Tag Archives: Church

Is the Savior Calling?

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I can still remember struggling for several months with the inner turmoil that God was calling me to something more. I was actively serving in the church, visiting those who were looking for a church, and sharing the good news of Jesus with others as I went about my day. Yet I still had this feeling of discontent. I remember saying, “There has to be more to Christianity than this. I just feel like I am missing something.”

Eventually I sat down with my pastor and shared with him what I was feeling. He gave me the opportunity to teach at our church’s Wednesday night Bible study. Preaching that one simple study changed my life. Within the next five years I went from being a manager of a shoe store, to a missionary in Brazil, to a student at a Bible college, a youth minister, and then senior pastor of a church.

Being able to slowly work through the holy discontent of being called to more in my Christian walk is a comfort and memory I will cherish for the rest of my days. I never thought I would be able to pastor a church or write sermons that would help others grow in their spiritual journey into Christ-likeness. In truth, I was right! It has been over twenty-two years since I stood in the pulpit to preach for the first time, and were it not for Christ equipping me to carry out all that He called me to do I would never have been able to accomplish anything for His kingdom. “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15.5).

What is Jesus calling you toward today? Is it to be more disciplined in your daily walk? Does He want you to be a more vocal witness? Is He opening doors for you to be a leader to others in your local church? Is He calling you to spend some time on a mission trip? Or, is He calling you to Christian ministry? If you are experiencing a holy discontent with your current Christian walk or calling take time to visit with your pastor. Share with him about your feelings. You never know where one conversation will lead you. The conversation I had led me to writing this blog post twenty-two years later!

Thank you Jesus!

What Is Our Goal on Sunday Mornings?

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Graceway MediaI came across this article over the weekend and wanted to share it.

“What should be the goal of our preaching and singing together on Sunday mornings?

Should preachers try to have the clearest, most engaging, entertaining
message they can? Should the worship team seek to have the coolest arrangement,
the most passionate singing, the most exciting sound?

These things are not necessarily bad in themselves, but they are not the
goal of our Sunday mornings. Jonathan Leeman shares this great illustration in
his book Reverberation:

A group of American Christians in the nineteenth century planned to visit London for a week. Their friends, excited for the opportunity, encouraged them to go hear
two of London’s famous preachers and bring back a report. On Sunday morning
after their arrival, the Americans attended Joseph Parker’s church. They
discovered that his reputation for eloquent oratory was well deserved. One
exclaimed after the service, “I do declare, it must be said, for there is no
doubt, that Joseph Parker is the greatest preacher that ever there was!”

The group wanted to return in the evening to hear Parker again, but they remembered that their friends would ask them about another preacher named Charles Spurgeon. So on Sunday evening they attended the Metropolitan Tabernacle, where Spurgeon was preaching. The group was not prepared for what they heard, and as they departed, one of them again spoke up, “I do declare, it must be said, for there is no doubt, that Jesus Christ is the greatest Savior that ever there was!”

Here is the goal of our preaching and singing together on Sunday mornings:
That we proclaim Jesus Christ, our glorious Savior and all he has done for us,
and urge everyone to respond to him appropriately.

When people leave our churches tomorrow, may they not say, “What moving
worship, what a great worship band, what an incredible preacher, or what a cool
building” but may they say, “What an incredible Savior.”

(Written by Mark Altrogge)

How different would the world view the church if the only purpose for church every Sunday was to simply lift up and glorify the name of Jesus?

Seven Things in the Church That Will Not Change

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Church SteepleIn this post, Thom Rainer reminds us of what is most important when it comes to the local church body.

Rainer writes:

I love following church trends. I have been researching and consulting with churches for over thirty years. It’s just what I do.

Sometimes I am pretty good about projecting current trends toward a future reality. Of course, I’ve had my share of misses as well. Still, I thoroughly enjoy every facet about studying local churches.

This time, however, I can make a definitive statement. I can tell you seven things in the church that will not change. In the fast pace of change in local congregations, these seven constants are good reminders of what really matters.

1.The Bible is still the Word of God. It always has been and always will be. It is sharper than a two-edged sword. It is powerful because it is the Word of God.

2.The gospel still changes lives. The gospel is the power unto salvation. The gospel transforms lives. The gospel is the same regardless of other changes in our churches.

3.Small groups are still vital. In the New Testament, groups sometimes met together in homes or other places. Throughout Church history, the role of groups has been vital. It is the place where community is established and where deep truths are taught. It has been called Sunday school, small groups, home groups, and cell groups. But they are all forms of small groups creating community and fellowship and learning.

