Christmas preparation

As I joyfully hung up Christmas lights and ornaments on our tree, I stepped back and was pleased with how festive our house seemed. But then I wondered how full of "Christmas" our house was. Our home seemed packed full of wonderful decorations, and my stomach was full of Christmas cookies, but how was my family coming to a deeper appreciation of being filled with peace, joy, love, and hope that comes from trusting in Christ and growing in Him? Sure the Christmas eve sermon was finished, but how was my church growing in Christ? Our neighbors could see our tree from the street, but how was I showing them the beauty of the best gift of all: the Savior Jesus Christ?

This Christmas, as we listen to ANOTHER version of Jingle Bells and eat even more Christmas cookies than last year, let's focus on the birth of our Savior and proclaim His second coming!

Relevant Preaching

Preaching God's truth in a relevant way can be challenging to do week after week. Preaching the message of the Word is important so I ask myself "How might a particular truth apply to the specific congregation?"

Coming up with relevant ideas can be challenging. Sometimes I use mind maps to brainstorm ideas and have found it to be quite helpful. Below is an example (it is not stellar, I know, but it was quick and dirty from the sermon this week) The example is a mindmap done in the Mind Node software. (Windows users could try Freemind - but I don't know much about it) Do you have any windows-based mind mapping software you use? How else do you get creative in message preparation?

Evangelism

The "Ministry from a firm foundation" series ended with a message on evangelism. I have seen God fanning the embers of desire in the hearts of our members to "reach out" into the community near our church - how exciting!

Last week I screwed the leg of "fellowship" on crooked so I figured this week I would place the leg of evangelism upside down. (I fixed it again for this picture) I did this partly to make a joke and poke fun of myself, but also to illustrate our backward view of evangelism.

It seems to me like American churches still have an idea that evangelism is a program to run to attract people to church. I have heard from many churches that the role of the congregation members is to invite friends to church. It is at church that their friends hear the gospel and get "saved". It is as if the pastor is the one playing the game and the congregation is the cheering squad. They run out and get more cheerleaders to cheer on the pastor in his "soul winning" endeavors. He is, after all, the paid help isn't he? ;)

When I read the Bible I don't see that it is the pastor's job to be the only one to "evangelize" the lost. He is not the only one that gets to be in the game. I read that every disciple of Christ is supposed to proclaim the gospel, not just invite others to hear it at church.

Don't get me wrong, I will preach the gospel from the pulpit every week with the hope that God uses it to save souls. As Pastors it is our job not merely to encourage people to invite their friends to church to hear the gospel, but to encourage and equip those under our leadership to share the gospel themselves.

Fellowship

At our church we continued the series on "Ministry from a firm foundation" with a sermon on fellowship. As I screwed on the third leg I was wondering why everyone was chuckling. It was only after the sermon that I realized I had screwed the leg into the table VERY slanted - it looked horrible from the congregation. (It was fixed before this pic) It made the table seem less sturdy, so I guess it helped with the illustration of a table needing four legs to be solid.

Many Christian churches have a skewed view of fellowship. Many times our events say they promote fellowship but really just foster friendships. I think that relationships and friendship are important, but there is so much more to fellowship than just being friends. We can find friendships in bars, athletic clubs, and sewing circles - so what is so special about our relationship with another brother or sister at church? We have fellowship in the church unlike any other bond because what binds us together isn't just a shared interest or time together, but Christ.

How do you define fellowship? Does ministry you are involved in value friendship more than fellowship?

Revamping the Great Tradition

I am part of a ministry dedicated to planting churches among America's unchurched urban poor. The church model we use here in Wichita is somewhat liturgical. The thinking is that liturgy with its regularity and repetition gives a person from the inner-city both a sense of comfort and a chance for real participation. As part of our weekly service we read the Nicene Creed together. In doing so we have run up against two major problems. First, the simple presence of the term catholic has been difficult for poor Hispanics who have struggled hard to leave Catholicism. No matter how many times we say "catholic just means universal" that word still seems to be a barrier for them. Second, the translation we use is elegant, but terse. It uses several theological terms that require some explanation. Explanation is fine, however, it seems that our translation of the Creed is causing more problems than we can solve.

