I had just completed a new post. I was having trouble writing it (on Luke 16).
Then my internet crashed, spectacularly.
An hour's work, gone like that. . .
I guess God didn't want it to be seen.
I'll try again tomorrow night. :(
Johno
29 March 2012
28 March 2012
Brief announcement
Hey all,
Just letting you know that there won't be a commentary tonight. I had to do a lot of stuff which was time-critical, and now it's nearly 1 AM. Fear not, I'll return tomorrow night. It'll be Luke 16 - I wonder if, like me, you've wondered about some of the stuff that is there . . . .
Johno
Just letting you know that there won't be a commentary tonight. I had to do a lot of stuff which was time-critical, and now it's nearly 1 AM. Fear not, I'll return tomorrow night. It'll be Luke 16 - I wonder if, like me, you've wondered about some of the stuff that is there . . . .
Johno
27 March 2012
Luke 15
. . . The story of LOST THINGS (spot the father of two small girls - gratuitous Tinkerbell reference!).
I'm going to confess something here - I have heard conflicting stories about these parables of Jesus. I have a fairly good level of knowledge about the New Testament context, but the trouble is that both ideas make some level of sense. The best thing I can do is summarise both.
The first idea - let's call it the conventional view - is that Jesus is being quite literal. In the Good Shepherd story, he's describing what his Jewish listeners would expect of a shepherd (if an idealised one who genuinely cares for the sheep rather than a hired man who's just doing a fairly unpleasant job!). The story of the coin is relating to the tradition (still seen in parts of the Middle East today) of giving a woman the gift of several gold coins as a wedding present, making each one valuable beyond its appearance; naturally she'd be willing to turn the house upside down if one was missing. And of course, we see the Prodigal Son story in this way too. It's literally what people would say an ideal father should do.
The alternative view is interesting in that it kind of turns these parables on their heads. I'm unsure of whether or not it's true, but it deserves some thought.
This view, which we'll call the radical view, proposes that Jesus is actually being a little ironic. When He says "Suppose one of you had a hundred sheep and lost one. Wouldn't you leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until you found it?", the answer a real shepherd would give is "No. You don't leave the Ninety-nine and seek one. That's illogical." Similarly, a woman wouldn't waste too much time seeking one silver coin; and she certainly wouldn't call her friends together to celebrate! As for the Prodigal son, remember that the Son had effectively informed his father that as far as the son was concerned, the father may as well be dead; you can't return from that. It's burning the bridges, then digging up and dynamiting the foundations.
Is this radical view correct? Really, I'm not sure. But it intrigues me because it makes a separate and very pertinent point - that God's love is amazingly and mind-blowingly beyond anything a human could ever imagine or give. No mere human love can fully explain it.
One thing I have noticed in the past is the difference between the three lost things.
The sheep wandered away. There's no bad feelings (a sheep isn't really bright enough to harbour malice), but there is action on the part of the sheep. So too, sometimes we walk astray from God. The point of the parable is that when we wander, God will come and get us.
The coin just got lost. It was not through the coin's action (a coin HAS no action!), just the result of circumstances. So too, when the thing separating us from God is just the random stuff that happens, God can and will find us.
What about the Prodigal son then? He was lost, not by random circumstances and not by carelessness; he was lost because with intelligent consideration and malice aforethought, he would go where he wanted, regardless of the will of his father. Similarly, when we rebel against God, He is still willing and able to forgive.
One last, personal thing - Philip Yancey believes that we all need to realise that we can relate to all three roles in the Parable of the Prodigal son. We too can be like the prodigal (in fact, it's a matter of basic doctrine that we are). But we can also be like the Older brother (which, come to think of it, is the person I tend to see this parable through), and we run the risk of resenting new brothers and sisters as they come to Christ (and sometimes loading them up with burdens we can't carry ourselves). Similarly, we can also relate to the father, welcoming his son home. In the same way, we need to avoid the mistakes of the older brother, and one way we can avoid that is to put ourselves in a place where we are enthusiastically welcoming our prodigals home.
I'm going to confess something here - I have heard conflicting stories about these parables of Jesus. I have a fairly good level of knowledge about the New Testament context, but the trouble is that both ideas make some level of sense. The best thing I can do is summarise both.