4.The mission field still needs workers. That includes the mission fields to the farthest ends of the earth. And it includes the community in our backyard.

5.Prayer is still powerful. God is still using praying churches. Never, ever take for granted the power of pervasive prayer.

6.Hurting people still need ministry. Pain and hurt may come in different names over the years, but the needs are still similar. A church that truly cares for people will always have a place in the community. A church that sees people through the eyes of Jesus will always be effective.

7.God is still in control. Sometimes the pace of change confuses and disorients us. Sometimes the amount of suffering in the world challenges us. Sometimes we feel like there is no hope. Remember, God is still in control. He always has been; He always will be. He is there for you and your church.

I admit that I often have fun looking at trends and cultural forces that are changing our society and affecting our churches. Such is the bubble in which I often find myself.

But for many, the pace of change is disconcerting if not frightening. It can seem those things that we cherish are changing too fast or even being taken away from us. We all need these reminders that so much of God’s work in His churches will never change. These are the things that really matter. These are the things that really make a difference in our churches and the world in which we minister.

What other reminders can you give us? What are some constants that will never change in our churches? What really does matter?

Source: Seven Things in the Church That Will Not Change

10 Life Changing Quotes

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For many years I have enjoyed reading anything and everything by Warren Wiersbe. I began reading his books long before I became a pastor, and they are still a tool I use today in my Christian walk and in preparing sermons. If you want to grow as a Christian, I would encourage you to start reading any of his books. Some of my favorites are from his “Be Series.”

Last Wednesday Jayson Bradley posted “10 Dynamic Warren Wiersbe Quotes.” Because of the great influence Dr. Wiersbe has had on my life I wanted to share these quotes with you.

Here are 10 inspiring Wiersbe quotes:

1. “The Christian life is not a playground; it is a battleground, and we must be on our guard at all times.”—from The Bumps Are What You Climb On

2. “This modern emphasis only on personal salvation makes us lose sight of the grandeur and glory of God’s church. I am not minimizing our personal experience with Christ, but I am affirming that it is not the primary goal that God has in mind. He is building His church. He is building up the Body of Christ. The glory and greatness of our personal salvation is but a reflection of what God is doing corporately in and through His church.”—from Prayer: Basic Training

3. “You don’t have to read very far in your Bible to discover that God forgives His servants and restores them to ministry.”—from Be Amazed

4. “The immediate purpose of prayer is the accomplishing of God’s will on earth; the ultimate purpose of prayer is the eternal glory of God.”—from On Earth as It Is in Heaven: How the Lord’s Prayer Teaches Us to Pray More Effectively

5. “For the most part, the people we serve in our congregations don’t look like Josephs, Esthers, or Davids, nor do we; but the same God who glorified himself in the lives of ‘ordinary people’ in ancient days will glorify himself in our lives today if we will trust him.”—from 10 Power Principles for Christian Service

6. “God’s people don’t live on explanations; they live on promises.”—from Be Heroic

7. “We may be statistics and numbers as far as the world’s computers are concerned, but we are precious individuals as far as our Shepherd is concerned. He knows his sheep personally.”—from Be What You Are

8. “Satan wants us to think that our ‘disobedience detours’ must become the permanent road for the rest of our lives, but this is a lie.”—from Be Obedient

9. “The most important meeting we as leaders attend is that daily personal meeting with the Lord, before the day begins, when worship and meditation increase our faith as we receive the orders for the day.”—from On Being a Leader for God

10. “If you serve only to earn a salary, you will never do your best as long as you think you’re underpaid. If you minister to get recognition, you will start doing less when people don’t show their appreciation. The only motivation that will take you through the storms and keep you on the job is, ‘I’m serving Jesus Christ.’ “—from On Being a Servant of God

Follow this link for more of Dr. Warren Wiersbe’s books on Amazon.

Rethinking the Small Group Focus

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Small groups within a church are clearly a great way to develop disciples. Within these groups are great opportunities to grow intimate relationships with other believers. These growing relationships can demonstrate the love, compassion, support, and encouragement found within the body of Christ. However, these attributes will not be seen or experienced by those needing Christ unless our small groups invite those without Christ to become a part of the group.

As a small group family grows closer, fears can begin to arise about bringing others into the group. The end result is a small group that is organized to meet “our need” for friendship, spiritual growth, encouragement, and support. These are not bad in themselves; however, when we limit them to “our group” then we have become a private club, not Christ-followers seeking to make disciples. Disciples should focus on personal growth, but a growth which equips them to be better disciple makers.

