A saying with which I grew up in rural Kentucky was "As slow as molasses in winter". I knew what someone meant even if I didn't like molasses. The best molasses were thick and flowed slowly off the spoon. If it got cold as in the winter, then it didn't flow at all. As a boy there were times I was accused of working at a speed comparable to cold molasses.
What about a Christian's pace of life? What about a church's? In honesty we have to admit there are things, forces, people that slow us down while trying to accomplish what we know we need to be doing especially in fulfilling the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). Even if there is a deadline hanging over our heads, we still meet hindrances that don't outright stop us but slow us down to the point we wonder if we will ever reach our goals. Maybe some of these are familiar to you.
Confusion. I can think for two weeks about what the first step ought to be. I can worry for a month about which option is best. I can lose sleep night after night wondering if I really understand what I'm facing. In the meantime nothing is getting done.
Distractions. My energy and focus on this project may be directly proportional to my interest in it. If the interest level is low, a lot of other ideas will want to crowd in and take my attention away.
Fear. If I mess up on this idea, my goose is cooked! If I delay long enough or go slow enough, something else might bail me out and the consequences won't be nearly as bad.
Ignorance. I don't know what to do and I'm not sure where to get the answers to my questions.
Lack of assurance. It might not be outright fear, but there is enough uneasiness about what is supposed to happen that caution reigns and action proceeds at a snail's pace (or cold molasses).
Lack of resources. The project could have been done in one tenth of the time except for having to gather scattered resources, proper tools, and trained personnel.
These hindrances are just as true of a church and an association as they are of an individual in the effort to carry out the Great Commission both as a task and as a lifestyle. Oftentimes we will use the same kind of excuses to get ourselves off the hook, just on a larger scale.
Distractions have to be handled. Proper prioritization can minimize distractions. Determining realistic deadlines and holding to them will minimize the damage of distractions. Being able to say "no" to non essentials is one of the best ways to keep distractions from hindering the work of the Great Commission.
Confusion, fear, and lack of assurance often go together. Many leadership gurus will say that some of the best learning takes place through failing. You may fail on that first step; that is not failure. You have eliminated one of the options. Now start again with this new knowledge. Tell those people who laugh or criticize when you fail to get in there and help or get out of the way!
"Ignorance is curable, while stupidity is forever" is one of my favorite proverbs. Ask the necessary questions up front, get the information you need, and then full steam ahead. If information is all you lack, the masses are waiting to provide it. Most people are ready to cheer on a hard worker.
A lack of resources is a challenge, not a problem. Before you start, as an individual or a church or an association, get a good idea of what you need. Put it together, whether it is material or a team, and then start. Accept the fact that adjustments will have to be made while progress is being made, just work to keep the progress from stopping.
Another name for all these hindrances might at times be procrastination. Don't let cold molasses destroy a good idea and your efforts to fulfill the Great Commission!
Showing posts with label planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label planning. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Don't Waste a Perfectly Good Summer
You would never have believed that the program you are watching on this hot summer evening is a rerun you have already seen at least seven times (to use a good biblical number!). Stop for just a moment. Look around you. Is the scene in which your life has been momentarily captured also a rerun? Is this summer becoming a repeat of last summer, and the summer before that? My advice is not to waste a perfectly good summer by turning it into a rerun.
Near the end I'll get to a few sage words for the pastors in my association, so be warned you non-pastoral readers. Before then I intend to point my finger at myself and tell me what I had better do to keep my own summer from being a boring repeat. Some reruns are both entertaining and enlightening which explains why I like to rewatch The Lord of the Rings (all twelve hours!) ever so often. Likewise it never hurts me to read the same passage from the Bible over and over. However, as time grows short for me to experience every item on my bucket list, I cannot afford a rerun summer.
1. Learn something new. No, I don't mean how to keep from getting lost while driving in Raleigh or Charlotte though that is helpful. I do mean taking advantage of the internet, the local community college, or visiting one of the many fine local museums to gain knowledge on a subject in which you have an interest but have never taken the time to study.
2. Read a book, and not just one book, but at least one each month, and at least one of which will have nothing to do with my ministerial vocational career. History and archaeology, biography, writing and literary classics, and politics are all subjects that grab my interest.
3. Meet a community leader. Living in a community as I do, there are lots of them around. Every one of them knows something I don't. Every one of them has a perspective on this community different from my own. Every one of them can enrich my life by spending even a little time with them.
4. Grow something. Sure my garden is already well under way, but there is plenty of time to grow something else and experience the wonder of life increasing. This need not be a plant. If blessed, I can find the opportunity to help an individual grow by investing some time in that person's life.
5. Invest quality and quantity time in those people most important to you. Do it during the summer and every other season!
Each of these ideas is as applicable to a minister as it is to anyone sitting in the pews on a Sunday morning. The first step is always the hardest. Change is not always intentional, but it can be a lot more productive if it is. Deciding to make this summer different is that important first step. As for you pastors,
1. Meet your church members. I mean meet them somewhere other than at church or at a church function. Meet them on their terms on their turf. Let them show you how they live when not in Sunday best, either clothing or attitude.
2. Meet the administration at the public school closest to your church. They are a part of your community. You should know each other on a first name basis.
3. Celebrate a community group. Begin planning this summer to have a special recognition service this fall in your church for one of those public servant groups: police, firefighters, social services, emergency medical team, military units, local school administration and faculty.
