I’m in Chicago attending MinistryCOM, an annual conference for Christian communications professionals. Nearly everyone is on staff at a megachurch. They are a tech-savvy bunch. They carry laptops, consult smartphones, use Twitter and Facebook, write and read blogs. Very connected. And highly competent.

This is my fourth year attending MinistryCOM. I always learn valuable stuff.

Yesterday I attended the “Branding 101” workshop, something they do every year. The topic of branding crops up constantly. Large churches focus a lot of attention on their brand identity–how they are perceived, and the experience people have in attending. This was my third time attending Branding 101. Today, it was led by two guys from CHANGEffect, a Christian firm based in Chicago. They hit the subject from some new angles.

Here’s one thought I found interesting. It concerns our consumer mentality.

They said we often present Christ as a transaction–you accept Christ, you get a ticket to heaven. But we shouldn’t be surprised, then, that so many of our people take the attitude, “What does the church do for me?”

Isn’t that true? Our pews are filled with folks who just take take take, and if they don’t like the meal you provide, they complain. Like people griping because their steak is medium and they asked for medium well.

Rather than view themselves as consumers, people need to understand that they are becoming part of a movement. They need to view themselves as citizens, rather than as consumers. They are citizens of a community to which they belong, and in which they have responsibilities.

In your church, do you have consumers or citizens?

They also cited several trends in society which churches need to adapt to. Let me mention two of them.

  • We need to move from products to experiences. Products meet needs. Experiences fulfill desires. What are people experiencing at your church? To reach younger generations, you need to provide a total experience, not just a collection of well-done elements.
  • From communication to dialogue. Communication involves telling. Dialogue is sharing; it’s two-way. When people attend your church, are they just sitting there watching the show, or is there interaction?

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The bottom picture shows Rev. Prudencio Lim, superintendent of the United Brethren Philippines Conference, speaking to some of his people. In the Batangas province, they baptized 25 people on Holy Thursday last April. Notice the setting–a very public place. That photo should inspire.

2 Samuel 23:20-21 tells about an obscure man in the big picture of the scripture. But his peers woudn’t have considered him obscure. He was the kind of guy you would have looked at and wondered, “What is he thinking?” If you were going into battle, you would be very glad to be on his side. His name was Benaiah.

Mark Batterson, pastor of National City Church in Washington, D.C., wrote a book entitled “In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day.” Benaiah chased a lion into a pit on a snowy day, and then went into the pit and killed the lion.

I simply shake my head in amazement until I begin to apply this story.

I encourage you to consider the Christ who lives in you. “God did not give us the spirit of timidity but the spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7). He wants us to walk with courage and stand for what is right.

This is not a call to the church to simply get on our soapbox about the political issues that we care about, but rather to understand that many people around us need to see Christ’s love lived out in extreme ways. Do the people we rub shoulders with see that we love Christ and each other? They should.

My prayer is that God will fan into flames a burning desire in me to reach others for Him. Lord, let it spread through out your church. Is there anybody out there that is ready to chase a lion?

Vision involves seeing your church’s future through God’s eyes rather than your own. We easily focus only on what we can see and do. We look at what has happened at our church in the past, and we assume the future will be the same way. As a result, we frequently repeat history.

But vision provides a brand new picture for your church. It gives you hope that transcends the image that past history paints. It shows you what could be, even if you can’t touch it or totally figure it out. It opens a window in front of you that is different from anything that you have seen before.

As we embark on the journey of life that God has placed before us, I challenge you to seek God’s heart for your individual church. Look beyond the limits you have always seen in the past. Catch a glimpse of what God wants to place deep in your heart. Give birth to the vision of what God wants to do.

Find the foundation for your vision through studying his Word. When God’s truth and the vision connect, then run toward the picture that is there. We then should praise our God for allowing us to see the reality of the vision that he had in mind for us all along.

On Monday and Wednesday mornings, the Healthy Ministry Resources staff starts the day at 7 a.m. with a devotional time. We share updates from our lives, and from things we’ve heard across the church. The persons who travel a lot usually bring back stories from the churches and mission fields they visit. Phone calls and emails bring additional information.

We read from a devotional book, which this year has been Robert J. Morgan’s “From This Verse.” Then we pray.

Each day, we pray for a United Brethren church or missionary. This week it happens to be two churches in Maryland:

  • Brooklyn Park UB in Baltimore (John Christophel, pastor).
  • Bethany House of the Lord in Cumberland (Michael Mudge, pastor).

We’ve been doing this for over a decade. The national office staff exists for our churches, and praying for you is one way we keep that mission central.

Church legal expert Richard Hammar talks about the 10 greatest legal issues facing today’s churches. Here’s the list. The article, on the Brotherhood Mutual site, gives brief explanations of each, along with good links for additional reading.

1. Negligent selection of youth workers.
2. Registered sex offenders.
3. Same-sex marriages.
4. The duty to warn (giving employment references).
5. Child abuse reporting.
6. Church security.
7. Church computer policies.
8. Employment liability: the ministerial exception (staff classified as clergy).
9. Discrimination based on morals or religion.
10. Automatic excess benefit transactions (taxable fringe benefits for pastors). 

The reason Healthy Ministry Resources exists is found in the success of each of our local churches. I want to be a lead cheerleader in encouraging each of our churches to be engaged in the harvest that God has for us. We are here for you. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you and the United Brethren in Christ Church in this capacity.

I believe the local church is the vehicle that God uses to reach a hurting world and to grow people up in their personal journey of faith. I believe that God wants to create in us a movement that shows our communities the love and compassion that is born out of the lives of believers who are sold out to follow hard after Christ.

My wife Sandy and I moved to Huntington on July 27. Our belongings followed us a few days later. Since then:

  • I have officiated at 3 weddings back at Colwood, the church I pastored in Caro, Mich..
  • I have visited 4 different churches on Sunday mornings in 3 different states.
  • I have been involved in stationing committee work.
  • I met with a group of pastors.
  • I have been appointing people to serve on various teams.
  • I have begun meeting individually with each member of the fine staff here at Healthy Ministry Resources.

As I write this, I am at the end of my first official day as bishop. I am glad that I have had a few days over which to stretch all of that activity. But it raises a flag to me of the importance of making sure I do what is needful and productive. Staying busy is easy, but working God’s plan is where we all need to focus.

I came across this article, “Quoting Satan,” on SermonCentral.com. It is by Chad McCallum, pastor of Compass Point church in Byron Center, Mich. While we often kick ourselves for not being effective Christians, this article imagines how we must look to Satan–a strong, flexible, resilient force that he’s been unable to stop.