It's 2 a.m. Do you know what your pastor is doing? Well, I don't either, but I can tell you what's going on in my life right now. I'm awake. I've been awake for quite some time. I could probably attribute it to the fact that my wife's dog (notice: he's my wife's dog when I'm frustrated with him.... unless you ask her, then he's my dog when she's frustrated with him) decided that he needed to go to the bathroom twenty minutes ago. I don't mind taking the dog out at 2 a.m. because, if I don't, he'll probably pee in our bedroom, which means I have to get up and clean it up... at 2 a.m.
It's possible that I'm awake because of the roasted garlic chicken pizza that I had for dinner. I know that I shouldn't eat too much of something that has garlic on it, especially if it is in the form of garlic butter. For whatever reason, garlic butter doesn't sit well with me. That's right, I just inadvertently told you that I have gas because of garlic chicken pizza... and now it's not so inadvertent. My stomach is slightly upset... at 2 a.m.
It's possible that I'm awake because I'm really, really thirsty. As I laid in bed, trying to get back to sleep, all I could think about was how thirsty I was at that moment. Being thirsty is not one of those things that just goes away the more you think about it. So, now I sit here with a glass of milk... at 2 a.m.
It's possible that, for whatever reason, I started thinking about our personal finances. Much like thirst, it's a little difficult to just stop thinking about finances when they pop into your mind. I'm not particularly worried about running out of money. Katie and I both have good jobs that pay us well. There's really no reason to worry about it... I've actually paid all the bills for the month already, but I'm still thinking about our financial future... at 2 a.m.
It's possible that I'm awake because I have things that have to be done today. I have a sermon to finish, a bulletin to put together, print and make copies, DVDs to watch (seriously, I have DVDs that I have to watch as part of my job... then I have other DVDs that I wouldn't mind watching, but probably won't get around to for a while). Things need to be done today, and they're on my mind... at 2 a.m.
It's possible that I'm awake because I'm thinking about some of the paperwork that I have to get done for ordination. I have a sermon to write, spiritual reflections to.... reflect, and a Bible study to brush up all in the next two weeks as I work towards becoming a full member of the Indiana Conference of the United Methodist Church.
It's possible that all of these things are playing a role in why I'm awake and writing at 2 a.m, but I don't think they are the primary reasons. I've been thinking, praying, wondering what the future holds. I'm wondering if the River Banks Cluster is going to do ministry that will make an impact on the world around us. I'm wondering if Vermillion and Fountain Counties will be any different because of the presence of the United Methodist Church. I wondering who in the world is going to want to take their free time and invest it in this thing that we are calling a ministry cluster, and if people from other churches are going to do the same.
The two churches that I serve in this area decided to join a different cluster. I think it was a good move (that's why I recommended it). What I only partially realized at the time was that by making this move, I suddenly would become the cluster leader. I don't know what that looks like (which is why I have to watch those DVDs). Honestly, I'm not sure if anybody really knows what that looks like, but I'm willing to give it a try. I guess a part of me has always seen myself as a reluctant leader - someone who had the job because nobody else would do it. Sometimes I forget that I have been called by God. I don't have to know exactly what to do, but I had better be prepared to listen for God's call in the midst of everything. That's always easier said than done.
I've also been doing some reading over the last couple of nights. I don't read as much as I would like to, but once I get an interest in a book, it doesn't take me too long to get through it. I started reading Communicating for a Change by Andy Stanley and Lane Jones. I love reading Andy Stanley's books. They are so simple, and yet so applicable in how I approach ministry. This particular book is about one of my passions in ministry - preaching.
I know, I know, it sounds obvious that a "preacher" should be passionate about preaching. Honestly, though, I don't think that is always the case. If some of the "preachers" that I have heard were passionate about what they were preaching, then they have a funny way of showing it. By the way, you've probably noticed that I keep putting "preacher" in quotation marks. That's partly because I hate the term. Pastors need to be more than preachers, they need to be visionary leaders... which is something that I sometimes struggle with. Anyway... back to the book.
The first part of the book is written in narrative form, and it draws the reader in. I seriously can't believe that I read nearly 100 pages in about an hour and a half. It usually takes me forever (seemingly) to read that many pages of most books. I'm about to get into the nuts and bolts section of the book, and already, my preaching style is getting wrecked.
I want to preach messages that will make an impact on people's lives. I'm tired of hearing, "good sermon" and not seeing any real change in people's lives because of what I've said. I already know sermon topics until the end of May, but when I look at those topics, are they sermons that are going to move people to a place where God is calling them? Or, are they just going to be another series of "good" sermons that people remember for a grand total of 2 hours... if that.
It's 2:54 a.m. and I've been awake pondering these things for nearly an hour now. Soon sleep will set in once again, and I'll wake up with these issues still rattling around in my brain. Ever wonder what pastors do at 2 a.m.? Well, hopefully, for his/her sake, your pastor is sound asleep right now. As for me... well, you know what's going on tonight.