4. Volunteer for a community project. Habitat for Humanity, a local thrift store, or a free medical clinic always needs volunteers in the summer when so many of their regular helpers are taking vacations. Such an experience sets an example for your church members.
5. Innovate. Give yourself some time to consider completing the question: "What if..." Dream beyond the normal, the average, the expected, or last year's events. Don't limit yourself to material resources as you dream. Let reality spoil the fun after you have dreamed, written those dreams down, outlined their purpose and the good they could do, and then think about how they could still be brought into reality with the resources you have in hand. Perhaps God will show you that you have more resources at your disposal than you had considered. God can do that with dreams.
Summers only come once a year. Don't waste it when it does.
Near the end I'll get to a few sage words for the pastors in my association, so be warned you non-pastoral readers. Before then I intend to point my finger at myself and tell me what I had better do to keep my own summer from being a boring repeat. Some reruns are both entertaining and enlightening which explains why I like to rewatch The Lord of the Rings (all twelve hours!) ever so often. Likewise it never hurts me to read the same passage from the Bible over and over. However, as time grows short for me to experience every item on my bucket list, I cannot afford a rerun summer.
1. Learn something new. No, I don't mean how to keep from getting lost while driving in Raleigh or Charlotte though that is helpful. I do mean taking advantage of the internet, the local community college, or visiting one of the many fine local museums to gain knowledge on a subject in which you have an interest but have never taken the time to study.
2. Read a book, and not just one book, but at least one each month, and at least one of which will have nothing to do with my ministerial vocational career. History and archaeology, biography, writing and literary classics, and politics are all subjects that grab my interest.
3. Meet a community leader. Living in a community as I do, there are lots of them around. Every one of them knows something I don't. Every one of them has a perspective on this community different from my own. Every one of them can enrich my life by spending even a little time with them.
4. Grow something. Sure my garden is already well under way, but there is plenty of time to grow something else and experience the wonder of life increasing. This need not be a plant. If blessed, I can find the opportunity to help an individual grow by investing some time in that person's life.
5. Invest quality and quantity time in those people most important to you. Do it during the summer and every other season!
Each of these ideas is as applicable to a minister as it is to anyone sitting in the pews on a Sunday morning. The first step is always the hardest. Change is not always intentional, but it can be a lot more productive if it is. Deciding to make this summer different is that important first step. As for you pastors,
1. Meet your church members. I mean meet them somewhere other than at church or at a church function. Meet them on their terms on their turf. Let them show you how they live when not in Sunday best, either clothing or attitude.
2. Meet the administration at the public school closest to your church. They are a part of your community. You should know each other on a first name basis.
3. Celebrate a community group. Begin planning this summer to have a special recognition service this fall in your church for one of those public servant groups: police, firefighters, social services, emergency medical team, military units, local school administration and faculty.
4. Volunteer for a community project. Habitat for Humanity, a local thrift store, or a free medical clinic always needs volunteers in the summer when so many of their regular helpers are taking vacations. Such an experience sets an example for your church members.
5. Innovate. Give yourself some time to consider completing the question: "What if..." Dream beyond the normal, the average, the expected, or last year's events. Don't limit yourself to material resources as you dream. Let reality spoil the fun after you have dreamed, written those dreams down, outlined their purpose and the good they could do, and then think about how they could still be brought into reality with the resources you have in hand. Perhaps God will show you that you have more resources at your disposal than you had considered. God can do that with dreams.
Summers only come once a year. Don't waste it when it does.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Even the New Has Some Old
Jesus uses a parable in which he tells of a householder who takes the old and the new out of his treasure chest. He shares this brief story in the context of teaching his disciples the importance of being trained for service in the Kingdom of God. Such wisdom as shown by the householder is not for religious leaders only, but for all who would serve the Kingdom in a God-honoring way, individuals, churches, and larger organizations alike.
We all have a past. Describe it in any way you wish, you still have a past. Some or most you may have forgotten or tried to forget, but you still have a past. Parts of your past may be remembered better by others than your self, but you still have a past. Your past may be dominated by your own initiated actions, or it may be the result of your response to the actions of others toward you. Either way you have a past.
The same can be said of a local church. As soon as someone has a dream of starting a local body of believers, a past has been formed. It will only grow with time, being filled with a wide variety of events and experiences. Conventions both large and small pass through the same dynamic. A past is created that cannot be altered or removed. It is locked in the pages of history.
The past or history of an individual or church cannot be ignored. Denying it will not change its truth. The past of an individual or church is always there lingering just at the edge of the present exerting its influence, whispering in a small voice about what has been and what might have been. It contains both jewels and cinders, both gold and pot metal. They all reside in our past influencing how our decisions in the present will determine our future.
Jesus pointed out that a wise servant of the Kingdom will look at everything in the past and decide what is valuable for the present and what is not. The wise servant will see how the old and valuable compliments or merges with the new and valuable to create something more valuable yet. That which is of little or no value will be placed aside for its value may not be in the present but may well reveal itself in the future.
Our Creator-God did not stop his process of creation in the first couple of chapters of Genesis. Through his prophets he spoke often of doing something new, something the people would not expect. In Jesus something occurred that was so new that few people recognized what had happened. In the birth of the Church (Acts 2), a living creation came into existence that could not have been anticipated except through the deepest insights of faith.
