Worship or Fellowship? Which takes priority?

Cover via Amazon

I can’t stop thinking about this quote from Donald Miller the author of the book Blue Like Jazz:

"Sunday morning church service is not an enormous priority; spending time with other believers is," he says. "Some people associate Sunday morning with God. One of the things I associate with God is a sunrise. How many sunrises have you missed over the years, and God created that?” [Born-again rebel Don Miller reveals 'best sermon I ever heard' by John Blake, CNN]

Statements like this one show that for many people church is merely something you do or something you attend. The return on the investment is expected to be low. This leads people to assume that there must some more fruitful spiritual experience out there.

I understand that church “services” can easily become impersonal if pastors and leaders are not thinking much about the purpose of that hour. I agree that spending time with believers, which is an essential of the Christian life, takes on a different form in church versus outside of the church. I simply don’t see how Miller can think that congregational worship and spending time with believers are mutually exclusive. They are both, to use his words, “enormous priorit[ies]” and can happen together in a healthy church environment.

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The Hole in Our Gospel – audiobook review

How does the president of a company that produces fine tableware find himself at the helm of a Christian organization dedicated to alleviating poverty and its symptoms? This is the story of Richard Stearns, the president of World Vision, Inc. and the author of The Hole in Our Gospel (audiobook read by Tommy Creswell).

Stearns’ book is a detailed account of his personal journey leading to his position at the head of World Vision. While the book does trace his career path, the narrative has more to do with the change of heart that occurred over time to bring him to such a role.

The author’s compassionate heart is present in every chapter. Listening to Stearns describe the current state of poverty in our world, it is hard not to be drawn in emotionally. Perhaps this was part of his purpose in writing this book, to tug at the heart of those who might otherwise be oblivious to the living conditions that many outside of our context know as “normal”.

Because I listen to my audiobooks mostly while driving, I was able to listen to a large portion of this book during a period when I happened to be in the car a lot. One doesn’t need to listen in a single sitting (rarely do any of us have that luxury of time to spend anyway). I found that the chapter division would be good stopping points to take the book in pieces.

While I did find much of the book very interesting and engaging, I have to admit that I am somewhat distracted by the book’s title. With the subject matter of the book it could be easy to leave someone with the impression that compassion for the poor is an essential element of the gospel. A person could wonder about his status in Christ if he doesn’t share the same level of concern for the things Stearns and others do. The “hole” isn’t in our gospel, it is in our understanding of how the gospel moves us to love our neighbors as ourselves.

If in the all this book does is to poke a hole (no pun intended) in our Christian bubble so that we become more aware of the economic state of the rest of the world, then I think Stearns has done his job. The author’s argument and presentation isn’t flawless but it is still very engaging and is worth a read (or listen in my case).

 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from christianaudio.com as part of their christianaudio Reviewers Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

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EFCA Leadership Conference – Day 1 Review

Today was the first day of the 2010 EFCA Leadership Conference, at least the first day for me. Even though I’m a Buckeye by birth, it’s been a few years since I navigated downtown Columbus. So with the GPS on my cell phone navigating me I was able to get down to the Convention Center without any trouble.

After checking in I grabbed my seat for this year’s Forum on Expository Preaching. Dr. Tom Nelson first took us through Joshua 1:6-9. The obvious challenge from these verses is “be strong and courageous” but what does this really mean for us? Dr. Nelson reminded us with a variety of illustrations that we are now living in the “new normal” world. This was the world that Joshua was living in post-Moses, and this is the world we live in today, a world filled with fear.

But should we be afraid? No, not if do not turn to the right or to the left from God’s Word, for God’s Word when it’s obeyed builds courage in those who trust Him. The question we need to come to grips with is whether or not we will remain faithful in the places where God has put us?

An hour and a half was plenty to time to grab some lunch, to do some networking, and to stop by a number of information booths. I was pleased with many of the freebies being handed out including T.J. Addington’s book from NavPress, Leading from the Sandbox. Then it was back to the meeting room for the second half of the Forum.

Dr. Nelson pointed us to the New Testament and to a familiar passage of Scripture, one he warned might be too familiar to some. Dr. Nelson referred to Matthew 11:25-30 as “The Great Invitation.” In these verse we were challenged to rethink what it was that Jesus was inviting his hears to. Certainly Jesus isn’t calling us to “chill out” with him.

