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.

Phil WhipplePhil Whipple (right), senior pastor of Colwood UB church in Caro, Mich., recently participated in a trip to Mozambique. He writes:
“On Wednesday evening, July 16, I joined three people from the Lamotte Missionary Church on a journey to London, England. There we met up with nine others from three different Missionary Churches in Indiana and flew on to South Africa and eventually to northern Mozambique. We arrived on Saturday evening safe and sound and ready for almost anything but a plane ride.

“I preached the first Sunday in Montepuez, a city of 65,000, at a church that was going to work with us to plant a new church in the village of Massigir located 13 kilometers from this church. On Monday and the rest of the week, my teammate and I went to Massigir to do an hour of training, and then we hit the streets of our village to share the story of God’s love to a precious people.

“In our village, over 260 people came to faith in Jesus during the week. The last Sunday I had the privilege of sharing in the brand new church in Massigir. Our total team saw over 1200 people come to trust in Jesus Christ.”

Oswald Chambers observes: The phrase we hear so often, Decide for Christ, is an emphasis on something Our Lord never trusted. He never asks us to decide for Him, but to yield to Him – a very different thing. At the basis of Jesus Christ’s Kingdom is the unaffected loveliness of the commonplace. The thing I am blessed in is my poverty. If I know I have no strength of will, no nobility of disposition, then Jesus says – Blessed are you, because it is through this poverty that I enter His Kingdom. I cannot enter His Kingdom as a good man or woman, I can only enter it as a complete pauper.

The unconscious effort to live before Christ in the most commonplace of events exercises the most influence on others. We moved Jalonna (our daughter) into her own apartment in Wisconsin this past weekend to start a new ministry position on a church staff. Yes, tears were a part of the mix as we left our “little girl” there alone. Saturday, a young mother with three little ones hanging on her, knocked on the door and introduced herself. Jalonna offered to baby sit.

It will be those kind of commonplace interactions and conversations that will open the door for Jalonna to share Christ with those around her. While there may be some events at church that will be helpful for her neighbors to be invited to, the key to reaching them will be the doors of relationship that open into their lives in the mundane interactions Jalonna has with them.

So it is for us all. Is it safe? (Father, mother, grandparents are all asking that about her physical safety) 🙂

Yes. And no. It is challenging and requires some thought and awareness, physically and relationally. But it is worth it because it is the fulfillment of the mission. It is why she (and we) are there.

So today, don’t think about the outcomes, just be like Jesus to those around you and that will be the greatest influence you can have for the Kingdom.

In 1994, we held a leadership conference which brought several hundred UB ministers and laypersons to Huntington, Ind. One morning we divided everyone into groups based on church size–24 different groups. They talked about various issues for a while. Then we further divided those groups in half–ministers and spouses in one group, laypersons in the other. A total of 48 groups. They were instructed to develop a “Code of Conduct” for themselves, one code for ministers, one for laypersons. The 48 codes were then condensed and compiled.

I recently stumbled across those two codes, and was impressed with their wisdom. Here is the “Layperson’s Code of Conduct,” which ended up consisting of 12 points.

  1. I will be open-minded to change, and will not insist that others follow my preferences.
  2. I will focus on the positive in our church and convey that to others.
  3. I will abide in Christ and bear the responsibility of that relationship.
  4. I will demonstrate a servant attitude in carrying out my church responsibilities.
  5. I will continuously evaluate my schedule, balancing family and church time in a way which puts family first.
  6. I will not create conflict, and will lovingly confront those who do.
  7. I will not criticize the pastor or others behind their backs, but will speak to them personally, always offering a solution with any complaints.
  8. I will expand my witness in my corner of God’s world, and will do nothing to jeopardize my witness.
  9. I will recognize that my talents, time, and resources belong to Christ.
  10. I will be consistent and dependable.
  11. I will pray for my church, its leaders, and its ministry.
  12. I will continually remind myself that the ministry of the church is my ministry.

This was sent to me by Gene Wood the Turnaround Church author and speaker. Here I am, 66, and reading this with some regret. You who are younger would do well to heed this advice.

50 SUGGESTIONS FOR PASTORS
If You Want Children Who Love the Ministry

Infancy/Toddlers
1. Rock them to sleep when they are crying at night.
2. When you are home, spend lots of time on the floor.
3. Play fort under the table or under the bed.
4. Sacrifice so your wife can stay at home (for 12-15 years).
5. When you arrive home, always pick them up.
6. Play “horsey.” Let them ride on your back.
7. Tell them “no” and mean it.
8. Kiss them and hug them several times each day.
9. Be home for dinner.
10. Choose a godly mother for them and make her feel appreciated.

(more…)

PraisePointFloor.jpgThe Van Wert Times-Bulletin published an interesting article about the gym floor which has been installed at the Praise Point UB church in Willshire, Ohio. The floor came from the old Parkway High School in Rockford, Ohio. Parkway was demolished earlier this summer, but not before the parquet gym floor could be removed.

