Church success

The following is a “tweet” on my Twitter account that I received yesterday (Tuesday).  It’s by John Piper and goes as follows:  “The success of a church should not be judged by its seating capacity but by it sending capacity.“

BRILLIANT!

Church membership doesn’t really say much about a congregation except how many people call that congregation their church home.  Worship attendance starts to get at the core issue but doesn’t tell the whole story.  Sending capacity (however one can measure that) tells us that people are being fed and sent to advance the mission of Christ to the glory of God.

A church that measures its success by seating capacity is inward focused.   A church that measures its success by its sending capacity is Christ (outward) focused.

-edh-

Good reads

I have been doing a fair amount of reading this summer (as I mentioned in a post a while back).  Here’s a list of books I have read and ones that I am working on (and will be working on).

READ
(1) Rediscovering the Lord’s Prayer by Art Simon.
This book gave me a new and exciting way to look at the Lord’s Prayer.  So often we pray this great prayer that our Savior taught us, and don’t truly think about what we are praying for.  We are asking for a lot in this prayer.  It’s a short book (128 pgs.) and a quick read.

(2) Christless Christianity by Michael Horton.
This was a scary book but a true commentary on the Church and our culture.  It talked about a shift that is talking place in the world (including the Church) where Christ is being preached less and less.  Instead of talking about what God has done for us in Jesus, what is being preached is what we need to do in order to have our best life now.  It’s 259 pgs and it will require you to slow down and think about what is being written.  Even though it may not be a quick read it is well worth the time.

(3) Baptism: A Users Guide by Martin E. Marty.
This book is written for people who are desiring baptism, those who perform baptisms, those who are baptized, etc.  Basically, it’s for anyone.  It is a well written book talking about the ins and outs of baptism.  This is a quick read (161 pgs) with discussion questions at the end.

ON GOING
(1) Various sermons by Martin Luther
Basically you can’t go wrong reading a little Luther.

IN PROGRESS
(1) Beyond Opinion by Ravi Zacharias.
I haven’t read anything by Zacharias before but have heard great things about him.  Having just read the introduction I can’t say a whole lot about this book now but I might have more to say later.

TO BE READ
I am still working on this list but one book that was recommended to me was a book by John Piper called Finally Alive. If you have any other good reads for me please feel free to let me know.  I am compiling a list and I will see what I get through this summer.

It has been such a treat to slow down and read, read and then read some more.  I am trying to open myself to different things and explore topics that I haven’t spent a lot of time in.  My hope is that once I get into the busyness of the school year I can continue the discipline of reading.  Continuing education is extremely important for personal and professional growth.

So…what are you reading? And…what have you read?

God bless!

-edh-

Spark Story Bible

At the risk of sounding like an Augsburg Fortress commercial I wanted to highlight this story Bible that I came across.  This Bible is geared towards age 2 through grade 2 kids and contains 150 Bible stories. It has great color pictures, stories that are short and each have a question or an action statement; something to help the kids think more about the story.

After buying one copy to look at I bought another 10.  So far two people have come in to buy one and others said they are also interested.  I may need to buy more.  There is also a Spark Bible geared towards grade 3 through grade 6 students.  And all of this is part of the Spark Sunday school curriculum.

My plan is to read out of this story Bible on Sundays for the children’s message (trying to coordinate with the Gospel text)  and also to give one to parents who have their children baptized here.  I have been trying to encourage people to get into the Bible more so let’s start them young.

My point here is not to give Augsburg Fortress free advertising but rather to highlight a resource for getting kids into the Bible.  One of my fondest memories took place one Sunday morning.  One of my 3 year olds came into the narthex before worship and was carrying a couple books.  She ran up to me to show me and the first one she showed me was her new Bible.  She was pretty excited and proud of her Bible.  Now…what pastor is not going to get excited about that.

I hope more kids will develop a love for scripture early and keep scripture as a huge part of their lives as they grow up, but it all begins with the family.

-edh-

Greatness

[This was submitted as a letter to the editor of the Jackson County Pilot.  Along with me 4 other pastors and one lay person signed onto this letter.]

What makes a person great?