In all these there had been earlier signs that something wonderful was to happen. God was working with what was, introducing something new, and bringing forth a radical creation that revealed his glory and power in a way as never before. Something old combined with something new brings forth the awesome moment.
A new vision of the future can never be separated from the past out of which it springs. It is grounded in a response to what has been and an initiation of action toward what could be. God calls the individual to learn the agony and the glory of the cross. God calls the church to testify to the faith of its founders and then speak in a new language that its contemporary world will understand. That church will bring the old out of its past and meld it into the glory of the present and offer a testimony that will speak clearly of the timeless glory and love of God.
Is your church using both the treasures of the past and creations of the present? Can our conventions be said to be bringing the best out of the past, combining it with the best of the present, and through that produce a witness in our world that offers hope to all regardless of whether it is received or rejected?
The Kingdom scribe understands how God has spoken in the past, hears how he is speaking in the present, and is at work to make sure that the word of God is heard and understood now and into the future. God calls all of us to be careful but also to be bold as we search through the treasures of our past to develop the witness that is needed for the future.
We all have a past. Describe it in any way you wish, you still have a past. Some or most you may have forgotten or tried to forget, but you still have a past. Parts of your past may be remembered better by others than your self, but you still have a past. Your past may be dominated by your own initiated actions, or it may be the result of your response to the actions of others toward you. Either way you have a past.
The same can be said of a local church. As soon as someone has a dream of starting a local body of believers, a past has been formed. It will only grow with time, being filled with a wide variety of events and experiences. Conventions both large and small pass through the same dynamic. A past is created that cannot be altered or removed. It is locked in the pages of history.
The past or history of an individual or church cannot be ignored. Denying it will not change its truth. The past of an individual or church is always there lingering just at the edge of the present exerting its influence, whispering in a small voice about what has been and what might have been. It contains both jewels and cinders, both gold and pot metal. They all reside in our past influencing how our decisions in the present will determine our future.
Jesus pointed out that a wise servant of the Kingdom will look at everything in the past and decide what is valuable for the present and what is not. The wise servant will see how the old and valuable compliments or merges with the new and valuable to create something more valuable yet. That which is of little or no value will be placed aside for its value may not be in the present but may well reveal itself in the future.
Our Creator-God did not stop his process of creation in the first couple of chapters of Genesis. Through his prophets he spoke often of doing something new, something the people would not expect. In Jesus something occurred that was so new that few people recognized what had happened. In the birth of the Church (Acts 2), a living creation came into existence that could not have been anticipated except through the deepest insights of faith.
In all these there had been earlier signs that something wonderful was to happen. God was working with what was, introducing something new, and bringing forth a radical creation that revealed his glory and power in a way as never before. Something old combined with something new brings forth the awesome moment.
A new vision of the future can never be separated from the past out of which it springs. It is grounded in a response to what has been and an initiation of action toward what could be. God calls the individual to learn the agony and the glory of the cross. God calls the church to testify to the faith of its founders and then speak in a new language that its contemporary world will understand. That church will bring the old out of its past and meld it into the glory of the present and offer a testimony that will speak clearly of the timeless glory and love of God.
Is your church using both the treasures of the past and creations of the present? Can our conventions be said to be bringing the best out of the past, combining it with the best of the present, and through that produce a witness in our world that offers hope to all regardless of whether it is received or rejected?
The Kingdom scribe understands how God has spoken in the past, hears how he is speaking in the present, and is at work to make sure that the word of God is heard and understood now and into the future. God calls all of us to be careful but also to be bold as we search through the treasures of our past to develop the witness that is needed for the future.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Faith in a Future
Recently I attended a special service at a local church. The congregation placed a time capsule in the ground near the corner of the their church property one hundred years after they were founded. Over 60 individual family packets plus items representing the church as a whole were included. The date the capsule is to be opened is January, 2112.
A proverb of our day is recorded this way, "Every seed sown is a prayer of faith for tomorrow." In my own remarks on that day, I noted that as one who was raised on a farm and was now standing among farmers, no one ever planted seed and expected to gather the harvest in one day. Time had to pass and work had to be done to insure there was a chance for reaping a mature crop.
Along with all that work there was also a measure of hope that things would go well with the elements that were out of the farmer's hands, primarily the weather. He could prepare the soil, plant the seeds at the proper time, plow out the weeds, and make sure the harvesters were ready when the time came. Yet the growth itself was out of his hands as surely was the weather.
So it was for the faith of this congregation as they lowered that time capsule into the ground. They performed this symbolic act in faith that a congregation would gather one day a hundred years in the future and raise that box in the midst of a worship celebration. That future congregation would celebrate 200 years of faithful work in the name of the Lord. Part of their celebration would be to give thanks for the people who served the Lord in faithfulness a hundred years earlier and made their own present a possibility.
For that generation to be there to open the capsule, however, like the farmer planting the seed, work must be done between now and the time of the harvest. The current generation must be faithful in its spiritual growth and ministries. It must be faithful to teach its children and the generation that follows the proper path in following their Savior. This generation must teach by word and example. This generation must teach the next generation to do the same.
The work of farming does not stop because the seed is in the ground. The hoe and the plow must be put to use. The crop must be protected from straying animals. Pests and weeds must be controlled. The workers must be ready when the time comes to bring in the harvest.
