February 8th, 2010
I would like to take a quick moment to say congratulations to Dr. Joseph Ransom. He is the new pastor of Shady Grove Baptist Church in Sparta, MO. Many of you who read this blog don’t know anything about him. He isn’t super famous even though I think he should be. Joseph was born completely blind in one eye, and he can’t see out of the other one. I don’t think he has ever weighed over 150Lbs soaking wet. He is one of the greatest men I have ever had the privilege to call friend. When I was a young youth pastor, he was the senior pastor at Fellowship Christian Church in Springfield, MO. He also was my director for a number of plays at Stained Glass Theatre in Springfield/Ozark, MO. He wrote many of the plays I acted in over the years. We first became friends when he was an instructor at Ozarks Technical Community College. That is by no means a resume for Joseph, just a quick look for those who don’t know him.
Why am I putting this in a blog for church leaders and pastors? I just think we can all learn from a pastor who has overcome odds that many have not, and through GOD’s grace has achieved great things and accomplished amazing feats not just for a blind man, but for any man. Congrats Joseph!
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February 8th, 2010
My grandmother had a saying, “Anything worth doing is worth doing badly.” It made perfect sense to me. If we only do what we are good at, we won’t try anything new and we won’t do very much at all in life. This is a great life rule for our personal activities, vacations, hobbies etc. The place where this rule breaks down is when people apply it to the church. Ecclesiastes 9:10 reminds us, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might…” Notice that it doesn’t say, just give it a shot. Deuteronomy tells us in chapter 6, verse 9 “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ” Whatever we are doing unto the LORD should be done to the very best of our ability. So, go learn to surf, or dance, or roller skate, or swim or sew or whatever and give yourself permission to be really bad at it. Grandnana said that is just fine. When it comes to doing things for the LORD, do them with excellence!
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February 5th, 2010
This morning, it is a good thing that I know that with GOD, all things are possible. It is good to know that HE is invincible. I am excited that GOD never changes! HE is always at HIS best! I am a sickly human being today. I am not ready to take on an army or even an army of slugs. This morning, I woke up, got up, blacked out, got up later…have finally taken the dog out, and it is 10:52. For some college students reading this, not getting up til 11:00 might seem normal, but usually, I can’t sleep in past about 7:30. Today, I hang on the promises of our Lord and Savior that HE is still on HIS throne and HE is still in control of all that is. Praise the LORD! (I am taking the day off…if God wants me to do something, I know HE will give me the strength to do it.) Have an awesome day!
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February 4th, 2010
Today, I am stepping out of my box. I want to recommend a new website to you. Zoecity.com is a new site that combs through thousands of articles and posts the top shared articles first. The theory behind this is that if you share an article with your friends and family, then it is something you cared enough about not only to read, but to pass on. Zoe.com tracks these “shares” and the article that has been shared the most times ends up at the top of the list. At the moment, the list is still small, but I am sure with time that this start-up web article ranking page will become to Christian leaders what Drudgereport.com is to conservatives and news junkies.
Since the blog world seems worried about blogging about things without disclosing whether they have recieved something in exchange for blogging about a product, I want to freely admit that Zoecity.com gave me access to their site the same way that you have it…I linked off a blogpost I read. http://michaelhyatt.com/ actually.
Posted in Marketing, Random Thoughts, reading | No Comments »
February 3rd, 2010
As a Christian leader, are you clearly identifying the goals that the Lord has placed on your heart so that those who God has given you to lead can work along side you to acheive those goals? Are people in your church just trying to guess what the purpose of the congregation is? Having been both a lay person and a church staff person in various congregations in my life, I have noticed two leadership traits that can stifle church health and church growth.
1. No clear plan! If the pastor and church staff don’t know what the goals are for the church, then how can the average person in the pew hope to know and be a part of achieving the goal.
2. Goals that change too often. Many pastors and leaders are visionaries, this is a great quality as long as the vision is sustained. The problem comes in when the leader has one great plan after another with no time in the middle for implementation! We see this issue when the church attempts to start too many ministries…the result is that none of them are carried out well.
God has uniquely qualified each person in the body of Christ to carry out a mission for HIM. Pastors and Leaders help others plug into that mission and unite people of similar mission to carry out the goal of being the Hands and Feet of God here on earth. There are many vital ministries in this world, each of them is important. Remember that no one person or even one congregation can do them all! Beg GOD for THE MESSAGE that your church needs to hear and carry out. It won’t be the same as the church down the street…if it is, there is no need for your church to exsist-Just go join them. It will be something that God impresses on you that is specific for the congregation HE has allowed you to lead. Have an awesome day! I hope you found some encouragement and direction in this post.
Posted in Body of Christ, Church Planting, Direction, Encouragement, Vision, church growth, leadership, ministry | 2 Comments »
February 1st, 2010
I teach Spanish Literature for a living. Not making much on the blogging. In my literature classes, we talk about being “critical readers” or becoming literary critics. One of the things that has always bothered me about literature teachers in academia is that many of us have written a book review or published an article expounding on someone else’s book, but few have stuck their necks out and written a piece of fiction for others to critique. In the church world, it isn’t any different. If you do a quick Google search or search on Youtube for any pastor who is well known you will find clips of their preaching, maybe their blog, news articles about things their church is doing in the community etc… but you will also see blogs or comments written by people you have never heard of trashing those pastors. Sadly, sometimes the writers are other pastors or church leaders. If you are one of those “critics” I have a challenge for you. Use the energy you currently put into trying to discredit those who are busy working to make the Name of Jesus Christ known to as many people as possible and jump into the fight along side of them.