Solution: A new translation of the Creed. I searched high and low for something like a 'New Living Translation' of the Nicene Creed. I found several translations, however, each one contained both the term catholic and several theological terms that required a great deal of explanation. So I made my own translation of the Nicene Creed. We have been using it our church for the past two weeks. I wanted to post it here and get any feedback you all may have on it. Please please please please tell me what you think.

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, the maker of heaven and earth, of everything that exists, whether visible or invisible.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the one and only Son of God, who was begotten of the Father before time. He is God as the Father is God, Light as the Father is Light, truly God as the Father is truly God, begotten, but not a created being. He and the Father are of the same substance. Everything was created through him.

Who for us and for our salvation came down from heaven and took on flesh through the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and thus became fully human. For our sake, he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and he rose again on the third day according to the scriptures. He went up into heaven where he is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. His kingdom will never end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, and life-giver. He comes from the Father [and the Son]. He is to be worshipped and glorified with the Father and the Son. He spoke through the prophets.

We believe in one holy worldwide apostolic church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sin. We anticipate the resurrection of the dead and the life of the age to come.

Amen.

Instruction

This week continued our series on ministry from a firm foundation. We talked about the use of the Bible as our source of truth. We were challenged from God's word to offer His solutions in a world of questions.

When it comes to using God's word to offer answers to peoples' questions, we are all guilty of using what my wife calls, "Bible Bullets". We take our point of view that is "biblical" and we find verses that support it, some out of context. We load up our guns with these verses and quickly fire at anyone who holds a different view. When we do this, people either fire back or they shut down and their stereotype of "close-minded evangelical" is reinforced.

How do you graciously offer God's truth in your ministry?

Emergent

This is an interesting post from a conversation happening on the emergent village blog. I think that emergent pastors and theology are getting a lot of press lately, but I agree with the writer of this blog - I haven't seen a lot of conversion growth. It seems like many young pastors have jumped on this emergent bandwagon and do quite a bit of conversing, thinking, and "theologizing" - but is there more fruit in their ministry than non-emergents?

Where do you stand on the whole emergent conversation?

I too am waiting for emergent ministry to explode, but I haven't seen much yet.

What are your thoughts?

Should Women Preach to Men?

Here is an interesting post from a Southern Baptist pastor about the latest controversy concerning Irving Bible Church's thinking about women in ministry:

http://kerussocharis.blogspot.com/2008/08/homsexuality-adultery-sexual-immorality.html

Personally, this is a difficult issue that requires much study. Let us be civil in our personal conclusions, upholding the love of Christ.

Worship

We started preaching a new series this week at Good News on the foundational elements of a healthy church. Over the course of the next month I plan on building a firm foundation (a VERY sturdy and very large table - thanks for the idea Adam!) It was a fun and effective visual to build the table on stage during the beginning of the sermon.

The first message was on worship. Worship seems to be one of those words that Christians throw around often but may not think about what it means. It seems as though a "good" worship service is not as much about recognizing God's greatness as it is about creating an experience of "feeling" good or singing songs that sound good. Many of our Sunday morning "worship" services are filled with human-focused songs (just look at the shift in language used in modern songs vs. old hymns) played by talented musicians with high tech equipment. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy contemporary sounding music and our feelings do play a part - but I wonder what our modern worship sounds like to God?

Do we fall into the trap of worshiping our feelings about God, or even what He does for us more than worshiping Him for who He is?

I miss my ipod

It has now been 3 ipod-less weeks. Surely 21 days is not long to be without portable music, is it? For me the answer is "YES, it is too long." Three weeks have seemed like 3 years without my ipod. An old, off-brand car charger fried my 8GB ipod nano. I thought I could go without...but I miss it so!

