Last week our country breathed a sigh of relief when our Navy SEALS found and killed the terrorist, Usama Bin Laden. People all over the Western world took to the streets to celebrate the death of the wicked man. There is no question that he was a bad guy and it is good thing for our way of life that he is no longer on the scene. I’m glad he is no longer a threat. I wish the problem of Usama could have been solved another way. No, I wasn’t rooting for him to be arrested. I wish he had had a change of heart. I wish he would have sought the forgiveness of Jesus and repented of his very wicked ways. I know this sounds pretty pie-in-the-sky, but Jesus came to make pie-in-the-sky possible. After all, my sins have been forgiven, and I repented of my sins. Granted, the sins of the 12 year-old I was when I repented were rather paltry compared to the barbarity of Usama. However, my sins were worthy of the same penalty as his: “for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord,” Romans 6:23. So he could have been forgiven by God. I wonder if he could have been forgiven by the rest of us. This is where the rubber meets the road in Christianity. Jesus made Himself very clear in regard to this. In His great Sermon on the Mount he asserted:
"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:43-48 (NIV)
Since Jesus lived among us and as one of us, He knew this would be difficult for you and me. Rejoicing at the death of an enemy and the desire for revenge are natural instincts for human beings. However, Jesus calls His followers to live at a level above animal instinct and human society. He calls us to be like Him and to go “the second mile” in regard to forgiveness in our relationships. Jesus knew that the alternative to forgiveness would accomplish nothing good. Actually the standard set in the New Testament for Christ followers is very demanding.
“Don't hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you've got it in you, get along with everybody. Don't insist on getting even; that's not for you to do. ‘I'll do the judging,’ says God. ‘I'll take care of it.’ Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he's thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don't let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.” Romans 12:17-21 (MsgB)
It seems so illogical to us until we see it from Jesus’ perspective. He knows that continuing to hate your enemy succeeds only in multiplying hateful people. Here’s how: if you are offended or hurt by someone and you choose to retaliate, the act of retaliation can transform you and fill you with hate. Further, retaliation can often cause a group of friends to choose up sides for a fight. If you are a parent full of hate, you can saddle your children with your hatred. We see that carried to the extreme in the ethnic hatred of certain parts of the globe. It is being bred now in the Middle East toward us, and I fear among us toward them.
Jesus knew loving your enemies would be difficult. and that it would make you different. Jesus’ way takes courage and more. It takes self-control, forbearance (making the choice not to retaliate even when it is justified), forgiveness, and God’s kind of love. This is what it is to be truly holy, to be a citizen of His Kingdom, and a mature child of God.
I salute the SEALS that courageously did what had to be done to put Mr. Bin Laden out of the terror business. They did a tough job that was necessary. I just wish that somehow it would not have been necessary. Bin Laden chose to pull the tiger’s tail and he found the tiger had teeth. We can only speculate what other consequences he is now discovering.
As Christ-followers we need to remember what Jesus meant when he said:
"You're familiar with the old written law, 'Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, 'Hate your enemy.' I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that. In a word, what I'm saying is, grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.” Matthew 5:43-48 (MsgB)
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
Is Jesus Angry at Your Church?
Is Jesus Angry at your church?
What makes Jesus angry? Who ticked him off?
Now if you are saying at this point that Jesus was perfect so he never got angry, I will say to you that you have not read the Gospels very carefully. Jesus was like his Father, both can get mad. (The Old Testament would call it wrathful. My Sunday school teachers called it righteous indignation.)
The people who set Jesus off were not the usual suspects, thieves, prostitutes, corrupt officials, or even Roman oppressors. Surely, he didn’t care for their actions, but he was very slow to condemn them because he didn’t think of them as “the damned.” He looked at them as people who needed to find forgiveness, hope, and the love of God. The people who set him off, he called “vipers” (Matthew 12:34 & 23:33) and “whitewashed tombs full of dead men’s bones” (Matthew 23:27). They were those who called themselves religious, and made it difficult for others to come into relationship with God.
So what would make him cross if he walked into your community and your church today? I think he would be heartbroken at the sin he saw, just as he was in the 1st century. He would walk around and observe our world and see how far it falls short of God’s plan. Jesus would be moved by the heartache people cause each other and themselves by their own actions and attitudes. Then he would visit the churches. At some he would be encouraged to see people sharing His love with others. He would be excited to see people finding hope and salvation and becoming disciples. But I’m afraid that would happen in only a very few churches.
I am afraid that what he would see in most churches might make him blow his cork. Suppose he saw some of these things that occur in most of our churches:
Church people who put there own comforts and preferences (type of building, style of music, mode of dress, etc.), ahead of fulfilling his commission to make disciples.
Church people who think it is their job to “control the pastor.”
Church people who refuse to make friends with people who don’t know Christ and even avoid meaningful relationships with them.
Church people who don’t participate in welcoming newcomers to the church.
Church people who exclude new people from the true fellowship of the church.
Church people who seem to think they have the gift of criticism.
Pastors who are lazy and refuse to lead their congregations.
Pastors who don’t set the example of developing relationships with non-Christians.
Pastors who keep themselves and their people so busy on “church stuff” that they have no time left for meeting friends who don’t know Christ and developing friendships that might lead to making new disciples.
Pastors and churches that are unprepared for the unchurched to show up.
Church people and pastors who plan to “do evangelism” when they get time, or money, or around to it, instead of recognizing that bringing people to Christ is the whole reason the church exists, and that it needs to be done now and always.