So it is with each one of our congregations. We must create healthy and fertile climates in our spiritual families that will nurture the seeds we plant. We must know what seed we are planting and then be diligent to plant when the time is right. We must recognize what is not of the spirit of Christ and eliminate it from the family of God. At the same time we must recognize that we cannot reach sinners if we send them all away. As Jesus noted, you must be careful how you pull up the weeds lest you destroy the grain (Matthew 13:24-30).
We must teach our people to bring in the harvest, to be prepared to share the gospel and lead someone to the Good Shepherd, the Prince of Peace. We must teach them to have compassionate hearts, sensitive souls, and minds that are submitted to the Holy Spirit. We must teach them to teach those who will follow after them so those will teach others in generations yet to come.
How sad it would be that the time capsule so carefully covered by faithful hands should one day be uncovered by a bulldozer clearing ground for a new building unrelated to a worshiping congregation because that church no longer existed. How sad it would be if one generation chose not to do the work of cultivation and so the crop died in the field bearing no fruit. How sad that the fruit of a congregation's faith disappeared leaving nothing but a note in a history book.
It doesn't have to be that way. The harvest could be thirty, sixty, or a hundred fold. It takes work, it takes commitment, and it takes faithfulness. We are all leaving a time capsule in the lives we touch. Who will find them, and when opened will they be more than an odd curiosity?
A proverb of our day is recorded this way, "Every seed sown is a prayer of faith for tomorrow." In my own remarks on that day, I noted that as one who was raised on a farm and was now standing among farmers, no one ever planted seed and expected to gather the harvest in one day. Time had to pass and work had to be done to insure there was a chance for reaping a mature crop.
Along with all that work there was also a measure of hope that things would go well with the elements that were out of the farmer's hands, primarily the weather. He could prepare the soil, plant the seeds at the proper time, plow out the weeds, and make sure the harvesters were ready when the time came. Yet the growth itself was out of his hands as surely was the weather.
So it was for the faith of this congregation as they lowered that time capsule into the ground. They performed this symbolic act in faith that a congregation would gather one day a hundred years in the future and raise that box in the midst of a worship celebration. That future congregation would celebrate 200 years of faithful work in the name of the Lord. Part of their celebration would be to give thanks for the people who served the Lord in faithfulness a hundred years earlier and made their own present a possibility.
For that generation to be there to open the capsule, however, like the farmer planting the seed, work must be done between now and the time of the harvest. The current generation must be faithful in its spiritual growth and ministries. It must be faithful to teach its children and the generation that follows the proper path in following their Savior. This generation must teach by word and example. This generation must teach the next generation to do the same.
The work of farming does not stop because the seed is in the ground. The hoe and the plow must be put to use. The crop must be protected from straying animals. Pests and weeds must be controlled. The workers must be ready when the time comes to bring in the harvest.
So it is with each one of our congregations. We must create healthy and fertile climates in our spiritual families that will nurture the seeds we plant. We must know what seed we are planting and then be diligent to plant when the time is right. We must recognize what is not of the spirit of Christ and eliminate it from the family of God. At the same time we must recognize that we cannot reach sinners if we send them all away. As Jesus noted, you must be careful how you pull up the weeds lest you destroy the grain (Matthew 13:24-30).
We must teach our people to bring in the harvest, to be prepared to share the gospel and lead someone to the Good Shepherd, the Prince of Peace. We must teach them to have compassionate hearts, sensitive souls, and minds that are submitted to the Holy Spirit. We must teach them to teach those who will follow after them so those will teach others in generations yet to come.
How sad it would be that the time capsule so carefully covered by faithful hands should one day be uncovered by a bulldozer clearing ground for a new building unrelated to a worshiping congregation because that church no longer existed. How sad it would be if one generation chose not to do the work of cultivation and so the crop died in the field bearing no fruit. How sad that the fruit of a congregation's faith disappeared leaving nothing but a note in a history book.
It doesn't have to be that way. The harvest could be thirty, sixty, or a hundred fold. It takes work, it takes commitment, and it takes faithfulness. We are all leaving a time capsule in the lives we touch. Who will find them, and when opened will they be more than an odd curiosity?
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Future Stuff
Some thoughts about the future are reassuring. Others can leave you wondering if it wouldn't just be better to stay in bed and avoid the whole idea of facing the new day and the year it brings with it, but you know you cannot do that. That's the thing about the future. You have to face it whether you want to or not no matter what your thoughts may be. Even if you decide you won't wake up tomorrow, you still have to face the future waiting on the other side of the veil. You cannot escape moving into the future. You can only decide your attitude about it as you do.
Consider these thoughts:
1. It's inevitable that the future will get here.
2. You will face the future with what you are whatever that may be.
3. Your attitude as you face the future is under your control.
4. Decisions made today determine future results.
5. You cannot change past decisions, but you can make decisions today that will change short and long range results in the future.
6. Other people's futures will be affected by your decisions in both short and long term impact.
7. God's plan for the future is bigger than yours.
8. God's plan for the future has a guaranteed conclusion.
9. Each person is in God's plan whether they want to be or not.
10. Each person can choose his or her part in God's plan but they cannot avoid it.
11. God's plan is the best whether it feels that way or not.
12. Following God's plan gives the best future most often seen through hindsight.
We are stuck with a future, even those who do not think they have one. We might as well make the best of it. The future has little that is fair about it just like the present. You cannot avoid seeing the innocent get clobbered or the guilty get away with their sins. That is the result of living in a world ruled by sin. It rains on the just and the unjust. The sun shines on the righteous and the unrighteous. That is the result of a Creator-God who is always offering a second chance. The Golden Rule remains one of the best life patterns ever given to man.
