Faith In Action Sunday UPDATE
“He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for Himself a special people, eager to do good works” Titus 2:14 (HCSB)
Enjoyed serving yesterday with my church. Several great projects knocked out during our first Faith in Action Sunday of 2010. Next FIA will be in May.
A value we’ve communicated at Bridge Church is Intentional Ministry. To act upon that we’ve began quarterly Faith in Action
Sunday’s. That is, one Sunday per quarter, we have breakfast together, an abbreviated worship gathering and we head out to serve our community in practical ways. Why? Here’s a few reasons:
- To be intentional about the sending nature of the church.
- To make disciples who understand that the Christian life is about more than just attending worship services.
- To engage the real needs that we often never notice on our way to church.
- To build group cohesiveness as we accomplish big things together.
- Ministry and mission trips are proven ways to transform our worldviews.
- To demonstrate radical generosity that Jesus modeled for us in his life and death.
- To share the gospel outside the walls of the church.
- To bring about community transformation.
- To join God in fighting for the rights of the poor and down trodden.
- To create a culture of intentionality, going and sending, compassion and engagement, radical generosity, and sharing the Gospel.
Here are a few of our projects for this Sunday:
A porch/ramp for the residents of this mobile home. Two of the three people living here have suffered multiple strokes. It’s a struggle to get in and out of their home. A porch and ramp are needed to improve their quality of life.
Clean up for the elderly resident of a local trailer park. His mode of transportation is a bike, so he is unable to haulaway debris. We’ll also be weatherizing this and other trailers.
Serving at an area Nursing Home. Our kids ministry will be bringing some joy to one of our largest Nursing Homes in the region by helping decorate for Valentine’s Day, serving lunch, and calling out Bingo numbers for the residents.
Practical, simple, inexpensive ways to make a difference in our community and in our vision for our community and world. Looking forward to the after affect of Intentional Ministry.
Ten Reasons Why Small Churches Tend To Stay Small
Loved these post (part 1, part 2) by Dr. Joe McKeever on Ten Reason Why Small Churches Tend to Stay Small.
Not that small in numbers is necessarily bad as Dr. Mckeever explains here:
By using the word “grow,” I do not mean numbers for numbers sake. I do not subscribe to the fallacy that bigness is good and small churches are failures. What I mean by “grow” is reaching people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you reach them and start new churches, your local church may not expand numerically, but it is most definitely “growing.” If you are located in a town that is losing population and your church manages to stay the same size, you’re probably “growing”
Health and growth and discipling are the real issues. Big and small churches can get stuck in the rut of doing church without spiritual fruit and reproduction of disciples. Dr. McKeever gives us some practical words on recognizing and climbing out of possible ruts and hindrances to health and growth. Here’s the ten:
- Wanting to stay small. “We like our church just the way it is.”
- A quick turnover of pastors.
- Domination by a few strong members. A “church boss” frustrates the pastors initiatives and controls his tendencies. Diotrephes in III John is a great example. He “loves to have the pre-eminence.”
- Not trusting the leaders. Micromanaging the churches every move, demanding to know every penny’s whereabouts and who squashed every bug.
- Inferiority complex. “We can’t do anything because we’re small. We don’t have the kind of money other churches have.”
- No plan. Going through the motions of all churches everywhere with no vision for reaching their specific community.
- Bad health. Always bickering, unable to make simple decisions, running the pastor off every two years. Romans 12 is a good place to start to get healthy.
- Lousy fellowship. A failure of the most basic kind – a failure to love.
- A state of neglect. Dying churches do not tend to their business. Problems fester and divisions go unaddressed.
- No prayer. Love this suggestion by Dr. McKeever:
“Want to give your congregation a little test, pastor? Next Sunday, call for your people to meet you at the altar for a time of prayer. Do not beg them or cajole them. Just announce it, then walk there yourself, kneel and begin praying. See if anyone joins you. Notice who comes and pay close attention to who does not.”
Much wisdom here. Hope you’ll read the whole article and think through how you can help move your church past these issues to health and growth or help stay away from them if you are healthy and growing.
Follow Joe everyday at his blog – www.joemckeever.com.
Faith in Action Sunday this Weekend!
A value we’ve communicated at Bridge Church is Intentional Ministry. To act upon that we’ve began quarterly Faith in Action Sunday’s. That is, one Sunday per quarter, we have breakfast together, an abbreviated worship gathering and we head out to serve our community in practical ways. Why? Here’s a few reasons:
- To be intentional about the sending nature of the church.
- To make disciples who understand that the Christian life is about more than just attending worship services.
- To engage the real needs that we often never notice on our way to church.
- To build group cohesiveness as we accomplish big things together.
- Ministry and mission trips are proven ways to transform our worldviews.
- To demonstrate radical generosity that Jesus modeled for us in his life and death.
- To share the gospel outside the walls of the church.
- To bring about community transformation.