In a world where many people wear blinders this question is answered in very narrow terms.  For many, greatness is limited to job performance or on the field/court performance (athletic success).  If a person brings in a lot of business, makes a lot of money, wins a lot of games, sells a lot of tickets, puts a lot of butts in the stands, etc, then greatness is measured using those factors.  But I would argue that greatness can not be limited to those narrow confines; rather character HAS to play into the equation.  I say that because character is something that goes with you where ever you go and carries over into everything you do.  Character is what people will remember in the long run.

Recently, here in Jackson, a great volleyball coach died.  Carolyn coached for many years and was respected by many people:  student athletes, parents, fans, and other coaches and players.  She is remembered and respected not just because of the results she brought to the teams she coached (a couple state titles and numerous conference and  sub-section titles) but what she taught her players.  In a recent story in the newspaper it (of course) talked about her statistics a little bit, but the majority of the story was about what she left behind for her girls.  Carolyn was a tough coach and very demanding, but she was respectful and kind.  In the newspaper story many of her former players talked about what she taught them and even called Carolyn their second mom.  What a compliment and testimony to her character.  A “great” coach does not need to swear and berate their players.  A “great” coach sets an example for their players and holds them accountable for their actions on AND off the field/court.  Carolyn did that and that is why she will be remembered as a “great” coach.

I watch stories on ESPN talk about “great” players but then in the next breath it is mentioned that they got arrested for drunk driving or domestic abuse or drug use.  To me that player may be very talented athletically, but they are not a “great” player.  Character has to be taken into consideration because character carries over to EVERY aspect of ones life.  The professional athletes that I most respect are the ones who stay out of trouble, give back to their communities, are not overly cocky, don’t break the rules (i.e. steroids) and are just plain respectful of the sport and other people.  That is a testament to their character.  Whether they produce on the field/court or not I cheer for those athletes and wish them the best.

As a society we need to demand better.  We need to expect “greatness” in EVERY aspect of ones life.  We need to demand more from our coaches and athletes.  And…as a society…we need to expect more from ourselves.  We need to be mindful of our character.  Job performance or athletic success is temporary, but character is forever.  If we don’t teach our kids today that character is important; if we don’t teach our kids to be respectful of authority, I worry about the future.

Take a stand and expect “greatness”…in the FULL sense of the word.

-edh-

Character

This is my latest tweet on Twitter:

“On the job/court/field success is empty success without integrity.  Character indeed matters.”

I am crafting a letter to the editor for my local newspaper about this topic with four other pastors already signing on to the letter.  Once submitted I will post it here.

But in the mean time…What are your thoughts on this?

-edh-

Twitter experiment update

My experiment with Twitter is going well so far.

I mentioned before that I didn’t want Twitter to be another narcissistic outlet for me (Facebook being one and that is plenty).  I wanted to use Twitter for ministry purposes and so far that is what I have been doing (with one or two tweets to the contrary).  I have gained a number of followers outside my group of friends and others that I know; so from that I can gather that God has been using this Twitter thing to reach others.

But another thing I am learning is that Twitter is an exercise in “getting to the point and getting there quickly”.  I mean…you only have 140 characters to say what you want to say and for a preacher, that is a challenge.

So…the experiment continues…more updates to come.

-edh-

Meeting us on the road

I love the fact that Jesus meets us where we are at.

Luke 24:13-35 was the Bible study text for the SW MN Synod Assembly this past weekend (June 12-14).  It is also a text that I use for my personal ministry mission statement (see the above page tab for more details).  I believe there is a lot for us to learn from this.  I mean…how often do we try to get people to come to us.  I am as guilty as anyone.
–We create programs to try to “lure” people into the church building.
–We encourage people to go out and invite people into the building for worship.
–We spends lot of time (and money) making our buildings look nice so people will be attached to our building.

But that is not how Jesus did ministry.

–Jesus did not sit stationary and wait for people to find him.
–Jesus did not set up a home office and advertise classes, speeches and seminars.
–Jesus did not build a fancy building with the thinking “If I build it they will come”.

Jesus went and met people on “the road” and that should be our ministry example as well.  I guess that is why I have a ministry mission statement based on Luke 24…to remind me that I need to get “out there” and meet people where they are…literally and figuratively.

But as we do this we need to remember who is in charge.  We don’t what we do as a church in order to beef up the offering plate, make our numbers look good or to acquire popularity in the community.  As a church we go out and meet people on the road to proclaim the saving love of God through Jesus Christ our Lord.  That should be our ONLY motivation…because after all…that was Jesus’ ONLY motivation as he went to the cross all FOR YOU and FOR ME.