The first idea - let's call it the conventional view - is that Jesus is being quite literal. In the Good Shepherd story, he's describing what his Jewish listeners would expect of a shepherd (if an idealised one who genuinely cares for the sheep rather than a hired man who's just doing a fairly unpleasant job!). The story of the coin is relating to the tradition (still seen in parts of the Middle East today) of giving a woman the gift of several gold coins as a wedding present, making each one valuable beyond its appearance; naturally she'd be willing to turn the house upside down if one was missing. And of course, we see the Prodigal Son story in this way too. It's literally what people would say an ideal father should do.
The alternative view is interesting in that it kind of turns these parables on their heads. I'm unsure of whether or not it's true, but it deserves some thought.
This view, which we'll call the radical view, proposes that Jesus is actually being a little ironic. When He says "Suppose one of you had a hundred sheep and lost one. Wouldn't you leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until you found it?", the answer a real shepherd would give is "No. You don't leave the Ninety-nine and seek one. That's illogical." Similarly, a woman wouldn't waste too much time seeking one silver coin; and she certainly wouldn't call her friends together to celebrate! As for the Prodigal son, remember that the Son had effectively informed his father that as far as the son was concerned, the father may as well be dead; you can't return from that. It's burning the bridges, then digging up and dynamiting the foundations.
Is this radical view correct? Really, I'm not sure. But it intrigues me because it makes a separate and very pertinent point - that God's love is amazingly and mind-blowingly beyond anything a human could ever imagine or give. No mere human love can fully explain it.
One thing I have noticed in the past is the difference between the three lost things.
The sheep wandered away. There's no bad feelings (a sheep isn't really bright enough to harbour malice), but there is action on the part of the sheep. So too, sometimes we walk astray from God. The point of the parable is that when we wander, God will come and get us.
The coin just got lost. It was not through the coin's action (a coin HAS no action!), just the result of circumstances. So too, when the thing separating us from God is just the random stuff that happens, God can and will find us.
What about the Prodigal son then? He was lost, not by random circumstances and not by carelessness; he was lost because with intelligent consideration and malice aforethought, he would go where he wanted, regardless of the will of his father. Similarly, when we rebel against God, He is still willing and able to forgive.
One last, personal thing - Philip Yancey believes that we all need to realise that we can relate to all three roles in the Parable of the Prodigal son. We too can be like the prodigal (in fact, it's a matter of basic doctrine that we are). But we can also be like the Older brother (which, come to think of it, is the person I tend to see this parable through), and we run the risk of resenting new brothers and sisters as they come to Christ (and sometimes loading them up with burdens we can't carry ourselves). Similarly, we can also relate to the father, welcoming his son home. In the same way, we need to avoid the mistakes of the older brother, and one way we can avoid that is to put ourselves in a place where we are enthusiastically welcoming our prodigals home.
26 March 2012
Luke 14d
So after the foray into the Purpose Driven Church, now it's time to get back into the Word of God. And hopefully the change will have done me good; my blogs were starting to get pretty conventional!
Anyways . . .
Christians are often fairly limp-wristed in their approach to people they want to reach. I wonder if sometimes we give people the wrong idea of who God is. I mean, we see Him as the great and mighty master of Everything. Yet we seem to be leaving people thinking that God desperately wants you on his side, and that He'll be REALLY SAD if you don't come along . . .
Well, that's certainly not the approach Jesus takes in this chapter. He's willing to lay it all on the line for people. Everyone is welcome with Him - but on HIS terms. And he's not going to leave you to die wondering.
In context here, Jesus is dealing with a big crowd following him. We need to realise here that Jesus was COOL. He was the flavour of the month! Everyone who was anyone was dashing out to the countryside to hear this rebellious rabbi speak. So really, Jesus needed to ensure that anyone who chose to follow Him was doing so out of right motives.
So at a time when many of us might tell the crowd what they wanted to hear to secure their allegiance, Jesus was telling them the plain and simple (and unpleasant) truth.
Firstly He says that you need to be prepared to let go of family - Father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters - and shoulder the cross, and follow.
