Better Than One

One of the new hot movies is “Lost in the Land”.  Somehow I thought we lived in the land of the lost.  In a study of Kentucky, 66.5% of the population are not “church members” and are spiritually lost.  That would be somewhere around 2,700,000 Kentuckians!  In the “Comeback Churches” book, Ed Stetzer and Mike Dodson said that “intentional evangelism” was one of the top five factors to bring back a church.

At Southern Baptist Convention on June 23-24, 2009 in Louisville, Great Commission Resurgence is going to be presented and preached.  I didn’t know I had lost the Great Commission but with lower baptisms and the ratio difference of people in a county and people in a church getting larger maybe we have lost our passion for reaching people with the gospel.

Intentional Evangelism in a church often looks like:  F.A.I.T.H.; G.R.O.W.; Sharing Jesus Without Fear; How To Be a Contagious Christian;  One Day Witnessing; NET and many others.  We sometimes do a decent job with sharing the gospel with people we meet and people who connect to our church.  Intentional means we have a process and we are prepared  to relate, rescue, and reach others at all times not just a few or sometimes. 

The first time I remember hearing someone emphasize “lostness” was in John Kramp’s book “Out of Their Faces and Into Their Shoes:  How to Understand Spiritually Lost People and Give Them Directions to God”.  When people are lost in the darkness, they need help to find their way out of darkness into the light.  Evangelism isn’t about trying to use gifts you don’t have; it’s being genuine and authentic about yourself.  People are not projects.  They are people that you can love, have a relationship with, and introduce to your best Friend.  Neil Cole in “Organic Church” asks the question, “Do you bring lost people to Jesus or do you take Jesus to lost people?”  Both are valid but we tend to spend most of our time bringing lost people to Jesus.  We might want to try and encourage our congregation to take Jesus to lost people in their neighborhood, at work, at school, at the gym, at the mall, at the hospital, and at the their place of interest.

In “a.k.a. ‘LOST’”  Jim Henderson writes, “I resigned from witnessing in 1996.  I knew I could never go back to the same old programs, the contrived joviality, or the fake evangelistic caring.  But what would I replace them with?  In the church I was leading at the time, many of us decided to do what was doable and to count what really counts.  We decided to count all the small attempts we made to connect with the people Jesus misses most and to do it in ways that were natural and had context in our ordinary, everyday lives.  We decided to call these practices Ordinary Attempts.”  Who are we passing every day that we could get to know and share, care, and love?

Kevin Harney says it this way, “Compassion.  It marked Jesus’ life.  Look into the Savior’s heart:  ‘Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.  When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd; (Matt. 9:35-36).  This is a prelude to Jesus’ statement that ‘the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few’ and to his call for us to ‘ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest fields’ (vv. 37-38).  Jesus’ heart broke for those who hadn’t yet received his amazing grace and experienced the Father’s love.  Too many leaders have become so busy at their churches or in their ministries that they have no time to connect with those who don’t know Jesus.  We can become isolated to the point that we almost never relate with people who are lost.  We need to hear Jesus’ call to pray for harvest workers.  And we need to offer ourselves to this Great Commission work.”  We will never ignite a spark or flame of reaching out with the gospel from a denominational level.  It has to start in the heart of every believer and the church has the best opportunity to get the fire going.

YOU are the light of the world!  A light should be placed on a lampstand so that it gives light to all the darkness surrounding it.  (Matt. 5:14-15)

In Jesus Driven Church, part 1, we related this writing to one of the ftop five factors in “Comeback Churches” by Ed Stetzer and Mike Dodson - “Renewed Belief in Jesus Christ and the Mission of the Church.”  One way to move your church toward being Jesus Driven is to preach a sermon series around Jesus.  I did sermon series that highlighted who and how Jesus met people along the way and emphasized that we can do that too.

                                                    “I’ve Just Met Jesus”                                                         

“Surprised by Acceptance” - Luke 19:1-10

“The Love Story” - Luke 7:36-50

“Hide and Seek”  -  John 4:1-30

“Excuse Me”  -  Mark 5:21-43

“Do You See Anything?”  -  Mark 8:22-26

“Mary, Mary - Martha, Martha”  -  Luke10:39-42

“Hope for the Hopeless”  -  John 3:16

Our congregation needs to find their “first love” again for Jesus.  Seeing Jesus in action helps us demonstrate attitudes, behaviors, and strategies of Jesus. 