Perhaps it is simply that God is watching to see how his children will respond to the future and all that it holds even while he calls them to be like his Son in preparation for an eternal future that is beyond our greatest dreams. Gold and silver are refined by the fire, not destroyed by it.
Consider these thoughts:
1. It's inevitable that the future will get here.
2. You will face the future with what you are whatever that may be.
3. Your attitude as you face the future is under your control.
4. Decisions made today determine future results.
5. You cannot change past decisions, but you can make decisions today that will change short and long range results in the future.
6. Other people's futures will be affected by your decisions in both short and long term impact.
7. God's plan for the future is bigger than yours.
8. God's plan for the future has a guaranteed conclusion.
9. Each person is in God's plan whether they want to be or not.
10. Each person can choose his or her part in God's plan but they cannot avoid it.
11. God's plan is the best whether it feels that way or not.
12. Following God's plan gives the best future most often seen through hindsight.
We are stuck with a future, even those who do not think they have one. We might as well make the best of it. The future has little that is fair about it just like the present. You cannot avoid seeing the innocent get clobbered or the guilty get away with their sins. That is the result of living in a world ruled by sin. It rains on the just and the unjust. The sun shines on the righteous and the unrighteous. That is the result of a Creator-God who is always offering a second chance. The Golden Rule remains one of the best life patterns ever given to man.
Perhaps it is simply that God is watching to see how his children will respond to the future and all that it holds even while he calls them to be like his Son in preparation for an eternal future that is beyond our greatest dreams. Gold and silver are refined by the fire, not destroyed by it.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Why Party?
Tis the season for fall festivals, Neewollah celebrations, and blatant, in-your-face efforts to Christianize a Halloween party. I like to party. I like going to fall festivals hosted by the different churches in my association. I like seeing the various costumes that parents can force their children to wear, even convincing some kids they really like what they are doing, regardless of how hot they get.
The question is are our churches just creating another opportunity for their members to escape the drudgery of their daily existence. If that is the case, then someone needs to do an evaluation of how much work is involved in pulling off a high quality fall festival. It takes a lot of work and time and often money. Is that what our churches are all about?
If we are using these festivals to reach out into our communities and say, "Hey, guys, Christians know how to have fun too, and we don't have to celebrate the demonic and all the bloodletting to do it either", then that might be a good reason. It should be a description, however, of how we Christians live our lives every day. I say we can still find a better reason.
If the reason we have fall festivals or whatever we call them is to create a context in which we can meet the unchurched of our communities in what is a safe environment for them, then we need to look at what we do and see if that is accomplishing our goal. Giving their kids a calorie rush and sending them on their way may not be the most effective way we can impact our community families. I suggest we examine how we intend to impact these families beyond encouraging them to visit the dentist on a regular basis.
Fall festivals and others such events can and should be safe places for the community to meet the church family. Physical and relational safety are paramount priorities. Feel-good environments are hard to find and creating one for the community is always appreciated especially when the focus is on children. The church with its emphasis upon love-based relationships is the ideal group to produce this sort of context.
The enduring impact, however, is where congregations too often miss their golden opportunity. By focusing upon the feel-good event, the chance to offer a meeting with the gospel of Jesus Christ is often skipped. By avoiding the appearance of being confrontational, we avoid a gospel conversation altogether. This need not be regardless of the physical set-up of the event.
As a minimum every church that hosts a fall festival style event needs to discover a way to register everyone who attends no matter what their current relationship with the church might be. Follow-up on non church members needs to be immediate and by people who will be visible when these guests decide to explore your church family. Greeters, Sunday School teachers, and other class workers are ideal people to be involved in this follow-up.
The church needs to make available information about its own ministry opportunities for anyone who might be unfamiliar with the work of this particular congregation. Offer free copies of the Bible, New Testament, or the Gospel of John, whatever is possible. Offer free issues of Christian life magazines and devotional guides especially if they have the plan of salvation laid out somewhere in their pages.
Open the door for community members to ask questions. Have church members wear a button that tells they are a local church member or may simply have the words "Ask Me!" They can carry around church brochures or the previous Sunday's order of service to hand out to guests who are not familiar with the ministries of the church. With our multicultural context, have information available in languages most common in the community other than English.
A high quality fall festival event requires a lot of work, planning, and people power. Don't let it pass with nothing more than a sigh of relief. Make it count for the Kingdom of God!
The question is are our churches just creating another opportunity for their members to escape the drudgery of their daily existence. If that is the case, then someone needs to do an evaluation of how much work is involved in pulling off a high quality fall festival. It takes a lot of work and time and often money. Is that what our churches are all about?
If we are using these festivals to reach out into our communities and say, "Hey, guys, Christians know how to have fun too, and we don't have to celebrate the demonic and all the bloodletting to do it either", then that might be a good reason. It should be a description, however, of how we Christians live our lives every day. I say we can still find a better reason.