Jesus of Nazareth, the carpenter’s son invites us to throw off the yoke of religiosity and take his custom yoke upon our necks. His yoke might feel restrictive at first while we are still convinced that our own way is best. But as he shows us the better and causes us to cease from trying harder, that yoke of discipleship brings the transformation he promises. Lest we forget the extent of Jesus’ invitation, Dr. Nelson pointed us back to that word “all” which ought to be reflected in our churches and in our evangelism.

Were the Forum the the only event on the schedule I would have been satisfied that it alone was worth the price of admission. Throw in another freebie book, Dr. Nelson’s own Ekklesia: Rediscovering God’s Design for the Church from Cross Training Publishing and it sweetened the deal. But as every good pitch man will tell you, wait, there’s more!

After perusing some more exhibits and the NextStep Resources book table it was time to file into Battelle Hall for the Worship Service. The blend of old and new music was near perfect thanks to the band (led by a former member of PFR). Then some exciting news about not one but two church plants happening in the near future in Columbus, and a high school group who put everyone to shame for having run (yes, by foot) from Minneapolis to the conference site. This was no mere athletic feat (no pun intended), every mile was bathed in prayer.

Then EFCA President Dr. William (Bill) Hamel took the microphone (two actually). Taking us to Romans 1 and verses 16 and 17 in particular we were challenged to come back to the gospel. This gospel-centered attitude is no evangelical fad, it’s the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes. Amens peppered the audience; we who listened knew Dr. Hamel was hitting the nail on the proverbial head.

The session ended with some more great worship which unfortunately had to come to an end. I suppose we had to eat eventually. For me it meant calling it a day so I could could enjoy a meal with my in-laws. Sorry, no leftovers to share.

Wednesday will bring a new day. To some I will see you there, to others you’ll have to wade through tomorrow’s summary. That is unless I return too exhausted from the day’s events.

 

Biblical Literacy in Jeopardy? Googling Genesis 2:24

Quick, what does Genesis 2:24 say? Don’t know off the top of your head? Google it. Turns out everyone had the same problem yesterday. Why? Because even last night’s Jeopardy contestants couldn’t answer what that verse says about marriage and family.

Now granted I had to stop and look up what the verse said (without Google’s help) but I certainly didn’t need a search engine to tell me what Genesis 2 was all about. As far as the overall message of the Bible is concerned this is a key chapter. What this tells me is that as a people our basic grasp of biblical themes is slipping away quickly.

Should we expect people today to know the themes of Scripture or is this no longer a reasonable assumption? If so how and where should these themes be taught? Feel free to comment and don’t worry about answering in the form of a question.

He Doesn’t Like You and I Don’t Like You Either

Image via Wikipedia

I just came across Brian Croft’s blog called Practical Shepherding. He has a recent post there titled “How do I shepherd a church member who doesn’t like me?”

The temptation to allow frustration to lead to bitterness in these situations is hard to avoid. Here are three suggestions he offers to help shepherds to love and care for their sheep:

• Take an interest in what they love and enjoy.
• Seize moments to care for them in their greatest need.
• Take your children when you go and visit them.

I might also add that we shepherds need to keep in mind that sometimes it isn’t so much that we are not liked but that what we say or what we represent isn’t sitting well with that troubled member. It’s not that we are troublemakers, it’s the fact that we are breaking from tradition. It’s not that we are nosy, it’s that we hit a nerve when speaking about sin.

What other advice would you add to this list? Go ahead and comment with your suggestions.

Should Mother’s Day be on the church calendar?

Image via Wikipedia

Next Sunday is Mother’s Day and once again I’ve wrestled with what emphasis to give the holiday as part of the Sunday morning worship service. Specifically the question I’ve been thinking about is what to preach on Sunday. Should there be a Mother’s Day sermon?

Expect the expected?

In truth, I do have my sermon idea picked out already for Sunday, and yes, it will be tied in with Mother’s Day. But is this an unspoken expectation? Is this holiday something we should feel obligated to acknowledge? Will Father’s Day in June get the same attention, or will dad take a backseat?

