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02 Aug

August 2, 2008 |

Here are two comments people made about new music sung in church. Both are taken from Dan Kimball’s blog.

“I am no music scholar, but I feel I know appropriate church music when I hear it.  Last Sunday’s new hymn–if you can call it that–sounded like a sentimental love ballad one would expect to hear crooned in a saloon. If you insist on exposing us to rubbish like this–in God’s house!–don’t be surprised if many of the faithful look for a new place to worship. The hymns we grew up with are all we need.”

“What is wrong with the inspiring hymns with which we grew up? When I go to church, it is to worship God, not to be distracted with learning a new hymn.  Last Sunday’s was particularly unnerving.  The tune was un-singable and the new harmonies were quite distorting.”

The first comment was written in 1863 in reference to the hymn “Just As I Am.” The target of the second comment, from 1890, was “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”

30 Jul

July 30, 2008 |

I love books. I keep a lot of books at home, and I’ve given away a lot of books. Someone told me that a person who can read but doesn’t is no better off than a person who can’t read at all. Books can open up your mind and vista. You can do things by reading a book, be translated to somewhere else. That’s the magic of books.

Christian men are notoriously bad about not reading. At Scripture Press, when we produced a book for men, we had to use a cover with a soft design that would attract a woman, who would then buy it for a man. Women, we knew, buy more books than men, even books for men.

At Mainstreet, I was always after people to read. I gave the elders books to read, theology books. There are so many good Christian books.

28 Jul

July 28, 2008 |

At Mainstreet Church, I used a big PVC pipe to illustrate the disciple-making process. Outside the pipe are people who don’t even acknowledge that God exists. But once they realize there is a God, they enter the pipeline, and we try to move them along–

  • realizing a need for God
  • learning about Jesus
  • realizing their need for Jesus
  • giving their life to Christ
  • and then growing.

It’s all part of the journey through the discipleship pipeline.

After a person came to Christ, I would tell him, “You need to go back to your non-religious friends and get them in the pipeline with you.”

“How do I do that?”

“Tell them what you did.”

So they’d come to church with someone on their arm, and would walk with them through the process.

Spiritual maturity is not measured by what you know, but by who is on your arm and heart on Sunday. If you don’t have someone on your arm and heart, don’t talk to me about your maturity.

22 Jul

July 22, 2008 |

Dave Datema, UB ordained minister and endorsed missionary, talks on his blog, Freakin’ Missionary, about how God works slowly, and of our attempts to speed him up. He started with a post called “God’s Slow Ways,” which was followed by “Speeding God Up.” The latter says:

I find it hard to know when to wait on God to work His purposes and when to launch out in faith.  Great perils await us when we go to either extreme. Some people wait and do nothing, expecting God to do everything. Others are always doing things, sure that “God helps those who help themselves.” So how do we know which to do?

20 Jul

July 20, 2008 |

Scott Hardaway’s June 29 blog post, “What I Don’t Believe,” presented 26 things that he doesn’t believe. It’s an interesting list. Here are a few of them. (Scott is pastor of Pathway Community Church in Jackson, Mich.)

  • I don’t believe in the avoidance of pain or discomfort as a goal of life.
  • I don’t believe in the American Dream.
  • I don’t believe that inauthentic relationships are worth any time or effort.
  • I don’t believe that most people who claim the name of Christ actually have any kind of true relationship with him (in America, at least).
  • I don’t believe in cutting short the mission of the church to please the already-convinced.
  • I don’t believe in worrying about high or low self-esteem, since Jesus calls us to die to ourselves.
  • I don’t believe any church will ever be perfect.
  • I don’t believe any concept of joining people together will ever be greater than the church.
  • I don’t believe that the pursuit of power, pleasure, possessions, popularity, or prestige will ever lead to fulfillment.
  • I don’t believe an American political structure will ever work as an effective model for a church structure.

Does that peak your interest? You can read the rest of the list on Scott’s blog, and he invites you to add your own items to the list.

11 Jul

July 11, 2008 |

Todd Fetters, Devonshire Church, Harrisburg, Pa.
At a recent funeral, I heard the classic hymn “Amazing Grace.” The familiar second line of the first stanza has since stuck in my mind: “I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.”