Showing posts with label Ministry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ministry. Show all posts
A New Kind of Worship
I came across this video this morning. I think it is an important direction that all churches need to move in.... Okay, that's not true. I do find it pretty funny that Northpoint isn't above making fun of itself. It's encouraging.
Super Bowl Week in Ministry
This week is one of the more difficult weeks in ministry. And it's not necessarily difficult because of anything in particular. In fact, maybe "difficult" isn't the best word. It's one of the busiest weeks in ministry. On Sunday, I referred to it as Super Bowl week for pastors. Here's a sample of what I mean. This week, I have to:
- Lead worship at two worship services for Palm Sunday (check)
- Go to Lafayette for a hospital visit (check, but may do it again)
- Host & preach at a community worship service (check)
- Prepare for Tuesday's Bible study (check)
- Actually remember to go to both churches for Bible study (I forgot about Hillsboro last Tuesday night.... oops!)
- Write a message for Maundy Thursday worship (check)
- Make sure everything is ready for Maundy Thursday worship
- Write a 5-10 minute "Reflection on the Cross" for community Good Friday worship
- Write a sermon for Easter
- Rehearse choral cantata with Hillsboro choir
- Rehearse with handbell choir for Easter morning worship
- Print bulletins for the Easter morning worship (probably double what I normally print)
- Lead worship on Maundy Thursday
- Attend & take part in Good Friday worship
- Check in on UMW Bake Sale Saturday morning
- Help out with Easter egg hunt
- Take part in worship at 6:30am on Easter morning
- Eat breakfast (can't forget that!)
- Lead worship for two Easter services
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I love being a part of the community of faith. I love leading a community of faith. It's just a busy week for a group of people who "only work one day a week." This is the week in the Christian faith. Praise God for a calling that causes me to be this mindful of the spiritual lives of those in my charge. It is an awesome responsibility.
When it's all said and done, I might need a day to relax, and wouldn't you know it, the Cardinals are playing the Opening Day game in Cincinnati. At noon on Monday, I'll be sitting in front of the television watching the Cards start off the 2010 season! What a week!
Nightline Question
Does God have a future? That's the question that Nightline is posing in their "Face-Off" series. The debate came out of a long-standing "rivalry" between Deepak Chopra and former fundamentalist, now "professional debunker of pseudo-science," Michael Schermer.
I find it very interesting in reading this article how quickly this debate became about the science of it all. And the question in the article sums up human hubris very aptly. The writer says, "Are we at a time in history when the argument can now actually be settled? Given all that we know today about the cosmos and life on Earth, is science killing God -- or can it bring us closer to him? Does God -- or should God -- have a future?"
The very way that this is all set up is to conclude that we can use science to either confirm God's existence or to debunk it. Quite frankly, in spite of all the rhetoric on both sides, the simple truth is that there is no way to know. Now, as a pastor, I firmly believe that there is a God. There have been things that happened in my life that leave me with no doubt (okay, on a bad day, there's always some doubt, but you know what I mean). But if you ask me to scientifically prove that God exists, then forget about it. I can't do that.
What I can do is look at the world around, examine the experiences that I've had in my life, and make a logical assumption based on those things. Clearly, I firmly believe that God exists, but don't ask me to start talking about neuro-science to prove it. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, if we can completely wrap our minds around God, then maybe our concept of God is too small. If we think we can quantify God, then maybe we have nothing more than an idol that makes us feel better about our life.
The most important three words that I can say sometimes is simply, "I don't know." I'll tell you how God has worked in my life, but I can't tell you, nor can anybody else, about the "science" behind it all. God is bigger than that, and if He is not, then He is not God.
Why I Preach
I guess the most obvious reason why I preach is because it is my job. Seriously though, I know that when I preach I am doing something that 1) I'm good at (not trying to brag, just repeating what everyone else has said), and 2) I am called to do.
If I was not a pastor, I would probably be a teacher. It is no surprise, therefore, that I am a teaching pastor. My style of preaching is conversational (some of which gets lost in translation if you are reading the sermons on this blog). I like to look at the history of the text, sometimes I go back to the original language, and I try to make it applicable. I've said before that if people aren't challenged or a little uncomfortable, then either they aren't listening or I'm not doing my job.
That being said, I came across something I found very interesting today - FunnySermons.com. I see the importance of humor; however, is the point of a sermon to be entertaining, or to speak truth into one's life? I think humor can be an element of the sermon, but it shouldn't be the focus. When I preach, I may say something funny from time to time, but my intention is not to be funny.
Here is a quote from the site: "Never underestimate the power of humor. It is the best way to gain attention and rapport. It creates entertaining and mesmerizing sermons while making a pastor look charismatic. People love to laugh. Preachers who use humor have bigger churches and are in demand for other speaking engagements. "
What??? Is that why we preach? Is the point of preaching to be entertaining and mesmerizing? Is the point of preaching to make me look charismatic? Is the point of preaching to have a bigger church and be an in-demand speaker? No. Absolutely not.