Because these words are familiar, and because our culture is so different, it can be easy to lose sight of the horror these words would engender. Remember, in Jesus' culture, family is everything. When He says to let go of them, He's really saying to a person to let go of everything that gives their life meaning, that gives them identity. Effectively He's demanding that a person take on a new identity!
The Early Christians could see that - when someone became a Christian, they were granted a new name from the community! I think sometimes we are so much a part of the Christian ethos that we lose sight of how radical Christ's demands were.
More is to come, however. Jesus uses the phrase "shoulder the cross" (Message version - to many people it may be more familiar as "Take up your cross"). This is not only a forshadowing of Jesus' death, it's an expression directly referencing an extremely unpleasant form of execution. It would possibly have been seen as being in profoundly bad taste - imagine how you might react if someone said "You really need to sit on the electric chair".
Talk about talking tough . . .
Jesus then underlines it with using the metaphor of "counting the cost". He compares the person choosing whether or not to follow him with a king considering war with a larger army. Similarly, he proposes the image of a builder planning a house. Basically He's saying "Finish what you start, or don't start."
I have often wondered why the Salt metaphor is where it is, but it makes sense here - Jesus is saying that He wants people who will spice up the world. Anyone who's not prepared to count the cost will be no more than a bland flavour.
Anyways . . .
Christians are often fairly limp-wristed in their approach to people they want to reach. I wonder if sometimes we give people the wrong idea of who God is. I mean, we see Him as the great and mighty master of Everything. Yet we seem to be leaving people thinking that God desperately wants you on his side, and that He'll be REALLY SAD if you don't come along . . .
Well, that's certainly not the approach Jesus takes in this chapter. He's willing to lay it all on the line for people. Everyone is welcome with Him - but on HIS terms. And he's not going to leave you to die wondering.
In context here, Jesus is dealing with a big crowd following him. We need to realise here that Jesus was COOL. He was the flavour of the month! Everyone who was anyone was dashing out to the countryside to hear this rebellious rabbi speak. So really, Jesus needed to ensure that anyone who chose to follow Him was doing so out of right motives.
So at a time when many of us might tell the crowd what they wanted to hear to secure their allegiance, Jesus was telling them the plain and simple (and unpleasant) truth.
Firstly He says that you need to be prepared to let go of family - Father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters - and shoulder the cross, and follow.
Because these words are familiar, and because our culture is so different, it can be easy to lose sight of the horror these words would engender. Remember, in Jesus' culture, family is everything. When He says to let go of them, He's really saying to a person to let go of everything that gives their life meaning, that gives them identity. Effectively He's demanding that a person take on a new identity!
The Early Christians could see that - when someone became a Christian, they were granted a new name from the community! I think sometimes we are so much a part of the Christian ethos that we lose sight of how radical Christ's demands were.
More is to come, however. Jesus uses the phrase "shoulder the cross" (Message version - to many people it may be more familiar as "Take up your cross"). This is not only a forshadowing of Jesus' death, it's an expression directly referencing an extremely unpleasant form of execution. It would possibly have been seen as being in profoundly bad taste - imagine how you might react if someone said "You really need to sit on the electric chair".
Talk about talking tough . . .
Jesus then underlines it with using the metaphor of "counting the cost". He compares the person choosing whether or not to follow him with a king considering war with a larger army. Similarly, he proposes the image of a builder planning a house. Basically He's saying "Finish what you start, or don't start."
I have often wondered why the Salt metaphor is where it is, but it makes sense here - Jesus is saying that He wants people who will spice up the world. Anyone who's not prepared to count the cost will be no more than a bland flavour.
21 March 2012
Purpose Driven Church Ch20 - God's Purpose for your Church
So we reach the final chapter!
Warren's last word to the church is summed up in those two phrases beloved of motivational speakers - "You can do it", and "It's worth it." But more than that, there's a good nugget for those at Sanctuary (and any other church members reading this - Hi Richard, Jane, Andrew Carolyn and Sarah!).
It is this:
When you plant Chinese bamboo, for at least four or five years nothing seems to happen. You water and fertilize, water and fertilize, water and fertilize, and see no visible evidence that anything is happening. But suddenly over a six week period the tree grows about 90 feet tall!