While it is true that Christ saved me when I was a mere seven years old, it is also true that Christ is still saving me. And because of God’s amazing grace in the last 12 months, I could easily amend the second line to read, “I was stuck, but I’m progressing, was discouraged, but now am hopeful.”

Okay, so my amended lyrics don’t flow as well. My point is this: God’s grace is always amazing. We make a huge mistaken when we think God’s grace is amazing only in relation to our moment of salvation. God’s grace has got to be amazing to you right now…in the past week…in the past month…in the past year.

I’ll bet you can point to ways in which God’s continuing transformational grace has recently touched and transformed some aspect of your life. You could amend the lyrics to “Amazing Grace” just like I did. Here are a few other edits that I think would be relevant to Christians today:

  • Last year I was stingy with my time, abilities and money, but now am generous.
  • A week ago I was addicted (to gambling, alcohol, sleep, entertainment, pornography), but now I’m free.
  • Last month I was distrusting, but now I’m trusting.
  • I once was discontent, but now I’m satisfied.
  • Yesterday I was scared, but now I’m at peace.
  • A month ago I was angry, but now I’m loving.
  • Two years ago I was overly competitive, but now am compassionate.
  • Five years ago I was depressed, but now I’m filled with joy.
  • Six months ago I was disobedient, but now I’m walking in obedience.
  • I once was bitter, but now I’m forgiving.

What lyrics would you choose to describe your most recent encounter with God’s amazing grace?

08 Jul

July 8, 2008 |

Recently I preached at one of our churches at their Saturday night service. After the service, someone handed me an envelope with my name on it. The envelope had been placed in the offering plate. It contained a three-page letter outlining concerns regarding the pastor of another church in the area. The letter was unsigned. 

Bishop Ron Ramsey and I have an agreed-upon policy regarding unsigned letters. We toss them. Not that we callously desire to ignore people’s concerns. There are times when people may have legitimate concerns that should be addressed. But sending an anonymous note to the Bishop (or a pastor or board member) violates the principles of Scripture. If I have a problem with a brother, I need to go to him. The whole process is outlined in Matthew 18. 

It is also unfair to throw out criticism (and many times venomous accusations) against someone and not be willing to face them or discuss it with them. I often wonder if the writers of these notes would want the same done to them.

So if you want to raise a concern with us regarding what is happening in one of our churches, you must understand two things. 

  1. Sign your name or it will be tossed without any action.
  2. If you sign your name, be prepared to answer in the affirmative that you have gone to the pastor yourself with your concern before writing to us. 

We must follow Matthew 18 in our relationships with each other or we are no better than the world around us. And we give Satan the opportunity to have a foothold in the life of our church.

07 Jul

July 7, 2008 |

We need to be change agents in our churches. Change involves a three-step process:

  1. Here’s where we are.
  2. Here’s where we want to be.
  3. The neutral zone in the middle. What you go through to get where you want to be.

The neutral zone is a tricky area. Change is occurring, but it hasn’t become fully implemented in people’s hearts and minds.

People may say, “Yeah, we’ll try that for a while to see if it works.”

No, that’s the wrong attitude. You do it because it’s what God called you to do.

The management of change occurs in the neutral zone. The problem is that you are implementing change, but a lot of stuff you left behind is clamoring for your attention. The challenge is to not get so tied up with what you’re leaving behind that you don’t get to where you want to go.

03 Jul

July 3, 2008 |

Many of us have attended conferences at Willow Creek and have been greatly influenced by the ministry of Bill Hybels. Willow recently released the results of the Reveal survey, as they call it, which took a sobering look at the level of life transformation actually occurring at Willow and other churches across the country. As a result of that study, they are making some major changes.

Unfortunately, too much of the information about the reported changes has not been accurate. Bill Hybels finally felt compelled to address the misinformation. He did that through this video, which explains what Willow is actually doing–a mere “strategic adjustment,” he calls it. The video not only clears up the confusion, but gives some good insights into reaching the current generation and the way “seekers” have changed over the years. Willow staff Nancy Beach elaborates in another YouTube video.