11 Dec Book: Prayer Coach

Ron Ramsey, Bishop
The book Prayer Coach came across my desk as a freebie from the publisher, Crossway Books. It is written by James L. Nicodem, pastor of a church in St. Charles, Ill. 

I had laid the book, aside but just picked it up a few nights ago. I haven’t read far, maybe 2-3 chapters, but I did skip to the last chapter. It deals with the subject of Satan and how he tries to stop Christians from praying.
That chapter is based on Ephesians 6, where Paul describes the armored garment Christians are to wear. He describes how Satan wishes to defeat us. That chapter alone is worth the price of the book. 

To me, it is a very refreshing approach to prayer in the life of a believer. It is serious and very practical, not stuffy. This type of book would make an excellent study for a group of men. (Women might find it interesting as well but it does have a sports analogy and Bobby Bowden wrote the forward). 

Anyway, I’d like to suggest that you buy this book. You can order it from Healthy Church Ministries, 1-888-622-3019, if you’d like. And I’d like to have some discussions about the book on the BishopBlog.

I’ll wait a few days until you get a chance to get the book, and then I’ll begin offering some observations about each chapter, starting with chapter 1. Then invite any and all who will to engage in the discussion to jump in. Who know–it might be fun as well as profitable. It might be a way to energize our prayer life.

10 Dec One Final Thought on Momentum

Steve Dennie, Communications Director

And now, one final thought on momentum from Andy Stanley. I promise–no more.

Momentum is never triggered by tweaking something old. It is triggered by introducing something new. Human nature prefers the old to the new. So our default action, when we want to become more effective, is to tweak what we’re already doing. More training, different schedule, new materials, whatever. B-o-r-i-n-g.

Perhaps it would be better to think, “What is something we’re not doing, something not even on our radar, that we should try?”

I think of our new church in Grand Ledge, Mich., which held a Vacation Bible School this summer in a trailer park. Rather than ask people to come to the church for two hours of wonderful programs, they took everything right to their target audience.

Imagine the logistics–equipment, food, shelter in case of rain, etc. But they did it, and people were saved. Such a simple idea that makes imminent sense. And it had never before crossed my mind. 

As one of those computer companies says, Think Different. (And don’t get upset by the missing “ly.”)

08 Dec Yet Another Thought on Momentum

Steve Dennie, Communications Director
Here is another thought on momentum from Andy Stanley, adding to the others I mentioned here.

If you have momentum and you don’t know why–you are one stupid decision away from killing it.

I love my church. But right now, I think my pastor and most of us would agree, Anchor lacks momentum. We’re nowhere close to being a dead, status quo, business-as-usual church, and lots of ministry still happens. But momentum? Not so much, right now.

When Anchor (my church) started over ten years ago, we definitely had momentum. But I’m not sure why. And I’m wondering if we did something to kill it. Did we make a “stupid decision” somewhere along the line? I can’t think of anything offhand, but I’m gonna keep pondering.

Can you point to a stupid decision your church made which, looking back, may account for your lack of momentum?

04 Dec Who Owns Your Church? (Part 3)

Pat Jones, Director of Healthy Church Ministries
In the previous two posts:

• We examined the deception of thinking, “This is my church.”
• We substantiated that the church, including the church you attend, belongs to Jesus.

Now: how can you properly say, “This is my church”?

Now that we our attitude is straight, we can rejoice in the following:

• It is MY church because I get the privilege of worshiping there with other believers.
• It is MY church because I can honor the Lord with my finances and sacrificial giving there.
• It is MY church because I get to use my spiritual gifts there to build up the body of believers.
• It is MY church because I have the privilege of speaking things that build up others there.
• It is MY church because I come under the authority of those who are exercising spiritual leadership there.
• It is MY church because it’s where I have chosen to join with others in transforming my community for Christ by reaching lost people with the Good News.

There are many more ways we could celebrate being a part of a church, but notice that they all involve a privilege and responsibility–and not a right of control.

So enjoy your church. Love the church in which you serve. But always acknowledge the ownership of the Lord over your church and don’t allow yourself to get deceived.

02 Dec Who Owns Your Church? (Part 2)

Pat Jones, Director of Healthy Church Ministries
Yesterday, I asked you to consider the question, “Do I feel I have a shared ownership of the church I attend?”

I hope you wrestled with that question and did not easily fluff it off. It is an important question to ask. Your view of what happens at the church is based on your answer to this question. Today, I want to share a Scriptural defense of who truly owns and should control the agenda of the church.

The church belongs to…Jesus Christ.

• He is the head of the Church (Ephesians 1:22).
• He died for the Church (Romans 5:8; 1 Thess. 5:10).
• He determines the gifts each person receives through His Spirit (1 Cor. 12:11).
• He freely gives us all things we need (Romans 8:32; 2 Peter 1:3).
• He is the Savior of the church (Ephesians 5:23).
• He holds every church in His hands (Revelation 3:1).
• He gives the mission to the church (Matthew 28:19, 20).