We must always remember that we can lead no one any further than we have gone before.  Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”  “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength”….’Love your neighbor as ourself.’  There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31)  Until we are ready to be connected regularly and tightly to Jesus, it is impossible to lead a congregation to be Jesus Driven.

I have started reading Kevin Harney’s book “Leadership from the Inside Out”.  His first chapter looks at The Leader’s Heart and says, “We are building healthy lives and ministries when we make sure that God rules supreme and that our hearts are beating passionately for him.  When his glory is our joy, when our hearts beat with his, when he rules with no rivals, we grow healthy as leaders” and can influence others along the way.  “As leaders, connecting with God more intentionally and intimately is our starting point; it is the foundation for all we do in ministry.  When we fall more deeply in love with God with each passing day, all of our lives are driven by this simple reality:  God loves me and I love God.”

Kevin Harney also says, “I fix my eyes on Jesus and remember how he served, loved and sacrificed himself for the very people whose sin put him on the cross.  Jesus understood that an authentic relationship with God leads to a deep love for people.  When we forget Jesus’ words and just seek to do the work of ministry, we can disregard the fact that people matter to God.”    If we want a Jesus Driven Church, we have to pattern our lives in the messy and dangerous business of loving people, sacrificing, and risking injury as Jesus did.  We must be transparent with the congregation so they can start to see a glimpse of Jesus and foster his ways of service and ministry.

When you were dating and found the one you loved, what actions did you take?  Did you contact her?  Did you want to spend time with her?  Did you plan activities to be together?  When you were apart, did you get creative to find ways to connect with each other?  When you think about your love for God or Jesus, what are you doing to stay connected with him?  How much time do you spend with him?  Do you go out of your way to be with him?  Do you read his writings to you?  When you talk to God or Jesus, do you wait to hear what he has to say?  Is it a monologue or dialogue?  A Jesus Driven Church begins with you and me loving Jesus.

“O How He Loves You and Me!”

We often feel driven in our job, ministry, or work.  We may even neglect our family, our church, and our God.  If we are not careful, we will burnout and lose our passion.  Churches can also burnout and lose their passion by losing their focus on Jesus and being captured by attendance and service.

One of the top five Comeback Church factors is “Renewed Belief in Jesus Christ and the Mission of the Church.”  The Church in Ephesus mentioned in Revelation 2:2-4, says: “I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance.  I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.  You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.  Yet I hold this against you:  You have forsaken your first love.”  How many churches today have lost their first love?  The church is doing good things, working hard, reaching out and serving but they have lost their first love for Jesus.

Everything in the church should be measured by Jesus and his words and actions.  Herbert Brokering wrote these words in a short skit about “words, thoughts, deeds” - Someone is looking to buy a Bible and gets into a dialogue with the store clerk:

“How much should it cost?

           As little as possible, so long as it has what Jesus said in red.

Why are you so sold on red?

           ‘Cause it’s easy to find all things Jesus said.  You know, the familiar sayings, the stories He told, and the Sermon on the Mount.

How does it help?

          It helps to pick these out as you read along.

Are they more important?

          What do you mean?

Are the things Jesus said more important than the rest?

          The rest of what?

The rest of His life.  Is what Jesus said more important than what Jesus did?

          Come again.

Are parables and stories more important than miracles?

          What are you getting at?

Nothing in particular.  Just wondering why all the red ink for His speeches when He was really famous for what He did.

          Oh.

And famous for who He was.

          Then change the order.

Meaning what?

          Get me one that prints all those things Jesus did in red.

There is no such Bible.

          But why not?

Are you suggesting that what He did is more important than what He said?

          Now we’re right back where we started.

I don’t think so.                     

Ajith Fernando has written a book entitled “Jesus Driven Ministry”.  Is our church  Jesus Driven?  Or is it deacon driven, pastor driven, staff driven, committee driven or me driven? 