Logan Gentry shines a bright light on the need of small groups to get past their fears of growing in his post, “Community on Mission with Depth of Intimacy.”

Gentry writes:

 Small groups have become a staple in the American church as a way of cultivating friendships, developing community, and encouraging spiritual formation. Pastors and other small group leaders often cite Acts 2:42-47 as the model for such community devoted to God and devoted to one another through shared time, resources, and space. But there is growing sentiment for small groups to fulfill the rest of that passage—God adding to their numbers daily—by extending the gospel of Jesus Christ to unbelievers.

We love to study the Scriptures and discuss the glorious truth of the gospel with one another, and we enjoy spending time with fellow believers. Yet we’re often fearful and uneasy about what will happen if we invite people who do not believe as we do into these environments. What will happen to our intimacy? What will happen to our deep community?

I worried about the same things when church leaders first asked me to transition my community group toward an outreach focus. Now, as a pastor seeking to foster community, I’m encouraging others to transition their groups, and they’re reacting with the same skepticism. One particularly apprehensive community group pushed back hard during a couple tense lunches. They feared the destruction of their friendships and community developed over the last three years as a closed group. This community group was the reason they stayed at our church—even stayed in our city.

We all desire to be known in community, to have friendships with people we trust and enjoy. We long for a community like the one described in Romans 12:15 that rejoices when we rejoice and grieves when we grieve. But what if intimacy and community isn’t the end goal of small groups?

When Jesus Blew Up the Small Group Model

While most small groups aim to develop and maintain Christian community, Christ himself built a community around him that reflected a different goal. The group aimed to exalt God among believers and non-believers alike. They sought to spread worship and enjoyment of God above all things.

As I read the Scriptures alongside books like Total Church by Steve Timmis and Tim Chester, The Forgotten Ways by Alan Hirsch, and others, I began to discover what the community groups I led were missing. Our community wasn’t a failure, but it was incomplete. Community had become an end to our mission rather than the context for it. We had embraced the blessings and transformation of the gospel as a community, but we did not seek to extend these benefits to others. I came to realize we needed to radically redefine our purpose for small groups.

We often seek to develop intimacy through conversation, confession, and prayer within a small group that grows together with time and trust. Burt actually, we tend to form our lasting friendships through shared experiences, shared time, and shared mission. This insight reflects what we see in Scripture with Jesus and his disciples along with the early church. Luke 10 show us Jesus opening up and sharing his compassionate mission with his disciples. They celebrate together when the disciples return from mission. The relationship between mission and community extends throughout the book of Acts.

In my own life, as my community has taken a concern for the people in my life who I desire to know Christ and follow him with their lives, our relationships have gone deeper. Our conversations no longer center on the surface level of catching up on activities since we’ve last seen one another. When they ask about the things I love the most (God and people), I feel more cared for and connected, because these friends reveal that they know my heart and share my compassion and mission for others.

The same thing happened in our church’s community groups that initially resisted change. Over the first year of the transition, they began opening their community and inviting co-workers, neighbors, and even their doorman. Their community began to grow to beyond capacity. Six months later, during a training meeting, another community group leader expressed the same concern about destroying community by expanding the group. I asked one of the other leaders to answer. “We were expecting it to hurt our friendships,” he said, “but it was the exact opposite.”

This moment felt almost scripted, but it was joyful to see the truths of Scripture and the promises of God lived out in our midst. It was a powerful celebration of God’s work as we fought through the fears and apprehensions to value the gospel of Jesus Christ more than our conception of community.

How Does This Work Out?

Practically, this shift does not require the community to sacrifice their conversation, confession, or prayer together, but it may realign the context and focus. Often we seek to cram Bible study, discussion, confession, and prayer into a two-hour block on a weeknight, which usually means one of them gets sacrificed (often prayer because we this time will lead to drawn-out requests).

Instead, we may develop gender-specific, Christ-centered accountability groups outside our regularly scheduled small group meeting. This may seem like an additional burden, but it’s part of approaching your regular life with more intentionality. I’ve often heard it said that you don’t have to do different things, but do things differently. Jeff Vanderstelt of Soma Communities describes this as living ordinary life with gospel intentionality.

Many small groups have only a façade of intimacy because they do not help members reach friends and neighbors they want to know Christ. A small group that reflects the focus of the Acts community to love God, one another, and others becomes a community on mission with depth of intimacy.