If the reason we have fall festivals or whatever we call them is to create a context in which we can meet the unchurched of our communities in what is a safe environment for them, then we need to look at what we do and see if that is accomplishing our goal. Giving their kids a calorie rush and sending them on their way may not be the most effective way we can impact our community families. I suggest we examine how we intend to impact these families beyond encouraging them to visit the dentist on a regular basis.
Fall festivals and others such events can and should be safe places for the community to meet the church family. Physical and relational safety are paramount priorities. Feel-good environments are hard to find and creating one for the community is always appreciated especially when the focus is on children. The church with its emphasis upon love-based relationships is the ideal group to produce this sort of context.
The enduring impact, however, is where congregations too often miss their golden opportunity. By focusing upon the feel-good event, the chance to offer a meeting with the gospel of Jesus Christ is often skipped. By avoiding the appearance of being confrontational, we avoid a gospel conversation altogether. This need not be regardless of the physical set-up of the event.
As a minimum every church that hosts a fall festival style event needs to discover a way to register everyone who attends no matter what their current relationship with the church might be. Follow-up on non church members needs to be immediate and by people who will be visible when these guests decide to explore your church family. Greeters, Sunday School teachers, and other class workers are ideal people to be involved in this follow-up.
The church needs to make available information about its own ministry opportunities for anyone who might be unfamiliar with the work of this particular congregation. Offer free copies of the Bible, New Testament, or the Gospel of John, whatever is possible. Offer free issues of Christian life magazines and devotional guides especially if they have the plan of salvation laid out somewhere in their pages.
Open the door for community members to ask questions. Have church members wear a button that tells they are a local church member or may simply have the words "Ask Me!" They can carry around church brochures or the previous Sunday's order of service to hand out to guests who are not familiar with the ministries of the church. With our multicultural context, have information available in languages most common in the community other than English.
A high quality fall festival event requires a lot of work, planning, and people power. Don't let it pass with nothing more than a sigh of relief. Make it count for the Kingdom of God!
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Faith and Keeping Your Powder Dry
A common proverb of yesteryear goes something like "Put your faith in God, and keep your powder dry." Attributed to Oliver Cromwell during his later years in the mid seventeenth century, the intent is clear. Though a deeply religious man, Cromwell still felt that man had to do his part in carrying out the divine will. Strictly relying upon God to do everything was to be seen as neither God-honoring nor sensible.
Is a Christian called to live out his faith in such fashion? Can a church adopt a posture of waiting for God to accomplish all things? Where do we draw the line between relying upon God to provide and do everything and taking personal responsibility to contribute to the cause?
Perhaps a comparison to God's grace will help in reaching some form of conclusion. God expects us to live morally perfect and holy lives. (Matt. 5:48; I Peter 1:14-16) Yet it is also clear that "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). How can we be saved then from the just punishment of our rebellious lives? God's grace accepted by faith is sufficient.
Shall we not also live by faith in God's providence to provide our daily bread? We can, but we also must plant the seed, or work for the loaf, or spend the money on gasolene to drive to the market to buy it. Israel may have stepped out of their tents each morning in the wilderness to find manna, but that hasn't happened often since.
Does such a work ethic deny faith in God to provide? No, it reflects an attitude of divine responsibility placed in the individual. From the beginning of man's existence as recorded in scripture, God has expected man to have a relationship with him based on faith and mutual responsibility. This is called a covenant. At no time has God presented a covenant that said man was to sit and wait for God to drop the beef and potatoes on a plate set before a man and then clean up the mess afterwards. Man has always had a divinely ordained role to play that involved working with God and not just waiting for God.
In Genesis 1 God tells the first man and woman not only to be fruitful and multiply, but also to subdue the creation around them. That does not come without some effort. Subdue more than implies that something needs to be brought under control that is currently out of control. Those first folks had work to do. The blessing was they didn't have to do it alone. God was still working there by them.
Jesus told his disciples to feed the 5000+. (John 6) They were clueless. Jesus could have used the rocks laying around, turned them into bread. Instead he said for his disciples to go out and round up the resources. The miracle didn't occur until they had done their part.
Jesus brougth Lazarus out of the grave. (John 11) He told someone else to remove the stone at the entrance. You'd think that someone who could raise the dead could move the rock without help. No, he told the people there to be a part of the action.
Faith recently kept me praying hard for the Lord to get my car over the Tennessee mountains when it had sprung a water line leak on the interstate highway. I made it all the way to Evansville, IN. Would God have brought me safely back to North Carolina without ever adding water to the car? I'm not sure I was ready to test God that far. Was that a lack of faith? Was it playing my part in taking care of myself according to the power God had given me?
God is still in the business of miracles. God works miracles even when we are involved. From the beginning he has chosen to work through a covenant relationship with man. Man must respond through faith, and he must respond through surrender. That surrender can involve gathering fish and bread, rolling away a stone, or picking up a hoe and chopping weeds in the freshly created garden. In all cases God intends to be there to guide, assist, and make up for our weakness through his grace.
When all is said, walk by faith, but don't tell God to feed the hungry man when you have a loaf of bread in your hand.
Is a Christian called to live out his faith in such fashion? Can a church adopt a posture of waiting for God to accomplish all things? Where do we draw the line between relying upon God to provide and do everything and taking personal responsibility to contribute to the cause?
