02 Jul Control Issues

When Jesus was ministering to his disciples, the mother of James and John wanted to know which of her boys would enter the Kingdom first. She wanted them at the front of the potluck line.

The issue is control. Churches too often have people who want to control what happens, because they think they know better. They want to decide which table goes first at the potluck. That is carnality.

I had a whole bunch of people at Mainstreet who didn’t agree with me, but we got along and were excited because we baptized another 12 people on Sunday. Give up trying to control what happens in your church, and focus on fulfilling the Great Commission. It’s not about who goes first at potlucks. It’s about lost souls.

17 Jun Preaching at the Steering Wheel

At Mainstreet, when I prepared my sermons, I would frequently hit a road block, unable to get my ideas to gel. That was always frustrating. So I would go visit people in the hospital, and in between hospitals, I would preach at the steering wheel. Lo and behold, it sounded pretty good! I’d stop and jot down some ideas, and things came together.

I prepared a lot of sermons that way. I would get excited about something, pound the steering wheel, and feel like I wanted to kick the tires. People in other cars probably thought I was nuts.

I still find myself doing that. An idea will pop into my head while I’m driving, and I’ll start talking about it out loud. I can think better when I’m talking than when I’m writing. 

Some preachers manuscript their sermons. I don’t. Many times I’d write my sermon outline on a note-card, with several words on it.

As a pastor, I was always well-prepared. I studied hard, going back to the Greek and Hebrew to research the original meaning of words, and reading as many commentaries as I could find about a Scripture passage. But I had a hard time putting everything I learned into a 30-minute package, and would go into the pulpit and basically speak without notes.

I’ve been criticized for that.  But I tell people, “I’m not giving a speech. I’m preaching.”

16 Jun Notes from UB Blogs

A few items of possible interest:

• Tim Hallman (Anchor UB, Fort Wayne, Ind.) addresses “Poverty and the Church in the USA.”
• Scott Hardaway of Pathway Community (Jackson, Mich.) talks about the use of skits, sets, and video in worship services.He also introduces his new sermon series, “Driven,” which has a Nascar theme. He talks about visiting the Michigan International Speedway in preparation for the five-week series.

13 Jun Summer Hours (Packed into Four Days)

This is the last Friday, for a while, that the Healthy Ministry Resources office will be open. For the rest of the summer, we’re going to a four-day schedule, with ten-hour days. 

Hours: 7 a.m. — 5:30 p.m., Monday – Thursday
Dates: June 16 — August 29

We traditionally leave at 1 p.m. on Fridays during the summer, tacking an extra half-hour onto each other day. But with gas prices so high, it didn’t make sense asking half of our workers, who drive 20-40 miles one-way, to come to the office for a half-day of work. So we’ll see if we can put up with each other for ten hours at a shot. 

03 Jun The Things We Leave Behind

For change to occur in your church, you need to leave some things behind. That is hard. If you’re not willing to leave some things behind, you’ll never experience change. That’s true for us personally, for our families, and for our churches.

A lot of times, churches become layered: in the 1960s you did this, in the 1970s you added this, in the 1980s you began doing these things. You get all these layers operating, because nobody wants to leave anything behind.

It’s interesting the things we’re not willing to leave behind:

• Pews
• Worship style
• Music preferences
• Church dress code
• Organizational structures

So ask yourself: What am I willing to leave behind? And then make sure it’s the right things.

How about it? What are some things you’ve seen that churches have difficulty leaving behind?

29 May Weapons of Our Warfare

Ed Stetzer, who works with the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board, says if you get serious about spiritual formation, you will have to deal with satanic oppression. Spiritual warfare is a given.

One verse that has meant a lot to me the past few years is in 2 Corinthians 10:3-4, which says, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought
into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”

We can’t change the world by signing petitions. That’s a worldly weapon. You can sign all the petitions you want, but that’s not how to change the world.

I think Satan has been very happy with the United Brethren church for the last number of years, while Jesus has cried tears over us. We need to change that so the Lord is pleased and Satan is not. But Satan won’t give up easily. He’ll throw everything at you.

You’ll wonder, “Where did that come from?” I’ve learned, during my years of ministry, that stuff comes from unexpected places. From places you thought were spiritual, and all of a sudden they come at you as if they are the enemy. In one church recently, a long-time member said, “This church belongs to us. We let God use it two hours a week.”

Ministry isn’t easy. We’re in the trenches fighting hand-to-hand.

21 May Organize for Growth

You always need to organize yourself beyond what you are. If you’re a church of 200 and want to be a church of 500, you need to organize like a church of 500. Otherwise, you won’t get there.

When I became pastor of Mainstreet Church in Walbridge, Ohio, we started at about 220, grew, and began adding staff. I took the staff to larger churches on little field trips. How does it look and feel? How do they structure themselves? We began to tinker. God blessed us and the church grew.

Over half of our growth was new converts. You get people who don’t know anything, and it’s fun. You get a chance to infect them with the real disease.

I covet that for you. Not that you get big; that doesn’t make any difference to me. What makes a difference is that you become effective in what God has called you to do.

20 May Also Receiving Their Degrees….

Among the proud parents at college commencements this month were all three Global Ministries staffpersons.

• Carissa Burkett, daughter of Phil and Darlene Burkett, graduated from Azusa Pacific University on May 10 with a degree in Fine Arts, with a concentration on sculpture.
• Jessica Hollopeter, the youngest daughter of Jason and Donna Hollopeter, paraded with 215 other Huntington University students on Saturday. Her degree was in History.
• Jeff Bleijerveld’s daughter Julie Navrotsky graduated on Saturday from Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne (Fort Wayne, Ind.) with a degree in Anthropology, while her husband, Rick, received his Business degree.

20 May Make the Drive to Church Worthwhile

Confronted with the price of gas and a 20-mile daily commute to the office, Jeff Bleijerveld and I thought it made sense to ride together. So today, I picked him up. We both live on the southwest side of Fort Wayne, maybe a mile apart. It was good fellowship, we saved money, and we reduced our carbon footprint.

Seth Godin predicts that in the business world, with the price of fuel, it’ll become more common to hear people, after a meeting, complain, “I came all the way here for this?”

Churches don’t have nearly as many meetings as they once did.

• Monthly board meetings have become bi-monthly or quarterly.
• We’ve dispensed with lots of committees that once seemed necessary.
• We’ve streamlined our church structures. Streamlining is good.

But now, church meetings don’t only take up a person’s time. They also hit the wallet.

• Every trip Pam and I make to church costs us around $5.
• Other people drive much, much farther.
• A single board meeting could involve a collective cost of $50 or more.
• Since we’re a low-income church, gas hurts.

So whatever awaits us at church, whether a meeting or music practice or a service, needs to be well worth not only the time, but the gas money.

That, of course, should have always been the case. But money has a way of focusing our attention.