Better Than One

Forgiveness is the main need in most churches.  As a follower of Christ, Peter asked Jesus, “How many times do I need to forgive my brother when he sins against me?  Up to seven times?”  Jesus answered,  “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy seven times.” Matt. 18: 21-22.  We normally like to go to Matthew 18: 15-17 and handle church conflict that way instead of forgiving.

When we think about being a servant, think about the cross.  It will help you remember the two dimensions.  There is a vertical beam and there is a horizontal beam.  In the vertical beam, it is my relationship to my Lord.  In the horizontal beam, it is my relationship with others in the family of God.  As the servant stands before God two things are true in his attitude as well as in his actions.  First, all power come from God.  Whatever God allows me to do as an individual on earth I admit openly He gave me the power, He gave me the grace, He gave me the gifts.  He gave me the energy.  All power is from God.  Second, all praise goes back to God.  Whatever God allows me to do, whatever impact He makes through my life, He gets the credit for it.  He gets the praise – under the control of the Holy Spirit, power and praise come pulsating out of the life as a servant.

But when it comes to the horizontal, it gets sticky.  As someone wrote, “To dwell above with the saints we live, oh that will be glory, but to live below with the saints we know, well, that’s another story.”  Our problem is down here, horizontally, with one another, and therein is the greatest test of servanthood in all of life.  My greatest battles really are not with God.  Christ settled those battles.  My great battles are with my fellow men and women in church.

At first, we may find comfort in bitterness, but after a time we become slaves to it.  Satan renders us powerless and keeps us from experiencing the peace and healing that comes through Jesus Christ’s unfailing love.  Yet when we choose to forgive and trust Jesus as victor over our circumstances, the chains are broken, freeing us to live out all that Christ intends for us.

Crystal Woodman Miller survived the massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton, CO. in 1999.  Crystal was in the library where most of the violence was created that day.  For seven minutes Crystal listened to two boys gun down her friends and classmates.  For seven minutes, Crystal waited to die and silently prayed to recommit her life to Jesus.  In seven minutes, Crystal changed forever.

She left wishing she had died so she wouldn’t have to face the overwhelming suffering and deal with the barrage of emotions she felt.  Forgiving the boys was inconceivable.  She felt that offering forgiveness would not only be condoning their actions but would somehow dishonor the lives that were lost.  Yet, she continued to press into Jesus, her Hope-Giver, and began to experience His unfailing love and gain a deeper understanding of His unmerited grace, and saw transformation begin.  Suddenly, the truth of the Gospel was illuminated in a fresh way to her weary heart.  For the first time, she recognized that not only was she saved, but forgiven.

She was a mess apart from Christ.  “I am a wretched sinner who constantly fails and misses the mark.”  But Romans 5:8 tells her, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this:  while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  Despite her sin, He loved her enough to forgive her and wash that sin away.  She deserved death and punishment.  Sin is sin, and if hatred is present in my heart, she is no difference from a cold-blooded killer.  She needed forgiveness as much as anyone else does.  Forgiveness was freely given to her, not because she deserved it, but because of the unbiased love and grace of Jesus and what He accomplished on the cross by His blood.  She still is striving to walk with Jesus and be more and more like Him every day, and then it is imperative that she forgives other as He has forgiven Crystal and me. (Eph. 4:32)

FORGIVENESS IS NOT AN OPTION – IT IS A MANDATE!   Colossians 13:3   Matthew 6:14

One of my Associational Director of Missions sent me this article from Whitney Hopler, Crosswalk.com.  She found the information in a book “Transforming Church in Rural America” by Shannon O’Dell.

Here’s how you can use your small rural church to do something big:

Ask God to give you a vision for your church’s future, and believe it.  Ask God boldly to help your church fulfill His potential for it.  Pray for a vision of where God wants to lead your church so you can clearly understand His plans for your congregation.

Have the courage to change.  Realize that a collective church attitude of doing things the way they’ve always been done for the sake of tradition blocks your church’s ability ot truly preach the Gospel, because the Gospel’s message is one of life transformation – which requires constant change to follow wherever God leads.  Don’t waste time and energy defending your church’s traditions.  Instead, pray for the courage you need to make the changes God wants you to make to reach new people, both in your community and beyond.

Strengthen your marriage and family life.  In rural communities, people usually know each other very well and are closely watching to see how healthy church leaders’ home lives really are.  Your leadership must begin in your home, since a strong marriage and family life is the most powerful evangelistic tool you’ll have in a rural community.