I’ve heard many opinions on this subject, some suggesting that to ignore the day is to shoot yourself in the foot, others saying the church needs to do nothing more than include mothers in the morning prayer. I suppose I take a middle ground.

Somewhere in between.

My feeling is that culturally Mother’s Day is a significant enough day that ignoring it is unwise. However, I never feel obligated to preach a Mother’s Day sermon. Sometimes the only nod is a point of application (if it’s there in the passage) directed toward mothers or parents in general. Other times it is a more traditional Mother’s Day message. Either way it has to fit in to what I already have planned for the series. I don’t think I would ever break from a series just because it’s Mother’s Day. At the same time I do take care as massage the order of a series so that an overly sensitive topic doesn’t happen to fall on that Sunday.

I know there is other wisdom out there and probably some great experience worked out in the laboratory of the pulpit. I would be curious to hear how others have dealt with this issue so be sure to comment with your two cents. And while you’re here be sure to subscribe to the blog fee in your favorite reader and link to this post on your favorite sharing site.

Scary Statistics

A story on USA Today’s website quotes some scary statistics collected from LifeWay Christian Resources about the beliefs of 18- to 29-year-olds.

• 72% say they're "really more spiritual than religious.”
• 65% rarely or never pray with others, and 38% almost never pray by themselves either.
• 65% rarely or never attend worship services.
• 67% don't read the Bible or sacred texts.
• 50% are unsure Jesus is the only path to heaven.

If this is true, then what does the word “spiritual” even mean?

Of those who "believe they will go to heaven because they have accepted Jesus Christ as savior":

• 68% did not mention faith, religion or spirituality when asked what was "really important in life."
• 50% do not attend church at least weekly.
• 36% rarely or never read the Bible.
• 40% believe evangelism is their responsibility.

So my question is how did the church become so irrelevant and how can we see a reverse in these trends?

Get Your Hymns Here!

The new album from Page CXVI is out now and you can buy the CD or download at their site. Hurry over to their site and get their first album for free this week as well.

Bonhoeffer on Justification

I’ve been rereading ‘The Cost of Discipleship’ by Dietrich Bonhoeffer and was struck by this statement:

“The only man who has the right to say that he is justified by grace alone is the man who has left all to follow Christ.”

9 Great Great Things About Themelios Journal

The new issue of the Themelios Journal is out today. Here are 9 great things about this incredible resource.

1. The journal is a resource made possible by The Gospel Coalition.

2. General Editor and contributor D.A. Carson.

3. Three available formats: HTML, iPaper, and PDF.

4. Lots of good book reviews in each edition.

5. Cool name.

6. A variety of great contributors such as Wayne Grudem, Raymond C. Ortlund Jr., Robert W. Yarbrough, Tim Keller, Philip Graham Ryken and more!

7. Old issues are available archived on the website.

8. Available RSS feed to keep you up to date.

9. It’s free!

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Just Preach It.

It’s inevitable. That 8 week sermon series seems like it’s going to go on forever from the perspective of that first week. But sooner or later that seventh week is upon you and you realize you only have one week of cushion before you are forced to do something new.

I am usually pretty good about knowing where I’m going next when it comes to my preaching. Typically I map out the year starting with major events on the calendar such as Easter, Christmas, perhaps Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, vacation, and so on. Then I try to fill in the gaps with series.

For some reason I think in terms of 8 week blocks. I’m not bound to it; sometimes it’s a couple more, sometime a few less. Even when I’m preaching through longer books of the Bible I try to stick to those 8 week blocks even if it means having a few sets of 8 broken up by something unique.

The hardest part isn’t the mapping process, it’s the selection process. Will this next series focus on a theme? Is it time we return to the Gospels, or the OT, or do we need to dive into an Epistle? What if I choose X and my people are in need of hearing from Y?

Here’s what I’ve learned so far in the 5 short years I’ve been preaching:

It’s not so much about what you preach as it is about what you preach.

What I mean is that most of the time finding the perfect topic or the perfect series isn’t really all that important. What is important is that God’s Word is being handled correctly and is being expounded faithfully. Since I have zero control over who happens to be in the chairs on a particular Sunday morning, why should I think for a moment the series that I designed is guaranteed to accomplish what I set out for it to do?