Fernando uses the words of a simple chorus:

          Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me:

          All his wondrous compassion and purity,

          O thou spirit divine, all my nature refine,

          Till the beauty of Jesus is seen in me.

Consider doing a sermon series built around Jesus and His Encounters in the gospels.  Show how he related to people:  Some people came to Jesus, other people find Jesus on the way, and Jesus sometimes went out of his way to meet people.

In Jesus Driven Church part 2, I will share a sermon series relating to Jesus.

The hymn says, “Oh,  how I love Jesus”.
                 

When VBS time rolls around, it will either be one of the most exciting weeks of the year or one of the most dreaded.   Having been a pastor, I think I have experienced both extremes.  Could it be in our planning, we have overlooked the potential of VBS?  Do we not understand that many of our people who come to faith in Christ at a younger age do so during or as the result of VBS? 

But what about the results of VBS in our own lives as adults?  Much of what I know about the Bible, I would not know today if it were not for the diligent and faithful teaching during VBS.  Where else would I have learned the books of the Bible?  Where else would I have learned the value of memorizing scripture?  Where else would I have had the plan of salvation presented so simply that even a child could understand?  All of this is precisely what VBS is all about.

Of course, pastors, staff and teachers will be required to be patient, kind and undertanding to kids that have never been taught how to behave in church.  Yes, you will be responsible for safe transportation and insuring everybody gets to church and back home in a reasonable time frame.   Be absolutely sure no children  are left on buses or vans.   Have enough workers to ride each vehicle to insure safety and order.   Yes,  pastors and VBS Directors will at times need to be the referee for some of the workers that simply “can’t take anymore.” 

But, with all the challenges, what would life be without Vacation Bible School?  In fact, you might think about having multiple VBS’s in your church this summer.  Perhaps an off-site school would be blessed of God.  Determine up front that your VBS will be one of the highlights of your church year and do everything possible to make it so.  Where our boys and girls spend eternity may very well depend on it! 

In Stetzer’s and Dodson’s book, “Comeback Churches,” they did not want “leadership” to be the number one factor in churches making a comeback.  However, research spotlighted “visional leadership” as the #1 factor.  As I contact and visit churches in North Central KY, I have found this research to be right on target.

A week ago, the University of Kentucky’s new basketball coach, John Calipari, was the main emphasis on the sports page.  From his first public interview until now, it is no secret that Calipari knows who he is, where he is, and where he is going.  The previous coach at UK did not know who he was, where he was, or where he was going.  However, Calipari does not have to put down Gillispie to help himself look better.  Many leaders tend to diminish or put down the person they followed thinking it will build them up.  Calipari needs no help in standing tall.

A pastor with visional leadership helps a church to know where it is going and how it will get there.    Therefore, they have a vision and strategy.  Vision is imagining the future you want.  A vision should be stated in a meaningful and memorable way.  Here are the tests:

• Can the statement be memorized in three minutes or less?
• Is there more than one punctuation mark?
• Can it be easily explained and understood? 

Vision examples are:  “To honor God by making more disciples for Jesus Christ”  - ”That all people have a loving relationship with God through Jesus Christ”.  Recently, I worked with a church that was trying to put together their “Clarify the Win”.  Andy Stanley in his book ” 7 Practices of Effective Ministry” uses this term to help a church find the most important thing they do and what they can cheer about.  Calipari understands that the most important thing at UK is being one point ahead of the other team at the end of the game.  Calipari’s brief strategy is Dribble, Drive, Defense.  A church’s strategy needs to be steps it takes to get to the win or to enable a person to become a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ.  Some strategy examples are:

• Gather, Commit, Serve 
• Come, Connect, Grow, Serve, Go 
• Lead, Equip, Send. 
• Membership/Belonging, Maturity/Understanding, Ministry/Connecting, Missional/Practicing

John Calipari is not a perfect image of visional leadership, but he has reignited an excited following of UK basketball and he is restoring UK’s brand.  People want to win and not lose in a church.  They want to follow a visional leader.

P.S. 

Calipari wants to have  Midnight Madness at Commonwealth Stadium with 65,000 people watching a basketball practice.  What big thing are you trying that only God can do? 