Recruit leaders from within your congregation.  Once the people who are  part of your church catch God’s vision for it along with you, they’ll be motivated to volunteer to help lead the church into a better future.  Be willing to delegate the work to them and give them plenty of opportunities to put their God-given talents to full use.

Give your best effort to every task.  Never be satisfied with doing a mediocre job on any task.  Remember that your’re serving God, and He expects excellence.  Don’t use your church’s lack of money as an excuse for mediocre or poor quality ministry.  Excellence does not cost money; it simply costs time and effort.

Build a virtual ministry.  Although you may be isolated geographically, you can use technology such as satellites, web streaming, and DVDs to broadcast your church’s messages to people throughout the world.

Join other rural churches near you to work together.  Share encouragement, wisdom, and resources with other churches in your rural community, since you can accomplish much more for God’s kingdom together than you can separately.  Pray against attitudes of competition and possessiveness, and ask God to help you see each other as He does – part of the same spiritual family – and to work together well.

Majority of our SBC and KBC churches are small rural churches.  We need not be afraid of words like transform, change, grow, or move forward.  Mark 1:36-39 tells that early in the morning Jesus is found by Simon and his companions who tell him that everyone is looking for Him.  The people who had been touched and see by Jesus the day before want to see more of  him.  But Jesus says, “Let’s go somewhere else – to the nearby villages – so I can preach there also.  That is why I have come.”  Jesus was always looking a new day to connect to new people.  If we are not careful, we are satisfied with the crowd we have – small or large – and not looking for the new town and new people.   Jesus was in the business of transforming from old to new!

I want to follow up with my past blog about the book “Share The Dream & Build The Team” (Ten Keys for Revitalizing Your Church) by Donald W. Morgan.  Visional Leadership is the one factor that leads to a change in the church.  Dr. Morgan shares:

• Not just any vision should be adopted, but an exciting one that captures people’s attention.  It must evoke a “Wow!” because too much with which congregations are confronted and called to undertake is, frankly dull and boring.
• Surely, too, the vision should be challenging.  It must call forth the best in people and clarify the fact that it will take everyone doing their part to succeed.  Nothing less will command the response required.
• The vision should be energizing too.  It should be sufficient to release the adrenaline in a body of believers who are turned on.
• But most of all, a worthy vision should and must be God-given!  Through persistent prayer, a growing and deep biblical awareness, and a spirit of obedience to divine will, we should come to the conviction that this is what God is calling us to doand to be.

Feed the sheep!  Feed the lambs!  Don’t waste people’s time simply going through motions and “doing church”!  There are four key areas where a vital and growing church will feed people:

1. Relevant Preaching – A preacher needs to be relevant to people’s lives, to their place on the Christian journey, and needs to take aim at the target – the from which people come.  It means giving thought to how to reach people, proclaiming the Word so its clearly important and relevant and connects.  The world is filled with hungry souls!
2. Exiting Worship – The sheep as Jesus commanded the lambs need the opportunity to enter into a worship that ‘s powerful, lifting, and relevant to their lives.  Worship needs to be for the sheep, not for me.

• Clearly Focus on God
• Express Joy in the Presence of God
• Exude Warmth and Intimacy
• Move and Progress
• Provide Sharing of Faith and Testimony
• Enhance Worship with Modern Devices
• Incorporate Drama
• Be Rich with Music
• Provide Clues

3.  Intimacy of the Small Group Ministry – Sunday School, Bible Study, Bible Fellowships – Make Disciples – Teach the Word – Build Relationships

4.  Hands-on Mission and Service – Move the church outward – Reach the Community, State, and World

Build the Team – Be it professional staff, volunteer team, or just one or two,  Relate and grow together – Know your vision and build on it.  Take Inventory Regularly – Evaluate where your church and team are – Keep moving and don’t be a stagnant pond.  Listen and Learn

In times of change,  Be Patient – Be Persistence – Look for Wisdom and Discernment – Be Love (Love Covers All – It is the Trump Card)  – Pace Growth and Change

When the idea is not right. – God says, “NO!”

When the time is not right – God says, “SLOW!”

When you are not right – God says, “GROW!”

When everything is right – God says, “GO!”

Take time to read the book – It is good to help us move forward with your church – The Bride of Christ!

Easter – Resurrection Day is Sunday – Easter is all about Change!  One of the women in Nancy’s SS Class just accepted Christ last week.  She will be baptized on Easter and share her testimony – That is dynamic change!