You might ask if I agree 100% with every pastor out there that is leading people to Jesus Christ. I must admit that I don’t always agree with their methods or even some minor areas of theology. I will say that I can still learn much from them! When I have preached a sermon in which thousands of people have come to the Lord, then I might have a talk with Billy Graham about some petty issue. When I have written a book that has helped hundreds or even thousands of young pastors plant churches that have reached people for the Lord, then maybe I will have a word with Rich Warren about our differences concerning church leadership and direction. When my 10 year old church plant has 15,000 people and we are making an impact in the lives of people in my community, then I can have a chat with Perry Noble about whether God uses A.D.D. rednecks in ministry. When the ministry God has given me allows me to see thousands of hurting families healed, then T.D. Jakes and I will have a discussion…You get the picture. Currently, I am a Spanish teacher who likes to blog about church stuff. If I can inspire people in church leadership, that is awesome! More important than what I write here, is what God does through me to impact people HE puts in my life. Don’t use your influence to tear down those who are working FOR the Kingdom of Heaven. As long as humans are involved, we will have differences, but let us stand together as brothers in Christ! Let us put down our petty arguments and endless theological debates so that we can introduce a dying world to Jesus Christ!
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January 30th, 2010
Today in South Carolina, we have one of those odd occasions in which the ground is covered in some white cold substance. In the north, it would be called snow or ice, but here we get mixes of all forms of precipitation and it just shuts down the world. Is your church having a snow season? In the Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis, the witch has kept the land of Narnia in an eternal winter until the children come and along with Aslan, save Narnia from the witch and spring comes. Some churches seem to be having a season of eternal winter that resembles the shut down world of South Carolina in an ice/sleet/snow storm. How do we get from the land of God’s Frozen Chosen to the warmth of Jesus’ love without losing our standards and convictions? We must ask the question of ourselves first. Are we crazy in love with Jesus Christ or are we just trying our best to live by the rules our church culture has put on us? If we are in love with our Savior, the following of him will begin to come naturally. If we are just trying to live by the rules, we will become bitter. (Now that guy in church who never smiles makes sense huh?…pray for him! He thinks he is saved!) Finding our passion in Jesus Christ is the only way to warm up the church and find our way out of the winter freeze!
Posted in Body of Christ, Encouragement, Random Thoughts, church growth | 2 Comments »
January 29th, 2010
Today, Scott Roeder’s trial came to an end as he was found guilty of murder. He freely admitted that he pulled the trigger causing the end of the life of abortionist George Tiller who was himself a serial killer of babies. Scott is now heading to prison for a good many years. While I don’t know him, from what I have seen of this man, he is someone who holds his convictions very deeply. He knew he would go to jail. He didn’t try to escape. I believe he had weighed out the consequences in his mind and found the taking of one life to save the lives of others was worth those consequences. He may be in prison, but he can sleep easier knowing that the blood of babies being killed by Tiller is not crying out to God wondering why no one will protect them. I know many Christians feel that Roeder did wrong because he took a life. All through the Bible, there are examples of God sending judges to end the lives of those who are doing evil in the sight of God. I don’t know if Roeder is a Judge sent by God or just a guy who went off the deep end. But in the words of Rabbi Gamaliel in Acts 5: 38-39 “For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. 39But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” Roeder stood up for his beliefs and is now paying the price for that. My question for him if I could meet him would be. “Do you have peace in your soul about the decision you made or do you regret it?”
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January 28th, 2010
What separates the good or lousy groups/organizations/churches from the truly great ones? Geoffrey Bellman and Kathleen Ryan say we need to dig deeper into the wants, needs and motives that cause people to work together. Bullet points that I admittedly did not come up show us the traits that great groups exhibit:
- A compelling purpose that inspires and stretches members to make the group and its work a top priority
- Shared leadership that encourages members to take mutual responsibility for helping the group be successful
- Just-enough-structure to create confidence to move forward, but not so much as to become bureaucratic or burdensome
- Full engagement that results in all members jumping in with enthusiasm, sometimes passionately and chaotically, regardless of role
- Embracing differences so that group members see, value, and use their diversity as a strength
- Unexpected learning that translates into personal and group growth
- Strengthened relationships among members characterized by trust, collegiality, and friendship
- Great results, tangible and intangible
We have all been a part of groups that just seemed to exist with no purpose. If your church is that way and you are in a position of leadership or are willing to step up to a position of leadership, then help them find a purpose! Remember, Proverbs 29:18 “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”
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January 27th, 2010
Sometimes in ministry, it seems as if all is going great! GOD is working beside you and accomplishing great things through you! Those are the Great Moments! Those moments are when hundreds of people pack the altars asking God to forgive them and take over their lives! Those are the moments when you lay hands on a cripple or even a dead person and they get up and walk! Those moments when you are seated next to someone on the plane and before you touch down there is a new name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life! So what about the other times? Those moments when our spiritual walk with GOD seems stagnant? What about when we don’t even feel like reading God’s Word and even praying over meals seems like a forced exercise instead of time spent with our best friend? As is clear from my taking some months off from writing on this blog, I just went through a time where my passion for ministry if not even my passion for the Lord was in a very low place. The great thing I learned is that GOD is the same in both places! HE still walked beside me each day even when I didn’t pick up the Bible to start my morning. HE still wanted to spend time with me. That was incredible! So, enjoy those GREAT MOMENTS, but realize that GOD is the same even in the not so great moments.
Posted in Encouragement, Random Thoughts, Wonderment, accountability, healing, ministry, personal growth, praise, thanks, worship | No Comments »
