Church Planting Series, Part twenty-three
In Luke chapter 7, a centurion sent messengers to ask Jesus to heal a valuable servant. Jesus agreed to pay the centurion a visit. The text says that when Jesus drew close to the centurion’s house, the Roman leader sent friends to say to the Savior, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof…Say the word and my servant will be healed.”
You know how the encounter ended. Jesus was amazed at the centurion’s faith. The friends returned to the centurion’s house and found the servant well.
Isn’t it interesting that at a time when the centurion could SEE Jesus, during a season of history when Jesus was visibly present, the man asked Jesus NOT to show up?
This strange twist runs counter to what we think we want when it comes to Jesus. We get frustrated with his invisibility. We want to see Him—or at least a lightning bolt from heaven or two. We think that his invisible presence is a handicap to a doubting and straying world.
I wonder if we’re missing something.
The centurion felt he was completely unworthy to have Jesus as a house guest. Do we act sometimes as if Jesus is our “sleepover buddy”? In our efforts to not only be truthful, but to be right about God, do we act as if we know Him inside out? Do we systematize the mystery out of the Holy Lamb of God? Do we act as if God is in our hip pocket, an explainable entity that we dole out to people in need?
What about the unpredictable nature of God? What happened to our fear and trembling? Aren’t there times we need to say, “I have no idea”? The living Word, the awe and mystery of Jesus’ presence in Holy Communion, the mysterious work of the Spirit in baptism, the confounding nature of answered prayer, the absolute grace of sin-dead lives enlivened—-who can really explain any of it?
Of course we need to proclaim what we know, have seen, and have heard. But have we lowered what God wants our expectations of Him to be?
In the state of Texas, only 19.8% of the population believes it is important to go to church. I wonder if the 80% who believe church is an unimportant part of their lives see Jesus as formulaic, boring, and predictable. I wonder if the 80% see NASCAR or the NBA as more exciting and unpredictable than the Lion of Judah. I wonder if the surprising and unimaginable work of God is waiting, yet we are communicating as people of little faith.
What’s the answer?
First, it may be that we need to regain a healthy spirit of unworthiness before Christ. Instead of pretending that we can explain everything, package God neatly, and make ministry happen according to our plans, we may need to echo what the centurion said: “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof.”
Second, instead of relying on our slick marketing of Christianity, we may need to bow before the Savior and await His mercy. After the centurion incident, Jesus came upon a widow whose son had died. Luke 7:13 tells us, “When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her.” He then did something nobody planned on. He raised her son. How did the crowd respond? “They were filled with awe and praised God.”
If we really believe Jesus is alive, maybe it’s a good idea to let Him blow us all away with His merciful action. I have a feeling that the response to His mystery just might top 19.8%.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Preventing the Power of Suggestion
Church Planting Series, Part twenty-two
When my wife was growing up, her older brother would sometimes get up in the morning and, in an act of brotherly antagonism, look straight at her and call her a “grump.” My wife, who was innocently watching Saturday morning cartoons, couldn’t believe what she just heard. She was most certainly not a grump! She was cheerfully watching cartoons and having a fine morning. But her brother persisted, rubbing the salt of his comment deeply into a developing wound.
After the second or third time, my wife’s ire would grow: “A grump?! I’m no grump. If anyone is grouchy it’s him! I’ll show him who’s out of sorts.”
Then she let loose. She gave him both barrels of sisterly scolding. What did her brother do? With a smirk on his face, he ran to his mother and father, told them how his sister had yelled at him, and turned to her once again and said, “See, you ARE a grump!”
The prophecy was fulfilled. Her day was ruined.
I’ve seen a similar scenario happen to pastors and church leaders. A person with an axe to grind or some emotional hurt to vent or some anger to displace lashes out: “You’re too controlling.” “You’re a weak leader.” “You’re offending everybody.” “Your ideas are too wild.”
You’ve heard it before. And when you hear the comment, the persistent drip, drip, drip, of unconstructive criticism, you get angry. You withdraw. You become depressed. And too often, you can veer into the dangerous territory of becoming exactly what you are accused of being, even though you never were what they said you are!
Be on guard, fellow servants of Christ. The ego-driven, sin-tainted-emotional reflex is a mighty force within. It’s easy to be baited into starting a war. If you have children, you know the drill.
Is there a better way? Jesus said, “To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst…If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life” (Luke 6:27-30, The Message).
Once again, Jesus opens the counter-intuitive New Life to us. Buried and raised with Him, He provides the newness of life and newness of reflex we need. Let badgering bring out the best in you. Use aggravation to practice the servant life.
How do you do this? Practice “prophecy absorption” to prevent the power of suggestion. In other words, just listen. Don’t react. Respond by reflecting what your values are, not what you think you need to fight for. Reply with a humble apology and reinforce your love and care for Jesus and for each of His people, including the person speaking to you.