I want to know CHRIST and the POWER His RESURRECTION and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming LIKE HIM in His death     Philippians 3:10

I have been reading a book that I have had for several years “Share the Dream and Build the Team (Ten Keys for Revitalizing Your Church)” by Donald W. Morgan.  It is a great book if you are in a plateaued church or would like to see your congregation get a new vision and move forward.  Here are a few snapshots from the book:

Soon after coming to this old church in Connecticut, a tourist asked Dr. Morgan if the historic gorgeous colonial Meetinghouse was a church or a museum?  He responded, “I hope to God it is a church!”  But the issue is identical for many churches today – are we a church or a museum?  A lively mission for Christ or a moribund, struggling testimony fo the past?  Are we fishers of men or keepers of an aquarium?  Is it reasonable or realistic to think the church can grow?  Absolutely!

The evidence is strong that the pastor plays the determining role in a growing, vital church.  All great churches have a visionary pastor providing the leadership.  The shepherd should lead the flock and not wait for the flock to lead.  The pastor’s leadership is key to the dynamic extraordinary church.  What is your will for your church?  For where there’s a will, remember, there’s a way.  And when your will is in the will of God, then surely there is a way.  Growth can happen.

Numbers are not just numbers – they signify people, and presumably we who are in the service of Jesus Christ care about people.  The Bible gives examples of God’s faithfulness:  Acts 2:41;  Acts 2:47;  Acts 4:4;  Acts 5:14.  God loves people more than anything and people matter to God!

Matthew 28:19 commands us to “Go therefore and Make Disciples.”  He didn’t say, “Recycle the saints.” or “Simply care for those already there.”  Although we need to feed His sheep.  Be engaged in a mission, not a chaplaincy.

With Him, the burden is light and the yoke is easy.  Just remember, the burden is with Him?  Dr Morgan shared with his leaders at a leadership retreat:  “I am not at the helm of this church.  It is not my job to see that everything happens just as I would have it.  Jesus is at the helm.  He is in charge.  This is His church.  I need only release myself to His guiding power and presence.  I have decided to just do what I need to do and leave the big picture to Him!”  You have no idea how liberating this conviction became to Dr. Morgan.  He was a new man, with a new style.  He was a better leader and more effective minister.

Dr.Morgan’s passion is that Christ’s church can be as great and transforming a force in the twenty-first century as it was in the first century.    More to come…..

Last night we made a time change and moved our clocks ahead one hour.  My daughter who lives in Arizona texted me that they are now three hours behind us.  Change is not a favorite topic for many people.  However, we make changes all the time – like it or not!

Moms and Dads change diapers for their new baby all the time – a new experience for many parents  /  We change  motor oil in our cars every 3000 or 5000 miles  /  We change our ink cartridge when we cannot read our copies  /  We change our toilet paper when the roll is empty  /  We change lanes in traffic when it fits our travel needs  /  We change the filter in our furnace so it can work easier and better

But talk about change in our church – Now wait a minute – Do you  know who we are?  We have been here for 20 years – We started this church!  We like it the way it is!

Church is the only place where everyone coming knows more than the professional leader in the pulpit.  At the Garage, we rely on the mechanic to tell us what our car needs.  When the appliance repairman comes to your house, you listen to his suggestions to fix your stove or dishwasher.  When the doctor comes in, he tells us what we need to do to get or stay healthy.

But when the pastor gives his vision for the church. we do not see the need to change.  There’s that word again.  There are other words that need to be used with our churches:  Transformational – Revitalize – Comeback – Growing – Healthy

Change can happen at church, ministry, business, and Kentucky Baptist Convention – Change takes time!  Remember if you never change, you will be the same.  Every day changes are happening.  How about your CHURCH??

A ship in a harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are made for.  “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the one you did do.  So throw off the bowlines.  Sail away from the safe harbor.  Catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore. Dream. Discover.”  Mark Twain

Stop being concerned about “your” church succeeding.  It’s isn’t yours in the first place.  Your reputation is not the one on the line.  Jesus’ Is.  Let Jesus get the glory.  He can take car of Himself.  “Commit your plans to the Lord and He will establish your works.” Proverbs 16:3

Great Commission:  “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.”  Matthew 28:18  “Jesus is the one who ‘opens the door and no one can shut it’”  Revelation 3:7  “You have a factor here that is absolutely infinite, and what does it matter what other factors may be?  ‘I will do the brest I can’ says one.  Any foool can do that. He that believes in Christ does what he cannot do, attempts the impossible and performs it.”  C.H. Spurgeon

Go After The People – We are sent (John 20:19-21)  To reach the world and community - To all kinds of people (Matt. 28:10-20)  It is not about me, it is about Jesus sending us to people with the message (Luke 24:46-48)  Will you be faithful to respond?  Empowered by the Spirit (Acts 1:6-8)  God has the power and we have the faith.

