Saturday, January 10, 2009
I'm Back
"I have returned to blogdom." These words spoken by my hero General MacArthur have inspired many people since he wrote them in his blog from his laptop on board the PT Boat when he returned to the Philipines. Well...in a manner of speaking that is. This will not be a full length article as I do not have time right now. Suffice it to say...keep posted as I promise I will post within the next week or so. Promise...on my honor as a security guard. I swear it on the sword of my......uh.....actually I don't have a sword right now. Anyway, more to follow.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
To Make a Church...
There is a poem by Emily Dickinson that provides for a few thought provoking minutes. It is entitled, "To Make a Prairie." It answers the unasked question of what it takes to make a prairie and goes like this:
"To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee,
One clover and a bee,
And revery.
The revery alone will do,
If bees are few."
In regards to the concept of church planting today, I'd like to present my own version.
To Make a Church
To make a church it takes a late model computer and softwar, a colored DeskJet or laser printer, a multi-drawer photocopier with a sorting feature and computer linkup capability, and a video projector, a desk, chairs, tables, filing cabinets, adding machines, an answering machine, telephone, white boards, markers, blank CD's, paper, paper cutter, digital piano, pulpit, communion set, offering plates, nursery equipment, sound system, and possibly song books.
The computer, printer, piano, copier, communion set, nursery equipment, video projector, offering plates, pulpit, and chairs alone will do if the rest is hard to come by.
That list of equipment is almost a direct quote from my church planting book. And yes it did say "possibly song books." The thinking today is that you should probably have the words up on power point cause the people sing better and it's just more practical in todays society.
I've recently been re-reading "God's Smuggler." Great book that everyone should have a copy of. It tells of persecuted Christians in Communist countries back in the height of the Communist regimes. You know what they had for church? A few had Bibles. Sometimes not even the pastors had Bibles. A few had some song books. Those that didn't have Bibles or song books sometimes had hand written copies of portions of the Bible or song books. And when they got to church, they held their copies up high so that as many people as possible could read them. No computers or pianos, no copiers or powerpoint, no up to the latest date software or sound system. No nursery equipment. Just a few scattered copies of God's Word and some song books. And like I said, sometimes the pastor himself even didn't have his own Bible! And yet we today have our lists of hundreds of must have commentaries, dictionaries, theology books, study helps, etc, otherwise we are not adequately equipped to be a pastor. Oh and did I mention that M. Div. you've just got to have? Now I'm thirty years old, I've got my degrees, I've got my books, and I've got all my equipment, and now I'm ready to go out and start a church or become the pastor of an already existing church. So I go out and say I'm depending on God to help me but my tendency is to turn to all my stuff to help me out when I come up against a hard spot. Now there is nothing wrong with any of the stuff listed above. But without it, you are reduced to utter dependence on God and God alone. And that is right where God wants us.
Let me put it this way. What tools do you give your young son first? The DeWalt cordless drill, Milwaukee circular saw, Rigid nail gun, laser levels? No, you give him that 20" Stanly hand saw, the small hand drill, the 16 oz hammer, the small level and tape measure and teach him how to use those. Then you give him the power tools later once he has mastered the basics. Then he is never tied to those power tools.
Transfer that over to the theological/religious world and what thoughts does that make you think?
Read these verses from John 16:7-15.
1. a thorough knowledge of it unsurpassed by anyone tied to commentaries,
2. being thoroughly right with God--no sin in the camp blocking access to the power of God
3. an awesome relationship with God because you are constantly talking to Him and He to you.
Now, when you throw yourself completely on the Holy Spirit and the Word, God will test you. He will deliberately put you through a dry time spiritually to see what your response will be. And you will be tempted to go to the commentaries and study helps. But you must not. First examine your life to make sure there is nothing hindering God revealing His word to you. Then once you have that taken care of, get on your knees and ask God to open your understanding. It may be that what you wanted to preach/teach on is not what God desires you to preach on. And He is trying to get your attention and turn it to what He desires you to preach on. Or maybe God is just wanting you on your knees before Him begging Him to open your understanding and show you His truth so that you can take it to the flock that He has entrusted to you so you can feed them. How awesome is that!! To be shown by God what a text means so that you can feed it to His flock! We cannot be tied to anything but God and His Word.