It’s funny how many times I’ve planned a series, often times preaching through a book of the Bible, and on a particular Sunday which I had mapped out months prior, the sermon I preach happens to be the exact thing needed to be said at the right time. I had no way of predicting the future or knowing what would need to be said months later. Under God’s mysterious, sovereign direction that sermon just came together at the right time.

Of course I plan, and of course I prayerfully ask the question “what next?” But in the end the right choice simply seems to be to just preach it.

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No Strings Attached

The other day I read an interesting post from Anne Jackson at flowerdust.net. Anne was actually commenting on a friend’s post about how churches can be more involved in their communities. The reason the post caught my eye was because this has been a recent topic of discussion at our church.

The other night at our leadership team meeting we spent some time brainstorming ideas about how we as a church could show the love and mercy of Christ to people living in our communities in a way that left people with a favorable impression of the church.

Too often churches leave people with a negative impression, many times making news because of something they proclaim to be against. The question is can we the local church love our communities in such a way that we become a positive presence among our neighbors? Can we be involved in doing good in our communities with no strings attached?

Time is(n’t) on my side

In yesterday’s post I mentioned that finding balance is one of the keys to cultivating one’s call to ministry. Of course finding balance isn’t a challenge unique to pastors; all people struggle to prioritize their days. But with all of the demands on our time, many of them good, we must find out how best to use the time we have.

I came across this post from Thom S. Rainer on how pastors tend to use their time. The statistics cited in his post were taken from a survey of 200+ pastors. Rainer divides the group between pastors in what he calls “effective churches” (i.e. churches that have high rates of conversion growth) and the remaining number of “comparison church” pastors. Here’s what Rainer found:

• Pastors of effective churches sleep slightly over six hours per day. Pastors of comparison churches sleep almost eight hours per day.
• Pastors of effective churches spend twenty-two hours in sermon preparation each week versus four hours for pastors of comparison churches.
• The effective church leaders spent ten hours each week in pastoral care compared to thirty-three hours for the comparison group pastors. Pastoral care included counseling, hospital visits, weddings, and funerals.
• Effective church leaders average five hours per week in sharing the gospel with others. Most of the comparison church pastors entered “0” for their weekly time in personal evangelism.
• Comparison church leaders spend eight hours a week – more than an hour each day – performing custodial duties at the church. The typical custodial duties included opening and closing the facilities, turning on and off the lights, and general cleaning of the building.
• Leaders of effective churches average 22 hours a week in family activities. The comparison church leaders weren’t too far behind with 18 hours of family time each week.

It seems that “effective” pastors are actually spending more time in preaching prep, less time in direct pastoral care, and less time doing the day-to-day tasks of “running” a church. Of course “effective” is a subjective term; I doubt many of those “comparison” pastors would admit to a commitment to ineffective ministry.

In light of this survey here are three observations I would like to make about pastoral balance:

1. Preaching the Word effectively is priority number one.

Good preaching preparation takes time. I’ve never kept a log but if I had to estimate I would guess that the time I put into preparing a sermon each week is right around that 20 hour mark. I do think that the relationship between hours put in and value returned has it’s limits; I doubt 40 hours of preparation would equal a twice as effective sermon. I would actually like to reduce my prep time eventually. Not so that I could get the work done faster, but that I could complete it more efficiently. I think doing so would free up time for more spontaneous ministry.

2. Delegation goes hand in hand with identifying spiritual gifting in the church.

The first lesson most of us pastors need to learn is that we can’t do it all (see #3 below). Scripture teaches that all believers are spiritually gifted, but that doesn’t equate to being fully gifted. I am the first to admit that my gifts are more in the areas of preaching, teaching, leadership, vision, and administration and that the care giving and mercy gifts are not my strongest. Therefore, I lean heavily on others who posses the gifts that I lack to work with me and to teach me.