Warren's point is obvious - Focus on fulfilling the purposes of you church. Keep watering and fertilizing, cultivating, weeding and pruning. God will grow His church to the size He wants it, at the rate that is best for your situation.
You may be required - by God! - to labour for years without visible results. Don't be discouraged.
Warren gives the example of David, whose epitaph is "When David had served God's purposes in his own generation he [died]". Imagine having that inscribed on YOUR tombstone. Leaders who fulfil God's purposes are to be honoured in such a way; it's worth living and dying for.
So how do you measure success? Warren uses a phrase I used to hear a lot in Student Life - "Sharing the Gospel in the Power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results up to God." He adapts it to suit the church context: "Building the church on the purposes of God in the Power of the Holy Spirit and expecting the results from God."
Growing churches have one thing in common - leadership that is not afraid to believe God. Leadership that EXPECTS the congregation to grow (That's a poke in the ribs for Yours Truly!).
Warren finishes with the example of The Valley of Dry Bones (Ezekiel 37). No matter how dry the Church's bones may seem, God can breathe new life into them again. Well, Sanctuary has had its problems, but it's never been DEAD as such, so that's no problem for God!
I guess a good finishing point is the quote with which Warren closes the book:
"The greatest churches in history are yet to be built. Are you available for that task? I pray that God will use you to fulfill His purposes in your generation. There is no greater use of your life."
Warren's last word to the church is summed up in those two phrases beloved of motivational speakers - "You can do it", and "It's worth it." But more than that, there's a good nugget for those at Sanctuary (and any other church members reading this - Hi Richard, Jane, Andrew Carolyn and Sarah!).
It is this:
When you plant Chinese bamboo, for at least four or five years nothing seems to happen. You water and fertilize, water and fertilize, water and fertilize, and see no visible evidence that anything is happening. But suddenly over a six week period the tree grows about 90 feet tall!
Warren's point is obvious - Focus on fulfilling the purposes of you church. Keep watering and fertilizing, cultivating, weeding and pruning. God will grow His church to the size He wants it, at the rate that is best for your situation.
You may be required - by God! - to labour for years without visible results. Don't be discouraged.
Warren gives the example of David, whose epitaph is "When David had served God's purposes in his own generation he [died]". Imagine having that inscribed on YOUR tombstone. Leaders who fulfil God's purposes are to be honoured in such a way; it's worth living and dying for.
So how do you measure success? Warren uses a phrase I used to hear a lot in Student Life - "Sharing the Gospel in the Power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results up to God." He adapts it to suit the church context: "Building the church on the purposes of God in the Power of the Holy Spirit and expecting the results from God."
Growing churches have one thing in common - leadership that is not afraid to believe God. Leadership that EXPECTS the congregation to grow (That's a poke in the ribs for Yours Truly!).
Warren finishes with the example of The Valley of Dry Bones (Ezekiel 37). No matter how dry the Church's bones may seem, God can breathe new life into them again. Well, Sanctuary has had its problems, but it's never been DEAD as such, so that's no problem for God!
I guess a good finishing point is the quote with which Warren closes the book:
"The greatest churches in history are yet to be built. Are you available for that task? I pray that God will use you to fulfill His purposes in your generation. There is no greater use of your life."
20 March 2012
Purpose Driven Church Ch 19b - Turning Members into Ministers
Completing this chapter tonight.
Provide on-the-job training.
This is in many respects better than pre-service training, because before a person is doing the ministry they don't even know which questions to ask.
Also, a long pre-service training course loses peoples' enthusiasm. On-the-job training gets them to the coalface faster.
(Note: The SALT program at Saddleback is interesting in that it appears to be one program for all ministries rather than providing specific training. They do, however, have other programs for training in specific ministries.)
Never start a ministry without a minister.
Don't create a ministry position and then try to fill it. Without the right leader, a ministry will stumble along and may do more harm than good.
Trust God's timing and let ideas percolate until God provides the right person to do the job. Also never push people into ministry. If you do the person will have a motivation problem.
Don't worry if there isn't a person for a particular ministry. Take a long-term perspective as a leader. Solid growth takes time.
