17 Oct Churches and Political Activity

We’re in the midst of another national election. From what I’ve observed, United Brethren churches keep a good balance when it comes to political activity, and most prefer to avoid partisan politics. Which is proper, according to the IRS publication, Tax Guide for Churches and Religious Organizations. Consider this excerpt from the section “Political Campaign Activity”:

“Contributions to political campaign funds or public statements of position (verbal or written) made by or on behalf of the organization in favor of or in opposition to any candidate for public office clearly violate the prohibition against political campaign activity. Violation of this prohibition may result in denial or revocation of tax-exempt status….When it participates in political campaign activity, a church or religious organization jeopardizes both its tax-exempt status under IRC section 501(c)(3) and its eligibility to receive tax-deductible contributions.”

Most UB churches owe their tax-exempt status to the denomination, which provides an umbrella 501(c)(3) exemption. One politically vocal UB church could, conceivably, jeopardize the charitable status of all UB churches, and cause tithes and offerings to no longer qualify as charitable contributions. So it’s a serious thing.
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02 Oct Recommended Book: The Very Large Church

Ron Ramsey, Bishop
I have been meaning to post this for sometime. When I remember, I’m traveling and away from my computer, and when I am close, I forget. But anyhow, I read a book recently that I thought would be good to recommend to you. It is The Very Large Church, by Lyle E. Schaller. Now, when some of you come back down to earth, let me tell you why I recommend the book. It has nothing to do with large churches or small churches. Rather, it is one of the more excellent books I’ve read describing the culture we live in. The chapter “The Consequences of Consumerism” should be required reading for every pastor, staff, board chairman, commission chairman…in other words, anyone in leadership in your church.

Mr. Schaller has a very perceptive mind as it relates to understanding our culture and the church. I dare say that this book will answer some of the questions you’ve been asking for some time, regardless of the size of your church.

Anyway, this is one of those “for what its worth” entries. Let me know what you think when you read it. Oh yes, if you don’t want to purchase a copy, check it out of your local library. If they don’t have it on the shelf, I am sure they could get it for you. It will be worth your trouble.

30 Sep Mowing, Vision, and a Focused Eye

I’ve been a little tardy in posting to the blog. No excuse really, just busy. But we all could say that, couldn’t we? Well, I was thinking about writing this post this morning while I was mowing my lawn–or more precisely, while I was on my lawn tractor. Yes, I have a riding lawn mower. I really don’t need it with my present lawn, but I purchased it while I was in Ohio and had a bigger lawn to mow, and I kept it. You see, I was raised on a farm and somehow riding that lawn tractor around my lawn takes me back to many enjoyable hours riding the old Allis Chalmers W-D across our fields plowing, discing ground, planting, etc.

Anyway, this morning as I mowed I realized that I was using a skill taught to me long ago. It was how to drive a tractor across a field in a straight line. Today’s tractors have GPS, but back then, to drive in a straight line you would pick out a distant object in line with where you wanted to go–a tree, telephone post, building, etc.–and then drive while keeping your eye fixed on that object. It was amazing how well it worked. When you got to the end of the field and looked back, you would see that you had driven in a pretty straight line.
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29 Sep Laughter

I have been in a number of serious conversations over the past months. But last week I was told a joke that struck me at the right time in the right way and I had to laugh. And I laughed, and laughed and laughed. It felt so good. It was one of those deep belly laughs. You know the kind. You shake, get control, then think about it again and start the process all over. Other people nearby wondered what in the world had taken hold of me. It felt like the sun shining on a cloudy day, bringing light and warmth.

Scripture speaks about laughter. Sometimes it is associated with the drunken laughter of fools. But more importantly laughter is portrayed as the natural result of the joy of seeing the Lord work in powerful ways. He brought the captives back to Israel, and they were filled with laughter. He brought Job out of his troubles and he laughed. He made outlandish promises to Abraham and Sarah laughed thinking about it. God is not puritanical. He is the God who created and celebrates laughter.

Be clear: There is a time to laugh and a time to mourn. (Ecc. 3) So laughter must be appropriate. But we are made to laugh. When was the last time you laughed? Did you know that we who are a part of a congregation are to so obey and follow our church leaders that their work is a joy, bringing laughter? (Hebrews 13:17)

If you’ve been too serious lately, find something to laugh about. Something simple, pure and joyful. You will be amazed the effect it will have on you. It will make those around you wonder what got ahold of you.

15 Sep The Physics of Evangelism

Tom Blaylock, Director of Church Multiplication

How many of you remember high school chemistry class? Even though I have to go back 20-plus years, I vividly remember my experiences. Our teacher was your classic “nutty professor” type, brilliant but not fully plugged into reality. One day in class an experiment went awry resulting in a fireball about four feet in diameter that left a blackened scorch mark on the ceiling. Now that was cool!

In that class we learned about several laws of physics. One of those laws had to do with gravity, or more precisely, “gravitation.” The Encyclopedia Britannica says “gravity shapes the structure and evolution of stars, galaxies, and the entire universe….On Earth all bodies have a weight, or downward force of gravity, proportional to their mass, which the Earth’s mass exerts on them.”
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11 Sep The Website is Your Church’s New Front Door

People expect certain basic amenities in a church. Indoor plumbing. A roof. Chairs to sit on. Telephone service. And now–a website. The younger generations, at least, expect a website. If you don’t have one, then to many people, you don’t exist. Like it or not. That’s just a new reality.