Preaching needs to affect life change. Preaching needs to help the people see how their lives are connected to the story of Scripture. Preaching needs to challenge us because Scripture challenges us. Can there be humor along the way? Absolutely! Should that be the point of a sermon? Absolutely not!
I don't know. Maybe I'm taking this the wrong way. But too often I think that people want to make worship into a production. All the bells and whistles for a worship service are nice, but they aren't necessary when it comes to affecting life change.
What do you think? Am I off base here? How important is humor when it comes to preaching?
As Long As He Sought the Lord...
I've been listening to the Daily Audio Bible on iTunes lately. It's been interesting. The guy who puts it up reads from a different version of Scripture each week, and this week is my personal favorite translation: the English Standard Version. At the risk of sounding like a Scriptural elitist, I prefer the ESV to other versions because it has always been closer to the original when I have translated from the Greek. Unfortunately, I don't know Hebrew nearly as well, so I can't say the same. Anyhoo....
Part of today's reading comes from 2 Chronicles 26, and verse 5 really stuck out to me as I was listening. "He (Uzziah) set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God, and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper" (2 Chron 26:5).
I have some serious problems with the so-called "prosperity gospel." It's the idea that if you follow God, you will be blessed... materially. Of course, the logical conclusion of this is that if you have "things" then God has blessed you, and if you live in poverty, then God has not blessed you. What a horrible, horrible approach to the gospel. As I read through Scripture, more often than not, it is those who are most faithful that go through the most difficult times. However, I don't think that this particular verse supports the prosperity gospel.
What I see here is what happens when we truly seek after the Lord. When we seek after the will of God, we are blessed. When we seek after the Lord, material possessions do not matter as much because we have everything in its proper perspective. When we seek the Lord, the Lord will take care of our needs, and we have to trust in Him to provide. Maybe He will provide abundantly, but maybe, just maybe, He will only give us enough to make it through the day. Either way, our focus needs to be on Him. As long as we seek the Lord, we will prosper.
Visioneering
It's been a long time since I've updated my reading reviews. Mostly because after finishing three books in 2 weeks, I haven't really finished any others yet, though I have still been adding to the reading list. A little backwards, I know. Regardless, the most recent book that I have picked up is one written by Andy Stanley entitled Visioneering. I haven't come across any of Stanley's work that I haven't like so far, and Visioneering was no different. Here he walks through the story of Nehemiah and shares some insights regarding vision. Here are some of the quotes that popped out to me:
- "Visioneering is the course one follows to make dreams a reality. It is the process whereby ideas and convictions take on substance" (8).
- "Looking for something doesn't necessarily mean you will find it. But it sure increases the odds of seeing it if it is there to be seen.... Our tendency is to pray for miracles. But in most situations, it is more appropriate to pray for opportunities. More than likely you need an opportunity rather than something supernatural" (31).
- "And to focus on what's around you diminishes your ability to focus on what's before you" (48).
- "You will know what God has put in your heart to do before you know how he intends to bring it about. Often, you will know what long before you understand how" (55).
- "The vision calls us to imagine what could be. The reason behind what could be moves us to believe that it should be" (99).
- "A vision is what could and should be. A plan is a guess as t the best way to accomplish the vision" (156).
- "To accomplish the important things you must learn to say no to some good things. More often than not, it is good things that have the greatest potential to distract you from the best things, the vision things" (203).
- "Don't sacrifice your relationships for the sake of a business or a ministry or, for that matter, for any other vision" (228).
I have way more than the above underlined throughout the book. In fact, I doubt that I could go more than three pages without underlining something. The above is just a sampling. As always, Stanley's book has something significant upon which to reflect on nearly every page.
I started reading The Habits of Highly Effective Churches by George Barna now. I may be able to get through this in about a week, maybe sooner. I have a long list that I'm trying to get through right now, and the most dangerous thing is when my extreme case of literary ADD kicks in. I try to read 4 books at the same time, and usually, I don't get through one of them.
Thoughts on the Indiana Annual Conference
Day 1 - Thursday
Thursday, June 25 marked the beginning of the first ever meeting of the Indiana Annual Conference. In previous years, North Indiana and South Indiana existed as different conferences, but on October 4th of last year, they officially became one conference. This was a pretty exciting time, and a time that is challenging all of us to rethink how we do ministry.
The conference opened with three teaching sessions led by Adam Hamilton, the pastor of Church of the Resurrection near Kansas City, Kansas. I'll go into more detail about the teaching sessions on a later post, but suffice to say, it was some good stuff. I do consider myself to be conservative theologically; however, I understand the importance of being a moderate when it comes to theological discussions. I'm not one to condemn those with whom I don't agree. I think responsible, respectful and logical dialogue is crucial. There will always be differences between people. That is how we grow. I respect Hamilton for leading the way in opening up the conversations between "both sides of the aisle," and taking the best from both points of view.
Afterwards, we had our initial plenary session. Nothing terribly exciting to talk about there. This did set the tone, however, for what would end up being the majority of the discussions during conference - namely, the budget initial report. The most contentious discussions during the course of Annual Conference revolved around insurance, specifically for retired clergy and spouses, and connectional ministries, primarily campus ministries. Following a mildly entertaining laity report, we had a limited amount of time to get dinner and head over to Union Chapel UMC for the clergy session.