Acts: organising always followed the Spirit's action.
Establish minimum standards and guidelines.
Best intentions are not enough when working with human beings. Job descriptions are needed which outline issues like time commitment, resources, restrictions, lines of authority and expected results.
Keep these standards clear and brief. e.g. Saddleback: Any member who has completed Class 301 and a SHAPE interviewmay begin a new ministry as long as they follow 3 guidelines:
1) Don't expect the staff to run your ministry - "The church should do something"; You are the church!
2) The ministry must be compatible with the church's beliefs, values and philosophy of ministry. -Be careful of any ministry that does not. Especially careful of events co-sponsored by other organisations.
3) No fund-raising is allowed. A unified budget is essential for a unified church - it avoids fights over limited dollars!
Allow people to quit or change ministry gracefully.
People need to be allowed to take sabbaticals or change ministries without feeling guilty. They may become stale or need a change of pace. If someone doesn't enjoy or fit a particular ministry, they are encouraged to change to another without shame or embarrassment.
Experimenting is the best way to discover your gifts. During lay ministry month, everyone is encouraged to try a new ministry if currently unsatisfied.
Trust people: Delegate authority with responsibility.
The secret of motivating people over an extended period of time is building ownership. People in a particular ministry need to make their own decisions without interference from a board or committee. People respond to responsibility. If you treat them like babies, you have to change nappies and feed them for the rest of their lives.
Expect the best of your people and trust them with ministry. Rick did everything for a while, but got burnt out and made a deal with the church -"If you agree to do the ministry of the church, I'll make sure you're well fed!" The church was never meant to be a one-man superstar show.
If a ministry is built around a prominent person it is personality driven, not purpose driven, and if that person leaves or dies the ministry dies with them.
Provide the necessary support.
Provide material support - Space, paper, copy machines, telephones etc.
Provide communication support -Develop ways to stay in touch with lay ministers.
Provide promotional support - Keep ministries visible to the congregation.
Provide moral support - Express appreciation in both private and public ways.
Renew the vision regularly.
Don't use guilt or pressure. It is VISION that motivates. Help people see that there's no greater cause than the Kingdom of God.
"Imagine dying, and fifty years from now somebody in heaven comes to you and says 'I want to thank you.' You reply 'I'm sorry, but I don't think I know you.' They explain 'You were a minister at Sanctuary. You served and sacrificed and built the church that reached me for Christ after you died. I'm here because of you.' Do you think your effort is worth that?"
Provide on-the-job training.
This is in many respects better than pre-service training, because before a person is doing the ministry they don't even know which questions to ask.
Also, a long pre-service training course loses peoples' enthusiasm. On-the-job training gets them to the coalface faster.
(Note: The SALT program at Saddleback is interesting in that it appears to be one program for all ministries rather than providing specific training. They do, however, have other programs for training in specific ministries.)
Never start a ministry without a minister.
Don't create a ministry position and then try to fill it. Without the right leader, a ministry will stumble along and may do more harm than good.
Trust God's timing and let ideas percolate until God provides the right person to do the job. Also never push people into ministry. If you do the person will have a motivation problem.
Don't worry if there isn't a person for a particular ministry. Take a long-term perspective as a leader. Solid growth takes time.
Acts: organising always followed the Spirit's action.
Establish minimum standards and guidelines.
Best intentions are not enough when working with human beings. Job descriptions are needed which outline issues like time commitment, resources, restrictions, lines of authority and expected results.
Keep these standards clear and brief. e.g. Saddleback: Any member who has completed Class 301 and a SHAPE interviewmay begin a new ministry as long as they follow 3 guidelines:
1) Don't expect the staff to run your ministry - "The church should do something"; You are the church!
2) The ministry must be compatible with the church's beliefs, values and philosophy of ministry. -Be careful of any ministry that does not. Especially careful of events co-sponsored by other organisations.
3) No fund-raising is allowed. A unified budget is essential for a unified church - it avoids fights over limited dollars!
Allow people to quit or change ministry gracefully.
People need to be allowed to take sabbaticals or change ministries without feeling guilty. They may become stale or need a change of pace. If someone doesn't enjoy or fit a particular ministry, they are encouraged to change to another without shame or embarrassment.
