Children’s Ministry and Missional Context July 18, 2008

Children’s Ministries should be about forming people who love God and follow Jesus. One way to keep this and coming generations outwardly focused is to provide a missional context in the church and, more specifically, in those programs and opportunities directed toward children. Faith communities desiring to form children who participate in God’s kingdom work will be faith communities who care more about works of peace and justice, who care more about “doing what people who follow Jesus do” than about attracting large numbers through glitzy programs and providing a “holy huddle” for those who are on the inside. When children see an ethos of mission modeled for them by parents, church leaders, and other significant adults they can be transformed to live in the way of Jesus as they begin to understand their responsibilities to the world and other people God created in the holy image.
~ Ivy Beckwith

I read this quote when reading through Ivy’s book Postmodern Children’s Ministry. It’s intriguing on so many levels.

First, it deals with what I have been teaching our leaders and parents about recently. Faith transference will ONLY happen through modeling. We must model a Christlike attitude and Christlike actions for children in order for them to live missionally and for their faith to carry on. If kids don’t see it in their parents, they’re generally not going to follow.

Second, Ivy urges participation in a “faith community” rather than just big “glitzy” events. That’s a huge trap for today’s church. Too often we focus our time and efforts on big events and/or programs not realizing that this is not going to encourage faith habits and life transformation in kids and families. Children need to understand at a young age what a community of believers really is (and isn’t). It’s all about “doing life” together with others going through your same life stage. This is the definition of a healthy church and a spiritually healthy child. It also gets kids and adults away from becoming closed-off or stuck in what Ivy labels a “holy-huddle.”

So often we get focused only on our responsibilities in our church. We never look outward and notice the needs of those around us. Missionally minded kids will see the needs of those within their faith community, but in the same manner, they will notice and get involved in resolving the needs of others around them.

 

A Refreshing Experience! July 7, 2008

For those who attended The Austin Stone Community Church yesterday, “refreshed” was probably not the word they used to describe themselves when leaving. It was a very intense experience for all. However, it moved me deeply.

I treasure the chance to attend a church and just be a participant and not a church staff member. So, I donned my flip flops, blue jeans, and t-shirt and headed to the coolest church in Austin… The Stone (as it’s known to its parters).

First, the Stone probably has the most amazingly gifted worship band in Central Texas. They are talented musicians, for sure, but they excel the most in the act of leading in worship. They bring you into an intimate experience of awe before God. It was beautiful.

Matt Carter is an amazing dude. He is a rare breed of “preacher” who is relevant in a mecca of postmodernity, such as Austin, but holds to a strong conviction to speak and teach the Word. I’m not sure if you can find a more relevant and reaching church in America that teaches in an expository manner. 

Matt is moving through 1 Corinthians in his current series and was in chapter 6 yesterday. He spoke on verses 15 through 19, which deal directly with sexual immorality. I won’t go into the details of his message because EVERYONE needs to hear it… and you can listen to it HERE! 

Matt approached this subject and exposed these verses in a manner that I have never heard before, but was completely honest to the message of the text.

It was a refreshing experience in so many ways. It was great to be a participant in worship. It was amazing to see an authentic community unfold in a tangible way. It gave me hope for what the church could and should be.

Doug Pagitt Does it Again! June 26, 2008

Buy this book. Amazing! Stunning! Profound! Life-Changing!

 

A Christianity Worth Believing offers an engaging, ‘come-with-me-on-a-journey-of-exploring-the-possibilities’ approach to what it means to be a follower of Jesus in our day. Written by Doug Pagitt—a leading voice in the Emergent conversation—this beautifully written book weaves together theological reflections, Christian history, and his own story of faith transformation.

Pagitt invites readers to follow him as he tells the story of his un-churched childhood, his life-altering conversion at age 16, his intense involvement in the church, and his growing sense of unease with the version of Christianity he was living. On page after page, Pagitt lays out his journey toward an authentic, passionate expression of a faith that feels alive, sustainable, and meaningful.