Clergy session was all right. There were a number of people presented for commissioning and ordination, as well as the retirees for this annual conference. Someone wondered aloud in my direction, "Why are we ordaining people in their 60's?" And as I looked at the crowd of people, there were very few that were under the age of 40. One of the things that we need to do a better job with, as clergy, is helping people answer their call to ministry at a young age. So many times, I've heard of second-career people entering into ministry much later in life because they ignored their call to ministry at a younger age.
Clergy session wasn't terribly exciting for me, apart from knowing a few of the people being commissioned or ordained, because as a provisional member, I am not allowed to vote (although, by this point, it's pretty much a rubber stamp on what has already been decided). It also dawned on me as I was sitting in the session that had I gotten through certification on time and had I finished seminary in 3 years instead of 4, I would be a part of this year's ordination class. Interesting how it all works out sometimes, isn't it? Thus ended Day 1.
Day 2 - Friday
Friday began with a Bible study led by David Bell. The focus was on stewardship, and it was pretty good. I may put up the highlights in a later post. We then had our second plenary (business) session, focusing primarily on the Transition Team report (which went 35 minutes over its alloted time) and discussion revolving around Connectional Ministries.
Here's the big deal with Connectional Ministries. Apparently, about a month ago, those representing connectional ministries throughout the state were told that the majority of the money that they received from the conference would be drastically reduced. At the Pre-conference briefing, we were told that this is in part due to budgetary concerns, but also because the local church gives at a rate 10 times more than the conference. The short notice, alongside the massive cuts, has caused quite a bit of consternation around the conference - understandably so.
However, here are my thoughts on the issue. Local churches need to take on the responsibility of maintaining these ministries. If it isn't something that the local churches support, why should the conference? Hear me out on this. I care about campus ministry. I think it is incredibly important as a follow-up to what local churches are doing in their ministry to youth. However, we cannot simply throw some money at campus ministries and wash our hands of young Christians.
The local churches need to support it. With the new conference, there is a lot of talk about grassroots and doing ministry from the "bottom" of the system up. It has to start with the local churches. If we are trying to do ministry from the bottom up, then why are we trying to mandate funding from the top down? It doesn't make any sense. And here's the kicker - Indiana is on a tithing model for conference giving, not apportionments. We give 10% of what is given on Sunday morning to the conference. If every church in the conference paid 100% of their 10% tithe, we would have $3 million more in the budget for 2010. All of the arguments and discussions that have occurred in the past month and a half would be a moot point because the money is there.
Okay, back to the review. I attended the Asbury Seminary lunch out at Union Chapel. It was great. In the past years, the Asbury lunch has always been a deli sandwich box lunch. This time, a local Italian restaurant catered, and it was delicious. Dr. Arnold was the speaker, and he updated us on the many things that are going on at Asbury, and it seems like things are going great there right now.
I spent the afternoon session watching the webcast because we got back from the Asbury lunch a little late, and I needed to rest a little. Most of the time was spent discussing insurance for retired clergy and spouses. There was a brief break in that discussion to talk about the 32 proposed Constitutional Amendments. I thought that this was going to be a long, drawn-out discussion as well, but I think the whole thing lasted maybe half an hour. The results were not released, so I don't have much to report on those. All in all, it seemed like a pretty tame discussion compared to the previous discussions on the day.
I have to say that I was pretty disappointed with dinner. I went to the Confessing Movement dinner. The food itself was wonderful; however, I had to eat and rush out of there pretty quick. I was supposed to help serve communion at the memorial service, and for some inexplicable reason, they started the dinner about half an hour late. By the time I made it through the buffet line (as my table was the last to go), I had all of 7 minutes to eat and get back to the auditorium. It was pretty frustrating to pay $16.50 for a dinner that I didn't even have time to enjoy.
Following the memorial service, there was a young clergy gathering at Scotty's Brewhouse. It was a good time. Katie and I got to meet a few people and just hang out with some other young clergy in our conference. I think, all in all, about 30 people came by for this gathering.
Day 3 & 4 - Saturday and Sunday
Saturday morning started off with another Bible study by David Bell. We had our final vote on the budget, which brought up more discussion on connectional ministries and insurance. The nominating committee reported on those who are geared up to serve in the new conference, and then we were dismissed for an afternoon of ministry and outreach.
Sunday was the closing of annual conference with the Celebration of Ministry service, during which a whole new class was commissioned, another one was ordained, and another one was seen off to retirement.
I know this has been a rather long post. But that is the basic summary of the first ever meeting of the Indiana Annual Conference, with a bit of commentary along the way. All in all, it was a good conference.
