Category: Church Leadership

Encouragement for leaders

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Church Leadership Journal Joy Notes

Our Romania Connection

 

Our next team arrives this week

This week our latest layperson team arrives in Romania.   They will be joining our Associate Pastor, Eric Paashaus, his wife Magda and their three children to work with the Romanian churches headed by Pastor Rudy Costea, Magda’s father.   Through the generosity of an anonymous donor, Eric and Magda have been preaching and coordinating ministry there since June.       They will all return together in another 10 days.   Their report to the church will be September 23rd.   Save that date.

We sent them off with prayer

It was a very special moment in both services as congregation members gathered around Mark and Eva Boswell and Shaun and Lea Harrington to pray for them and send them off in a manner similar to the way Paul and Barnabas were sent off by the church in Acts in Acts 13.   I was especially touched in second service, as children and teens came forward to assist in the prayer.   In fact, two of the teens joined with the adults in praying aloud for the team.   Our intercession is so important, especially since this team has been sent for an emphasis upon outreach and evangelism.   By personalities, gifts and experiences we believe they will be able to witness to Jesus’ life changing power.   We are praying for the Holy Spirit to speak through them. 

Our ministry focuses on towns and villages

The city that is the center of their ministry is Sighisoara which is in the Transylvania area.   Pastor Rudy and his wife Eugenia also supervise ministry in several surrounding villages and towns.   Some have church buildings and some do not.   We have already been helping to support teachers at the school in one such village, Apold.   During this trip, we hope to be a blessing to more outlying villages through VBS ministry and church planting.   Another donor has given a substantial gift to assist in church planting.   Pastor Eric has also been coordinating with the Nazarene missionaries to establish a cooperative venture for the training of new pastors.  This is sorely needed as most of the current pastors under Pastor Rudy are older.   We are praising God for what has already been accomplished and what we believe will yet be accomplished for his kingdom through this team. 

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Church Leadership Journal News Commentary Wisdom

Best pro-life article I have read in some time

People who are pro-life are always asked by pro-choice people,  “What about cases of rape and incest?”   Here is a compelling, factual, insightful and thoroughly convincing pro-life answer.   I highly recommend it.

http://www.christianpost.com/news/how-do-we-respond-to-the-question-what-about-rape-and-incest-80584/

 

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Church Leadership Journal Wisdom

Book recommendations for marriages in troubled times

Last Sunday I finished the series of sermons called Kitchen Table Talks on Relationships.  As I was studying for the series and reviewing various sourcebooks, I was thinking about which ones to recommend to couples who were going through difficult times in their marriages.   My wife and I know from personal experience that marriage is not always easy. But we also know that with God’s help, and determination to see it through, couples can come through rough waters with a better marriage than before.   To help couples who are currently in those tough moments, here are three book recommendations.   

Making Love Last Forever by Gary Smalley (Word Publishing, 1996)  In this easy-to-read book, Dr. Smalley handles some difficult topics such as unresolved anger, deep hurts,  disappointed expectations,  marital communication and personality differences with insight and Christian wisdom.  Taking his advice seriously will help couples get back on track.

The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work  (Three Rivers Press, New York, 1999)  This is a different kind of book, an extremely practical and behavior-oriented book in which the author shares his research in predicting divorce and helping couples avoid it. He describes how he predicts whether a marital conflict will resolve the problem 96% of the time after only listening to 3 minutes of it.     I was skeptical until I began to read the signs he looks for, one of which is the presence of the deadly four horsemen:  criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling.   I knew from personal experience with couples and from other reading that he was being very insightful and his work would be helpful.   

Fighting for Your Marriage by Howard Markham, Scott Stanley, and Susan L. Blumberg  (Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 1994)   This book has become a classic for its description of four negative patterns that are very harmful in a relationship, patterns that must be avoided if marriages are to be healed. The authors describe the patterns well including case study examples, explanations, and practical advice as to how to change the pattern.  The four specific patterns are escalation, invalidation, withdrawal and avoidance, and negative interpretations.  When these patterns are present in the emotional interaction in a marriage they are very destructive and need to be fixed in order for the marriage to recover. This book can be very helpful in eliminating these four patterns.