A Christianity Worth Believing is for the growing numbers of people who have serious and thoughtful questions about Christianity, who have lived for years with deep-seated wondering and doubts about their faith. Pagitt points the way to a new kind of faith by asking the “off-limits” questions about God, Jesus, sin, the Bible, humanity, church, and the Kingdom of God. Rather than rehashing old debates, he offers new insights, provocative possibilities, and hopeful alternatives.

In A Christianity Worth Believing you may well discover questions you didn’t think you could ask, ideas you didn’t think you could pursue, beliefs you didn’t think you could hold onto. Ultimately you will discover a Christianity worth believing.

Here’s Doug promoting the book. Take a look…

 

New SBC President June 11, 2008

Johnny Hunt quote from the 2007 SBC Pastor’s Conference:

By the way, aren’t you grateful, that there’s hope? Listen to me carefully, its important we understand this convention. There’s hope for everyone in Jesus. Everyone. Everyone. Not a select group. Everyone.

Someone says, ‘Pastor you believe that you’re the elect?’ I sure am. Everybody that gets in is the elect; and he’s elected all of us. I believe everyone can be saved. Anyone can come to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Someone said, “I don’t think you ought to preach like that.” Well, I just hope no one gets saved that’s not supposed to.

I’m serious. We better get away from that and get back to the book and invite everyone to come to Christ! Just preach it! Invite everybody! Tell everyone!

Here are some links to some commentaries on Hunt’s statements:

Hunt on Election

Hunt and the Doctrines of Grace

Johnny Hunt on the Sovereignty of God

Valuing the People You Lead May 27, 2008

As a ministry or church grows larger its leaders must work harder to be approachable, accessible and personal.  As tasks multiply it is easy to become less people focused and more project focused.  Soon people will begin to have a portrait of us much like some people think of God in the Old Testament–unapproachable, inaccessible, and
impersonal.  
Tucked away in the Old Testament book of Exodus is a poignant illustration that paints a very different picture of God.  It is a picture of a very personal God who puts a high premium on people.  In this passage, God builds into the regular priestly duties a constant reminder that ministry is about people.  These two verses serves as a compelling example of how God wants us to view those we shepherd in ministry.  
“Whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place, he will bear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart on the breastpiece of decision as a continuing memorial before the Lord. [30] Also put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastpiece, so they may be over Aaron’s heart whenever he enters the presence of the Lord. Thus Aaron will always bear the means of making decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the Lord.”  
Exodus 28:29-30 (NIV)  
Every time Aaron went to perform his priestly duties, he was reminded of God’s heart for the people of Israel.  Each gem in the four rows of stones represented a different tribe of Israel.  Every man, every woman, every boy and every girl was represented in those stones.  There wasn’t one person in all of Israel that God didn’t love or care about. And
God wanted Aaron to authentically love and care for the flock.    
God wanted the people to be on Aaron’s heart.  Ultimately, ministry is not about projects or activities, it is about people.  This seems painfully obvious, and yet we consistently lose perspective.  It was possible for Aaron to carry these stones on the breastpiece but yet his own heart be far from the people.  It was possible for him to carry out his priestly duties and yet be relationally distant from the very people he was called to serve.  The same can be true of us.  What do you do in ministry to keep people front and center?
Listen to the emotion and passion Paul had for those he led.
“It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me.” Philip. 1:7 (NIV)  
“I have you in my heart”.  Let those words sink in.  Would the team you lead say that they are on your heart?  
When life and ministry moves too fast, one of the casualties is personal attention of those on our team.  Without even being aware of it, our mindset toward people can slowly begin to change.  Even the people on our team can begin to be viewed as tools we utilize to accomplish our ministry task.  They can become those we minister through
instead of those we minister to.  
Ministry that is Christ-honoring is never accomplished at the expense of those on our team.  There are some symptoms or indicators that this may be an area you need to work on.
People could be feeling less valued if you are . . .
• Skimming relationally
If you are not authentically experiencing biblical community and personally enjoying life-giving relationships, your own heart will become hard toward others.
• Spiritually drained
When your own soul is healthy and replenished, your heart will be soft towards people.  But, when you are empty and have nothing to give, people become a nuisance.
• Always in a hurry
Do you walk fast everywhere you go?  Even when you do stop to talk to people, do they sense that you are rushed looking past them?  Hurry is the archenemy of intimacy and deep relationship.
• Never engaging their personal life
When was the last time you just sat down with somebody on your team and asked “How are you doing, really?”, and then took time to really listen.  Try just asking someone you lead how you can pray for them personally.
• Not praying for them
As Aaron went in before the Lord, he carried the names of the people he was responsible for.  It is our job in ministry to carry the names of those we are responsible for before the Lord.  Praying for them helps keep them on your heart.
Have you ever thought about this question, “if Jesus were to physically come to your church or ministry, what do you think he would want to see?”  Would it be our buildings, our strategic plan, our financial report, or the song selection for our weekend service?  I think we are given a clue to the answer in I Thessalonians 2.
“After all, what gives us hope and joy, and what is our proud reward and crown? It is you! Yes, you will bring us much joy as we stand together before our Lord Jesus when he comes back again. [20] For you are our pride and joy.”’ 1 Thes. 2:19-20 (NLT)  
What would God want to see?  Our people.  Those precious people he has entrusted to us.   