Experimenting is the best way to discover your gifts. During lay ministry month, everyone is encouraged to try a new ministry if currently unsatisfied.
Trust people: Delegate authority with responsibility.
The secret of motivating people over an extended period of time is building ownership. People in a particular ministry need to make their own decisions without interference from a board or committee. People respond to responsibility. If you treat them like babies, you have to change nappies and feed them for the rest of their lives.
Expect the best of your people and trust them with ministry. Rick did everything for a while, but got burnt out and made a deal with the church -"If you agree to do the ministry of the church, I'll make sure you're well fed!" The church was never meant to be a one-man superstar show.
If a ministry is built around a prominent person it is personality driven, not purpose driven, and if that person leaves or dies the ministry dies with them.
Provide the necessary support.
Provide material support - Space, paper, copy machines, telephones etc.
Provide communication support -Develop ways to stay in touch with lay ministers.
Provide promotional support - Keep ministries visible to the congregation.
Provide moral support - Express appreciation in both private and public ways.
Renew the vision regularly.
Don't use guilt or pressure. It is VISION that motivates. Help people see that there's no greater cause than the Kingdom of God.
"Imagine dying, and fifty years from now somebody in heaven comes to you and says 'I want to thank you.' You reply 'I'm sorry, but I don't think I know you.' They explain 'You were a minister at Sanctuary. You served and sacrificed and built the church that reached me for Christ after you died. I'm here because of you.' Do you think your effort is worth that?"
19 March 2012
Purpose Driven Church Ch19a - Turning Members into Ministers
It's been a long time since I have blogged. Those at Sanctuary know well that this hasn't been a time of inactivity, however - on the contrary, we've been enacting some of the stuff we've been learning here from this book!
Nevertheless, it's time to knock over the last couple of chapters. My apologies, dear reader, if you have been frustrated by the long wait for them . . .
Anyway, let's get started.
The analogy of a Sleeping Giant (spoken of Napoleon about China, and often quoted of Admiral Yamamoto regarding the United States) is an apt one. The Church IS a sleeping giant. But in many cases the only things required of us are attendance and financial support.
(This is generally not the case of a small church - we're much more prone to the equally dangerous problem of running around, doing everything and eventually collapsing in a heap because you're completely out of energy! However . . . )
Apparently in America only 10% of church members have some kind of personal ministry; 50% have no interest in ministry at all. Sad, but believable (and I'd guess similar figures would be found in Australian churches). But turn this around - that means 40% of church members ARE interested in ministry, and of those only 10% are mobilised - so imagine what would happen if the church mobilised the remaining 30% who are already interested!
In large churches talent can hide in the crowd. Your church will never be stronger than the core of lay ministers who carry out the various ministries of the church.
The biblical basis for Every-Member Ministry:
This forms four pillars.
Pillar 1: Every believer is a minister. Many verses, but see especially Eph 2:10. In God's army there are no volunteers - we've all been drafted!
Pillar 2: Every ministry is significant (See the "Body passage" in 2 Cor 12: 18 - 22). "Small" ministries often make the biggest difference.
Pillar 3: We are dependent on each other. When one part malfunctions, the whole body suffers.
Pillar 4: Ministry is the expression of my SHAPE (Spiritual gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality and Experience). We are each uniquely gifted by God for specific ministries.
Spiritual gifts: Some churches say "Discover your spiritual gift, then you'll know your ministry". Warren says "Experiment with ministries and you'll discover your spiritual gifts." Many surveys of gifts are arbitrary and reflect a denominational bias.
Heart: You are passionate about certain causes and people groups. This is given by God.
Abilities: You have natural talents (apart from Spiritual gifts) which are part of your makeup. People have all kinds of abilities, and it's surprising what can be used.
Personality: God uses all kinds of personalities, but certain personalities are better suited to particular jobs and particular methods. This is why mimicking someone else's ministry never works.
Experience: Educational, vocational, spiritual, ministry and painful experiences all have a role in making us who we are. Use them!
Streamline your organisational structure.
Many churches have so many meetings that their members are too busy to minister to friends and neighbours. We need people to know the difference between "maintenance" and "ministry". Many churches take their best and brightest and turn them into bureaucrats.