These guesses come from what I read of Jesus in the New Testament. I wonder what Jesus would say and do if he had the attention of churches today. I do know this, many churches have died and many more are dying. Could this be because they are not what Jesus has in mind? What would he say and do to your church? By the way, how is it doing? Growing? Plateauing? Declining? More than that, how are you doing? How many people have you brought to the Lord? With how many potential Christians do you have a relationship? Are you doing the task he gave us to do?
What makes Jesus angry? Who ticked him off?
Now if you are saying at this point that Jesus was perfect so he never got angry, I will say to you that you have not read the Gospels very carefully. Jesus was like his Father, both can get mad. (The Old Testament would call it wrathful. My Sunday school teachers called it righteous indignation.)
The people who set Jesus off were not the usual suspects, thieves, prostitutes, corrupt officials, or even Roman oppressors. Surely, he didn’t care for their actions, but he was very slow to condemn them because he didn’t think of them as “the damned.” He looked at them as people who needed to find forgiveness, hope, and the love of God. The people who set him off, he called “vipers” (Matthew 12:34 & 23:33) and “whitewashed tombs full of dead men’s bones” (Matthew 23:27). They were those who called themselves religious, and made it difficult for others to come into relationship with God.
So what would make him cross if he walked into your community and your church today? I think he would be heartbroken at the sin he saw, just as he was in the 1st century. He would walk around and observe our world and see how far it falls short of God’s plan. Jesus would be moved by the heartache people cause each other and themselves by their own actions and attitudes. Then he would visit the churches. At some he would be encouraged to see people sharing His love with others. He would be excited to see people finding hope and salvation and becoming disciples. But I’m afraid that would happen in only a very few churches.
I am afraid that what he would see in most churches might make him blow his cork. Suppose he saw some of these things that occur in most of our churches:
Church people who put there own comforts and preferences (type of building, style of music, mode of dress, etc.), ahead of fulfilling his commission to make disciples.
Church people who think it is their job to “control the pastor.”
Church people who refuse to make friends with people who don’t know Christ and even avoid meaningful relationships with them.
Church people who don’t participate in welcoming newcomers to the church.
Church people who exclude new people from the true fellowship of the church.
Church people who seem to think they have the gift of criticism.
Pastors who are lazy and refuse to lead their congregations.
Pastors who don’t set the example of developing relationships with non-Christians.
Pastors who keep themselves and their people so busy on “church stuff” that they have no time left for meeting friends who don’t know Christ and developing friendships that might lead to making new disciples.
Pastors and churches that are unprepared for the unchurched to show up.
Church people and pastors who plan to “do evangelism” when they get time, or money, or around to it, instead of recognizing that bringing people to Christ is the whole reason the church exists, and that it needs to be done now and always.
These guesses come from what I read of Jesus in the New Testament. I wonder what Jesus would say and do if he had the attention of churches today. I do know this, many churches have died and many more are dying. Could this be because they are not what Jesus has in mind? What would he say and do to your church? By the way, how is it doing? Growing? Plateauing? Declining? More than that, how are you doing? How many people have you brought to the Lord? With how many potential Christians do you have a relationship? Are you doing the task he gave us to do?
Monday, April 4, 2011
How the Bible Changes You
Why is the Bible the most important book in the story of western civilization? Answers might include: it was the first book ever printed and the all-time best seller; it is the source for the morals and the laws of nations; it tells the story of God’s relationship with people who believe in Him from the beginning of the world; and believers in Jesus say it projects that relationship through the end of the world. But there is a deeper answer to why the Bible is so important: the message of the Bible changes lives. Individuals have been and are transformed by what it says. Millions testify to that fact. Then, how does it do it? How does it work? How can this old book change you? The Bible itself gives us four clues to how it changes lives:
Clue 1. The Bible is like a lamp.
Like a light in darkness it points out danger. The Bible shows the consequences of sin and mistakes, and warns you when you’re getting off course. Careful study of the Word of God will show you if you are drifting into sin and sound loud alarms that you can choose to heed and thereby avoid many sorrows and difficulties. In addition, the light that the Word gives provides security like a lighthouse or a street light. It testifies that God is nearby and ready to guide you, help you and keep you safe.
Clue 2. The teachings of the Bible work like seeds sown in a field. Jesus told a great story, usually called “The Parable of the Sower” (Mark 4:1-20). In it He likens the Word of God to seed a farmer sows in his field. It is all good seed that falls onto a variety of soil conditions. Some lives are like a hard-packed path through the middle of a farmer’s field. They need to be broken before the seed can take root. The hard events that come in life can break a person’s spirit and ruin him/her or difficult times can be used to break a life like a plow breaks ground for planting. A young friend of mine took a break from college to participate in a year-long inner-city mission program. One day in the third week of the program he got mugged running an errand to a convenience store. He had signed on to learn to help people by living and working among them; assault was not part of the program. It would have been easy for him to call it quits and go home to his safe little home town. Instead, he dove into his Bible study and he let the injury, the fear, the anger serve to bring brokenness to his life that enabled God’s Word to grow him in ways he had not anticipated. Other people are like rocky ground in that their knowledge and their commitments are shallow. They have never let the Word take root and grow down deep. Still others say they want to be close to God, but they are distracted by the things of the world like money and material things. They are like ground that needs weeding. The Bible will do that by helping him/her to learn right priorities. However, most folks are good ground and the Word takes root and grows. They learn God’s plan and spend their lives following it. Which soil are you?
Clue 3. The Bible works like a sword.