By: Lance Witt (replenish.net)

Values inform practice May 14, 2008

We’ve been having an interesting discussion amongst our staff about our values. We are trying to determine what our current core values are versus what they should be in the coming years.

However, we discovered a glitch in the system along the way. We had been talking about what our strengths and weaknesses were, how we could better reach our community, what our mission and vision statements could be, etc, etc.

After discussing these we moved on to talking about core values. We quickly realized that the first step in any process about vision, purpose, and mission MUST be built on the foundation of values. If you have not fleshed out your values, you cannot determine the other issues.

VALUES INFORM PRACTICE! This thought came to me yesterday during our discussion. What we value as a church staff and body will determine our steps. If we value community, we will focus our efforts and mission on building a communal body of believers. If we value Scripture, our teachings will revolve around the Word of God. If we value authenticity, we will tear down any barriers that build up a false image of who we are.

Determining your core values will make the process much, much easier. Your mission will flow seamlessly from your values. Spell them out for your church body and they will never have to second-guess who you are or where you are going.

Need Versus Vision May 6, 2008

As a leader in children’s ministry, I am constantly battling pragmatism. It is easy to get lost in the busy work week leading up to Sunday. You get calls from leaders that are going to be out on Sunday and then you’re forced to furiously call substitute leaders to replace the absentee.

In the midst of that, you may not even have the time to evaluate whether or not that substitute is a fit in that environment. However, you do not really have time to weigh those thoughts against the need to fill a spot.

The battle is often more intense than that. I would estimate that 80% of children’s ministry leaders struggle greatly in recruiting enough leaders. I don’t think there has been a day in my ministry that I had enough leaders or was 100% satisfied with the leadership I had. That’s not an indictment of any current or past leaders. It’s more of an indictment of myself.

I fell into the trap. I did not have enough warm bodies to fill the need, so I would take anyone and put them anywhere I had a vacancy.

That’s the battle of children’s ministry. You must provide enough “staff” to properly care for your children. However, you then fall into the battle of need versus vision.

Jesus chose His disciples based on His vision to reconcile the world to Himself and also bring glory to His name. He wasn’t simply trying to fill twelve slots. Twelve guys with scruffy beards and worn sandals wasn’t the qualification.