Now going back to the topic of making a church. We don't need all this stuff. We need the power of God. Matthew 16:18 says that Christ will build His church. Our programs, our Sunday School manuals, our nursery staff, our sound system, our worship leader, our track rack, our EE program, our ushers, our visitor cards, our advertising, our computers, our fancy copier machines, our power point and data projectors; none of these things are necessary for a church to be planted, grow, and mature. What is necessary is God and His Word and complete dependence on them.
2 Peter 1:2-4 says "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."
It's not our books, Logos software, or anything else. It is the knowledge and power of God and Christ Jesus that gives us what we need for life and godliness. It is God's power that builds the church and it is through our (the pastor's) knowledge of God that He feeds the church. We often complain that we really don't know God. I wonder why? How do you get to know someone? Could it possibly be by spending time with them? When you are dating, you spend literally hours communicating with that special someone. And the result is that in a few years, you know that person really well. By spending hours with God and letting Him work in your life and transform it, you too can really get to know God and that will overflow out of your life and impact others. It's not about the stuff; it's about God and a relationship with Him. Get to know Him and that will transform your life and ministry. Really get to know God and the results will astound you.
Let's give God a chance to work again in the churches in America. Put away those distracting things. Put away the novels, the magazines, the movies, the TV, the computer, those things that aren't edifying and building you or those around you up in the Lord. It's time we got back to the Bible and God. So take your Bible and a pen and you and God and make a Christian and a church.
To Make a Church/Christian it takes the Bible and a Pen.
One pen and the Bible
And the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit and Bible will do,
If pens are few.
A. W. Tozer once said, "Take away the Holy Spirit from the New Testament church and ninety-five percent of what was happening would cease. Take away the Holy Spirit from today's church, and ninety-five percent would continue."
How about it? What do you think?
"To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee,
One clover and a bee,
And revery.
The revery alone will do,
If bees are few."
In regards to the concept of church planting today, I'd like to present my own version.
To Make a Church
To make a church it takes a late model computer and softwar, a colored DeskJet or laser printer, a multi-drawer photocopier with a sorting feature and computer linkup capability, and a video projector, a desk, chairs, tables, filing cabinets, adding machines, an answering machine, telephone, white boards, markers, blank CD's, paper, paper cutter, digital piano, pulpit, communion set, offering plates, nursery equipment, sound system, and possibly song books.
The computer, printer, piano, copier, communion set, nursery equipment, video projector, offering plates, pulpit, and chairs alone will do if the rest is hard to come by.
That list of equipment is almost a direct quote from my church planting book. And yes it did say "possibly song books." The thinking today is that you should probably have the words up on power point cause the people sing better and it's just more practical in todays society.
I've recently been re-reading "God's Smuggler." Great book that everyone should have a copy of. It tells of persecuted Christians in Communist countries back in the height of the Communist regimes. You know what they had for church? A few had Bibles. Sometimes not even the pastors had Bibles. A few had some song books. Those that didn't have Bibles or song books sometimes had hand written copies of portions of the Bible or song books. And when they got to church, they held their copies up high so that as many people as possible could read them. No computers or pianos, no copiers or powerpoint, no up to the latest date software or sound system. No nursery equipment. Just a few scattered copies of God's Word and some song books. And like I said, sometimes the pastor himself even didn't have his own Bible! And yet we today have our lists of hundreds of must have commentaries, dictionaries, theology books, study helps, etc, otherwise we are not adequately equipped to be a pastor. Oh and did I mention that M. Div. you've just got to have? Now I'm thirty years old, I've got my degrees, I've got my books, and I've got all my equipment, and now I'm ready to go out and start a church or become the pastor of an already existing church. So I go out and say I'm depending on God to help me but my tendency is to turn to all my stuff to help me out when I come up against a hard spot. Now there is nothing wrong with any of the stuff listed above. But without it, you are reduced to utter dependence on God and God alone. And that is right where God wants us.