Perhaps a comparison to God's grace will help in reaching some form of conclusion. God expects us to live morally perfect and holy lives. (Matt. 5:48; I Peter 1:14-16) Yet it is also clear that "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). How can we be saved then from the just punishment of our rebellious lives? God's grace accepted by faith is sufficient.
Shall we not also live by faith in God's providence to provide our daily bread? We can, but we also must plant the seed, or work for the loaf, or spend the money on gasolene to drive to the market to buy it. Israel may have stepped out of their tents each morning in the wilderness to find manna, but that hasn't happened often since.
Does such a work ethic deny faith in God to provide? No, it reflects an attitude of divine responsibility placed in the individual. From the beginning of man's existence as recorded in scripture, God has expected man to have a relationship with him based on faith and mutual responsibility. This is called a covenant. At no time has God presented a covenant that said man was to sit and wait for God to drop the beef and potatoes on a plate set before a man and then clean up the mess afterwards. Man has always had a divinely ordained role to play that involved working with God and not just waiting for God.
In Genesis 1 God tells the first man and woman not only to be fruitful and multiply, but also to subdue the creation around them. That does not come without some effort. Subdue more than implies that something needs to be brought under control that is currently out of control. Those first folks had work to do. The blessing was they didn't have to do it alone. God was still working there by them.
Jesus told his disciples to feed the 5000+. (John 6) They were clueless. Jesus could have used the rocks laying around, turned them into bread. Instead he said for his disciples to go out and round up the resources. The miracle didn't occur until they had done their part.
Jesus brougth Lazarus out of the grave. (John 11) He told someone else to remove the stone at the entrance. You'd think that someone who could raise the dead could move the rock without help. No, he told the people there to be a part of the action.
Faith recently kept me praying hard for the Lord to get my car over the Tennessee mountains when it had sprung a water line leak on the interstate highway. I made it all the way to Evansville, IN. Would God have brought me safely back to North Carolina without ever adding water to the car? I'm not sure I was ready to test God that far. Was that a lack of faith? Was it playing my part in taking care of myself according to the power God had given me?
God is still in the business of miracles. God works miracles even when we are involved. From the beginning he has chosen to work through a covenant relationship with man. Man must respond through faith, and he must respond through surrender. That surrender can involve gathering fish and bread, rolling away a stone, or picking up a hoe and chopping weeds in the freshly created garden. In all cases God intends to be there to guide, assist, and make up for our weakness through his grace.
When all is said, walk by faith, but don't tell God to feed the hungry man when you have a loaf of bread in your hand.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Change Happens!
This Saturday my younger son will get married to his best friend. They have been dating for seven years. The length of time should indicate they know what they are doing. They both have jobs. Both are respected in their work. They share common interests and yet also have their differences. My son loves sports. My soon-to-be daughter-in-law has her unique interests in studying people through her psychology training. Two sets of parents have watched their children grow up, go through changes, and now there is this one more change. A new family is born.
This wedding/marriage reflects other changes. Both from the east, they have planned their wedding in California. That is not what you would consider traditional. It will be a waterside wedding on the beach, again not traditional for us Midwesterners. There will be no tuxes, and the bride will be barefooted beneath her wedding gown. Again this might seem a bit nontraditional. She is maintaining her maiden name, and children are not to be considered a foregone conclusion.
Things are different from when my wife and I got married 34 years ago. Traditions are not the hard and fast rules any more. They are options. To be honest I'm just glad to be getting a daughter. I've had two boys. I want a daughter. Now I'm getting one!
None of the traditions that were not followed in this wedding or the marriage ahead need have any impact whatsoever upon the love and commitment these two young people have for each other. They are all outward formalities. The critical aspect of their marriage will be their commitment to the Lord they both claim as Savior and to the vows they make to each other. Those are the things that make their relationship rich and enduring.
The same can be said of a church. Rituals come and go and must be seen as traditions that are options rather than commandments. A healthy church will be wise enough to see the difference between traditions and fundamental beliefs and values. A healthy church will know that traditions can change and often must do so for the gospel to have the opportunity to be heard, understood, and accepted. Compromise on the message cannot be allowed. Compromise on the method of communication is essential.
Every church needs to go through a period of self-evaluation and introspection on a regular basis. Methods that worked 30 years ago may have lost their effectiveness. Programs that met missional needs in the community for the last generation may not be meeting any of the foremost needs of the current generation. Leadership that stopped adjusting to their changing context may need to retool or resign so that prepared leadership can move into position.
Today I read a parable of five foolish maidens and five wise maidens in Matthew 25. All came to the wedding feast prepared, assuming nothing changed. Well, change happened. The groom was late. The situation changed. Plans and preparation had to change. Those who were prepared for change joined the marriage feast. Those who had refused to be prepared for change were left out in the darkness.
Where will our churches be left standing when the Bridegroom comes?
This wedding/marriage reflects other changes. Both from the east, they have planned their wedding in California. That is not what you would consider traditional. It will be a waterside wedding on the beach, again not traditional for us Midwesterners. There will be no tuxes, and the bride will be barefooted beneath her wedding gown. Again this might seem a bit nontraditional. She is maintaining her maiden name, and children are not to be considered a foregone conclusion.
Things are different from when my wife and I got married 34 years ago. Traditions are not the hard and fast rules any more. They are options. To be honest I'm just glad to be getting a daughter. I've had two boys. I want a daughter. Now I'm getting one!