Q & A Session
Craig Groeschel, besides having one of the hardest last names to spell, is the pastor at LifeChurch.tv, which is located in Oklahoma. They have several different campuses, and are a fast-growing church. He often speaks at conferences for church leaders, and currently has a book out call, It, which is currently on my reading list. I came across the video below as I was checking out my Google Reader this morning. It was originally posted by Tripp, which is a blog I recently started following thanks to Jonathan at Stuff Christians Like. I love it. This post is now totally linktastic! Not to mention, it has absolutely nothing to do with baseball!
P.S. - This post officially puts me over last year's number of posts. I don't know what it is, but I've taken to blogging quite a bit lately.
Obama and Georgetown
There seems to be a lot of controversies surrounding our new President and the Catholic Church lately. First of all, there is a lot of displeasure that he was invited to speak at Notre Dame, but the university seems to be sticking to its guns on this one. The controversy stems primarily from Obama's abortion stance, which is completely opposite of the Catholic Church.
However, it got taken to a whole new level when he spoke at Georgetown University recently. It was released that the White House asked that a religious insignia be covered up behind the President as he addressed the economy. It is said that the request was made because of a standard backdrop for whenever the President speaks. At first I thought that people were blowing it out of proportion. After all, if the backdrop naturally covers up the insignia, then I don't see what the problem is; however, that was not the case. I got to looking at the pictures, and the insignia is blatantly covered up by something that is not a part of the backdrop.
The IHS insignia that was intentionally covered up is a monogram for the name of Jesus (i=iota, e=eta, s=sigma; the first three letters in the Greek for Jesus; the eta looks like an "h" when it is capitalized). I have to say that I don't get too riled up about things like this, but it does remind me of how often we are forced to hide the name of Jesus in our own worlds.
We don't face a lot of persecution in America for being Christians; usually nothing more than simply being called "idiots" or "irrational" by those who don't understand the Christian faith. But for some reason, that social ostracism keeps us from proclaiming the name of Christ in our daily interactions. Why should we be outraged that the White House asked Georgetown to cover it up (and that Georgetown did cover it up), if we do it in our own lives as well?
The Disciple Making Church
Well, this one took a little longer to read. It has roughly the same number of pages as the previous two books combined, add that to the fact that it is not nearly as interesting, and you've got yourself a slow read. The biggest problem that I had with this book is that it was around 250 pages, but it could have easily said what it needed to say in about half of that. There are a lot of ancedotes and stories that are interesting, but really just fill up the space.
Here are some of the things that I thought popped out to me as I read through it:
- - "It's safe to say that a large majority of Protestant congregations have made attendance, building and cash - as opposed to Christ's Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20 to be and to make disciples - their organizational bottom line" (4).
- - "When Jesus says that his followers must be spiritually reborn, he's saying that we have no realistic chance of participating in his vision for the future unless we start over again with a new vision, new capabilities, new motivation and an entirely new nature that is capable of responding positively to God" (40).
- - "[Jesus' invitation to follow him] means that we aren't helplessly imprisoned by who we have already become" (60).
- - "The church is the only organization that exists for its nonmembers" (73).
- - "Discipling is relational. People learn how to better love and follow Jesus in the context of a focused friendship" (81).
- - "(1) The task of developing new leaders cannot be set aside, except at our peril, and (2) God is ultimately responsible for calling members of the Body into new expressions of doing ministry - and God will certainly do so" (101).
- - "Surrendering leadership in every area of life is not a 'been there, done that' scenario" (137).
- - "Our aim [in reading the Bible] is not complete mastery. Few people in history have mastered the Bible's contents. The issue isn't knowledge as much as transformation - the recasting of our minds according to a perspective that is consistent with the mind of God" (148).
- - "The call of Jesus, however, is that we make disciples, not decisions" (208).
- - "In the disciple-making church, stewardship is a spiritual issue - a heartfelt abandonment of the whole self to God" (233).
- - "Authentic discipleship comes down to imitation of the whole character of Christ, not mastery of a few culturally approved Christian behaviors" (242).
Some good thoughts are scattered around this book. It is one that I would recommend skimming more than sitting down with pen and paper. Up next on the book tour: Pastoral Ministry According to Paul, James W. Thompson
Signs of Increased Spiritual Laziness
I came across an article this morning on my Google Reader about an automated prayer service that is being offered by Information Age Prayer. This is a service that uses text-to-speech technology to "incant your prayers each day."
Are you kidding me with this??? Is praying so difficult that we have to allow technology to do it for us? Should we be surprised when God gives us the answering machine on this one? This is absolutely awful! The only reason I mention it is to say, "Stay away from it!!!" Click on the link above and check it out, but don't you dare give them any money for this absurdity.
What I find even worse about it is the fact that you can select from Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Unaffliated, or Other Religions prayers. What the heck??!?!?? It's like somebody came up with an idea to see just how dumb some religious people really are and to scam a little bit of money while they were at it.
If you ever get to the point in your spiritual life where you need a website to do your praying for you, we need to talk.