In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul writes about the armor of faith that the Holy Spirit provides for Christ-follower (Eph. 6:13-17). He concludes his description with these words, “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” He calls the Word of God a sword in the Christ-follower’s hand. Using the metaphor of a sword demonstrates that the Word not only defends you from Satan’s attacks, but also enables you to take the battle to Satan. The author of Hebrews also likens Scripture to a sword:
Clue 4.The Bible can help us the way a mirror does.
James gives us one more clue as to how the Bible can change you when you apply what it says.
Clue 1. The Bible is like a lamp.
“I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:104-105 (NIV)
Like a light in darkness it points out danger. The Bible shows the consequences of sin and mistakes, and warns you when you’re getting off course. Careful study of the Word of God will show you if you are drifting into sin and sound loud alarms that you can choose to heed and thereby avoid many sorrows and difficulties. In addition, the light that the Word gives provides security like a lighthouse or a street light. It testifies that God is nearby and ready to guide you, help you and keep you safe.
Clue 2. The teachings of the Bible work like seeds sown in a field. Jesus told a great story, usually called “The Parable of the Sower” (Mark 4:1-20). In it He likens the Word of God to seed a farmer sows in his field. It is all good seed that falls onto a variety of soil conditions. Some lives are like a hard-packed path through the middle of a farmer’s field. They need to be broken before the seed can take root. The hard events that come in life can break a person’s spirit and ruin him/her or difficult times can be used to break a life like a plow breaks ground for planting. A young friend of mine took a break from college to participate in a year-long inner-city mission program. One day in the third week of the program he got mugged running an errand to a convenience store. He had signed on to learn to help people by living and working among them; assault was not part of the program. It would have been easy for him to call it quits and go home to his safe little home town. Instead, he dove into his Bible study and he let the injury, the fear, the anger serve to bring brokenness to his life that enabled God’s Word to grow him in ways he had not anticipated. Other people are like rocky ground in that their knowledge and their commitments are shallow. They have never let the Word take root and grow down deep. Still others say they want to be close to God, but they are distracted by the things of the world like money and material things. They are like ground that needs weeding. The Bible will do that by helping him/her to learn right priorities. However, most folks are good ground and the Word takes root and grows. They learn God’s plan and spend their lives following it. Which soil are you?
Clue 3. The Bible works like a sword.
In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul writes about the armor of faith that the Holy Spirit provides for Christ-follower (Eph. 6:13-17). He concludes his description with these words, “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” He calls the Word of God a sword in the Christ-follower’s hand. Using the metaphor of a sword demonstrates that the Word not only defends you from Satan’s attacks, but also enables you to take the battle to Satan. The author of Hebrews also likens Scripture to a sword:
“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12 (NIV)Only the Great Physician can perform surgery with a sword, but that is exactly what the Scripture itself says happens. God uses the Bible to cut away the things that are harmful and don’t belong in your life.
Clue 4.The Bible can help us the way a mirror does.
James gives us one more clue as to how the Bible can change you when you apply what it says.
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it--he will be blessed in what he does.” James 1:22-25 (NIV)Before I leave the house I always check myself in the mirror and many times I have to wash my face, change my shirt, or comb my hair. What I saw in the mirror saved me from embarrassment. The Word prevents embarrassment because, as you study it, you get a clearer picture of who you are and what your behavior looks like to the Lord. Checking yourselves out with the Bible lets you not only see yourselves as you are, but also to see what you can become when you remain close to the Lord. Knowing the Word of God is imperative for every Christ-follower. As James says, it is not enough just to hear it, but it must be allowed to do its work in your life. I am sorry to say that I have known many people who have attended church for many years, who know very little of what the Bible says. They have heard of the Bible and they have had interpretations spoon-fed to them, but they have never allowed it to change them. They stay on baby food. This causes problems for them because they are missing out on many things God wants to share with them. It often causes problems for churches if they become influential in a congregation. They are called on to make decisions and get behind efforts that they don’t understand, because they don’t know the Word. So the Bible can change you whether you are a new believer or you came to faith a long time ago. It works to shape you into the person God created you to be.
Friday, March 25, 2011
God Calls You to be Fruitful
What is your life producing? I am particularly asking Christians. What is the result of your relationship with Christ? You are going to heaven, and that is an incredible, underserved, unearned blessing because of His love for you. But is your relationship with Him producing anything for those around you? They are our concern. Jesus himself made them our concern. He made it clear that we are not only rescued from hell for our own good, but also for the good of others. On the night when He was crucified He took time to tell His disciples this:
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
John 15:1-8 (NIV)
Get it? Jesus is the vine. God is the gardener. Christ followers are the branches, and it is God’s intention for us to be fruitful. The symbol Jesus chose for this metaphor is the grapevine. I think that is significant because grapevines are not grown for ornamentation. Well, perhaps someone might put a small grape arbor in his yard for show, but in the time and place Jesus was speaking, growing grapes was not for fun, but for profit. The whole idea was that the vine would bear fruit. It was not planted for Tarzan to swing from, but for him to get grapes from. The fruit on a grapevine does not just fall into the gardener’s (God’s) lap; neither does it grow on the vine itself (Jesus). Branches (Christ followers) are the means the grapevine uses to produce fruit. Bearing fruit is expected of branches (Christ followers).
To enable the branches to produce more and better grapes the gardener prunes, or cuts back the branches. The pruning of grapes is radical. A freshly pruned grapevine looks quite bare. The non-producing branches are lopped off and burned as trash. Sounds pretty harsh, but it’s Jesus’ metaphor, not mine. The branches that are left are the ones that produce, are close to the vine and resemble the vine. The only way to produce fruit is for the branch to remain in the vine and the only way for you and I to produce fruit is for us to remain in Jesus. Our major concern should be to stay close to Jesus and become more and more like Him.