Jesus had a vision… a perfect vision. He then had a perfect plan to fulfill that vision. Ministry needs to follow the same method. Now, don’t get me wrong, no church has a perfect plan or perfect vision. Our fallen nature will always interfere. However, we can have a very good, God-ordained vision and plan to achieve that vision.

So, if you’re recruiting leaders, do not recruit simply to fill a spot. Recruit leaders who will lead according to the vision God has given you for your ministry. Also, recruit according to the context of your church. God has planted you in a specific location and surrounded you with a specific group of people. Therefore, equip leaders and place leaders that appropriately accommodate that context.

Do not let your needs deter you from your vision.

SBC Baptisms Lowest in over 20 years May 5, 2008

The Southern Baptist Convention is at a crossroads. For the third straight year baptisms have declined and are now at their lowest level since 1987. To add insult to injury, there are 473 new SBC churches.

The simple truth is that SBC churches are not reaching people with the Gospel like they used to.

We just had a president, Bobby Welch, who spent his entire year in office pushing personal FAITH evangelism. However, baptisms declined under his leadership too. People see through the facade that is the “salesman” approach to evangelism. They are looking for answers elsewhere. They are seeking an answer that doesn’t involve a quick response in a high-pressure situation.

Many SBC leaders are saying that, “we are a denomination that, for the most part, has lost its evangelistic passion.” That’s simply not true. It’s not an issue of losing passion, it’s an issue of no longer being relevant and relational.

It may take a crisis like this for the SBC to reevaluate their “strategy” and refocus their dulled, and honestly irrelevant, evangelistic tools.

Reveal: Where Are You? April 30, 2008

I’m currently reading the “Reveal” book from Willow Creek. It’s really opening my eyes to so much that I felt I should have known about the church and ministry, but never fully realized.

Essentially, about 4 years ago Willow Creek began an in-depth survey of their congregation to see how their involvement in church “activities” aligned with their spiritual growth. You might be saying that’s an impossible study, but you’d be wrong. They have done it and they have done it with excellence.

Here’s what they found:

They also created a “spiritual continuum” chart that showed the stages of spiritual maturity:

They found that as people progressed along this continuum, they began to view the church differently. This survey revealed that people went from seeing the church as a vehicle that fed their spiritual growth to seeing it as a place of service and volunteer leadership.

Click here to read more. It’s worth your time.

Day 1 at Willow Creek April 23, 2008

We’ve just settled in back at our hotel after a very busy two days in the Chicago area.

Day one at the Conspire Conference was great. There’s not much that can be said about Willow Creek but WOW! What a church and what a campus. I’ve never seen a facility like this. So well planned and thought out. Everything is beautiful and immaculate. Very easy to navigate and explore.

There were many incredible speakers today. David Weil from Christ Church in the Chicago metro area spoke about remaining connected to the “Source” while in ministry. He had a great tree illustration that I won’t get into for the sake of time.

John Trent and Kurt Bruner were also wonderful. They spoke about ministry to families. The statement that highlighted their time was:

Church programs=never better

Faith transference in families=never worse

Family ministry=never more important

The day ended with a fantastic session with Rick Dempsey and Glen Keane. Rick is the Senior Vice President of Creative Voices and Disney Character Voices International. Yes…that’s a real job. He’s also a very devoted believer. He talked about telling the story of the Bible in a relevant way.

Glen Keane is a 30-year veteran of Disney Animation Studies. He animated and created the characters Ariel in the Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Pocahontas, the Beast from Beauty and the Beast, and Tarzan (to name a few). He told his personal testimony while sketching some of his characters and integrating them into his story.

Aaron Reynolds ended the day by trying to connect the dots of what we had covered during in our time together. Aaron authored the book The Fabulous Reinvention of Sunday School, and spent his time discussing the importance of knowing your audience and the challenge that brings when your audience is kids. He challenged us to get into the lives of the children we minister to. Find out their likes and dislikes, etc.

We capped off the night by meeting my parents in downtown Chicago for a deep-dish pizza at Pizzeria Uno.