Releasing the Power of the Smaller Church
Book #2 of 7 was finished last night. This one was called Releasing the Power of the Smaller Church, and it is a bunch of essays compiled by Shawn McMullen. The majority of the essays are written by people who are in smaller churches, and each one talks about some aspect of ministry in a smaller church. I didn't find this to be as rich of a read as Next Generation Leader, and I think you'll see that in the number of quotes below. Regardless, here are a few of the key thoughts from this book.
- -"If the spiritual landscape of our nation is to change, smaller churches all across the country will need to play a major role in the process" (18).
- -"When it comes to healthy church, size isn't the only standard of success. God doesn't work that way. If he did, I doubt Jesus ever would have drawn attention to the poor widow who dropped two copper coins into the temple treasury" (18).
- -"God doesn't focus on the size of the church you serve. He's more concerned about your faithfulness and obedience than the dimensions of your building, your average worship attendance, or your annual budget" (19).
- -Unique opportunities available in a smaller church: to know and be known; for intergenerational relationships; to use gifts and talents; for leadership development; direct contact between the preacher and the people; to impact communities (pp.20-22).
- -"Outsiders are drawn to the gospel when they notice that the lives of Christians are truly different from those who don't know Christ" (26).
- -Three ways to infuse your sermon with power: 1) preach the Word, 2) use the creative power of your mind, and 3) try new things (44-49).
- -"No one on his deathbed wishes he had spent more time at the office" (58).
- -"The overall vision for the church, the direction of the church, and the steps needed to get there, are overseen by the minister with the elders' guidance" (70).
- -"You don't have to be a megachurch to have mega impact on someone's faith, maturity, family, commitment, personal growth or life transformation" (78).
- -Several areas of ministry needeed for a church to achieve its potential: identity; purpose; vision; leadership; passion; philosophy; attitude; commitments (78-81).
- -"No one wants to see his church make a change that isn't progress, so it is not unexpected that good Christian folks will resist changes in which they see no benefit" (86).
- -"In order to prevent conflict, we have to learn that some folks thought differently about things, and that was not a bad thing" (88).
- -"Anything a church does is essentially theological" (90).
- -"When a disruptive member does not repent and return, the overall health of the congregation is still strengthened by the removal of conflict" (96).
- -"Pick up any book on small groups and you will find a number of models for building your small group meetings. Before you determine what your small group meeting will look like, you need first to determine what you hope to accomplish in these meetings" (102).
- -"We may have to make several adjustments in our journey before discovering the highway to success, but with God's help we will discover it" (115).
- -"From a church survey of 6,000 church members, there was absolutely no correlation between length of church attendance and spiritual maturity" (120).
- -"[Keep in mind] that while a new building may attract guests, it will be the church (Christ's body) that keeps them coming back. The building is a tool; we, God's people, are still called to do the work" (148).
- -"Perhaps one important step for many of us in smaller church is to change the paradigm from which we operate" (151).
- -"For many leaders and volunteers in ministry, real growth comes not immediately, but after years of diligent effort that have paved the way for growth" (152).
- -"If you want your smaller church to have an impact on your community, think beyond the walls of your building" (152).
- -"Smaller churches shouldn't try to be larger than they really are. That's not to say we shouldn't dream big dreams and plan big plans, but we must think and act realistically in order to do ministry effectively" (154).
Next Generation Leader
I just finished up Next Generation Leader by Andy Stanley. Overall, I thought it was a good book. Very easy to read, which is always a plus, and it seems to be a characteristic that is common with his other books as well. Here are some of the key points that stuck out to me during my reading.
- -"Perhaps the two best-kept secrets of leadership are these: 1) The less you do, the more you accomplish; 2) The less you do, the more you enable others to accomplish" (17).
- -"Only do what only you can do" (19).
- -"We should strive for balance organizationally, but it is not realistic to strive for balance within the sphere of our personal leadership abilities" (23).
- -"Leaders who are not in touch with their own weaknesses feel that they are as good as anybody else in their organization at anything that pertains to leadership" (25).
- -"We must never forget that the people who follow us are exactly where we have led them" (28).
- -"Being busy isn't the same as being productive.... The most productive people I know seem to have more, not less, discretionary time than the average person.... Observation and analysis confirm that 20 percent of our efforts result in 80 percent of our effectiveness" (34).
- -"The primary reason we do too much is that we have never taken the time to discover that portion of what we do that makes the biggest difference" (36).
- -"We know when we are misemployed. We know when our talents and efforts are being misappropriated. What we don't know is how open our supervisors are to hearing about it" (39).
- -"There are times when you must pitch in and do things that fall outside your core competencies. But those occasions must be chosen strategically, and they must be the exception, not the rule" (43).
- -"Next generation leaders are those who would rather challenge what needs to change and pay the price than remain silent and die on the inside" (51).
- -"Leaders provide a mental picture of a preferred future and then ask people to follow them there" (52).
- -"Leadership is about moving boldly into the future in spite of uncertainty and risk" (55).
- -"Strategies and goals have their place. But they don't define leadership. Leaders see and seize opportunity. And in most cases, the opportunities take them by surprise" (60).
- -"Leaders worth following are always carefull" (61).