Relationships:  Keeping up with people.  Move from exclusion to inclusion.  Show people we care!  Relate to the community.  Connecting has to do with our relational world.  There are always people around you who feel left out, like a mouse without a hole.  I really only love God as much as I love the person I love the least.  Jesus is the greatest BRIDGER the world has ever seen!

Reach the World: 1) Lead just one person to Christ every year 2) Disciple that person so that he or she would, in turn, do the same the nest year 3) We could reach the world in 35 years 4) If every Christian alive today would do the same = 2-4 years.  “You Christians look after a document containing enough dynamite to blow all civilization to pieces, turn the world upside down, and bring peace to a battle-torn planet.  But you treat it as though it is nothing more than a peice of good literature.”  Mohondas Gandhi

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant”  Robert Lewis Stevenson

DO WE:  Bring People to Jesus or Bring Jesus to Lost People?

Evangelism Is A “Big Heart” Thing!

STATE EVAMGELISM CONFERENCE (KBC) PORTER MEMORIAL BC, LEXINGTON - FEBRUARY 27-28, 2012

At our Mission Board Meeting in December, our Church Development and Evangelism Committee asked our assigned  mission board members to share “needs that needed to be addressed in future training”.  One person said “the biggest problems for pastors are discouragement and discontentment with their lives”.  While I was at KBC Convention in Florence back in November, a pastor sat down at my breakfast table and shared about a book that had recently transformed his life.  I was interested in the book and have since bought it and read it.

“Grace Walk” by Steve McVey is the book and Steve starts the book on the floor of his office crying, discouraged, disgusted, and discontented.  It is a good book to start a New Year 2012!  Let me share just a few points from the book:

RESTING – Steve looks at Mary and Martha.  Martha was stressed out while Mary was resting.  People for whom Christian living is strictly service-oriented often get impatient with those whose level of measurable activity is not as intense.  Luke says that Martha was “distracted.”  Distracted from what?  From Jesus!  What was it that caused her attention to be distracted from Jesus?  Serving Him!  It was a startling revelation in Steve’s own life when the Holy Spirit showed him that he had become more preoccupied with the work of the ministry than with the One who called him to it.  Busyness in serving Christ can block intimacy with Him.  One thing is needed – resting in Him.

PEACE – Self-sufficient living always produces conflict.  Steve never would have been satisfied with life if the focus of his Christian experience had remained on doing what he believed was necessary to please God.  Steve experienced peace only after he learned to focus on the person of Christ, instead of on what he should be doing for Him.

BROKEN – Steve told his congregation that their need was not for a new and improved approach to ministry, but rather for a more intimate knowledge of God Himself. – He was bringing us to the place of brokenness.  God put us together and allowed circumstances to develop in such a way that He brought us to the end of our own resources.  He kept on until all we had left was Him.  And that’s not a bad place to be!

NEW – Steve saw things new.  Understanding the truth that Christ is my life hasn’t just changed Steve’s mind:  it had transformed his life.  It is simply a new awareness and appreciation for the life of Christ that resides in every Christian.

It is:  KNOWING HIM           ABIDING in HIM          EXPRESSING HIM

“I asked the Lord that night, “What do You want from me?”  What does He want from us?  He wants us.  Not our promises.  Not our good intentions.  Not even our Christian service.  Everything else takes care of itself when we just rest in His arms, allowing Him to act through us.  What a joy and a relief.  It isn’t a passive lifestyle, but a peaceful one where we actively rest in Him and He does it all.  It is a walk of grace!  – Steve McVey

“That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death”  Philippians 3:10

What a trade off:  From Discouraged, Disgusted, Discontented to JOY – PEACE – GRACE…….  Find the book, read it, then live it!

As the church begins a new year 2012,  will you be the same or different?  Many individuals find this a time to try to shape-up and lose weight.  Just as  department stores wait for the big holiday season, weight loss business or centers see their volume explode during the New Year Resolution period.What is happening at your church?  Are you shaping -up or checking-up?