-edh-

Out of the storm

In Job 38 verse 1 it says, “Then the Lord answered Job out of the storm…“.  And then in chapter 42 Job realized how foolish he was to not trust God.

In Mark 4:35-41 the disciples (with Jesus) are in the midst of a storm.  When called upon Jesus answered out of the storm…and the storm was quieted.  But the disciple are amazed and still have no clue who this Jesus is.

When you are in the midst of a storm, do you expect Jesus to answer you out of the storm; in the midst of a world crashing in all around you?  And when Jesus does answer, what do you expect?  I think people expect God to calm the storm that is raging all around us, but what God wants to do is calm the storm within us.

It is the calm that is within us; the peace that surpasses all understanding, that powers us through the storms raging all around us.  When Jesus died on the cross…FOR YOU…and when Jesus rose from the grave…FOR YOU…Jesus paved the way through the storm.  This is not a scheme to make out lives better now, but rather it is Good News…NOW (which does make our lives better).  But it’s already been done; Jesus has won; the storms have lost their power; and Jesus is already in the boat with you.

What do you need to do?  Nothing…but look behind you…Jesus right there.

-edh-

Storms

I love storms…

…especially if they don’t cause lots of damage and no one gets hurt.   When a good ole fashioned summer thunderstorm rolls in I am all eyes and ears.  One time when I was in seminary, a tornado warning was issued for my area.  People in my dorm were heading downstairs to the storm shelter but I took a detour…I went outside to see if I could see the funnel.  No such luck.  Recently I attended a storm spotters training session lead by a guy from the National Weather Service out of Sioux Falls, SD.  I went not to become a weather spotter, but because I like storms; I want to know what I am looking at.  I learned a lot and plan to attend more spotter training classes to hone my weather knowledge…because I love storms.

Casting Crowns sings a song that my wife and I really like called “Praise You in the Storm”.  Since this is a Christian song they are obviously not talking about a summer thunderstorm, but referring to the ole cliche…”the storms of life”.  We all encounter them but the difference is how we react to them: Do we run and hide; crumble under the pressure; curse the storm (and maybe curse God); or do we look at the storm as something that can build us up.  In the Gospel text for this Sunday (Pentecost 3) from Mark 4:35-41, the disciples are in a boat with Jesus when a nasty storm pops up.  Jesus is sleeping but the disciples are scared silly.  Pushed to their breaking point they wake Jesus up and accuse him of not caring for them.  Jesus rebukes the wind and the storm becomes quiet.  He then says “Why are you so afraid?  Do you still have no faith?“

In Job, Job is questioning God about why this suffering has come upon him when God finally speaks up and says “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?” Etc, etc… Job has no other reply than “I know that you can do all things; no plan of your can be thwarted.” (Job 42:2)  The storms of life will not “thwart” any plan that God has and therefore we can have faith and trust that God has still won the day.

How do you respond to “storms”?  Do you run and hide?  Do you crumble under the pressure?  Do you curse God?

OR

Do you “Praise Him in the Storm”?

We can praise God in the storm because God has overcome this world through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ FOR YOU and FOR ME.  A mere thunderstorm can never define you.  A tornado can not take away what God has given you.  A hurricane can not have power over God.

God may not take away the storms in your life, but one thing is for sure…God will be with us through the storm; we will never be alone.  When the next storm brews and threatens all you have…give praise to God for the life you have in Jesus Christ and let the world’s storms take their best shot…you already have a home that no thunderstorm can destroy.  For that…I will praise God in the sun, wind, rain, clouds…and…I will praise God in the storm.

Praise be to God…ALWAYS and forever, Amen.

-edh-

I am a tweeter

I never thought I would actually do it but I am officially a Twitter user.  I signed up for my account over lunch today and now I am off and running.  If you want to find me my user name is: SWMNRev.

My purpose is to explore the ministry aspects of Twitter.  I don’t plan to get overly narssasitic and tell people when I am going to the bathroom, drinking water or going for a run.  I am going to try to limit my tweets (I guess that is what they call Twitter updates) to ministry tweets.  This is an experiment so we’ll see how it goes.

Are you using Twitter?

Is this worth while?

What’s your experience?

-edh-