Category: Ministry

Resolutions

Posted in Discipleship, Evangelism, Ministry, Worship1 Comment

My friend, Dr. Paul Chitwood serves as the Executive Director of the Kentucky Baptist Convention.  He recently published a very well-written challenge that I would like to share with you.  I echo the following words of Dr. Chitwood as we seek to magnify and honor the glorious name of the Lord Jesus in 2012:

With this first 2012 post, I’m hoping a New Year’s resolution list for Kentucky Baptists will be well received. I offer no earth-shattering new insights. I simply challenge us to be faithful to the basic call of Christ upon our lives and obedient to the fundamental teachings in God’s word. If every Kentucky Baptist would commit themselves to the following resolutions, our churches would flourish, every lost person in the Commonwealth could hear the gospel, and the cause of the Great Commission would be rapidly advanced.

First, would you resolve to walk closely with Jesus through concerted prayer and daily Bible reading? Our Lord exhorts us in John 15:4, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” The first call of the gospel is the call to be in Jesus Christ. He is the source of spiritual life and spiritual power. Apart from him, we will remain powerless.

Second, would you resolve to obey Jesus in all things? Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it” (Luke 11:28). Matters like sexual purity, financial stewardship, personal honesty, sobriety, and refraining from gluttony are not negotiable for those who have confessed Jesus as Lord of our lives.

Third, would you resolve to share Jesus with at least one lost person each week? The command to be witnesses and the promise of the Spirit’s empowerment to that end are clearly stated in Acts 1:8. As for the lost, “how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard” (Rom 10:14)? Yet, multiple studies and surveys reveal most of us never take the initiative to tell lost people how to be saved. Pray that God would give you the opportunity to share the gospel with just one person each week.

Fourth, would you resolve to love and serve Jesus’ bride with more passion than ever before? Your church isn’t perfect but it needs you. And you need the church. We simply cannot be faithful followers of Jesus apart from his church. Love and serve her.

Fifth, would you resolve to commit more of your resources to Jesus’ Great Commission? The sin of greed has captivated us. Rather than starting with a tithe and giving generously beyond that, the average church member gives less than 3 percent of their income. If we merely gave a tithe, church ministry budgets and the Cooperative Program mission budget would triple, resulting in an exponential harvest of souls in Kentucky and around the world.

The “Skinny” on Spiritual Growth

Posted in Church Chat, Discipleship, Life Happens, Ministry1 Comment

The last few weeks at Shelbyville First Baptist Church, Pastor Andy McDonald and I have been teaching our second-level foundational class called Maturity 201.  The class includes some of the material written by Dr. Rick Warren as well as material I personally wrote for the class.

In Maturity 201 we discuss the important subject of spiritual maturity.  Here is a brief excerpt from the class:

FACTS ABOUT SPIRITUAL MATURITY

  • Spiritual maturity IS NOT automatic.  A Christian believer must be disciplined and work at achieving spiritual maturity.  We can’t just sit back and “hope” it happens.  We have to develop and practice the spiritual habits that lead us to spiritual maturity.  For more information on this topic, read my other entries under the “discipleship” category. 

“You have been Christians for a long time now, and you ought to be teaching others, but instead … you need someone to teach you … When a person is still living on milk, it shows he isn’t very far along in the Christian life … He’s still a baby Christian!”  Hebrews 5:12-13 (LB)

  • Spiritual maturity is a journey.  Ultimately, spiritual maturity will take a lifetime.  It is a process–a lifelong journey of becoming more and more like Christ.

“Learn to be mature.”  Proverbs 8:5 (GN)

“Continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our savior Jesus Christ.”  2 Peter 3:18 (GN)

  • Spiritual maturity takes discipline.  Spiritual maturity is not complicated, but it is not easy.  It takes discipline to be spiritually fit just like it takes discipline to be physically fit.

“Take the time and the trouble to keep yourself spiritually fit.”  1 Timothy 4:7b (Ph)

“Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.”  1 Timothy 4:7b (NASB)

 

“And You Call Yourself A Church”

Posted in Church Chat, Ministry4 Comments

Today we had a man stop by the church and demand we take care of him.  His demeanor was intimidating and somewhat frightening.  We tried to be gracious and tried to help him, but nothing we did seemed to be enough.  He kept saying things like “you mean you call yourself a church and you’re not going to do this for me?”

Eventually we offered to provide him a hotel room for the night and a meal or two for the evening.  Understandably, the hotel would not assign him a room because he had no personal identification at all.  He called me from the hotel lobby to express more anger towards me because the hotel would not rent a room to him without identification.  He refused my offer to take him to the men’s shelter.  After trying to explain the circumstances to him again on the telephone, he spewed out another “you call yourself a church” and hung up the phone!  Somehow he failed to thank me for the financial  help I had already given him.

I wanted to be angry at him, but I felt sympathy for him.  If it were not for God’s rich grace toward me, I could be in that same position.  When you read this, say a little prayer for God’s blessings toward this man.

The “3-Minute Rule”

Posted in Church Chat, Ministry, Worship2 Comments

Have you ever heard of the 3-Minute Rule?  I believe every church could benefit greatly from practicing the rule after each worship service.  Here’s how the 3-Minute Rule works.  After the morning worship service ends, all the regular attenders spend the first 3 minutes talking with guests, newcomers, or simply people they do not know, before they begin talking with their friends.  If possible, they introduce those they meet during the 3-Minute time to their friends with the hope of including them in the group.  We should always keep in mind that . . . .

We are a culture craving relationship. In the midst of our crowded existence, many of us are living lonely lives. We live and work in a sea of humanity, but we end up missing out on the benefits of regular, meaningful relationships.  (Andy Stanley)

I think we should practice a similar rule before the service as well. We could call it the 2-Person Rule. Strive to meet at least two new people before the service begins. Imagine how many people you would meet after a few weeks. Remember . . . .

People are not merely looking for a friendly church; they are looking to make friends at church.

What do you think?  When’s the last time you met someone new at church and were genuinely interested in getting to know them?  Make a genuine effort this Sunday to connect with others–it will be a blessing to them as well as to you.

Annual Theme: “GO”

Posted in Church Chat, Evangelism, MinistryLeave a comment

In all the years I have served as a senior pastor, I have never adopted a church-wide annual theme.  Oh, I thought about it lots of times when I saw others do it, but I just never felt impressed by the Lord to do so.  A few months back, God began to speak to me about adopting a theme that focused on evangelism and missions.

I thought of catchy themes, rhyming themes, and clever themes, but the Lord seemed to say “keep it simple.”  After prayer I chose a one-word, two-letter, church-wide theme for Shelbyville First Baptist Church this year.  It doesn’t get much more simple than that.  Our theme is “Go”!

This year I pray that we will mobilize like never before as a church and as individual Christians.  Personally, I am increasing my evangelistic efforts, I am scheduled to travel to Russia this summer to teach, and I am making plans to lead a trip to the Holy Land.

Please share your “Go” ideas here.