We could give many more proofs. But the point is made. It is HIS church. His blood bought it; His Word established it; His Spirit fills it.

So how much do you think about His ownership and seek His direction about what happens at your church?

On Thursday, we will finally look at how we can say, “This is my church.”

01 Dec Who Owns Your Church? (Part 1)

Pat Jones, Director of Healthy Church Ministries
I’ve been amazed to see so many people living in deception when it comes to their relationship with their own church. When disgruntlement raises its head, or when people resist change that will bring about greater effectiveness in fulfilling the mission of the church, it’s common to hear statements like these:

• “But this is my church.”
• “You’re not going to do that to my church.”

Generally, the term “my” implies not only identification with, but also ownership. My computer. My home. I own them. And I determine what happens with them.

There is the deception. Did you catch it? 

It is the same subtle deception Jesus spoke about in Luke 20. He tells a parable about a man who planted a vineyard, entrusted it to some farmers, and went away. He wanted to collect from his tenants and sent servants to do so. But they beat the servants and finally killed the owner’s son because they deceived themselves into thinking that they owned the vineyard. 

They worked it. They spent the time there. They kept the walls up. They watered it. How dare the owner try and take something from them!

So it is with churches. You can deceive yourself into thinking you can do with the church what you want because:

• I am a member.
• I have attended there for a long time.
• I have given money to buy or build or pay off debts.
• I have worked there for so long.
• And no one has the authority or right to do anything without my permission. 

I want to take a couple installments to address ownership of the church and our proper relationship to the church.

To prepare, ask yourself these questions:

• Do I feel I have a shared ownership of the church I attend?
• Do I see my church as a place of shared responsibility to the Owner?

One last thought. Jesus looked right at the people and asked what they thought the owner would do to the tenants? He told them he would come, kill those tenants, and give the vineyard to others. The people responded, “May it never be.” 

I pray it won’t be so for any of us.

27 Nov Happy Thanksgiving!

Have a blessed Thanksgiving! See you next Monday.

25 Nov More Thoughts on Momentum

Steve Dennie, Communications Director

A few days ago, I mentioned something Andy Stanley said concerning momentum. Here’s another one of his thoughts.

In the church world, we put up with lack of momentum as long as we can still pay the bills.

Now there’s a sad thought. “I am financially viable, therefore I exist.” Is your church in that boat?

Too many churches choose to limp along, keeping the doors open, as long as they can pay the bills. The only momentum is downward. Meanwhile, they shoo away opportunities which would be to their long-term good–like merging with a nearby church. Such a move would make both churches stronger. No longer stuck in survival mode, they could devote resources  to ministry.
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21 Nov Momentum

Steve Dennie, Communications Director

One blog I follow is by Tim Stevens, administrative pastor of Granger Community Church near South Bend, Ind. They’re doing a one-day Catalyst conference, with Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel. Stanley began the day by talking about momentum. Stevens provided some notes from that session, including this statement:

Momentum = forward motion fueled by a series of wins.

I’ve been thinking about that in two contexts:

• the local church (including my own church, Anchor).
• the United Brethren denomination as a whole.

Throughout my lifetime, I’ve heard people say, especially when things aren’t going well, “What we need is revival.” When things aren’t going well, the answer is the same: revival. That’s true to an extent, and it always sounds exceedingly spiritual, especially when embedded in a prayer. But what does it look like? What exactly are they praying for?

It seems like they’re too often praying for One Big Win, a giant divine intervention that will get everybody doing what they’re supposed to be doing. This does happen, but it’s elusive.

Instead of waiting for revival, what are some small wins my church can pursue? Putting several small wins together is like gradually pushing the accelerator. You build momentum.

At the denominational level, Pat Jones, as Director of Healthy Church Ministries, has been working with a few local churches at a time. He does a weekend consultation, then meets with the pastor once a month for a year. As a result, churches have turned around or been propelled forward. It’s not flashy, but it’s a series of wins.

19 Nov The Spiritual Gift of Leadership (Part 2)

Ron Ramsey, Bishop
I have been around people who have the gift of leadership. It is apparent. When they enter a room, they just sort of take over, even though they might not be in charge of the meeting.

What if I have been elected, appointed, or drafted into an area of leadership? Does that mean I can do it? I believe so, and here’s why.

Even though I lack the spiritual gift of leadership, I can learn to act in the ways of a leader. No, that doesn’t mean you’re being a hypocrite. After all, I can share my faith with nonbelievers without being endowed with the spiritual gift of evangelism. I can help people in need without possessing the spiritual gift of mercy.
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