- To join God in fighting for the rights of the poor and down trodden.
- To create a culture of intentionality, going and sending, compassion and engagement, radical generosity, and sharing the Gospel.
Here are a few of our projects for this Sunday:
A porch/ramp for the residents of this mobile home. Two of the three people living here have suffered multiple strokes. It’s a struggle to get in and out of their home. A porch and ramp are needed to improve their quality of life.
Clean up for the elderly resident of a local trailer park. His mode of transportation is a bike, so he is unable to haulaway debris. We’ll also be weatherizing this and other trailers.
Serving at an area Nursing Home. Our kids ministry will be bringing some joy to one of our largest Nursing Homes in the region by helping decorate for Valentine’s Day, serving lunch, and calling out Bingo numbers for the residents.
Practical, simple, inexpensive ways to make a difference in our community and in our vision for our community and world. Looking forward to the after affect of Intentional Ministry.
Matthew 25, Even Closer to Home
Reading Richard Stearns, the President of World Vision‘s book The Hole in our Gospel. Challenging story concerning God’s desire for us to engage the least. Talking about Matthew 25‘s call to tangible acts of obedience by Christ followers, Stearns gives this interesting paraphrase of verses 35-36.
“For I was hungry, while you had all you needed. I was thirsty, but you drank bottled water. I was a stranger, and you wanted me deported. I needed clothes, but you needed more clothes. I was sick, and you pointed out the behaviors that led to my sickness. I was in prison, and you said I was getting what I deserved.” Matthew 25:35-36 paraphrased by Richard Stearns.
How do you see the needs of others? Matthew 25:31-40 points us to the conclusion that “the righteous” are defined by Christ as those who acted in tangible ways on behalf of those in need. Not SO THAT righteousness can be gained (Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5), but as evidence of His righteousness within (2 Corinthians 5:21). There are miriad opportunities that God will lead us to to give our food, drink, homes, clothes, concern, and love to others. Will we obey?
In Good Company
John the Baptists ate bugs!
If you find yourself pointing at your weaknesses and or your past mistakes as an excuse for not serving God or allowing him to shape your life, then think about some of the folks in the Bible that God used:
- Moses Stuttered
- David’s armor didn’t fit
- Timothy had ulcers
- Hosea’s wife was a prostitute
- Jacob was a liar
- David had an affair
- Solomon was too rich
- Jesus was too poor
- Abraham was too old
- David was too young
- Peter was a loud mouth
- Lazarus was dead
- Naomi was a widow
- Paul was a murderer
- So was Moses
- Jonah ran from God
- Miriam was a gossip
- Gideon doubted
- Jeremiah was depressed
- Elijah was burned out
- John the Baptist ate bugs
- Martha was a worry wart
- Mary was lazy
- Samson had long hair
- Noah got drunk
No one is out of God’s reach. Nothing you have done is too much for God’s grace. Jesus took all your sin on the cross. Get over your past and allow him to make you what you are not.
Church as a Connection Point
When thinking about the nature of the church, should we think of it as a destination or a connection point? Stated a little clearer: Is the church a resort or an airport? A resort is a destination or a place you go to relax, be refreshed, and be waited on. An airport is a place of connection or somewhere you are while waiting to GO. Reggie McNeal asked this question in his helpful book Missional Renaissance: Changing the Scorecard for the Church. Jason Dukes in his book Live Sent: You Are A Letter, likens the church to a Post Office, sending out letters written by God into the world. And of course an unsent letter is no good to anyone.
As I think about the New Testament church and the images of going and sending found there, I have to suggest that the church is not the destination for the believer. It’s a connection point to life in Christ, to the mission of Christ in the world, and to a life given away for the sake of others inside and outside the fellowship of believers.
Semantics? OK. But the implication for leaders and disciplers who devise strategy and plan ministry can be huge. Do you have a plan to send and release people into the community regularly and consistently? Do you reward people for their work done in Jesus’ name off campus or in unsponsored church activities? Is your discipling process producing Christians who are looking outward, engaging the unchurched, and actively giving themselves away as a way of life? The answer to these questions may suggest a mindset that makes the church either a connection point or the destination.
Jason Dukes says in Live Sent, “church culture has made discipleship about retention more than release.” While we must plan for assimilation and discipleship and life in the body, lets remember that God’s destination for His church is out there – see Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8, 2 Corinthians 5:17-21.
Assessing the Need for New Churches in the South
A common question I’m asked as a church planter and strategist: “Why do we need new churches when we have so many already?”
Stated in other, more direct ways:
- “We’ve got that area covered already, there’s no need for a new church.”
- “Planting a new church will make Pastors in the area feel unappreciated or like they’re not doing their job.”
- “Why plant a new church when my church needs so much help?”
- “Do we really need another ‘little’ church in this area?”
- “Won’t a new church just take resources from other churches.”