The Holy Spirit aids us in this. He keeps us close, and enables us to produce fruit for the Gardner. If we remain in Him we will obey Him and grow fruit. What does this fruit look like? The Apostle Paul says in Galatians 5:22 that remaining in the Holy Spirit produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. So this fruit affects our inner lives and how we treat others. But there is more to the fruit that Jesus expects us to produce.
New followers are the ripe fruit. We are to help people become disciples. Too often Christians have stopped short. They want to do good and be good, but they seem to forget why. Doing good and being good are like buds on the vine. The fruit comes from the bud, but the mature fruit is people believing in Christ and choosing to follow Him because of your words and deeds. It seems to me that way too many of us have settled for producing buds. Buds are not fruit, they are promises. Our Gardener expects fruit. Producing fruit—helping people find Jesus—is not optional. If you expect God to recognize you as a disciple, produce fruit. “… by their fruit you will recognize them” Matthew 7:20 (NIV). It is not as hard as we often make it out to be. Let people know you and see Jesus in you. Instead of pushing sinners away, learn to love them as Jesus did. There are no excuses good enough. The world is headed to hell. More specifically, the guy you work next to, the woman across the street, the guy that checks you out at the grocery store are headed for hell. They need God’s love, hope and salvation, whether or not they know that is their need. They need you to show them the way. God has given you the assignment: bear fruit.
How is the harvest? Who has found new life in Christ because of you? Who is closer to Christ because of you? Has your life influenced people toward Christ? Does your life attract people to the Lord? Is the Gardner picking a big bunch of grapes from your branch?
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
John 15:1-8 (NIV)
Get it? Jesus is the vine. God is the gardener. Christ followers are the branches, and it is God’s intention for us to be fruitful. The symbol Jesus chose for this metaphor is the grapevine. I think that is significant because grapevines are not grown for ornamentation. Well, perhaps someone might put a small grape arbor in his yard for show, but in the time and place Jesus was speaking, growing grapes was not for fun, but for profit. The whole idea was that the vine would bear fruit. It was not planted for Tarzan to swing from, but for him to get grapes from. The fruit on a grapevine does not just fall into the gardener’s (God’s) lap; neither does it grow on the vine itself (Jesus). Branches (Christ followers) are the means the grapevine uses to produce fruit. Bearing fruit is expected of branches (Christ followers).
To enable the branches to produce more and better grapes the gardener prunes, or cuts back the branches. The pruning of grapes is radical. A freshly pruned grapevine looks quite bare. The non-producing branches are lopped off and burned as trash. Sounds pretty harsh, but it’s Jesus’ metaphor, not mine. The branches that are left are the ones that produce, are close to the vine and resemble the vine. The only way to produce fruit is for the branch to remain in the vine and the only way for you and I to produce fruit is for us to remain in Jesus. Our major concern should be to stay close to Jesus and become more and more like Him.
The Holy Spirit aids us in this. He keeps us close, and enables us to produce fruit for the Gardner. If we remain in Him we will obey Him and grow fruit. What does this fruit look like? The Apostle Paul says in Galatians 5:22 that remaining in the Holy Spirit produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. So this fruit affects our inner lives and how we treat others. But there is more to the fruit that Jesus expects us to produce.
New followers are the ripe fruit. We are to help people become disciples. Too often Christians have stopped short. They want to do good and be good, but they seem to forget why. Doing good and being good are like buds on the vine. The fruit comes from the bud, but the mature fruit is people believing in Christ and choosing to follow Him because of your words and deeds. It seems to me that way too many of us have settled for producing buds. Buds are not fruit, they are promises. Our Gardener expects fruit. Producing fruit—helping people find Jesus—is not optional. If you expect God to recognize you as a disciple, produce fruit. “… by their fruit you will recognize them” Matthew 7:20 (NIV). It is not as hard as we often make it out to be. Let people know you and see Jesus in you. Instead of pushing sinners away, learn to love them as Jesus did. There are no excuses good enough. The world is headed to hell. More specifically, the guy you work next to, the woman across the street, the guy that checks you out at the grocery store are headed for hell. They need God’s love, hope and salvation, whether or not they know that is their need. They need you to show them the way. God has given you the assignment: bear fruit.
How is the harvest? Who has found new life in Christ because of you? Who is closer to Christ because of you? Has your life influenced people toward Christ? Does your life attract people to the Lord? Is the Gardner picking a big bunch of grapes from your branch?
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Is Your Church Like a Toys R Us or the Post Office?
Before Christmas my wife and I made the trip that every grandparent of year-old twins must make. We went to Toys R Us to look for some fun presents. I hadn’t been in a toy store since our son, the twin’s father, was the toy receiver in our family. When we entered the store, someone asked us if we needed help, which was to be expected. Soon another employee offered to help us. I began to think we must have looked lost, which we were, but we declined the help. Not two minutes later someone else asked us if there was something she could show us. A minute or two later another employee, I think it was the manager, asked if they could help us find something in particular. This happened about 10 times in the 40 minutes or so we were in the store. Frankly, I was impressed. The store was not jammed, but it was busy. (There were about 10 shopping days until Christmas.) They clearly wanted our business.