3. It is so easy for pastors to take a “nobody does it better” attitude.

As a solo pastor I struggle with this all the time. If a light bulb burns out at church and I’m the only one in the building until Sunday, do I change it or do I call a Trustee? I know it’s a silly example (and yes, I change light bulbs) but multiply out all those 2-minute tasks that need to happen in any given week and you soon find yourself doing more than what you’ve been called to do. I think that’s the key: do what you’ve been called to do. That doesn’t permit pastoral snobbery, that just means that we need to employ delegation and boundaries if we are going to effectively cultivate our calling.

 

That’s what I think anyway. Maybe you have a different take on the survey. If you are a pastor, how do you divide your time during a typical week? What priorities have you established in your ministry? If you are a solo pastor (like me), how have you worked to equip others at your church to share the work of ministry?

9 Branches Every Pastor Should Cultivate

By way of introduction to this blog, here are nine areas of emphasis or ‘branches’ that I plan to help cultivate with my posts.

1. Cultivate the Ministry of the Word

I’m a preacher, therefore I preach. I am always looking for ways to improve my preaching. Great preaching is more than acquiring great skills, but I don’t think it is less. I will be on the lookout for examples of good preaching wherever I can find them.

2. Cultivate a Good Library

I love books. To me books supply an unending source of information as well as inspiration. If there is one thing that I learned in seminary it was the value of a good library. Expect to find much mention of books that I am reading as well as numerous postings of book reviews here at ‘one new branch’.

3. Cultivate a Heart for the Flock

The Apostle Peter said that we pastors are to shepherd God’s flock that is entrusted to our care (1 Peter 5:2). Peter goes on to say that shepherding isn’t a duty, it is a matter of the heart. If your heart is anything like mine then we will need to break up some hard ground first if we are going to see any growth. Watch for posts that may break your heart for the flock.

4. Cultivate Healthy Leadership

Whether you are a solo pastor like me or you are a part of a staff team, the temptation often is to go it alone. Big mistake. Cultivating healthy leadership involves surrounding yourself with healthy leaders. It also involves cultivating your own leadership style. There is a world full of examples out there of both good and bad leaders. I plan write posts that take these examples into consideration.

5. Cultivate Discipleship Opportunities

Pastors serve a unique role in the church. However I am pretty sure that doesn’t excuse us from Jesus’ call to all believers to make disciples. Of course one of the greatest challenges to making disciples is coming to an agreement about what it means to make disciples. I hope that some of my posts will spur on discussion as to what disciple making is to be all about.

6. Cultivate a Strong Family

When ministry begins to deplete my tank often family time refuels me. Yet it seems everyone in full-time Christian work struggles to find that balance between the call to be at home and the call to ministry. I don’t think balance has to be an elusive pursuit; I plan to write posts to help us cultivate that balance.

7. Cultivate Deep Spirituality

We who pastor are always being called upon to give and to serve. The reality is we can not give away that which we do not posses for ourselves. I want my Bible to be more than my preaching text. I want to encourage pastors in their pursuit of spiritual discipline to help us deepen our own walk with Jesus Christ.

8. Cultivate Solid Theology

Paul once wrote to Timothy with a warning that said there will always be people for whom solid theology and doctrine will be unwelcome (2 Timothy 4:3). Little has changed since then. I believe the best pastors also need to be great theologians. Look for posts here that encourage the study and discussion of solid theology.

9. Cultivate Cultural Engagement

It is very easy for churches to become inwardly focused. That same danger can be true of pastors. Our attention can be so captivated by what is happening internally that we can forget about and become irrelevant to a whole world outside of the church. I plan to post on topics related to engaging the culture we live in with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And another makes 10

That’s my list; now it’s your turn. What would you add to round this list up to ten? What other areas do you believe pastors and ministry leaders need to cultivate? I look forward to reading your comments and dialoging with you.

Thanks for reading and subscribing to ‘one new branch’.

one branch at a time, one step at a time

Welcome to 'one new branch' my new blog. "New?" you say? Yes, the old blog has run its course. This is a new blog with a new look and feel and a new purpose.

I'm just getting started, so if you're looking for something to sink your teeth into why not check out my 'about me' page (I just posted it).

While you're here go ahead and subscribe to the RSS feed in your favorite reader or at least bookmark 'one new branch' as one of your browser favorites.

More from me is on the way but be patient. These things take time. One branch at a time, one step at a time.