25 Aug Jamaican Pride

I sent a note to Owen Gordon (right), UB endorsed missionary and president of Jamaica Bible College, commenting on how excited Jamaica must be over the success of their sprinters in the Olympics. Owen responded:

“Oh yes Steve. There has been a euphoria that has swept across the country. People gathered in groups to celebrate. It reached a high when the 4×100 relay was being run. People felt badly for Asafa Powell, so when he took off in the final leg and broke the world record…it was simply GREAT!

“We all are hoping that this new inspiration will have a positive effect on all of us as Jamaicans, and that the scourge of crime and violence will be addressed.

“This has been a great Olympics for Jamaica: six gold medals, three silver and two bronze. For such a very small country, we all feel very proud of the athletes. The government and the country is planning a big welcome celebration!”

23 Aug Be the Church

Valerie Reynolds, Senior Pastor, Mt. Hope UB, Carson City, Mich.
Last week I spent some time with John and Valerie Reynolds in Carson City, Mich., where Valerie is pastor of the Mount Hope UB. She showed me an article she wrote for the local newspaper. I liked it and wanted to share it here.– Ron Ramsey

What’s happening to church today? Part of the problem is that we misunderstand the nature of the church. Our language is a dead give-away. We talk about “going to church,” the same way we talk about going to the store, going to the mall, or going to Wal-Mart.

We think of the church as a place we visit–and leave–rather than the reality that we should be living “church” every day. The early Christians, however, didn’t talk about “going to church.” They talked about being the church.

Acts 2: 42-27 is an example of “being the church.”

“They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers. Everyone around was in awe–all those wonders and signs done through the apostles! And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person’s need was met. They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple, followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every day their number grew as God added those who were saved.”

After Peter’s sermon, “there were added about 3000 who became believers.” And it happened because the people were not just going to church, but they were being church. They lived it. They did these things “day by day.” These early believers were still rubbing shoulders with people in their community. They didn’t sever all relationships with unbelievers–and neither should we.

Every day we should be rubbing shoulders with neighbors, coworkers, friends, family, clerks at stores and gas stations. The early church grew because they tried to meet needs outside of the church as well as within it.

They didn’t come to church to sit in a pew. They came to church to learn, fellowship, share meals, and then go out and impact their world.

As mature, growing, or new believers, we need to remember that our conversion is not the end of the story. It is only the beginning. Be the church.

21 Aug Country Music, the Scotts, and Speckled Birds

My children gave me a large book for Christmas, The All Encompassing History of Country Music. It’s been fun reading that. It’s not the type of book you sit down and read cover to cover. I read it in sections. 

Interestingly, a lot of country and bluegrass music has roots in Scottish music. Ramsey is a Scottish name. Maybe that’s why I have such an affinity for country music. 

I don’t like all country music, because some of it is trash, but I like the old stuff, the bluegrass. A lot of the early bluegrass had Christian themes to it. Probably my favorite song of all time is “Great Speckled Bird,” an old bluegrass song from a long time ago. The Great Speckled Bird is mentioned in the Bible; see if you can find it. 

At Mainstreet Church, whenever someone complained about our music, I would tell them, “I don’t like it either. You should be glad you’re not singing what I like, because it would be with a twang.” When I left, they brought in a bluegrass band for the going-away party. 

18 Aug Partnering to Start Churches

Darrel Bosworth, Pastor, Kilpatrick UB Church (Woodland, Mich.)
I’m a member of the West Michigan LEAD team, which is focused on supporting the Imagine This church plant in Grand Ledge, Mich. Mike Caley, another member of that LEAD team, wrote about it previously.

My church, Kilpatrick, has been speaking and talking a lot in the last two years about getting beyond ourselves. We ask, “Who are you talking to about Christ in your workplace?”

We’re in the LEAD team to try to build some of that missional DNA about birthing churches into our congregation. We’re not in a position to plant a church on our own, but through the LEAD team, we can partner with other churches to do it.

As a LEAD team, our purposes are:

• To launch a new church every two years. That probably won’t happen for us in this first stage, but that’s our hope.
• To gain a win for Imagine This. We talk about birthing a church every two years, but we decided we’re not going to abandon ship until we know they’re up and going, even if it means continuing support for more than two years.
• To support Imagine This by giving money and, when applicable, people (some churches are located too far away).
• To meet six times a year to encourage and pray for the planter, Gordon Kettel.
• To be a pilot for future LEAD teams. A second LEAD team is forming in southern Michigan.
• To help churches understand that birthing a church is a natural part of the reproduction process of a healthy church.

We’ve begun considering where to plant the next church. In Michigan, a number of United Brethren churches are located on the I-96 corridor from Fowlerville to Grand Rapids. We’re looking at some places there.