Cally Parkinson who is the brand manager for REVEAL at Willow Creek Association, utilizes research tools and discoveries to help churches better understand spiritual growth.  She wrote about 4 principles to help deepen spiritual growth in REV magazine.  She gives the secret for getting the people in your church to evangelize 60% more often than they do today, tithe 60% more, and to serve the under-resourced 20% more of the time.

 PRINCIPLE #1:  Get People Moving

“We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.” - Colossians 1:28

“We’re not here to make you a Baptist.  We’re here to make you a disciple of Christ.” - David Uth, senior pastor, First Baptist of Orlando, Florida

Growing churches make it clear to first-time visitors that they intend to grow everyone in their congregation into fully devoted disciples of Jesus Christ.  These churches offer and heavily promote either membership or newcomer classes, many modeled after the Purpose Driven Life four-step process.  They position these classes as “not optional”  and the senior pastor is typically directly involved in teaching at least one of  the classes.  Some churches offer 8 or 4 week new member orientation.  Some churches teach during Sunday School to get members and guests coming before worship.  Other churches use 3 hour orientation on Saturday AM or Sunday afternoon.  I know of one church that used only one hour of Sunday School to help new members and guests to understand his church and even invited them to join the church during this class.  One Sunday during this class 28 people came and 17 joined the church.  Every church and congregation has to find what works for them.  Remember these classes are for new members and interested guests. What time works for them, not you?  The average retention rate of new members in American churches is 35%.  If a new member class is offered, it jumps to 72%.

PRICIPLE #2:  Embed the Scriptures in Everything

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that all God’s people may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. ” - 2 Timothy 3:16-17

“Church leaders have got to bleed the Bible when they’re cut.” - Todd Wagner, senior pastor, Watermark church , Dallas, Texas.

The REVEAL research found that the most influential catalyst of spiritual growth is personal time spent in reflection on Scripture.  I heard David Waggoner last week when he taught his book “The Shape of Faith to Come” say the same high priority about reading the Bible.  Churches report Bible engagement levels that are 50% higher than database average, inspirited by church cultures that embed the Bible in everything - from weekend preaching to personal interactions around the church water cooler.  Whether their strategy is as simple as verse-by-verse Bible teaching or as complex as a customized Web-based devotional program, churches have to be single-minded in their determination to embed the Bible as the central influence in their church culture.  For Baptists, Sunday School/small groups are at the heart of helping people make the Bible the blueprint of their life.  Many tools can be used for creating a church culture that walks the talk of being centered on the word of God.

PRINCIPLE #3:  Create Ownership

“It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelist, and some to be pastors and teachers…so that the body of Christ may be built up.” - Ephesians 4:11-12.

“Church isn’t something you go to…it’s who you are.” - David Bish, senior pastor, Tri-County Church, DuBois, Pennsylvania.

To own the vision of a church is to posses it on a personal level, to embrace it as a part of your identity.  This goes well beyond a sense of belonging, of “fitting in,” to a church community.  The ministry vision tends to be shouldered by a team of dedicated lay leaders who help the pastor unite the church body in a common purpose.  The congregation must believe the vision, understand it, and live it.  Evidence of ownership is the extraordinary about of time the congregation dedicates to the church, as well as the low number of stalled and dissatisfied people in the church.  Through these strategies of preaching, testimonies, training and corporate challenges, churches intentionally create the expectation that ownership of the church vision - and the mantle of church leadership - is shared across the church body.

PRINCIPLE #4:  Pastor the Local Community

“You are the light of the world…let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” - Matthew 5:14-16.

“Christianity is not a spectator sport.” - John Sullivan, senior pastor, Spirit of God Fellowship, South Holland, Illinois.

“Take the city for Jesus” is the cry of many churches.  Their people are in the thick of their communities - sitting on local boards, canvassing blighted neighborhoods to identify and serve needs, going into corners where you wouldn’t normally find the church.  Creativity abounds in their outreach efforts.  From busing hundreds of disadvantaged kids to Sunday services, to cooking hot dogs on city streets to break up drug deals, to refurbishing a bankrupt hospital in a needy neughborhood  - churches are the hands and feet of Christ in their communities.  Partner with other churches to do community ministries.  This is kingdom work not just my church looking good - It is Jesus looking good!  Build bridges to the people in your community.  They will not just walk into your church.  Find the book “The Church of Irresistible Influence” by Robert Lewis to ignite your community outreach.