- -"The only way to figure out how something can get done is to refuse to take your eye off what needs to be done" (68).
- -"Don't allow the many good opportunities to divert your attention from the one opportunity that has the greatest potential. Learn to say no" (70).
- -"Leaders worth following are willing to face and embrace current reality regardless of how discouraging or embarrassing it might be" (72).
- -"It is impossible to generate sustained growth or progress if your plan for the future is not rooted in reality" (73).
- -"Facing current reality is often nasty, but always necessary. Nasty because it may entail acknowledging that you aren't as far along as you thought you were. Necessary because you can't get where you need to be if you don't know where you are to begin with" (73).
- -"You must allow your mind to wander outside the boundaries of what is and begin to create a mental picture of what could be" (74).
- -"This is the tension every good leader lives with: negotiating uncertain terrain while casting a clear and compelling vision" (86).
- -"People will follow you in spite of a few bad decisions. People will not follow you if you are unclear in your instruction, and you cannot hold them accountable to respond to muddled directives" (88).
- -To enhance clarity in the midst of uncertainty: 1) determine your certainty quotient; 2) express your uncertainty with confidence; 3) seek counsel; 4) measure your success by the scoreboard, not the playbook.
- -"Uncertainty exposes a lack of knowledge. Pretending exposes a lack of character" (94).
- -"Leadership is not about making decisions on your own. It is about owning the decisions once you make them" (95).
- -"Clarity of vision will compensate for uncertainty in planning" (97).
- -"In the world of leadership, however, we operate under the misguided assumption that because we are leaders, we don't need to be led" (105).
- -"A good coach will evaluate your performance against your potential" (106).
- -"If you are not teachable, you are not coachable" (110).
- -"Great leaders are great servants" (113).
- -"An effective leadership coach: 1) observes, 2) instructs, and 3) inspires" (119).
- -"As a leader, you are not responsible for knowing everything there is to know about leadership. But you are responsible for sharing what you do know with the leaders around you" (127).
- -"You can lead without character. But character is what makes you a leader worth following" (131).
- -"Character will do what's right even when it's hard" (133).
- -"The day will come when progress seems to call for a compromise of conviction" (135).
- -"Leading with character is not about doing right to avoid consequences. Leaders worth following do the right thing because it is the right thing. Virtue is not a means to an end. It is the end" (138).
- -"Moral authority is established once it becomes clear to those who are watching that progress, financial reward, and recognition are not a leader's goals" (139).
- -"The fact that some people choose to follow you is not necessarily an indicator that you deserve to be followed" (151).
- -"To leave a legacy that goes beyond accomplishment alone, a leader must devote himself to matters of the heart" (152).
- -"To become a leader worth following, you must be intentional about developing the inner man. You must invest in the health of your soul" (153).
- -"Character is personal, but it is not private" (155).
I know that's a lot to swallow all at once. Take some time and come back to it from time to time. Better yet, get the book and check it out for yourself. It's good stuff.
Up next: Releasing the Power of the Smaller Church by Shawn McMullen
Mega-What?
I came across a post when I was going through my Google Reader yesterday morning. It's called MegaChurch Mumbo Jumbo. Written by Tim Stevens, one of the pastors at Granger Community Church, it talks a bit about what I mentioned in my sermon yesterday.
I said that I'm more concerned about people reaching out to those that don't know Christ and growing in faith than finding ways to get more people in the building. He says, "From my earliest days at Granger with 350 people in the congregation, our conversations were focused on helping more people take a step toward Jesus. We talked about reaching more of our unchurched community with the love of Jesus and about making an ever-greater impact on the needs in our community. The result? We grew. Pretty soon we had 500, then 700, then 1500, and eventually 2,000..."
Numerical growth happens when you stop concerning yourself with it, and begin to focus on the bigger things - such as reaching out and growing in the faith. Something to think about.
The Video Kick Continues...
I found this on YSMarkO's blog the other day. He works for Youth Specialities, which is one of the larger youth ministry organizations out there right now.
This video is pretty funny based on sheer cheesiness alone. It is about one of those topics that Christians don't really like to talk about all that often - tithing. Tithing is one of the more touchy Christian disciplines with people. You can talk about fasting and prayer and Scripture reading, and nobody says much about it. But you talk about tithing once, and suddenly, you're meddling. I guess that reflects how much focus there is on money in our day.
Let me just say before you skip to the video that tithing is not about money. It's not an equation where if I give God so much, He will automatically bless me. That's not it at all. That suggests a God that is too small and can be controlled by what we do. Tithing is about priorities. Where are your priorities? They say you can look at your checkbook to find that out. Anyhoo...
Why I Love Pujols...
Albert Pujols is quite possibly one of my favorite players of all time. He is open about his faith, and I don't think it is for show. He seems genuine, and his life reflects a man of faith who has accepted the responsibility of living out his faith in the public arena. Here is a great interview that I came across.