Let me put it this way. What tools do you give your young son first? The DeWalt cordless drill, Milwaukee circular saw, Rigid nail gun, laser levels? No, you give him that 20" Stanly hand saw, the small hand drill, the 16 oz hammer, the small level and tape measure and teach him how to use those. Then you give him the power tools later once he has mastered the basics. Then he is never tied to those power tools.
Transfer that over to the theological/religious world and what thoughts does that make you think?
Read these verses from John 16:7-15.
"Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged."
"I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you." (NKJV)
1. a thorough knowledge of it unsurpassed by anyone tied to commentaries,
2. being thoroughly right with God--no sin in the camp blocking access to the power of God
3. an awesome relationship with God because you are constantly talking to Him and He to you.
Now, when you throw yourself completely on the Holy Spirit and the Word, God will test you. He will deliberately put you through a dry time spiritually to see what your response will be. And you will be tempted to go to the commentaries and study helps. But you must not. First examine your life to make sure there is nothing hindering God revealing His word to you. Then once you have that taken care of, get on your knees and ask God to open your understanding. It may be that what you wanted to preach/teach on is not what God desires you to preach on. And He is trying to get your attention and turn it to what He desires you to preach on. Or maybe God is just wanting you on your knees before Him begging Him to open your understanding and show you His truth so that you can take it to the flock that He has entrusted to you so you can feed them. How awesome is that!! To be shown by God what a text means so that you can feed it to His flock! We cannot be tied to anything but God and His Word.
Now going back to the topic of making a church. We don't need all this stuff. We need the power of God. Matthew 16:18 says that Christ will build His church. Our programs, our Sunday School manuals, our nursery staff, our sound system, our worship leader, our track rack, our EE program, our ushers, our visitor cards, our advertising, our computers, our fancy copier machines, our power point and data projectors; none of these things are necessary for a church to be planted, grow, and mature. What is necessary is God and His Word and complete dependence on them.
2 Peter 1:2-4 says "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."
It's not our books, Logos software, or anything else. It is the knowledge and power of God and Christ Jesus that gives us what we need for life and godliness. It is God's power that builds the church and it is through our (the pastor's) knowledge of God that He feeds the church. We often complain that we really don't know God. I wonder why? How do you get to know someone? Could it possibly be by spending time with them? When you are dating, you spend literally hours communicating with that special someone. And the result is that in a few years, you know that person really well. By spending hours with God and letting Him work in your life and transform it, you too can really get to know God and that will overflow out of your life and impact others. It's not about the stuff; it's about God and a relationship with Him. Get to know Him and that will transform your life and ministry. Really get to know God and the results will astound you.
Let's give God a chance to work again in the churches in America. Put away those distracting things. Put away the novels, the magazines, the movies, the TV, the computer, those things that aren't edifying and building you or those around you up in the Lord. It's time we got back to the Bible and God. So take your Bible and a pen and you and God and make a Christian and a church.
To Make a Church/Christian it takes the Bible and a Pen.
One pen and the Bible
And the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit and Bible will do,
If pens are few.
A. W. Tozer once said, "Take away the Holy Spirit from the New Testament church and ninety-five percent of what was happening would cease. Take away the Holy Spirit from today's church, and ninety-five percent would continue."
How about it? What do you think?
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Hold your horses...
I know I promised a post on my views of church planting. It's a continuation of my thoughts from a couple of posts ago. But I keep forgetting my book that I need to reference as I write the post....so hold on. I promise to write it before I virtually disappear from blogdome for the summer...sadness.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
An Overloaded Donkey
This is what I feel like at the end of the semester feels like--an overloaded donkey.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Coming soon...
What does it take to have church or to have a church? A three page list of materials, worship teams, ushers?
My thoughts coming soon....
My thoughts coming soon....
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