A few weeks after Christmas, I went to a post office in a neighboring town to mail a few packages. I send packages often, so I had everything needed and ready and I thought I would be in and out of there pretty fast. But I had never been to this particular post office. I stood in line (I have never been a patient line stander) while the two clerks moved at what seemed to me to be a glacial pace. There were only four people ahead of me, and their transactions didn’t seem complicated. The clerks simply moved slowly and made a lot of small talk. At one point a man who looked like a supervisor came out to the counter area, and I thought he was going to step up to one of the unused workstations and help serve the line of people, which had by now reached out of the door. Instead, he just stood there. He didn’t say anything to the clerks, he didn’t help them, and he didn’t help us. Then another man came out and stood next to him, joining him in looking at the line of impatient customers. None of the post office employees seemed to care that their customers were dissatisfied.
What is the difference? I think it is primarily this: the people at Toys R Us were very aware that they were not the only place that this grandpa could buy gifts for his grandkids. On the other hand, the post office personnel were just as aware that they were pretty much the only place in that town where I could send my packages. Toys R Us wanted their customers to be happy and satisfied. The post office (at least that particular post office) didn’t care if the customers were happy or satisfied.
Some churches act like the post office. They act like they are the only place people can go to worship, and don’t seem to care if new people come. Their concern for visitors and prospective members is very low. They have their church and their salvation. “Let the others find their own,” is the attitude they project. People can’t find a place to park? Who cares? The toilets are dirty, ugly, out of style, and /or hard to find? Let them use the bathroom at home. The nursery is inadequately staffed? Who cares? I took care of my own kids. I didn’t need a nursery?
Other churches are like Toys R Us. If people come anywhere near their church they do anything they can to make them feel welcome and do whatever they can to serve them. Visitor parking is near the door and clearly marked. The bathrooms are clean and easy to find. The nursery is beautifully decorated and staffed by competent, smiling people. They have people who actually talk to newcomers and are interested in seeing newcomers become members. The whole church makes it easy for a new person to decide to make that church their home.
Take a look at your church this Sunday. Remember this, the things that bug people at a place like the post office, like lack of attention and apathetic service, also bother people who are looking for a church. Watch what happens at your church. If you are the pastor, get somebody to be your spy. Try to get the feel for what it would be like to come to your church for the first time. Take note of how welcome you would feel if you were the newcomer. Then, declare yourself a committee of one to do what you can to make people feel welcome at your church. Asking to help me was not the primary job of everyone at Toy-R-Us, but they certainly knew it was important, and all of them did what they could to make sure I had a good experience. What are you doing to make sure your church visitors have a good experience when they visit your church?
A few weeks after Christmas, I went to a post office in a neighboring town to mail a few packages. I send packages often, so I had everything needed and ready and I thought I would be in and out of there pretty fast. But I had never been to this particular post office. I stood in line (I have never been a patient line stander) while the two clerks moved at what seemed to me to be a glacial pace. There were only four people ahead of me, and their transactions didn’t seem complicated. The clerks simply moved slowly and made a lot of small talk. At one point a man who looked like a supervisor came out to the counter area, and I thought he was going to step up to one of the unused workstations and help serve the line of people, which had by now reached out of the door. Instead, he just stood there. He didn’t say anything to the clerks, he didn’t help them, and he didn’t help us. Then another man came out and stood next to him, joining him in looking at the line of impatient customers. None of the post office employees seemed to care that their customers were dissatisfied.
What is the difference? I think it is primarily this: the people at Toys R Us were very aware that they were not the only place that this grandpa could buy gifts for his grandkids. On the other hand, the post office personnel were just as aware that they were pretty much the only place in that town where I could send my packages. Toys R Us wanted their customers to be happy and satisfied. The post office (at least that particular post office) didn’t care if the customers were happy or satisfied.
Some churches act like the post office. They act like they are the only place people can go to worship, and don’t seem to care if new people come. Their concern for visitors and prospective members is very low. They have their church and their salvation. “Let the others find their own,” is the attitude they project. People can’t find a place to park? Who cares? The toilets are dirty, ugly, out of style, and /or hard to find? Let them use the bathroom at home. The nursery is inadequately staffed? Who cares? I took care of my own kids. I didn’t need a nursery?
Other churches are like Toys R Us. If people come anywhere near their church they do anything they can to make them feel welcome and do whatever they can to serve them. Visitor parking is near the door and clearly marked. The bathrooms are clean and easy to find. The nursery is beautifully decorated and staffed by competent, smiling people. They have people who actually talk to newcomers and are interested in seeing newcomers become members. The whole church makes it easy for a new person to decide to make that church their home.
Take a look at your church this Sunday. Remember this, the things that bug people at a place like the post office, like lack of attention and apathetic service, also bother people who are looking for a church. Watch what happens at your church. If you are the pastor, get somebody to be your spy. Try to get the feel for what it would be like to come to your church for the first time. Take note of how welcome you would feel if you were the newcomer. Then, declare yourself a committee of one to do what you can to make people feel welcome at your church. Asking to help me was not the primary job of everyone at Toy-R-Us, but they certainly knew it was important, and all of them did what they could to make sure I had a good experience. What are you doing to make sure your church visitors have a good experience when they visit your church?
Monday, February 21, 2011
A Winning Strategy
I recently heard a teacher of church consultants who seemed to me to be saying that older, established congregations are doomed. They will cease to exist within the next fifteen to twenty years, because they are aging and becoming irrelevant to the next generation. I agree that many churches are on this track, but I don’t think their doom is a foregone conclusion. I think some of these churches can refocus and begin reaching the next generation. I know for sure that there is at least one path that can return a church to relevance, lower its average age, and help it to grow.