It isn't the music or podcasts I miss the most. I miss the simplicity of the ipod design. With one button on the front and a touch wheel, the music and videos were so easy to access. All I had to do was connect my ipod to the computer and updated podcasts and new albums would automatically download. Apple took a complex piece of technology that performs different functions for millions of people who use it in many different ways and made it all simple. The reason I like the ipod and apple products in general is the simple design. No I am not a mac snob, I just know what works ;) Apple has taken complex ideas and made them simple - and they are creating quite a following of loyal users. Apple has shown that simplicity works.

How simple is your ministry? How many programs and meetings do you have? If you are like me, the answer is "too many!" Sometimes the "simple" way is the best way. How many Bible studies, evening services, prayer meetings, team/committee meetings does a church need? How effective are the 38 different ministries that all beg for the time, treasure, and talent of the church? Perhaps we should simplfy ministry.

What ideas do you have to make ministry a little more simple?

Time is tickin' away

One of the first CD's I owned was DC Talk's "Free at Last" album. Do you remember that song "Time is tickin' away"? By asking you this question I have just proved how old I am or how young I am depending on who is reading this. 

Lately it seems like time has been flying by for me. It seems as though everywhere I turn time has slipped out of my fingers. I sit down at my desk and work hard on what I have prioritized as important and the next thing I know it is time to go home. Fingers flying on the keyboard, ears listening to conversations, mouth speaking (hopefully not too much) at planning meetings, and my brain whizzing along at top speed - Life is busy, and I like it. 

In the midst of this whirlwind beginning, I am reminded of the importance of solitude. The necessity to take time and be alone. I read about when Jesus would go off by himself and pray and think "I know HE had more to do than I do and He made time to be alone." In a world filled with mobile email, iphones, computers, TV and car radios, it is easy to lose quiet time alone with God. We are VERY connected with other people in 2008. Has our connection with God grown as strong as our increasing connection with those people in our email contact list? Even if we make time to spend with God, our brains may be still be spinning with our daily list of tasks. In this early time in a new ministry, I am encouraged to take a step back and spend time in solitude. 

What about you, do you find your time ticking away? What do you do to try and keep a balanced spiritual life with respect to time? 

The Fishbowl

We have all lived in the fishbowl. That lifestyle where it seems like everyone knows all the details of your life even though you have shared it with only a few. Much of the advice I hear from pastors is "Keep your personal life as private as you can." But I also know we minister to a culture that appreciates authenticity. So where do you draw the line?

I recently had a conversation with a fellow pastor who brought up some good points in using social networking websites in ministry. He explained to me that people can connect not only once a week face-to-face on Sunday morning, but daily on their Myspace or Facebook pages. (I have my wife to thank for my latest technology adventure: Facebook) This increased communication can actually lead to a deeper sense of connection on Sunday morning. Throughout the week the members of a small group (or even a church?) can be in communication with one another via the internet.

Any use of technology can have potential hazards. In a profession where keeping healthy boundaries on personal information is already challenging, opening up one's entire life to the world can be dangerous. I would like to know your thoughts. How public should ministers make their personal lives in today's post-modern culture?

Caught up in "American" ministry

I am convicted. With my Starbucks nonfat, no water, extra-hot chai latte and wireless internet I know life is good. Life is easy. Ministry, as challenging as I think it is, seems easy compared to doing God's work outside the USA. I get trapped into thinking that cool graphics, a well functioning program, reaching the lost, or a powerful sermon should be the focus of my weekly planning. Meetings, leadership books, reaching the lost in my culture, even ministry conversations are all helpful but I feel like I build up ministry in my local community at the neglect of world-wide kingdom work. We may be passionate about bringing new souls into the church, but what about a ministry of compassion to those in serious need outside the church? What about outside of my affluent American culture?

It is easy to get a narrow focus in ministry is it not?