Praise Point hosted an appreciation dinner on August 12 for the volunteers who helped move and install the parquet floor in the church’s gym.

Praise Point bought about two-thirds of the gym floor for $150. The other 18 feet were bought for a new fitness center in Columbus, Ohio.The floor was actually fairly new, having been installed in the school just a few years ago.
The wood floor was cut into sections 45 inches wide, with lengths ranging up to 72 feet (teams of nearly 30 volunteers were needed to carry the long sections). The pieces were then hauled to the new Praise Point building. They were short some volunteers for the last few loads, so they recruited a baseball team to help.

Altogether, over 60 volunteers spent two weeks cutting out the pieces in Rockford, moving them to Willshire, and reassembling the floor at Praise Point. The church event took the wall plaques which thanked the people who donated money for the Parkway floor; the plaques now hang at Praise Point. Each free throw lane includes big black panther paw prints.

In light of the war in Lebanon and the threats created by the plot uncovered in the UK, I was asked the other day why the Islamic extremists hate Jews and Christians so much. I clarified immediately that the key word in the statement was “extremists” and that not all those who follow Islam are so disposed. My simple answer was that they are similar to the extremists in the Christian ranks who feel so passionate about abortion that they deem themselves justified in bombing abortion clinics and killing abortion doctors. Their hatred of those who are the opposition is fueled by their passion for their cause.

Something struck me as I was answering. These “extremists” fight to the death, are prepared to sacrifice even their children to attack the enemy, and generally devote every aspect of their lives to the cause. Their young people are incited to action by the repetitious mantra of what is right and wrong in their leaders’ views. Over and over again they are exposed to the message and they grow up reciting it. Their circumstances and environment support the claims of the leaders. And when their “wins” occur, they celebrate them raucously. The recent cease fire with Israel is seen as a “win” for Hezbollah, and they have already spread the celebration among their people.

I compared this to the level of passion we demonstrate about our mission through the church. We would denounce the extremists, but there is an admiration for their dedication to their cause. It sounds very much like the words, “Whoever would not take up his cross daily, and follow me, is not worthy of me.”

What would happen if we were so devoted to our cause that all of life was dedicated to it?

Think about it.

The Lansing State Journal’s online website has an article about a homeless mission opened by Jim and Tammy Watson, who attend the Trenton Hills UB church in Adrian. Mich. The Watsons have spent 18 years living with their children in inner cities and working with homeless persons, and persons with drug and alcohol addictions.

When a mission they started in Toledo, Ohio, closed because of a lack of funds, they moved to Adrian to “rest up” before moving to the South Bronx to start a new mission. But in Adrian, they were surprised to find a need for a permanent homeless shelter. In May, they opened a rehab program called LifeChange and opened an emergency homeless shelter with bunks for six men. Some of the board members for this new organization come from Trenton Hills.

Thought you might like to know some of the stuff I’ve been reading this summer. So here is a short list:

  • Hit The Bullseye, by Paul Borden an Abingdon Press book. This is the story of how one region of a mainline denomination was transformed into an effective, missional region in a very short period of time.
  • Winning on Purpose, by John Edmund Kaiser (also an Abingdon book). This is how the region described in the Bullseye book reorganized its congregations to succeed in their mission.

These two books have greatly impacted my thinking and vision for our denomination. Pat Jones and I were priviledged to attend a conference put on by the organization led by the author of the Bullseye book. It was one of the most inspirational, moving, and educational experiences I’ve had in a long time. Dr. Borden and his team have really hit the bullseye in the region they are serving.
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One year ago yesterday. That is when Pam and I (exhausted from the tears of the day before) drove our overloaded vehicles the 500 miles we had driven many times before. The difference is that before it was to visit family or attend a meeting. This time it was launching into a whole new life: new home; new and different ministry; empty nest. It has been an interesting year.

As I traveled today, I heard an interesting talk that I identified with totally. The speaker made the point that people don’t resist change as much as they do the transition process brought about by change. Change requires people to sacrifice something to achieve a desired goal. The end is desirable; but the process of getting to that end point is usually painful and disruptive. So how do we help people through the transition?

Quick Summary of the Steps:
1. Agree on a felt need or purpose. Share it as a vision to be achieved.
2. Outline the process to get there.
3. Prepare the transitioning person over a period of time through personal and corporate communication.
4. Create or provide a way to celebrate the necessary sacrifices.
5. Celebrate it and move into the new venture. Don’t allow the sacrificed thing to hold you back.

The Bishop and I will be illustrating this process in various settings as we move ahead. But the question I wanted to raise a year into the process is this: What are we willing to sacrifice for? What are we so captivated by, so motivated by, so enslaved to, in our local churches that we would be willing to sacrifice ANYTHING in order to achieve it?

One year ago, we answered that question. And we personally and painfully sacrificed certain things in order to pursue it.

Join me in pondering this question. You and your church may be asked to answer it personally in the next couple of years. What would your answer be?