indication, several churches in Uganda will be forced to close due to the new policy. Some churches will likely continue meeting in people’s homes. It is unknown when or if the policy will go into effect. The Parliament was supposed to review the matter in March, but the vote has been delayed.

God Is Faithful to Comfort

By

Greg Laurie

-

May 2, 2019

If you’ve ever lost a child, you know how painful the loss can be and you may wonder if God is faithful. My wife, Cathe, and I have experienced this pain of loss firsthand when our son, Christopher, died in a tragic accident on July 24, 2008. This kind of loss can leave you reeling with shock and disbelief because as parents, we don’t think we will bury our children. Your world literally changes in an instant. Your loved one is no longer here on earth. And you might struggle as you search for answers from those around you or maybe you even ask God, “Why?”

But I can tell you from my own personal experience that through these times of indescribable hurt and mourning, that God is faithful to comfort His people. And He uses our experiences to give strength and encouragement to others during their time of grief—helping them find hope for the days ahead.

And that’s what Mike, A New Beginning radio program listener from Pennsylvania, called in to tell us.

For Mike and his family, August 12, 2012, was a day that changed their lives forever. Mike’s youngest son, Sean, was in a fatal accident as he headed home after a Sunday night church service. He was 19 years old. Tenderhearted. And he was just a mile away from their home when he was killed.

At that time, Mike was saved, attending church and faithfully serving, as he said, “to bring glory to God’s name and to do [his] part.” But after losing Sean, Mike admitted that this loss shook his world and his respect for God—it changed his life and the lives of his wife and family.

Thinking back, Mike said, “We went through a lot of emotions as most people do. We were upset. We were mad at God. We were serving Him the best we could. We couldn’t understand how this could be our reality. We went through a lot of emotions. Anger and you name it, we were there. If ever there was a time I could have walked away from God it was then.”

One day while he was driving, he heard A New Beginning on the radio. As I was preaching, he heard me say, “Have you ever been in a part of your life where you are spiraling downward and you can’t get control?” That caught Mike’s attention and I began to tell the story about how I had lost my own son, Christopher, in a tragic car accident.

Mike said, “It was the first time I felt like someone understood where I was at, through his preaching, so I am thankful for that time. God has brought me, my wife, and our children through. We have learned that He does work through all things, though I hated to hear that verse at the time. Romans 8:28. He works through all things for His good when we are serving Him. God is going to give us His best.”

Mike ended by saying, “Sometimes [God’s] best is taking something that we didn’t want to lose so others can come to know the Lord. By the grace of God and the praise of God, people got saved because of our son, Sean. We are very grateful for that. So I thank Pastor Laurie for steadfastness and staying with it, even though he went through a very hard time. I have appreciated his preaching on the radio and it has been a real blessing. Thanks very much.”

And I want to say thanks to Mike and to others like him who reach out to us and let us know how much our ministry means to them. And I also want to say thanks to those who prayerfully and financially support our ministry and its mission to “Know God and Make Him Known.”

We couldn’t do it without you!

This article originally appeared here.

May 2019 Issue

By

Henny Vallee

-

May 2, 2019

You face daunting technological challenges to equip and resource your church with the best and most affordable media solutions in this digital age. MinistryTech Magazine provides you with insights into the best church software, social media tools, giving management tools, and worship resources to enable your church to advance the gospel of Jesus in these techy times.

Or scroll down to read it here, click to read full screen

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MinistryTech Magazine is dedicated to providing resources and information for those who are responsible for keeping their churches updated with the best technology. If you serve as an Administrative / Executive Pastor, Business Administrator, Communications Director, or in any other church media or technology job, you’ll find must-have ministry technology resources and connections to a community of church leaders for greater Kingdom impact worldwide.

Church leaders from every denomination find ideas, encouragement, inspiration, technological resources, and support they are looking for in MinistryTech Magazine and at MinistryTech.com. Join thousands of church leaders who look to us for resources and encouragement for church tech

Here are five questions about church invitability to consider as you think about how this dynamic impacts the growth of your church.

Wait…invitability isn’t a real word. Right?

Why is invitability an important factor in church growth?

How can a church leader measure the level of invitability at their church?

What invitability factors of your church are people most likely to talk to their friends about?

How can a church leader learn more about church invitability?

Top 4 Questions About Pastors’ Kids

Should I Protect My Kids From Church Conflict?

How Should I Shepherd My Kids at Home?

How Often Should We Make Our Kids Go to Church?

How Can I Keep My Kids From Hating the Church?

Here are a few dangers to consider when experiencing the church growth race.

Assuming the Growth Will Continue

Offering Too Many Ministries

Failure in Taking Responsibility for Mistakes

Building Other Sites Too Quickly

Hiring Frenzy

Burn Out

Forget to Plan for a Season of Slow Growth

Brian’s Productivity Tips for Pastors

Makers vs. Managers

Pastors Are Both Managers AND Makers

Acknowledging the Dilemma

A Task Management Process That Works

1. Delete Whatever Task-Management System You’re Using

2. Buy a Moleskine Notebook

3. Buy a Pen Holder to Attach to Your Moleskine

4. Place Your Ideal MAKER Priorities on the Left Inside Cover of the Moleskine

5. Place Your MANAGER Meetings in a Different Calendar

6. Late Sunday Afternoon Set Aside an Hour to Pick No More than five to six MAKER Tasks to Focus on for the Week

7. What to Do When Other Tasks Come to Mind During the Week

8. Next Sunday Rip Out the Page You Used for the Past Week and Start Fresh with a New Page

9. Begin the Process All Over Again Each Sunday Afternoon with a New Page

10. Enjoy the Benefits That Come From a Simple, Clear and Intentional To-Do List

How Will Rachel Held Evans Be Remembered?

Pioneer Missionary

Effective Mobilizer

Writer, Publisher and Theologian

An Enduring Legacy of Faithful Service

Abusive Christian Men

New Law Consolidates Existing Regulations

Opponents Say Law Will Limit Health Care Access

A Fun Day Turns Perilous

The ‘Amen’ to the Rescue

Warren Wiersbe Wore Many Hats in the Evangelical World

An Interim Between Giants

How Do You REALLY Follow Your Passion?

Here are three of my (ahem) favorites…

Contending For…

Consenting To…

Let’s break this into lists…

Contending is…

Consenting is…

Problems when out of balance

For those who contend

For those who consent

A community of those who contend & consent

The Government Cites Concerns With Ministers Taking Advantage of the Faithful

What Will Come From the New Policy?

New Articles

New Podcasts