The good news is that the key to all of these objectives is found in Luke 10:27, in which Jesus tells us: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart…and love your neighbor as yourself.”  If you challenge your people to grow spiritually - in other words, to grow in their love for God and for others-then behaviors like evangelizing, tithing and serving develop naturally as a result. 

In Divine Design - part 1, we looked at how God has designed us with different spiritual gifts, passions, abilities, personalities, and experiences.  When we understand our  S.H.A.P. E. (look at Erik Rees’s book “S.H.A.P.E.”) or we find our P.L.A.C.E. (www.placeministries.org) of service, we better fit into the body of Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:14-27 is a great discourse and explanation of the body and its parts or members.

• All parts of the body are needed whether great or small.  One part cannot say to another, “You are not needed.”
• God has given greater honor to the parts that lacked, so that there should not be  division  in the body.
• Each part or member needs to have concern for each other.  Read the Mouse Story:

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to  see the farmer and his wife opening a package.  “What food might this contain?”  He was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.  Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warming, “There is a mousetrap in the house!  There is a mousetrap in the house!”

The chicken clicked and scratched, raised her head and said, “Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave cncern to you, but it is of no consequence to me.  I cannot be bothered by it.”  The mouse turned to the pig and told him, “there is a mousetrap in the house!”  The pig sympathized but said, “I am so very sorry Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray.  Be assured that you are in my prayers.”  The mouse turned to the cow.  She said, “Wow, Mr. Mouse I’m sorry for you.  But it’s no skin off my nose.”

So the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer’s mousetrap alone.  That very night a sound was heard throughout the house like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey.  The farmer’s wife rushed to see what was caught.  In the darkness she did not see that it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught.  The snake bit the farmer’s wife.  The farmer rushed her to the hospital and she returned home with a fever.

Now everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup’s main ingredient.  But his wife’s sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock.  To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.  the farmer’s wife did not get well.  She died, and so many people came for her funeral the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.

So the next time you hear that someone is facing a a problem and think that it doesn’t concern you, remember that when one of is threatened, we all are at risk.  We are all involved in this journey called life.  We must keep an eye out for one another and be willing to make that extra effort to encourage one another. -copied - 1 Cor. 12:25-26

God has the last word about spiritual gifts and our shape or place in the love chapter of   1 Cor. 13:1-14.  Love covers all concepts of our divine design.  It blankets all members of the body.  Without love, our design, serving, and giving, is worthless.

Divine design is given to us for meaningful service and the common good.

The church is the bride of Christ and we are members who have been divinely designed to Glorify God and Build Up the Body.

“Divine Design” is a HGTV show that features Candice Olson taking a room in a home and transforming it into a divine design.

In reality, God takes us in our sinful mess and transforms us into a “Divine Design”.  As we become a follower of Jesus Christ, we receive the Holy Spirit who blesses us with spiritual gifts.  Paul, in writing to the Corinthians, said, “Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant.” (1 Cor. 12:1).  Paul recognized that Christians should know and use their spiritual gifts.  This whole chapter (1 Cor. 12) deals with gifts of the Spirit.  It is exciting to understand that as a Christian, you are designed by God through the Holy Spirit.

We have this divine design for two main reasons:  1) Glorify God and 2) Edify Others.  Our divine design does not make us look good, better, or great.  Spiritual Gifts enables each one of us to give glory to God in what we do and say.  It also helps grow the body into fullness, unity, and diversity.

God has carefully selected each believer’s spiritual gift and place of service within the body.  Our servant profiles are not of our choosing, they are by God’s design.  There are several ways to look at a complete profile design of God’s work.  People in our congregations want to find their SHAPE so they can serve in the right PLACE in our church or body.  Erik Rees wrote a book called S.H.A.P.E. that helps people understand their design and purpose.