I just watched a video about a global food crisis. I know that just blogging about this adds to my problem of feeling badly but not doing much. My wife and I sponsor a compassion international child and have encouraged others in the church to do the same. Besides encouraging others to participate in one-time events (signing up to sponsor a child, going on a mission trip, etc.) what do you think we can do as ministry leaders to help our churches see the big picture of global ministry? What can I do to gain a more global perspective?

The Voice

I just read an emergent village blog that talked about a new translation called "the voice". From what I can read it focuses on the narrative presentation of the New Testament and brings out different nuances in the authors' style of writing. This seems like an interesting translation - has anyone read any of their single books of the Bible (Acts, Romans, etc?) and could give me any input.

I can't knock it nor praise it because I have not read it. I do get nervous about any translation that says it is a "true interpretation of the traditional Bible text" - does this imply that other translations are false? I also raise an eyebrow at "the first completely new Bible translation available to readers in several years". From what I have read, The Voice uses musicians, poets, and storytellers to translate Scripture. I am sure that the story of Scripture "comes alive" more with talented narrative-minded folks translating the text, but what about the 2000+ year cultural gap. It seems like, from what I read, that the musicians, poets, theologians, and storytellers translate the Bible and then scholars look over their work for mistakes.

Am I misinformed? Please help me understand this translation better if you are familiar with it.

What are your thoughts on this new translation?

The Economy and Your Ministry

I was just reading a post by Kent Shaffer over at churchrelevance.com titled 10 Theories on High Gas Prices and Church, and I was wondering if any of you have seen this affect any of your ministries.

Since our church is in a small town, I don't think there has been much affect on attendance due to the gas prices. I know many of you are involved in ministries in larger cities.

How have gas prices affected involvement in your ministries?

Sexual Wholeness

I just recently finished a class on human sexuality. We had many discussions on what the biblical view of sexuality consists of, especially for the single person. There are many Scriptural concepts I would use to develop God’s sexual economy. I would start with reality that God created us male and female in His own image. Both sexes are valuable, unique and equal in God’s eyes. This is from Genesis 1 and 2. Scripture emphasizes the process of striving for sexual purity. I would want to focus on meeting Christ in a personal way and striving to obey his commands. John 15 covers these concepts pretty well. I would point to the reality of Christian sexual expression: chastity and heterosexual marriage. For chastity, 1 Corinthians 7 lays out an excellent picture of marriage and chastity. The book of the Song of Solomon would be helpful in exploring lovemaking in marriage. Proverbs 5:15-20 shares some great insights into the exclusivity of marriage between a man and a woman, as well as Hebrews 13:4. Ephesians 5 teaches on the sanctity of marriage being a picture of Christ and the church. 1 Thessalonians 4:3-7 teaches that there must not be a hint of sexual immorality among believers in Christ.


Sexual wholeness in God’s economy comes from a heart that is oriented towards Christ. It is only through grace that we are saved from sexual sin. All other expressions apart from God’s grace are futile in this effort. Sexual wholeness demands a focused priority on the Trinity, and following after the commands of the Lord. In today’s culture, sexual chastity seems to be an “unfair” expression for singles. Some think that sex only in the confines of heterosexual marriage is too exclusive. What the world does not realize is that God is good; His commands are upright. This sexually pure lifestyle is not meant to hinder our freedom; it is meant to preserve our freedom. Personally, sexual sin has been a confusing and sometimes devastating struggle for me. I was the person who bought the lie that sexual expression is not sacred. The Bible teaches that sex is sacred, and sexual wholeness comes through obedience and grace. What is the single person supposed to do with their sexual urges and surges? Dr. Douglas Rosenau, in his book Soul Virgins, talks about redirecting sexual urges towards fellowship with others, agape love in community, and exercise. Also, it is important for the single person to reframe his mind to remember the purpose of sexuality: it is a drive to create intimate relationships with God and others. Rosenau points out that sexual desire and the ache should drive us to intimate relationships with friends, a future mate and God---this ache is a need for completion and not just horny release. God calls us to good stewardship of our sexuality.