Children’s ministry in itself is a vital part of the church’s arsenal of weapons to win the world. Most people who choose to follow Christ do so before the age of 13 (estimated at 75%). Effort, dollars, and imagination that are invested in children guarantee future benefits for the Kingdom of God. In addition, the effects of children’s ministry can be more immediate. If a church is willing and prepared to take advantage of the opportunities that come from an effective children’s ministry, the kids’ ministry can lead them to refocus and to grow, spiritually and numerically.
Visit established churches today and you will find lot of gray hair and very few children. There are often rooms set aside for children. Many of them are furnished, some even decorated for Sunday school classes that don’t really exist. It’s eerie and sad. These churches don’t have young adult classes either. People have said things like, “Why don’t younger people come and bring their children to church. I used to make my kids sit right with me and behave, too.” The answer I give is, “If you have an excellent children’s ministry, then the kids will bring their parents.”
It’s true: If you love kids consistently and seek to do excellent children’s ministry the kids will get their folks to come. Can a church that has few or no children do this? I’ll give you a simple answer. The simple answer is; yes, it can be done. There are seven steps that a church will need to take. You may find some of these steps not so simple. To do it a church must be committed to doing whatever it takes to share the message of God’s love, hope, and salvation with the next generation.
Some steps:
1. Find some people who love kids and want to share Jesus with them. Start them praying and planning.
2. Identify someone to be the leader. This should be a person, not designated to do the ministry, but to lead a team to do the ministry.
3. Get some training. There are a lot of very good children’s ministry training opportunities available.
a.) You can spend a lot of money, send your leader, and maybe some of the other interested people to INCM’s Children’s Pastor’s Conference, the Orange Conference, D6 or a host of others.
b.) Better yet, you can find a trainer (perhaps someone who teaches at one of those big events) and have her/him come to you church to train everyone from your church who is interested for the cost of one person going to a big event.
c.) Or you could take a group to a training event in your area.
(For full disclosure, my wife, Tina, is a great children’s ministry trainer. There are others, but in my biased opinion, she’s the best.)
4. Plan some special events for kids in your community. Many times churches have special events for the kids of their members, but if you want to grow, you must put the emphasis on kids in the area. Whatever you do, do it so well that kids will want to come. For example: Vacation Bible School is not a new idea, but it can make a splash in your community if you make it excellent. To impact community kids, have it in the morning, so you don’t have to compete with Little League in the evening. Use your imagination, and make it fun. Go over the top with your decorations. If you use a VBS that comes in the box, be creative and don’t limit yourself to what’s in the box.
Other Special Events:
Christmas Craft Making Day
Trunk or Treat
Easter Egg Hunt
Sports Camp or Clinic
5. Keep careful records of everyone who comes. (Tip: offer a door prize so that you can get everyone’s information.) Get the name of the parent or guardian they live with, their address, phone number and e-mail address. Send the kids a thank you for showing up and with some information about the next special event, as well as the ongoing stuff at church. Add their parents to the regular mailing or e-mailing list. This is critical. Follow-up, follow-up, follow-up. Kids may come to several special events before they ever show up on Sunday, so be persistent. That first special event plants the seed, the follow-up waters, the next special event fertilizes, then eventually the fruit of seeing them in church will blossom.
6. Make children’s church excellent. Give the kids that come to the special event something super to participate in at church on Sunday morning. A good way to do it is encourage the kids to sit with their parents in adult worship until the message; then, dismiss them for children’s church. The workers will have them about 30 to 45 minutes, and they should make it exciting. Teaching kids at church is different than teaching them at school. At school they have to come back the next time,; at church, if they don’t like it, they don’t have to return. Make them excited about coming.
6. Develop your Sunday school so kids will want to come to see what else is going on. When you do this, make sure you are ready to start a new class for their parents. Get their class started with a subject that is important to them, i.e. parenting, marriage, or a beginning Bible study.
7. The church needs to expect young families to come and design the church to make them feel comfortable enough to not only become members, but also invite their friends. This will mean looking at the décor, the worship style, and the preaching topics. You will probably have to make changes, perhaps some major changes. Changes are not comfortable, but so what? Is the purpose of your church to make you comfortable, or to win people to Christ? Do you really want to reach the next generation, or do you just want to complain because the world is going to hell? I am much more uncomfortable about the fact that young families don’t know the love of Jesus than I am that I will have to learn to like a different kind of music, or a different church schedule, or that the building may be used a different way.
If you do these steps you will not only have an effective children’s ministry, you’ll find that your church has become more relevant to the current culture. You’ll not only win whole families to Christ, but you’ll find entrances to parts of the community that you never before imagined.
Check out Tina Houser’s web site: tinahouser.net
For a full step-by-step description of how to build or rebuild a children’s ministry, see her book "Building Children’s Ministry". (available at the website)
Children’s ministry in itself is a vital part of the church’s arsenal of weapons to win the world. Most people who choose to follow Christ do so before the age of 13 (estimated at 75%). Effort, dollars, and imagination that are invested in children guarantee future benefits for the Kingdom of God. In addition, the effects of children’s ministry can be more immediate. If a church is willing and prepared to take advantage of the opportunities that come from an effective children’s ministry, the kids’ ministry can lead them to refocus and to grow, spiritually and numerically.
Visit established churches today and you will find lot of gray hair and very few children. There are often rooms set aside for children. Many of them are furnished, some even decorated for Sunday school classes that don’t really exist. It’s eerie and sad. These churches don’t have young adult classes either. People have said things like, “Why don’t younger people come and bring their children to church. I used to make my kids sit right with me and behave, too.” The answer I give is, “If you have an excellent children’s ministry, then the kids will bring their parents.”