I remember being lambasted for including an edgy drama in a worship service. Instead of sticking up for my right to be creative in worship and listing all the Bible verses that reinforced my point, I simply responded with an apology to the person who was hurt by the drama. I said, “As a pastor, my hope is that everything I do brings people closer to Jesus. I am very sorry that this sent you away offended and feeling badly. I value your service to the Lord and your feelings as a member of this family of faith. I humbly ask for your forgiveness.”
Some people come to Christians looking for a fight. They’ve struck gold for many years and want to see another “hypocrite” bite the dust. What if you don’t give them a fight? What if, instead, you let antagonism bring the best out of you, not the worst? What if you turn the power of suggestion into the power of transformation?
When my wife was growing up, her older brother would sometimes get up in the morning and, in an act of brotherly antagonism, look straight at her and call her a “grump.” My wife, who was innocently watching Saturday morning cartoons, couldn’t believe what she just heard. She was most certainly not a grump! She was cheerfully watching cartoons and having a fine morning. But her brother persisted, rubbing the salt of his comment deeply into a developing wound.
After the second or third time, my wife’s ire would grow: “A grump?! I’m no grump. If anyone is grouchy it’s him! I’ll show him who’s out of sorts.”
Then she let loose. She gave him both barrels of sisterly scolding. What did her brother do? With a smirk on his face, he ran to his mother and father, told them how his sister had yelled at him, and turned to her once again and said, “See, you ARE a grump!”
The prophecy was fulfilled. Her day was ruined.
I’ve seen a similar scenario happen to pastors and church leaders. A person with an axe to grind or some emotional hurt to vent or some anger to displace lashes out: “You’re too controlling.” “You’re a weak leader.” “You’re offending everybody.” “Your ideas are too wild.”
You’ve heard it before. And when you hear the comment, the persistent drip, drip, drip, of unconstructive criticism, you get angry. You withdraw. You become depressed. And too often, you can veer into the dangerous territory of becoming exactly what you are accused of being, even though you never were what they said you are!
Be on guard, fellow servants of Christ. The ego-driven, sin-tainted-emotional reflex is a mighty force within. It’s easy to be baited into starting a war. If you have children, you know the drill.
Is there a better way? Jesus said, “To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst…If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life” (Luke 6:27-30, The Message).
Once again, Jesus opens the counter-intuitive New Life to us. Buried and raised with Him, He provides the newness of life and newness of reflex we need. Let badgering bring out the best in you. Use aggravation to practice the servant life.
How do you do this? Practice “prophecy absorption” to prevent the power of suggestion. In other words, just listen. Don’t react. Respond by reflecting what your values are, not what you think you need to fight for. Reply with a humble apology and reinforce your love and care for Jesus and for each of His people, including the person speaking to you.
I remember being lambasted for including an edgy drama in a worship service. Instead of sticking up for my right to be creative in worship and listing all the Bible verses that reinforced my point, I simply responded with an apology to the person who was hurt by the drama. I said, “As a pastor, my hope is that everything I do brings people closer to Jesus. I am very sorry that this sent you away offended and feeling badly. I value your service to the Lord and your feelings as a member of this family of faith. I humbly ask for your forgiveness.”
Some people come to Christians looking for a fight. They’ve struck gold for many years and want to see another “hypocrite” bite the dust. What if you don’t give them a fight? What if, instead, you let antagonism bring the best out of you, not the worst? What if you turn the power of suggestion into the power of transformation?
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Time For What You Love
Church Planting Series, Part twenty-one
The most common complaint I hear from people in ministry is: “I wish I had more time for what I love to do.” For some that’s planning for preaching and teaching. For others it’s strategic planning. Some want to free up more time for creating relationships. Still others want to be able to disciple people.
But for some reason these priorities get lost in the shuffle of an ever-moving, high-demand life and ministry. The constant flow of the “urgent” pushes away your constant desire to address the “important.”
I read recently that the typical worker spends 40% of his or her time on e-mail. Where is the time for dreaming, planning, and ordering your life? Will you find it in a typical seven-day week? Will sustained thought about your direction and priorities fit into a busy Tuesday or Wednesday?
It never did for me.
When I was pastoring a fledgling church plant, I had some time during the week, but I felt guilty for using that time for my own thought and planning instead of getting out there to create and sustain relationships. When the church grew in complexity and activity, time for thought and planning disappeared into staff meetings, trouble-shooting, and programmatic efforts.
That’s why I began a simple practice that totally transformed my approach to ministry. I started what I called “worship planning conferences.” Here’s an outline of how they looked:
1. Get away. Twice each year I, along with key leaders, loaded up our computers and planning materials and traveled about an hour and a half to a location where we could work and plan for two and a half days. We drove together so we could talk and prepare for our time away. At first we went to a hotel. Then we borrowed a kind person’s condo. But for Tuesday, Wednesday and half of Thursday in June and October, we changed venues to do some serious work and planning.