Committees discuss ministry. Ministries do it.
Paid staff should do maintenance work. Members should do ministry. This is the opposite to the normal approach!
For a church to grow, both the leadership and the members must give up control - the leadership must give up control of the ministry, and the members must give up control of the leadership.
A church is happiest when its members are ministering, not sitting on committees.
Never vote on lay ministry positions.
* You avoid popularity contests.
* New ministries often need to develop slowly.
* New members can get involved more quickly.
* You avoid attracting people who are interested primarily in prestige and power.
* If people fail, it makes removal easier.
* You can respond more quickly to the Holy Spirit's leading.
Establish a ministry placement process.
Saddleback's process:
* A class (301 - discovering my ministry)
* A placement program
* Staff to administer the process.
There's a little more for tomorrow evening. This, however, is plenty for now!
Nevertheless, it's time to knock over the last couple of chapters. My apologies, dear reader, if you have been frustrated by the long wait for them . . .
Anyway, let's get started.
The analogy of a Sleeping Giant (spoken of Napoleon about China, and often quoted of Admiral Yamamoto regarding the United States) is an apt one. The Church IS a sleeping giant. But in many cases the only things required of us are attendance and financial support.
(This is generally not the case of a small church - we're much more prone to the equally dangerous problem of running around, doing everything and eventually collapsing in a heap because you're completely out of energy! However . . . )
Apparently in America only 10% of church members have some kind of personal ministry; 50% have no interest in ministry at all. Sad, but believable (and I'd guess similar figures would be found in Australian churches). But turn this around - that means 40% of church members ARE interested in ministry, and of those only 10% are mobilised - so imagine what would happen if the church mobilised the remaining 30% who are already interested!
In large churches talent can hide in the crowd. Your church will never be stronger than the core of lay ministers who carry out the various ministries of the church.
The biblical basis for Every-Member Ministry:
This forms four pillars.
Pillar 1: Every believer is a minister. Many verses, but see especially Eph 2:10. In God's army there are no volunteers - we've all been drafted!
Pillar 2: Every ministry is significant (See the "Body passage" in 2 Cor 12: 18 - 22). "Small" ministries often make the biggest difference.
Pillar 3: We are dependent on each other. When one part malfunctions, the whole body suffers.
Pillar 4: Ministry is the expression of my SHAPE (Spiritual gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality and Experience). We are each uniquely gifted by God for specific ministries.
Spiritual gifts: Some churches say "Discover your spiritual gift, then you'll know your ministry". Warren says "Experiment with ministries and you'll discover your spiritual gifts." Many surveys of gifts are arbitrary and reflect a denominational bias.
Heart: You are passionate about certain causes and people groups. This is given by God.
Abilities: You have natural talents (apart from Spiritual gifts) which are part of your makeup. People have all kinds of abilities, and it's surprising what can be used.
Personality: God uses all kinds of personalities, but certain personalities are better suited to particular jobs and particular methods. This is why mimicking someone else's ministry never works.
Experience: Educational, vocational, spiritual, ministry and painful experiences all have a role in making us who we are. Use them!
Streamline your organisational structure.
Many churches have so many meetings that their members are too busy to minister to friends and neighbours. We need people to know the difference between "maintenance" and "ministry". Many churches take their best and brightest and turn them into bureaucrats.
Committees discuss ministry. Ministries do it.
Paid staff should do maintenance work. Members should do ministry. This is the opposite to the normal approach!
For a church to grow, both the leadership and the members must give up control - the leadership must give up control of the ministry, and the members must give up control of the leadership.
A church is happiest when its members are ministering, not sitting on committees.
Never vote on lay ministry positions.
* You avoid popularity contests.
* New ministries often need to develop slowly.
* New members can get involved more quickly.
* You avoid attracting people who are interested primarily in prestige and power.
* If people fail, it makes removal easier.
* You can respond more quickly to the Holy Spirit's leading.
Establish a ministry placement process.
Saddleback's process:
* A class (301 - discovering my ministry)
* A placement program
* Staff to administer the process.
There's a little more for tomorrow evening. This, however, is plenty for now!
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