A sexually whole person is someone who has been declared righteous by grace through faith alone in Christ alone. Through this new identity, they seek to live out God’s commands and strive to live in sexual purity. For the single person, this would consist of holy chastity. They would recall that God’s design for sexual expression is expressed in the covenant bonds of heterosexual marriage. Though counter to American culture, this is God’s prescription for sexual wholeness. For the married person, this would consist of faithfully meeting your spouse’s need through wholesome and passionate lovemaking. Sex is a gift to be shared together, not a demand.

What Would You Say?

I have been working in the inner-city for 5 years now. Certain issues that we face daily are unique. However, certain challenges are simply amplifications of common ministry challenges. Once I met a rather large man named Jamal. Jamal was about 25. He had a woman who lived with him and several children. I had an opportunity to share the gospel with Jamal. He was very receptive. He nodded his head and said he understood everything. When I had finished sharing with him I asked if he would like to receive Christ as his savior. He thought for a minute and then said, "I hear what you are saying, and I like it. I mean I understand about Jesus and all..." I was very encouraged, but only for a moment. He looked me in the eyes very seriously and said, "But what I want to know is, how can I accept this when I know that tomorrow I am going to have to deal (drugs) and kill just to feed my family?"
I did not have an answer for Jamal that day. I still don't know exactly what I would say. Jamal's case is an extreme example, but this problem is not limited to the inner-city. Countless people know and understand the gospel, but feel trapped by their lives. It could be habits, addictions, jobs, friends... anything really. They stop short of real saving faith because they know it will mean losing an essential part of their lives as they know them. They are either too attached to their sin or they cannot imagine a life without it.
So how do we respond? How do we as Christ's ambassadors win these people to the Lord? It doesn't work to say "Just trust in Jesus and leave that issue up to him." I've tried. So what do we do?

The Human Condition

Now that I have a little more free time on my hands, I have had a chance to catch up on some movies. I recently finished watching There Will be Blood. If you have objections to watching R rated movies or struggle with violence I would not recommend the movie. We do need to watch what media diet we are on. I read the cover of the DVD and reviews on line and thought that it would not be a stumbling block for me - and I watched it alone.

The story moves slowly and is very thoughtfully done. I was surprised to see the depth of humankind's darkness displayed in this movie. A greedy oil man vs. a charismatic preacher - good stuff! People have been raving about this movie and I can see why. It is well made and spins the noggin' a bit. Although people really like it, I found it interesting that in a culture that seems to deny the doctrine of total depravity this movie was a hit. Even the very end of the movie the audience sees humankind's depravity.I don't want to ruin the end of a movie for anyone, but I will say this movie shows that humankind does indeed need blood.

From Whence Cometh my Assurance?

What provides assurance of salvation? For too many years of my life I was terrified that I was not truly a Christian. Youth ministers and preachers would say things like, "If you don't know that date and time you were saved, you're not saved. You should have it written inside your Bible so you remember." I had no date. I had no time. I had no monumental experience upon which I could reflect. To this day I have no idea when I was actually saved. It had to have been between the ages of 8 and 16, but that is a pretty broad time span.
Eventually I found assurance in two things, the affirmation of my beliefs and the works that accompanied my faith. I affirmed the essential Christian doctrines. I tried vigorously to obey God. Today I am quite certain of my salvation. I have no fears that one day the Lord will tell me that he never knew me. My assurance has grown in the absence of an experience upon which I can reflect for comfort.
This brings me to the question I really want to ask: should we as ministers counsel people to reflect upon an experience for assurance of their salvation. It seems altogether possible that encouraging people to reflect upon such experiences could give assurance to the unsaved and doubt to the elect. An emotional experience is not the substance of salvation. Perhaps what is called for is the de-emphasis of the experience and the re-emphasis of faith and works. I think we should encourage those who need assurance to compare their beliefs with orthodox Christian beliefs. Next, I think we should encourage them to examine their own lives and see if there be any evidence of sanctification. This may sound subjective, but it is better than asking if has ever been emotionally moved enough to respond to an invitation, right?