S piritual Gifts

H eart/passion

A bilities

P ersonality

E xperiences

We want people to volunteer and serve in our Sunday school, discipleship, missions, music, deacons, preschool, children, youth, adults and other areas.  But do we help our congregation to understand their divine design and S.H.A.P.E. so they can be excited about their P.L.A.C.E. of service?

We will continue to look at how people can be encouraged to serve in our churches in Divine Design - part 2

My last couple of blog posts have addressed the subject of ways a church can ensure their first time guests return.  Your church CANNOT grow without visitors.  At the same time, your church cannot grow unless your visitors COME BACK!  Perhaps, we should use the word “guests” instead of visitors.  A “visitor” is someone who shows up uninvited, who is not expected and no one has made prepartion for them to be there.  On the other hand, a “guest” is someone who has been invited to attend, you are expecting them, and preparation has been made in anticipation of their arrival.  At your church, do you treat newcomers as visitors or guests?   What can we do to ensure our guests come back?

1.  Provide adequate parking for guests that is well defined.  These should be your best spots with good directional signage.

2.  Have greeters in the parking lot to welcome and assist newcomers.

3.  Greeters should escort guests to the building, to Sunday School Classes, nursery and childcare, restroom areas and the Worship Center.

4.  Get to know guests by name and introduce them to greeters at the Welcome Center and to the Class Greeters & teacher.

5.  Inform guests of activities for the day and invite them to upcoming events.

In his book, “FUSION,” Nelson Seacy suggests four components of “pre-service” responsibility to newcomers:

        1.  GREETED:  Welcomed with a smile

        2.  DIRECTED:  Simply & politely directed to where they need to go.

        3.  TREATED:   Shown respect and happily surprised with comfort.

        4.  SEATED:   Led to comfortable, appropriate seats.

If you will put these suggestions into action in your church Sunday, you will see many of your guests return and perhaps even turn them into members. 

“One day things are rosy.  Then suddenly things you’ve been counting on are gone.”  When the unemployment numbers are near 8% in our nation, you may want to consider starting an Unemployment Support Group.  Several times in my ministry experience, I have found this type of support group to encourage and inform the unemployed.  It helps a person who has lost a job to understand he is not the only one experiencing a loss.  Here are some ingredients for an unemployment support group:

> Find some people to help you who have worked through unemployment and have successfully moved on.

> Advertise or market your support group in your church and throughout the community.

> Schedule a weekly or monthly meeting by using your own judgement and assessment of need.

> Include scripture support in your meeting such as:  Numbers 6:26; Deut. 4:31; Deut. 31:6,8; Psalm 27:13,14; Psalm 31:16; Psalm 37:25; Matt. 6:25,34; Rom. 15:13; I Cor. 10:13; 2 Cor. 4:7-9; Ephesians 6:10;  Phil. 4:11-13,19; Heb. 13:5B; I Pet. 1:7; I Pet. 5:7;  

> Bring in guests to help group members better understand how to search, network,  and find a job.

> Discuss articles from newspapers or magazines and other resources available in your area or on the web.

> Create an open environment so members feel free to share their feelings and emotions.

> Pray for needs, leads, strength, wisdom and the future.

> Celebrate job finds with a cake and ice cream.

Brian Waldrop who personally experienced unemployment discovered that the truth of Proverbs 17:17 rings true - ”A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”  With that thought in mind, here are some do’s and don’ts for encouraging your unemployed friends and acquaintances:

*  Do inform the individual of employment possibilities, but don’t make the person feel that he or she has to jump at the opportunity.

*  Do affirm a person’s self-worth and abilities, but don’t be condescending.

*  Do ask about an individual’s job search, but don’t let the subject dominate your conversations.

*  Don’t be judgmental as to why an individual left his or her previous employment.  Do be open-minded.

*  Do consider him when planning recreation activities.  Don’t forget that the unemployed friend is probably barely making it.

Chuck Swindoll preached a sermon called “Boot Camp at Cherith” that related some of the life experiences of Elijah in I Kings 17.  By the distress and chaos of his life, God was able to transform the life of Elijah from ordinary to extraordinary.  Losing a job can open the door for someone to move from a casual relationship with God to a close and life changing walk with God.  An Unemployment Support Group can lead people to a healthy, Christ-like life.