Fool-Proofing Your Life
Fool is a very Biblical word. We all have been fools. As a matter of fact we’re born that way. Proverbs 22:15 (NASB) Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of discipline will remove it far from him.
All children are foolish, and that’s OK. Parents should expect foolishness, and seek to drive it away. But it’s not OK when we stay foolish and some of us do. How do we deal with them? and discern our own foolish behavior. Start with defining what a fool is and the book of Proverbs is the one stop place for that.
Three Hebrew words used in Proverbs for fool:
- Kesil – dull, closeminded. 49X in Proverbs, 70X in OT. “right in his own eyes.” Will not consider the value of unselfish things.
- Nabal – spiritually bereft, lacks spiritual perception. 18x in OT. Incapable of seeing God’s side of things. Self-damaging. Abigail about her husband – “no one can talk to him”
- Ewil – obstinate, hardened fool; sees no benefit to wisdom. From root “thick of fluids.” Hard headed. 26x in OT. My way or the highway.
Characteristics in Proverbs of a fool: How can we discern foolish behavior?
Northshore Probe: Stat Summary for Tangi, W St Tam, & E St Tam Churches
Number crunching a bit in preparation for our April 1st PROBE (a PROBE studies People, Residences, Opportunities, Barriers, Evangelism avenues through data collection and windshield surveys). Attached are Stat Summaries for Tangi-Livingston, West St. Tammany, East St. Tammany. Observations? Strategy Suggestions?
Northshore PROBE: 30 Year Stat Summary of the Northshore Baptist Association
Number crunching a bit in preparation for our April 1st PROBE (a PROBE studies People, Residences, Opportunities, Barriers, Evangelism avenues through data collection and windshield surveys). Attached is a Stat Summary that shows a slight decline and a population that’s growing 3x faster than church membership. Observations? Strategy Suggestions?
STAT Summary NSBA – PDF Download
Northshore Probe: Multi-Housing on the Northshore
As part of an area-wide PROBE (People, Residents, Opportunities, Barriers to the Gospel, and Evangelism Avenues) we conducted a region wide study of multi-housing residents on the Northshore. Thankful for Gary Dennis for his research on this project. Get the full report on Multi-Housing on the Northshore from our 2011 Probe here.
The purpose of this study was to identify major needs and outreach opportunities to people living in Multi-Housing facilities along the I-12 corridor from Slidell to Albany, and, to suggest possible strategies for doing outreach among this people group. We sought to answer the following questions:
- Where do people live in multi-housing units/complexes?
- What kinds of multi-housing units/complexes do people live in?
- What kinds of people live in the different multi-housing units/complexes? (socioeconomic & ethnicity)
- How many people live in multi-housing units/complexes?
- What particular needs exist among those in each multi-housing unit/complex?
- What kinds of strategies might be needed to minister in and to those in the various multi-housing units/complexes on the Northshore?
Northshore PROBE
This Spring the Northshore Baptist Association is conducting an area wide PROBE (a PROBE studies People, Residences, Opportunities, Barriers, Evangelism avenues through data collection and windshield surveys). On April 1st, we’ll come together for a final windshield survey and compilation of data. I’ll be releasing some of what we’ve discovered so far over the next few weeks. This info will help us develop a strategy for church planting and ministry development over the next 10 years or so. And we hope it will help churches see open doors in the community for ministry. If you’d like to receive our information, let me know – lanecorley@gmail.com. If you’d like to participate in the PROBE, meet at First Baptist Lacombe or the Clegg Mission and Ministries Center in Hammond at 8:30am on April 1st. We’ll have a light breakfast and go from there, finishing up with lunch at Bedico Baptist Church at 12:30pm. If you think you have a handle on people, residences, opportunities, barriers, and evangelism avenues, don’t be stingy. Let us know your insights, so that we can share it with others.
Later today, I’ll release some data on Multihousing on the Northshore. On Monday, I’ll release some of a 30 year statistical analysis of church growth on the Northshore.
Lot’s of opportunities to partner together.
Assessing the Need for New Churches
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. 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?
My Good Gift
Love serving and doing life with my wife. One of my first realizations about marriage was that people seemed to like me better when she’s around. Then I realized why – I am better when she’s around. Thankful for you babe and for a productive day of ministry together. Looking forward to many more!
“He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord” Proverbs 18:22
Worth Reading: A Few Links
- “As I read the Gospels and see Jesus, I am increasingly stumped how we determined sermons and songs are what makes us most like Him” from Shaun King on transitioning his church to be more transformational.
- “Since they do not see themselves as ‘evangelists,’ they decide to leave such Kingdom labors to the ‘professionals.'”JD Payne interviewed about why Christians don’t evangelize.
- “Know that just because I married a pastor does not mean I enjoy singing, playing the piano, running the nursery, or leading the women’s program. I am willing to use my talents, but please don’t expect me to fulfill a role that I am not designed for.” Amber Woller on What Pastors’ Wives Wish Their Congregations Knew.
- Japan Tsunami: Is God Still Good? by Jonathan Dodson – “God has done, is doing, and will do something about the problem of evil and suffering. He defeats evil at the cross, releases “aid workers” at the resurrection, and promises total peace at his return.”
- Why I’m Thankful for Popular False Teachers by Jared Wilson.
Is It Worth the Trouble?
“Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox” Proverbs 14:4.
The goal of an on mission disciple of Christ is a harvest of changed lives and transformed relationships. The goal of a casual Christian is a safe, comfortable, inspirational, clean life. Casual Christianity may be popular and prevailing because of the mess that being on mission will create. IS IT WORTH IT? If you believe that hell is real and that sin and addiction and poverty and worldliness wreck peoples lives and that the gospel is the answer. Yes. If you believe that God’s top priority for you is a clean stable. No.
What does the on mission disciples stable look like? It may look like exhaustion from serving people not like you, books piled high from digging into peoples honest questions, late nights and long conversations, a broken heart over the plight of people’s lives, stress over people who initially respond to grace but turn back and go their own way, the home not as a refuge but as a safe haven for seekers and strangers, instead of work to play, work to provide and be generous.
In the Great Commission we don’t have the assurance of a clean stable, but of Christ’s presence with us. He was willing to pay the price. Now he sends us. A harvest of change lives will be costly and messy. I don’t want to settle for clean.
Love and Respect: What She Needs, What He Needs
“Help me understand the opposite sex.” Today at Bridge church we got to Ephesians 5:22-33 in our Ephesians series, looking at what God’s commands to wives say about their husbands and vice versa. Dr. Emerson Eggerichs has a great book on this subject called Love and Respect. Here are the acrostics I shared today from the book. They say a lot about what she needs and what he needs. Hear these and past messages at http://bridgenorthshore.com.
How to Spell Love to Your Wife:
C – Closeness – She wants you to be close.
O – Openness – She wants you to open up to her
U – Understanding – Don’t try to “Fix” Her; just listen
P – Peacemaking – She wants you to say, “I’m sorry”
L – Loyalty – She needs to know you’re committed
E – Esteem – She wants you to Honor and Cherish Her
How to Spell Respect to Your Husband:
C – Conquest – Appreciate His Desire to Work and Achieve
H – Hierarchy – Appreciate His Desire to Protect and Provide
A – Authority – Appreciate His Desire to Serve and to Lead
I – Insight – Appreciate His Desire to Analyze and Counsel
R – Relationship – Appreciate His Desire for Shoulder to Shoulder Friendship
S. – Sexuality – Appreciate His Desire for Sexual Intimacy
Also, check out the author’s website, www.loveandrespect.com.
Lane Corley 