Further revelation?

I recently heard of a "revival" going on in Florida and have been asked what I think about it. I am always skeptical of things like revivals and individuals that seem to sensationalize Christianity. Sometimes, perhaps I am too skeptical. I have faith that God CAN do anything - I do not want to limit God. But I wonder DOES God do things like mass healings, speaking in tongues, prophetic words, etc as often as He used to? I believe that, since the closing of the cannon of Scripture, the sign gifts have been... less obviously manifested (to put it nicely and optimistically.)

I do have some concern when some brothers and sisters claim that God is still revealing himself to His people in limitless ways.

I read this quote and raised an eyebrow "We recognize that God is continually restoring truth and light to His Church. Therefore, we place no limit on further revelation; however, each must be substantiated according to the Scriptures." Other non-Christian cults claim to receive extra-biblical revelation and compare it against the Bible.

If we believe that the Bible is complete, and lacking nothing, do we NEED any more revelation from God? If we truly believe that the Bible is God's full revelation, we should question why He is still revealing new truth to the world. And if He is revealing new truth to the world, why only certain people? Why not everyone?

I remain a healthy skeptic. God CAN do anything, but I believe He has revealed everything to His people that needs to be revealed. We as a body of believers should be more focused on fulfilling the commission in Matt 28 than seeking after the gifts of 1 Cor. 14.

A lesson from What-a-burger

My second year of Seminary I learned a valuable lesson that will always stick with me: I didn't know the gospel clearly. I had been driving to seminary and saw a homeless woman asking for food. I pulled into a local hamburger joint and walked over to her. As we walked into the restaurant I thought that this would be a perfect opportunity to share the gospel with her.

Sitting at that What-a-burger restaurant with a captive (and hungry) audience I was struck by how difficult it was for me to condense the gospel into the basic elements a "pre-Christian" needs to know. I found myself starting with Adam and Eve and talking about original sin, then I moved to the account of Noah and the Ark. As I took bites of greasy burger in between sentences, I had the feeling that I was rambling. She was listening to what I was saying, the only problem was I was not making much sense. Thankfully God can, and does, use our rambling - but we should make the use out of every encounter we have!

How much does one need to know in order to trust in Christ? Do they need to know the story of the WHOLE Bible? Do they need to know one verse? What are the fundamental elements of the gospel? That rambling at what-a-burger sent me on a quest to be clearer and more accurate every time I share the gospel.

I recently read of a group of Christians who were trying to condense the gospel into a twitter feed (only 140 characters long!) As I read through them, some were pretty good, and others were lacking in their depth and accuracy. So I have taken the challenge to do something similar. I have tried to keep the characters to a minimum. I only hacked mine down to 190 - I could not compete with the twitter feed folks.

I wanted to include a Trinitarian view of God, the lostness of humankind, the wages of sin, and keep the theological jargon to a minimum. If you have ways to improve this or add your own, please post it in the comments!

190 character gospel presentation:
Because humans are incapable of avoiding the consequences of sin, God sent His incarnate, divine son Jesus to live, die, and be resurrected as a payment for sin and offers eternal life to those who, through the Spirit, trust Him.

Starting something new

I am brand new to blogging. I have fought the urge to start a blog because I prefer to exchange ideas in person. Call me old-school, but that is just how I work. I like to sit over a nice hot Chai Latte and discuss issues in person. But busy schedules and long distances inhibit a personal, face-to-face interaction.

My vision for this page is to surface and discuss current issues facing today's ministry servants. I do not see a perfect, organized conversation but instead an organic and helpful place we can exchange ideas. All points of view are encouraged, so spread the word. Church outreach ideas, theology, leadership, effective counseling tools, education, and preaching are just some areas I would be interested in.

What are some current issues that you think would be of interest to our group?