When young adults look for a church, the first place they go is Google, which is pretty much the new Yellow Pages. People will type in the name of a city and state, and perhaps a zip code–“church Huntington IN 46750”–and see what turns up. They can then anonymously research churches at their leisure, 24/7, and decide which one they’d like to visit. By the time they physically attend a church, they’ll feel like they’ve already “visited” five (or more) churches by checking out their websites and reading about them.
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05 Sep Addressing the Bull

A friend told me today about a bull he raised on a farm when he was younger. This bull had a several foot wide set of horns. If you challenged him by walking straight up to him, he would wave those horns back and forth and attack. He felt threatened and went into defense mode. That is probably what happened to Steve Irwin this week when he was killed by that stingray. The ray was fine until it felt threatened.

My friend told me that if he came alongside that bull, he could pet it, walk with it, and lead it around anywhere. It was not threatened by someone walking alongside.

People are like bulls. When we seek to effect change to their established position or preference, if we take it head on, they resist, go into a defensive posture and attack. They are shut down immediately. But if we come alongside and show them the benefit of the new approach in fulfilling the vision, they tend to be more open and will walk with you.

I encourage you to come alongside people rather than take them head on. Periodically, you will find a bull that cannot be dealt with in any other way than head on. At that point, God will give you flint for a forehead (see Ezekiel). But for the most part, we will get further ahead in effecting change if we come alongside people and watch the Lord change their hearts and attitudes.

02 Sep Life, Clutter, and Doing Our Work

Steve Dennie and I have been on a mission. The shipping area of our building was in need of some cleaning. Yesterday we finished phase two of what will turn out being a four or five phase project. As we tossed, rearranged, choked, and organized, I found myself drawing many parallels to us as people, and our lives. Let me share some of my observations:

1. It is possible to continue to function in life even when our life is cluttered with the unnecessary or with junk from the past. But not to our potential.

2. Our capacity for better, newer or greater things is stymied by trying to hold on to our past, even if we think that the things from our history may prove useful in the future.

3. Like ourselves, others near us are aware of the tremendous need to deal with the clutter of our lives. But while there may be quiet murmurings among them, they never seem to push the issue.

4. We hold onto things that represent people, events, and methods that once held great importance to us. While remembering can be good, those things belong put into perspective in the archives and not taking up space in our present.

5. It takes time to work through processing the junk in our lives, but it is well worth the investment.

6. Others see the hard work you are doing and celebrate the value of it with you.

7. It is possible for us to lose track of all the available resources we have because they get so spread out. If we took a little time periodically to bring life back into order, it would help us know what we have.

8. Cleaning up one area of life spurs you on to tackle other areas of life. Life is a continual process.

9. The tools we need to move the heavy loads are available if we ask.

10. Cleaning up our lives helps us help others more effectively.

These are a few observations that flew past the dust balls that were circulating in my head during the process. We have a plan to continue our work over the next months.

What areas need addressed in your life or in the life of your church? Why not take the initiative to do something about it now, before you go through another year of life or ministry functioning below your potential?

Jesus makes available all the tools that we need.

30 Aug Let Me Tell You About My Granddaughter

As I ended the last entry, I mentioned my granddaughter. Actually, I have 3 grandchildren: 2 boys and 1 girl. They are probably the most handsome, beautiful, smart, intelligent, thoughtful, and loving children. And did I mention smart?

I don’t get to be with them nearly as much as I would like. My grandsons live in Omaha, Neb. while my granddaughter lives in Wheaton, Ill. But I see them as often as I can. And one of the things that EJ and I are concerned about when we see them is whether or not they have grown. I want their parents to be very sure they see the doctor on a regular basis for checkups including their growth rate. I want to be sure they are healthy and growing. And if they are not growing, is something wrong? That is important to me and to their parents, too, I am sure.

It is interesting that every living thing in God’s creation grows in some form or fashion. If there are the required environmental elements, and if they are healthy, they grow. This growth leads to maturity that in turn leads to reproduction. Funny how that works. And everything grows after its own kind. For example, a seed of corn doesn’t grow apples.
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22 Aug Why?

Just take a minute and list in your mind all the ministries of your church. Preaching, worship, music, Sunday school, youth ministry, etc. You’d probably have a fairly long list. Got all of that in your mind? Good! Now, think of “Why?” I mean, why do you do all that stuff? Be honest now, no fudging! When you have answered that why question, you have the mission or purpose of your church. Some would probably argue that the mission is something else, a phrase in the worship folder or a plaque on the wall. But really, isn’t the answer to the mission question what we are now doing? I mean, if that stuff isn’t about your mission, why are you doing it?

Now think again about all those ministries. Where are they focused? There are three possibilities. One, they are for us. Did you know that 80 – 90% of churches in the US are either plateaued or declining primarily because everything is focused on us, an inward focus. Two, it could be that the ministries are focused on the people who are not here yet. Most churches would not tolerate such a focus. So, three, they could be focused on doing both–on us, and on those who are yet to come. But in this scenario, who would get priority? In these churches, the priority would be on those who are not here yet. But you still do ministry for those who are there. The principle here is powerful. When unchurched people, those who are not there yet, are given priority the church begins to grow.

Now, to what extent is your church focused outward, to include those who are not there yet? The honest answer to that question will tell you a lot about the growth or lack of growth in your church.

Now I suppose the question is, should all churches grow? Well, let me tell you, I have a five-year-old granddaughter….Oh well, that is the subject for another time.