16 Aug Traveling Music

I keep a lot of CDs in my car. I mostly listen to Christian stuff, but I also have a lot of bluegrass. I enjoy listening to the Gaither Vocal Band. I became aware of Linda Randall on one of the Gaither Homecoming videos, and bought her CD. Her songs really speak to me. 

God on the Mountain. I love that song. I’ll put it in and keep repeating it for 30 miles, because it really touches me. The gist is that the God you meet on the mountaintop is the same God who will be with you in the valley. You have pain and hurt in the valley, but it’s the same God.  I’ve been through a lot of valley experiences in my life, with health issues, and that song has meant a lot to me. 

I have some Ray Charles music, a lot of stuff from Hank Williams, Sr., and some music by Cowboy Copas, my cousin, who was a star on the Grand Ole Oprey. Then I have some tapes that trace the history of country music.

I do listen to some talk radio when I travel, but only until it makes me mad. Then I turn it off and put in a tape. 

What kind of music do you listen to in the car?

13 Aug Getting Intentional in Outreach

As pastor of Mainstreet Church, I told the staff that we needed to take the lead in reaching non-Christians. We needed to look for redemptive opportunities.

I started going to the same barber every two weeks. He wasn’t a believer, which is why I went there. He didn’t come to faith, but I always felt he was getting close. I went to the same gas station, same coffee shop.

Our youth pastor got involved in sports leaves run by the community. Rather than fight them, let’s get involved with them. He would go to soccer games, meet people who didn’t know Christ, and try to reach them.

What are you doing to intentionally create relationships with non-Christians? Post a comment.

12 Aug Thinking of Building? Stop!

In our travels I have heard rumors of a few of our smaller to medium sized churches discussing plans to build. That concerns me. Having led one church through two major building projects and another through major renovations, I know a little about the processes and impact such a move can have.

Several factors suggest that building more buildings is not always the wise decision to make as a steward of the Lord:

• The state of today’s economy.
• The fact that most of our churches, even those who are discussing building, are virtually stagnant or in decline.
• The availability of creative new solutions that were not available even a few years ago.

But if you are still discussing building, please STOP and ask the following questions.

Can you present a clear rationale that answers these questions:

• Why are you building?
• What are you building?

I have heard of and talked to churches that erected buildings, and when the leaders were asked what it would be used for, they answered that they thought it would be a good part of their facility to have. No strategy. No plan.

If you cannot clearly communicate what will take place in that building once it is completed and how it will help you achieve your vision, DON’T BUILD!

2. Have you exhausted ALL avenues of meeting the need for which you are building?

Many churches only look at one solution for their need.

• Could you double use your currently rooms with some flexibility in meeting times?
• Are there other facilities nearby that could be used or rented to meet the need?
• Is there a way to do a video venue to another part of your building to solve your over-crowding in worship?
• Is there any way to do something short of building another building?

3. Is there another church in the area you can partner with rather than build?

The Body of Christ (all believing churches) has literally billions of dollars of assets sitting woefully underused across this country. If turf wars could end and barriers between fellowships would cease, we could work together to accomplish something great. Church is about relationships and transformational change, not buildings. So could you use a resource another church has that they would make available to meet your goals and needs?

There are other good questions to ask but these can get you thinking. Remember, people draw people. Relationships, not buildings, are the most important thing. And the only reason to build something is if that building will provide the most effective means of accomplishing your goals.

07 Aug What is the Governance System?

We encourage churches to adopt a governance system. What does that mean? 

In a management model, the board says, “Pastor, you’re responsible to lead, but you can’t do anything without our permission.” When you’re given responsibility, but not authority to act, it’s called a bureaucracy.

One pastor needed board approval before he could buy something which was already in the budget. “That doesn’t make sense,” he told them. They said they honestly hadn’t thought of it that way. 

The governance system (which is explained in the book “Winning on Purpose”), follows this pattern: the board governs, the pastor leads, the staff manages, and the people minister. 

The pastor is given responsibility with authority–but there is accountability. Most boards control how the pastor does ministry. But in churches that have adopted the governance system, we’ve heard pastors say, “I’ve never been more free to lead, but I’ve never been held this accountable.” 

05 Aug Joined at the Hip

I heard  a complaint, though to me it was a compliment. Someone said, “We heard you talk, then we heart Pat Jones talk, and we heard the same thing.”

So? That’s the way it should be.

I wouldn’t have wanted to do this job without Pat Jones, the Director of Healthy Church Ministries. He’s a great asset. I want you to know that we’re locked at the hip. If you get one, you get the other. Pat and I don’t have secrets–what he knows, I know. This relationship has been a great thing for me. We keep each other halfway decent.