2. Work. We had a theme, goal, and plan for our time away. Once we got there, we began our work. The objectives were to plan every sermon series and worship service for the next 6-9 months and to discuss major needs, strategies and Spirit-led developments of ministry at the church.
3. Let God work. We did a lot of study and planning on our own, but we also brainstormed together, ate meals together, laughed together, and had a good time. Each of us also had quiet times to reflect and recharge. The days were long—from early morning to very late at night, but we were focusing on priorities and energized by being able to imagine. God built us together as a team and built Himself within us as we listened to Him.
What were the results of taking this time together?
1. We felt the satisfaction of being able to put first things first for God and His people.
2. We knew that we had a planned venue for serious study, conversation, and strategizing. Day to day demands didn’t get us down because we knew our planning time was coming.
3. We were able to provide worship plans in advance for staff and members. This showed respect for staff as we allowed them adequate time for planning and preparation. It also honored the people of the church by allowing us to publicize plans in advance. People used this information to reach out to others in an intentional and timely way.
4. We had time to do what we love. With much of the groundwork already completed, we were able to avoid the last-minute scramble of preparation. Time was available during the week to meet needs and to do what was truly important.
5. We gained a “big-picture” perspective of ministry. With a foundation of time to hear God’s voice and think about His direction, we were able to develop ministry, not just maintain it.
These two little annual retreats radically changed our ministry and attitude. We were no longer slaves to the moment. We were living in the freedom of doing what we loved.
If you need help or advice to start your own planning retreats, e-mail me at mnewman@txdistlcms.org.
The most common complaint I hear from people in ministry is: “I wish I had more time for what I love to do.” For some that’s planning for preaching and teaching. For others it’s strategic planning. Some want to free up more time for creating relationships. Still others want to be able to disciple people.
But for some reason these priorities get lost in the shuffle of an ever-moving, high-demand life and ministry. The constant flow of the “urgent” pushes away your constant desire to address the “important.”
I read recently that the typical worker spends 40% of his or her time on e-mail. Where is the time for dreaming, planning, and ordering your life? Will you find it in a typical seven-day week? Will sustained thought about your direction and priorities fit into a busy Tuesday or Wednesday?
It never did for me.
When I was pastoring a fledgling church plant, I had some time during the week, but I felt guilty for using that time for my own thought and planning instead of getting out there to create and sustain relationships. When the church grew in complexity and activity, time for thought and planning disappeared into staff meetings, trouble-shooting, and programmatic efforts.
That’s why I began a simple practice that totally transformed my approach to ministry. I started what I called “worship planning conferences.” Here’s an outline of how they looked:
1. Get away. Twice each year I, along with key leaders, loaded up our computers and planning materials and traveled about an hour and a half to a location where we could work and plan for two and a half days. We drove together so we could talk and prepare for our time away. At first we went to a hotel. Then we borrowed a kind person’s condo. But for Tuesday, Wednesday and half of Thursday in June and October, we changed venues to do some serious work and planning.
2. Work. We had a theme, goal, and plan for our time away. Once we got there, we began our work. The objectives were to plan every sermon series and worship service for the next 6-9 months and to discuss major needs, strategies and Spirit-led developments of ministry at the church.
3. Let God work. We did a lot of study and planning on our own, but we also brainstormed together, ate meals together, laughed together, and had a good time. Each of us also had quiet times to reflect and recharge. The days were long—from early morning to very late at night, but we were focusing on priorities and energized by being able to imagine. God built us together as a team and built Himself within us as we listened to Him.
What were the results of taking this time together?
1. We felt the satisfaction of being able to put first things first for God and His people.
2. We knew that we had a planned venue for serious study, conversation, and strategizing. Day to day demands didn’t get us down because we knew our planning time was coming.
3. We were able to provide worship plans in advance for staff and members. This showed respect for staff as we allowed them adequate time for planning and preparation. It also honored the people of the church by allowing us to publicize plans in advance. People used this information to reach out to others in an intentional and timely way.
4. We had time to do what we love. With much of the groundwork already completed, we were able to avoid the last-minute scramble of preparation. Time was available during the week to meet needs and to do what was truly important.
5. We gained a “big-picture” perspective of ministry. With a foundation of time to hear God’s voice and think about His direction, we were able to develop ministry, not just maintain it.
These two little annual retreats radically changed our ministry and attitude. We were no longer slaves to the moment. We were living in the freedom of doing what we loved.
If you need help or advice to start your own planning retreats, e-mail me at mnewman@txdistlcms.org.
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