The Coincidence of Scripture Reading
I heard or read somewhere once that somebody said, "The more I pray, the more coincidences seem to happen." I've been trying to follow my one-year read through the Bible plan that is in the back of my ESV ultimate-uber study Bible. The other night, I really wasn't feeling like reading, but I decided to do so anyway. So, with my iPod going, I dug into some of the Scriptures and had my journal handy. A couple of the readings for the day were 1 Chronicles 7 and Luke 3:23-4:13.
Here is what I wrote in my journal concerning the first of those two readings. "I know there is a purpose for the geneaologies. I supposed there is a purpose for mice and cockroaches too, but I'm not too sure what those purposes are." I really do know that the geneaologies in the OT are important ways of tracking the lines of the Jewish people, but sometimes, especially those times when I really don't feel like reading, I just don't want to deal with the geneaologies. And that's basically what the opening portion of Chronicles is - chapter after chapter of geneaology.
After working through the Chronicles reading, I turn to Luke, and what to my wandering eyes should appear but the geneaology of Jesus. The more I read Scripture, the more coincidences happen. However, the Luke reading didn't stop there.
Luke 4:1-13 is the story of Jesus' temptation in the wilderness. Jesus has just been baptized by John and is full of the Holy Spirit, when he is immediately tested. Ironically enough, in tomorrow's message, I spend a little bit of time talking about "mountaintop experiences". Is really an irony though? And what is it that sustains Jesus throughout this period? The word of God. Each of the temptations that Jesus faces, he counters with Scripture - even the one where the devil takes Scripture out of context. This just reinforces to me the importance of staying in the Word. The more we know the Word, the more equipped we are to stand against temptation when it comes.
Just as I finish thinking through some of this stuff, a song comes on my iPod. I don't really know why this particular CD is on my iPod. It was on our Windows Media Player when I got the iPod, and I just transferred it over because the singer was a part of a group called Nickel Creek, who I really like. The song is Stay Away by Chris Thile, and below are the lyrics.
You are the devil
Stay away from me
Stay away from me
Stay away
I am in trouble
But you’re not what I need
You’re not what I need
Even if I’m all alone
Crying out for help
Keep yours to yourself
Cause I’m trying to hold on
To her as long as she can stand it
You’ve been prying up my fingers one by one
Prying up my fingers one by one
I’ve been praying against you
But the damage has been done
The damage has been done
And it would take a miracle
For her to break my fall
Cause she don’t care at all anymore
And I don’t know why I still do
Why I’m telling you
Cause you are the devil
And you can stay away from me
Stay away form me
Stay away
To hell with my freedom
If it don’t come for free
And I know it don’t come for free
If I give in
Give me bitter songs to play
And some sweet heart to win
Friends I thought I lost
And times I've never been
Just don’t ever make me fall in love again
Shoulda seen us fly out that church
Devil stay away form me
Stay away from me
Stay away
Temptation can hit anybody at anytime. We can't let our defenses down and give the enemy an opportunity to gain a foothold. Are you staying in the Word? The more I read Scripture, the more coincidences happen.
Koine Greek
I came across this clip this morning, and I think you have to be a certain breed of theological student to really find this funny. So, given that I'm a big nerd (see here), I found this hilarious! This is the type of stuff that we would laugh about during seminary softball....
Busy Week
In case someone was uncertain as to what a pastor does during the week...
I spent most of my day yesterday in Lafayette, as someone in one of my congregations had surgery. The gentleman ended up going in earlier than scheduled, so I talked with the family for a little while, ran some errands, ate lunch and came back to catch him as he was getting ready to head home. Doesn't sound like a lot of busyness; however, Lafayette is an hour away. It pretty much took all day.
I have started attending a Bible study that is working through Max Lucado's He Still Moves Stones. They asked if I would lead this week's lesson, which is tomorrow morning. I still need to prepare for it.
I was asked to take part in a special service that the funeral home in Veedersburg is hosting for those who have lost loved ones in the last year. I'll be giving a 10-15 minute message next Tuesday evening. I need to call one of the other pastors in town just to make sure we don't speak on the same topic.
I have two people having surgery today. One is at the heart hospital near St. V's in Indy. The other is in Champaign, IL. I talked to both of them yesterday, and they said that they didn't want me to make the trip to see them (it's about 1-1.5 hours in opposite directions from the 'Burg). Hopefully, both surgeries will be outpatient, and they'll be home tonight. I'm planning on calling them this evening to check up on them.
I'm also working on a Christmas Eve service. I got this idea that it would be really cool to have a service of carols and lessons that walk through the Christmas story. I've been thinking about it for a week now and spent some time working on it during my lunch yesterday. It is going to be exciting.
I also have to work on this Sunday's sermon. It's from Mark 1:1-8, which is a passage that I have studied a lot, but I still need to do the background work and write it. I have a near pathological dependancy on my manuscript right now. I'm slowly getting away from it, but it is going to take some time. Besides, if I didn't type out a manuscript, what would I post on Monday mornings?
Let's also throw on top dinner, some minor cleaning and hiding Katie's Christmas presents, and it is looking like a pretty full day today.... So, why am I blogging right now....