None of the traditions that were not followed in this wedding or the marriage ahead need have any impact whatsoever upon the love and commitment these two young people have for each other. They are all outward formalities. The critical aspect of their marriage will be their commitment to the Lord they both claim as Savior and to the vows they make to each other. Those are the things that make their relationship rich and enduring.
The same can be said of a church. Rituals come and go and must be seen as traditions that are options rather than commandments. A healthy church will be wise enough to see the difference between traditions and fundamental beliefs and values. A healthy church will know that traditions can change and often must do so for the gospel to have the opportunity to be heard, understood, and accepted. Compromise on the message cannot be allowed. Compromise on the method of communication is essential.
Every church needs to go through a period of self-evaluation and introspection on a regular basis. Methods that worked 30 years ago may have lost their effectiveness. Programs that met missional needs in the community for the last generation may not be meeting any of the foremost needs of the current generation. Leadership that stopped adjusting to their changing context may need to retool or resign so that prepared leadership can move into position.
Today I read a parable of five foolish maidens and five wise maidens in Matthew 25. All came to the wedding feast prepared, assuming nothing changed. Well, change happened. The groom was late. The situation changed. Plans and preparation had to change. Those who were prepared for change joined the marriage feast. Those who had refused to be prepared for change were left out in the darkness.
Where will our churches be left standing when the Bridegroom comes?
Friday, December 31, 2010
Resolved to Plan to Act
Resolutions are like promises and pie crust: Easily made and easily broken (Mary Poppins knew what she was talking about). Associational missionaries need to make resolutions that will challenge them to move beyond the work of the previous year.
These resolutions might include a change in direction, a change in priorities, an evaluation of previous actions with a determination to tweak or refuse to repeat. These kinds of resolutions can spur a servant of the Lord to more effective work, more focused work, more satisfying work.
Resolutions are just goals made at the end of the year. They serve us best when they are specific, measurable, attainable, result-focused, and time-limited: SMART!
Does trying to make a series of association-wide events worth the effort? Past experience says no. The occasional one may work, but trying to live by them in our area will lead to one dying by them. Resolving to work more with small clusters and individual churches seems to be a much better use of time and other resources.
Resolved: to be honest with the amount of resources available and boldly seek to use those resources in targeted areas in the most effective way possible!
These resolutions might include a change in direction, a change in priorities, an evaluation of previous actions with a determination to tweak or refuse to repeat. These kinds of resolutions can spur a servant of the Lord to more effective work, more focused work, more satisfying work.
Resolutions are just goals made at the end of the year. They serve us best when they are specific, measurable, attainable, result-focused, and time-limited: SMART!
Does trying to make a series of association-wide events worth the effort? Past experience says no. The occasional one may work, but trying to live by them in our area will lead to one dying by them. Resolving to work more with small clusters and individual churches seems to be a much better use of time and other resources.
Resolved: to be honest with the amount of resources available and boldly seek to use those resources in targeted areas in the most effective way possible!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
My Associational Christmas List
Wish lists come easy. You look for what will fill the blank, scratch the itch, or complete the puzzle. Once you have it, everything works fine and you can get on with other business.
Every associational director of missions probably has his wish list, all the stuff we are convinced would make life a lot easier and more fulfilling for us. Following are some of the top items on my list (and I might just try to see how many of them I can bring into reality in 2011).
1. Congregations that practice the Great Commandments even to the point of personal sacrifice
2. Congregations that focus on God's Kingdom work instead of trying to build their own kingdom
3. Congregations that have servant evangelism as a basic part of their DNA
4. Congregations that see every member as a minister
5. Congregations that priortize both verse nineteen and verse twenty of the Great Commission
6. Congregations that recognize that cooperation does not mean sacrificing local church field priorities
7. Clergy that are wise enough not to confuse their own desires with God's will
8. Clergy that are wise enough to know that servant leadership gets more accomplished
9. Clergy that are wise enough to recognize the spiritual gifts of others
10. Clergy that are wise enough to give credit to others
11. Clergy that are wise enough to know they will have successors
12. Clergy that are wise enough to know they need to learn more
I do believe that this association would run better if a few of these items materialized. Of course some of them might be more readily available if some of the changes started with me!
Every associational director of missions probably has his wish list, all the stuff we are convinced would make life a lot easier and more fulfilling for us. Following are some of the top items on my list (and I might just try to see how many of them I can bring into reality in 2011).
1. Congregations that practice the Great Commandments even to the point of personal sacrifice
2. Congregations that focus on God's Kingdom work instead of trying to build their own kingdom
3. Congregations that have servant evangelism as a basic part of their DNA
4. Congregations that see every member as a minister
5. Congregations that priortize both verse nineteen and verse twenty of the Great Commission
6. Congregations that recognize that cooperation does not mean sacrificing local church field priorities
7. Clergy that are wise enough not to confuse their own desires with God's will
8. Clergy that are wise enough to know that servant leadership gets more accomplished
9. Clergy that are wise enough to recognize the spiritual gifts of others
10. Clergy that are wise enough to give credit to others
11. Clergy that are wise enough to know they will have successors
12. Clergy that are wise enough to know they need to learn more
I do believe that this association would run better if a few of these items materialized. Of course some of them might be more readily available if some of the changes started with me!
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