It’s true: If you love kids consistently and seek to do excellent children’s ministry the kids will get their folks to come. Can a church that has few or no children do this? I’ll give you a simple answer. The simple answer is; yes, it can be done. There are seven steps that a church will need to take. You may find some of these steps not so simple. To do it a church must be committed to doing whatever it takes to share the message of God’s love, hope, and salvation with the next generation.
Some steps:
1. Find some people who love kids and want to share Jesus with them. Start them praying and planning.
2. Identify someone to be the leader. This should be a person, not designated to do the ministry, but to lead a team to do the ministry.
3. Get some training. There are a lot of very good children’s ministry training opportunities available.
a.) You can spend a lot of money, send your leader, and maybe some of the other interested people to INCM’s Children’s Pastor’s Conference, the Orange Conference, D6 or a host of others.
b.) Better yet, you can find a trainer (perhaps someone who teaches at one of those big events) and have her/him come to you church to train everyone from your church who is interested for the cost of one person going to a big event.
c.) Or you could take a group to a training event in your area.
(For full disclosure, my wife, Tina, is a great children’s ministry trainer. There are others, but in my biased opinion, she’s the best.)
4. Plan some special events for kids in your community. Many times churches have special events for the kids of their members, but if you want to grow, you must put the emphasis on kids in the area. Whatever you do, do it so well that kids will want to come. For example: Vacation Bible School is not a new idea, but it can make a splash in your community if you make it excellent. To impact community kids, have it in the morning, so you don’t have to compete with Little League in the evening. Use your imagination, and make it fun. Go over the top with your decorations. If you use a VBS that comes in the box, be creative and don’t limit yourself to what’s in the box.
Other Special Events:
Christmas Craft Making Day
Trunk or Treat
Easter Egg Hunt
Sports Camp or Clinic
5. Keep careful records of everyone who comes. (Tip: offer a door prize so that you can get everyone’s information.) Get the name of the parent or guardian they live with, their address, phone number and e-mail address. Send the kids a thank you for showing up and with some information about the next special event, as well as the ongoing stuff at church. Add their parents to the regular mailing or e-mailing list. This is critical. Follow-up, follow-up, follow-up. Kids may come to several special events before they ever show up on Sunday, so be persistent. That first special event plants the seed, the follow-up waters, the next special event fertilizes, then eventually the fruit of seeing them in church will blossom.
6. Make children’s church excellent. Give the kids that come to the special event something super to participate in at church on Sunday morning. A good way to do it is encourage the kids to sit with their parents in adult worship until the message; then, dismiss them for children’s church. The workers will have them about 30 to 45 minutes, and they should make it exciting. Teaching kids at church is different than teaching them at school. At school they have to come back the next time,; at church, if they don’t like it, they don’t have to return. Make them excited about coming.
6. Develop your Sunday school so kids will want to come to see what else is going on. When you do this, make sure you are ready to start a new class for their parents. Get their class started with a subject that is important to them, i.e. parenting, marriage, or a beginning Bible study.
7. The church needs to expect young families to come and design the church to make them feel comfortable enough to not only become members, but also invite their friends. This will mean looking at the décor, the worship style, and the preaching topics. You will probably have to make changes, perhaps some major changes. Changes are not comfortable, but so what? Is the purpose of your church to make you comfortable, or to win people to Christ? Do you really want to reach the next generation, or do you just want to complain because the world is going to hell? I am much more uncomfortable about the fact that young families don’t know the love of Jesus than I am that I will have to learn to like a different kind of music, or a different church schedule, or that the building may be used a different way.
If you do these steps you will not only have an effective children’s ministry, you’ll find that your church has become more relevant to the current culture. You’ll not only win whole families to Christ, but you’ll find entrances to parts of the community that you never before imagined.
Check out Tina Houser’s web site: tinahouser.net
For a full step-by-step description of how to build or rebuild a children’s ministry, see her book "Building Children’s Ministry". (available at the website)
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Calling the Church to Repentance
Question 1: Right after Zacchaeus announced the change he would make in his life, what did Jesus say was the reason He came to the world?
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." Luke 19:10 (NIV)
Question 2: What were the last words that Matthew records Jesus saying?
Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)
Question 3: According to Luke what is the last thing Jesus said before he ascended to heaven?
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8 (NIV)
It is apparent from these passages that God’s will for Jesus’ followers is to seek the lost as He did and make disciples by bearing witness of his love, hope and salvation. My personal observation and the surveys I have seen recently trouble me deeply because they show that few Christians and few churches make this their first priority.
Instead of seeking the lost, Christians tend to run from them. Many view their churches as fortresses in which they are safe from the awful people doing awful things out there. A reading of history shows that the first century Greco-Roman culture into which Jesus sent his first disciples was even more depraved than ours. Jesus expected his followers to go make a difference in that culture, not by dominating it, but by influencing it with His love. It is pretty hard to influence people with love from the safety of a fortress. Rather than a fortress, a church should be a rallying point where Christ-followers get refreshed, re-equipped and restored to return to the world Jesus loves so much.
I believe it is time for Christians and churches to repent. For too long we have put our own needs, our own comforts, even our own preferences ahead of Jesus’ command to make disciples. Some pastors find themselves in trouble when they propose changes intended to reach the lost that may cause discomfort for the members. Some churches hold their preferences in worship style, building use, and financial priorities as more important than doing what needs to be done to share Jesus message in a relevant way to a dying world. As a consequence, literally millions of people are living hopeless lives, and facing a hellish eternity. Some churches that are conscious of the need to share the message of Christ tend to make evangelism a program of the church, or a project, or a special weekend. For them evangelism is something they do, if they can find the time on their calendar, money in their budget, and enough people who are interested. These churches, too, need to repent. Evangelism, sharing the good news of the new life Jesus brings, and helping people become fully devoted followers of Him, is not something the church does; it is what the church is. It is the primary reason the church was called together.