These can be legitimate concerns, when brought with a kingdom mind set, and these concerns should be addressed by strategists and planters in the planning process. And I’m sure there have been occasions when for the sake of #’s we have ignored legitimate concerns and good questions from partners about the why for a new church in a given area. I’d really like to work through each of these concerns individually at some point but now I’m asking, what are the right questions and the key indicators of the need for new churches or ministries in the seemingly overchurched south?
- Is the community being transformed for the good or bad? Instead of starting by looking at ourselves (i.e. the existing churches in the community), maybe we should take a look at what’s happening in the lives of people in the area. Church planting should start with a desire to see the community transformed by the gospel. Is it happening as we need it to? Are we willing to admit that the task of transforming our community may be more than one church can handle? Are we committed to life change at all costs?
- Are there places where the Church is not? Flowing out of the first question, what do we find when we look at spheres of influence and places of engagement in the community? Are churches able and willing to engage the local schools, multi-housing complexes, business communities, correctional facilities, chat rooms, neighborhood associations, etc.?
- Are there population segments or people groups that are not being touched by the Gospel? Next, are there language, socioeconomic, or lifestyle groups, that are not being touched adequately by a consistent Gospel witness?
- What is God stirring up in and for this community? God is in the world reconciling people to Himself (2 Corinthians 5:17-21). What is He doing in this community in that regard? When our Father’s work includes stirring the heart of a church to multiply and send out its own to start a new church or launch a new campus or reach out to a population segment, we should not oppose what He is stirring. We can assess if this is a genuine call from God or a call to disgruntlement or if it is born out of divisiveness. We can also hold our planting teams accountable to be agents of transformation not division, focusing on where the church is not, and reaching out to unreached peoples.
Many Pastors, me included, tend to think about a new ministry or church through the lens of what it may cost us. What if we thought about it in terms of the great cost to those who may never hear the Gospel, or those who are going through life without the joy of a relationship with Christ, or those who are going through life’s challenges without a family of believers who can love and provide for them along the way? Can we look honestly at our communities and see the need and God’s activity if it’s there and then partner together to plant for God’s glory and the good of our communities?
Are there other good questions and key indicators as we plan to plant the Gospel in North America?
10 Biblical and Practical Ways to Get Involved in Church Planting
There’s no right or wrong way to support church planting in North American and beyond. I like this list. Don’t let failure of imagination or the excuse, “I don’t know how”, keep you and your church from engaging the lost through church planting and multiplication.- Engage in strategic intercessory prayer – Proverbs 16:3.
- Adopt a church planter and his family – Philippians 4:14-15.
- Contribute to the financial needs of a church plant – Acts 11:29.
- Provide materials and equipment for a new church – Acts 11:30.
- Share your campus facilities with a new church – Acts 3:6.
- Serve on a church planting mission trip – Acts 12:25.
- Discover unreached or under-reached people in your community – Matthew 28:19.
- Start an outreach Bible study that could become a new church – Acts 16:32.
- Send people and families to help a church get off the ground – Acts 13:2-3.
- Mentor Church Planting leaders – Philippians 2:22.
Best word combination in the English Bible: IN CHRIST
Last Sunday, we began a message series at Bridge Church called Connected. This series will define the future vision and direction of our church, as well as our discipling and assimilation process. Six words that we want to be our broken record at Bridge Church:
IN CHRIST, ON MISSION, FOR OTHERS
We kicked off the new decade talking about one of my favorite word combinations in the Bible: IN CHRIST. These two words are together in the New Testament around 150 times. It defines the spiritual place of residence for every believer.
What does it mean to be in Christ? I’m going to be doing a personal study on these words together in the New Testament for awhile, but here’s three things from my message Sunday.
A place where we BECOME WHAT WE’RE NOT. Ephesians 4:22-24
A place where we KNOW & DO GOD’S WILL. Romans 12:1-2
A place where we FIND REAL LIFE. John 10:10
Have you made the connection to Life IN Christ? Download the message in its entirety and its notes at our website, http://bridgenorthshore.com/.
Join us this Sunday, 10:30am, at the West St. Tammany YMCA as we talk about Growing IN Christ.
Reproducing Churches coming to Louisiana
On January 21st, we will have our quarterly Church Planting Network Gathering on the Northshore of Lake Pontchartrain. I’m pumped to have Jason Dukes and friends joining us from ReproducingChurches.com. Reproducing Churches is a growing Church planting network focusing on togetherness/gathering, timeless training, and direct coaching. Jason is also a church planter and author of Live Sent: You Are A Letter, which I’m reading now.
Having been a church planter for a decade now, I’m more than sold on the need for networking for collaboration, encouragement, training, etc. I posted about that here. Looking forward to this years gatherings.
If you’re a church planter, church plant team member, church planting enthusiasts, join us on January 21st, 6:30pm, at Life Church in Mandeville, LA (5200 Hwy. 22, Mandeville, LA).
Lane Corley 