Category: Church (page 28 of 28)

Get out of the Box

July 27, 2009 / / 4 Comments

This past weekend, Laura, my wife, and I traveled to Atlanta, GA, to visit with small groups pastor Scott Mawdesley, who was generous enough to give us a tour of North Point Community Church and allow us to ask lots of questions about what they do and why they do it.  We also got to visit Buckhead Church on Sunday morning.  The entire weekend was a great experience.

Whatever you do for a living, I would strongly suggest getting out of your normal environment.  Plan a day, a weekend, or even an entire week, to get away and learn from somebody else in a related field.  Here are 3 reasons why I think you desperately need this:

1. We migrate to tunnel-vision. Over time, you begin to think that you have the market on all of the great ideas.  Well, you don’t.  Trust me.  You may have lots of good ideas, but not all of them.

2. Evaluation naturally declines when you’re in the same box for an extended amount of time. Think with me for a minute.  If you’re literally in a box for a month, you might be in evaluation mode for a week or two.  Then, you begin to think that you’ve evaluated everything.  And probably, you have.  It’s only when you get into another person’s box that you see that your box is in need of repair.  Seeing other systems helps you to evaluate holes in your own.

3. Leading an organization (or a small group) can lead to burnout. Visiting other sites, and taking a break from wearing the “leader” hat, is refreshing, and needed on a regular basis.  Getting out of your box allows you to take a deep breath and relax.

So here’s my question for you:

Have you taken a break from leading and visited another business/small group/church?  What did you learn?

 

Is “both” too much to demand?

July 1, 2009 / / 4 Comments

I hate the expression, “You can’t have your cake and eat it, too.”  I want both! I recently posted this to Twitter:

Would U prefer 2 sit under a pastor who knows Scripture really well but communicates poorly or who’s a gr8 speaker but knows less Scripture?

I received lots of feedback, ones that brought up more questions:

Which is easier to learn, Scripture or speaking?

What is our faith really built upon?  Polished speaking or sound theology?

Isn’t that why God made a concordance? (personally, this question made me laugh)

Here’s my thought.  Is “both” too much to demand?

Is the Gospel not worth our every ounce of effort to “get it right?”  Should we not study historical theology, systematic theology, original languages, multiple translations, other pastors, commentaries, dictionaries, surveys, hermeneutics, biblical theology, all with the end goal of communicating the “correct” Gospel?  What we believe is so important.  Paul rips the Galatian Christians because of their wrong belief:

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. Galatians 1:6-7

What we believe, and what we lead others to believe, is highly important.  We owe it to those we are leading to get it right!

On the other side of the coin, is the Gospel not worth every ounce of our effort to communicate it effectively?  If we communicate poorly, we are really saying, “The Gospel is not valuable enough to me or for you for me to work on my communication skills.”  It’s not enough to just “get the Gospel right” because the Gospel was never meant to stay with you, but was meant to spread to the ends of the earth.  How does that happen?  (hint: It doesn’t spread through the water).  We need to continue to improve the way that we articulate it, thinking through the way that it lands on those to whom we are preaching.  Are you communicating in a way that leaves people offended at the Gospel (which is, by nature, offensive…you’re telling somebody that they’re a sinner, can’t do any good for themselves, and need someone to rescue them!), or offended that you continue to harp on your “pet” sins, elevating gray issues and condemning those who don’t have the exact same convictions?  Are people left more confused about God than when they came?  Or do they walk out left with a real choice, knowing full-well the meaning and implications of your message?  I’m not talking about the Gospel needing your eloquent speech (1 Corinthians 2:1-5).  I’m talking about the Gospel deserving a clear explanation, given in a way that people can understand and digest.

So, is it too much to ask for the true Gospel to be communicated well?  I don’t think so.

Proclaim Christ.  Proclaim him often.  Proclaim him well.

 

Are you speaking another langugage?

June 29, 2009 / / 2 Comments

I had the opportunity to preach at a Korean church yesterday.  It was definitely a different kind of an experience.  I’m not sure if your experience at the church where you attend is anything like mine, but typically the American church experience goes something like this:

1. Arrive 5 minutes late.

2. Sit in the back.

3. Say hey to a couple of friends on your way to lunch.

My experience yesterday flew in the face of this, in a good way.  The music started 20 minutes before the service started, to get people in the mood to worship.  We sang hymns (first in Korean, then in English for the few English-speaking spouses…and me and my family), read Scripture (again, first in Korean, then in English), heard announcements (I don’t think I have to say it again, but I will anyway…first in Korean, then in English), then I preached…first in English, then in…just kidding.  I preached, then the English-speaking people were dismissed while the Korean pastor preached.  We discussed the implications of my sermon, very much like what we do in small groups at Grace Community Church.  After that, everybody stayed around to eat lunch and fellowship.

Here’s what struck me: when the congregation was worshipping in Korean, I had no idea what they were saying.  I don’t speak or read Korean.  However, I knew what they were doing.  I could tell that they were worshipping, and were going at it with all of their hearts.  I so wish I could have joined in their songs and prayers.  But I had to wait until they spoke my language.

In your church, are you “speaking another language”?  You may be communicating in English, but are you using words that outsiders don’t know?  Do people who attend your church have to have a theological degree, or at least have been going to church for their whole lives, in order to follow you as you preach, pray, and sing?  Is the theological vocabulary you are armed with alienating “outsiders?”  If I remember correctly, Jesus could communicate the life-transforming power of the Gospel to the Pharisees AND the people who had no clue about Scripture.

This is not a call to “dumb down” your worship services.  This is a call to make them accessible to a wide audience.  Not by muddling the truth and preaching a false Gospel.  Preach the Truth!  But preach it in a way that lost people are left with a choice to respond to the Gospel…not merely wondering what “atonement,” “depravity,” “Gospel,” “redeemed,” and the vast array of other insider language that we use.

May those we minister to be left amazed by the love of our Savior and not the complexity of our language.

 

Baptism video, part 2

October 14, 2008 / / 0 Comments

Here’s the second baptism video from our service at Ringgold Mill. Like I said in my post, Baptism Service, this was one of the most awesome days in the life of Grace. I was thrilled to be a part of it.

 
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