The biblical purpose of the church is to glorify God, reach out to those who don’t know Him, grow up to be like Christ, grow together in Christian love, and lift up those in need. (I will blog about this purpose and its Bible roots another time.) While all of this purpose is important, it hinges on the reaching out element. There are two reasons for this: 1.) the greatest glory we can give God is to obey Him. He commanded us to make disciples. If we are not doing that we are not obeying Him, and therefore not glorifying Him. 2.) The other parts of purpose depend on the reaching out. We lift up those in need to earn the right to share the Good News with them. We learn so we can reach out more effectively, and we teach those who are new. We grow together in love because we need each other’s help to reach out, and we need to comfort each other when it gets hard.
As I said, it is time for Christians and churches to repent. We need to turn from the selfish, self-serving brand of Christianity we have fallen into, and turn toward the world changing brand to which Jesus has always called His people. I really wonder about the Judgment Day. People who have long called themselves Christians will stand before God. They may stand confident in the knowledge that they have asked Jesus to forgive their sins, have paid their tithes, have resisted temptation, and have been pillars of their churches. What happens if God then asks them what the fruit of their lives is, why they disobeyed Jesus’ command, and, perhaps, why they stood in the way of their churches reaching sinners? I am not the judge. God is. I am truly glad of that, but I can’t help wonder what God will do. Ephesians 2:8-10 makes it clear that salvation is a gift of the grace of God, not something we earn. It also makes it clear that God has works for the saved which he has prepared for them. What will happen if they haven’t done the things Jesus made clear his disciples must do? My advice to every Christian and every church is to repent now from disobedience. Do everything in your power to seek the lost and make disciples by being a witness of Christ’s saving love. Then, organize your churches with this as the main goal and greatest joy.
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." Luke 19:10 (NIV)
Question 2: What were the last words that Matthew records Jesus saying?
Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)
Question 3: According to Luke what is the last thing Jesus said before he ascended to heaven?
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8 (NIV)
It is apparent from these passages that God’s will for Jesus’ followers is to seek the lost as He did and make disciples by bearing witness of his love, hope and salvation. My personal observation and the surveys I have seen recently trouble me deeply because they show that few Christians and few churches make this their first priority.
Instead of seeking the lost, Christians tend to run from them. Many view their churches as fortresses in which they are safe from the awful people doing awful things out there. A reading of history shows that the first century Greco-Roman culture into which Jesus sent his first disciples was even more depraved than ours. Jesus expected his followers to go make a difference in that culture, not by dominating it, but by influencing it with His love. It is pretty hard to influence people with love from the safety of a fortress. Rather than a fortress, a church should be a rallying point where Christ-followers get refreshed, re-equipped and restored to return to the world Jesus loves so much.
I believe it is time for Christians and churches to repent. For too long we have put our own needs, our own comforts, even our own preferences ahead of Jesus’ command to make disciples. Some pastors find themselves in trouble when they propose changes intended to reach the lost that may cause discomfort for the members. Some churches hold their preferences in worship style, building use, and financial priorities as more important than doing what needs to be done to share Jesus message in a relevant way to a dying world. As a consequence, literally millions of people are living hopeless lives, and facing a hellish eternity. Some churches that are conscious of the need to share the message of Christ tend to make evangelism a program of the church, or a project, or a special weekend. For them evangelism is something they do, if they can find the time on their calendar, money in their budget, and enough people who are interested. These churches, too, need to repent. Evangelism, sharing the good news of the new life Jesus brings, and helping people become fully devoted followers of Him, is not something the church does; it is what the church is. It is the primary reason the church was called together.
The biblical purpose of the church is to glorify God, reach out to those who don’t know Him, grow up to be like Christ, grow together in Christian love, and lift up those in need. (I will blog about this purpose and its Bible roots another time.) While all of this purpose is important, it hinges on the reaching out element. There are two reasons for this: 1.) the greatest glory we can give God is to obey Him. He commanded us to make disciples. If we are not doing that we are not obeying Him, and therefore not glorifying Him. 2.) The other parts of purpose depend on the reaching out. We lift up those in need to earn the right to share the Good News with them. We learn so we can reach out more effectively, and we teach those who are new. We grow together in love because we need each other’s help to reach out, and we need to comfort each other when it gets hard.
As I said, it is time for Christians and churches to repent. We need to turn from the selfish, self-serving brand of Christianity we have fallen into, and turn toward the world changing brand to which Jesus has always called His people. I really wonder about the Judgment Day. People who have long called themselves Christians will stand before God. They may stand confident in the knowledge that they have asked Jesus to forgive their sins, have paid their tithes, have resisted temptation, and have been pillars of their churches. What happens if God then asks them what the fruit of their lives is, why they disobeyed Jesus’ command, and, perhaps, why they stood in the way of their churches reaching sinners? I am not the judge. God is. I am truly glad of that, but I can’t help wonder what God will do. Ephesians 2:8-10 makes it clear that salvation is a gift of the grace of God, not something we earn. It also makes it clear that God has works for the saved which he has prepared for them. What will happen if they haven’t done the things Jesus made clear his disciples must do? My advice to every Christian and every church is to repent now from disobedience. Do everything in your power to seek the lost and make disciples by being a witness of Christ’s saving love. Then, organize your churches with this as the main goal and greatest joy.
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