How many will you baptize this year?  Will new people join your church this year?  Will you start new classes in Sunday School this year?  Will you impact your community more this year?  Will your church be more of a House of Prayer this year?  “Blessed are those who expect nothing for they shall not be disappointed”

Alan Nelson and Stan Toler created  a survey called “The Secret Church Shopper Survey” from issue:  May/June 2001 Who Wants to Grow a Church  ( rev org:  The Secret Church Shopper Survey)

The Ministry Toolbox from KBC is a good evaluation tool. www.kybaptist.org/toolbox

LifeWay has a church assessment with Transformational Church (Creating a New Scorecard for Congregations) www.transformationalchurch.com

If we do not know where the church bus is going, any where will do!   Make 2012 a different year not because of what you can do but what God wants to do through you and your congregation.  In the next blog, I will talk more about that.

Last week, Bob Young, DOM in Whites Run Assoc.iation sent me a link for a new Christmas song.  It really hit my heart.  A girl goes shopping in the mall.  People are waiting in line to see Santa and standing in line to buy stuff at different stores.  A young boy pulls at the girl’s sweater and asks “Where’s the Line to See Jesus?”  She says, What? and the boy repeats his request, “Where’s the Line to See Jesus?”.  It is his birthday!.

That is a haunting question.  We stand in line for many other reasons but “Where’s the Line to See Jesus?”.  We stand at the mall, at the school, at work and even at church.  You say if Jesus was here, you would stand in line to see Him.  But the trouble is that He is Here!

Waiting to make a difference – Waiting to heal the hurt – Waiting to bring peace to all – Waiting to make all things new….  Waiting to be invited in  – Is there room in the Inn?  We have time for everything else.

There is no better time to celebrate, enjoy, and share the boldness, freshness, intimacy, and love of this God/man named “Jesus”. Christmas will be over before we know it.  Take time to make the most of Jesus’s Coming!  Show people where the line is to see Jesus!

“Where’s the Line to See Jesus?”

http://www.youtube.com/watch popup?v=OExXItDyWEY&vq=medium

Where’s the Line to See Jesus?”  performed by Becky Keller

Thanksgiving is the noblest expression of the noblest sentiment of the heart.  It is gratitude flowing through the lips.  It is gratitude looking up with all it generous and swelling emotions, and giving out those fragrant sacrifices to God, the author of all good, by fitting acts, and by a fitting service.  (E.M. Bounds in E.M. Bounds:  Man of Prayer by Lyle Wesley Dorsett.

While playing handballs, the discussion at Thanksgiving was how you presented your dressing?  Balls or Casserole?  It was so much fun to hear the women describe how they created dressings that they had learned from Mom or Grandma.  It is often that we get lost in the food discussion or description.  You can almost taste it!

Being the most affluent era in the history of the world, we seem to be the least thankful.  A generation has emerged to which the word “Depression” is an unknown quantity.  They have always had plenty, so that they take it for granted.  Many seem to feel that the world owes them not only a living but luxuries as well.  Quite often those who receive the most appreciate the least.  They are all too ready to bite the hand that feeds them.  One man severly criticized a benefactor.  Hearing it, another said, “I’m surprised to hear you say that.  I thought that he had done alot for you.”  To which the critic replied, “Yes, but he hasn’t done anything lately.”Such an attitude is one of sefish pride.  Selfish in that he wants always to be on the receiving end.  Pride in that he refuses to admit that he is the beneficiary of another’s benevolence.  Henry Ward Beecher reminds us that “pride always slays thanksgving, but an humble mind is the soil out of which thanks naturlly grow.  A pound man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks that he gets as muych as he deserves.”

Ingratitude toward man is bad enough.  But ingratitude toward God is without escuse.  Paul listed ingratitude toward God among the gross sins of men.  Romans 1:20-21 says, “they are without excuse:  because that , when they know God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful.”

Thursday, November 24, is Thanksgiving Day thoughout the United States.  This day stems from the thinsgiving of the Pilgrim Fathers.  After a hard winter of hunger and privation there came the seedtime and harvest of 1621,  It was then that the pilgrims gathered with friendly Indians to thank God for His bountiful care.  (Thanks to Jim Chavis , former pastor of FBC, Tallahassee for some of these Thansgving thoughts)

We need not lose our spiritual emphasis to the food channel football, or travel.  We need to take time to pray and praise.  It is all HIS!

It is time for not only THANKSGIVING but THANKSLIVING!

From the CUMMINS Family:  HAPPY THANKSGIVING!