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Church Leadership Journal

Next Sermon Series to Focus in the Gospels

It is always refreshing to turn again to the Bible stories of Jesus’ life and ministry. As I was praying about what messages to preach for the next five weeks until Pastor Eric and the team return and are ready with their report, my mind and heart seemed drawn back to the gospel accounts of Jesus’ ministry and the basic truths of the Christian faith.  So I have designed a message series for the remainder of August and early September called Essential Perspectives for Disciples.  The messages will remind us of the basic outlooks that we need to be successful followers of Jesus.   Most of the texts come from the Gospels.    

Essential Perspectives for Disciples

Date

Title

Text

A suggested hymn

August 19

I Believe

John 1:6-14; 20:19-31; Heb. 11:1-10

We Believe In One True God (44)

August 26 (Communion)

Hunger for God

Matthew 5:6

More About Jesus (392)

September 2

Seek First

Matt. 6:19-34

I’d Rather Have Jesus (446)

September 9

Expectancy

Mark 9:14-29; II Cor. 4:8-18

My Faith has Found a Resting Place (277)

September 16

Commissioned

Mark 16:9-20;  Matthew 9:27-38

Lord, Speak to Me (510)

 

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Church Leadership Journal Wisdom

Book recommendations concerning personality differences

Each week of ours sermon series called Kitchen Table Talks on Relationships I have been making recommendations on my blog for further reading on the topic of this week’s sermon.   Here are some annotated recommendations on this week’s topic of personality differences.

Florence Littauer

Christian writer and speaker, Florence Littauer has written a number of helpful books on the subject of personality.  All use the classic understanding of the four temperaments that I presented in the sermon.

Your Personality Tree (1989)   –   The one I have been using

Personality Plus (1992)  –  Her most famous book on the topic

Personality Plus for Couples (2001)

Personality Plus at Work: How to Work Successfully with Anyone  (with Rose Sweet 2001)

Tim LaHaye

Pastor Tim LaHaye also discusses the classic personality types and uses as examples famous characters from the Bible.    For some reason LaHaye does not put the types in the same quadrants as Littauer, but his chart of characteristics is excellent.

Transformed Temperaments (Tyndale House, 1971)   

David Keirsey

For those who are looking for a more complex contemporary formulation of personality types that correlates to the Myers-Briggs system rather than the classical system, I ran across a very interesting secular book that I think would be helpful.   I purchased it for my own further reading and have perused it some already.    It contains a quick and easy test too.   I like the positive names he gives to his 16 categories. 

David Keirsey, Please Understand Me II,  (Prometheus Nemesis 1998)

 

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Church Leadership Journal News Commentary Wisdom

Why pastors should blog

 

Blogging helps pastors communicate

http://www.heathmullikin.com/4-reasons-every-pastor-should-blog/

I recently read the above blog article by Heath Mullikin about why pastors should be bloggers.  I totally agree with him.  I like his reasons but I think I would have listed different ones.  Here are my four.   

1.      A blog makes studies, devotionals, book reviews, etc. available and accessible to people in the congregation who did not attend that particular study, to those connected more remotely with the congregation through a web of relationships either personal or electronic who may become interested in the studies, and to believers around the world, many of whom do not enjoy the resources that you do. 

 

2.      A blog helps the pastor to be real.  As I occasionally share events from my own life–vacation accounts, hobbies, things that interest me–the people in the congregation see that I am not a one-dimensional “talking head.”   I’m always amazed when people see me in gardening clothes, or dressed for fishing; they do not recognize me because they are so used to thinking of me in my Sunday morning role.  When the congregation sees the pastor as a fellow traveler on the road to heaven, a person with human interests like their own, it is easier for them to make connection when you speak on Sunday morning.

 

3.      A blog is a great place to take a stand on community and political issues.  Often there are issues you feel compelled to speak to when they arise or come up in the news.  Or perhaps there is something you want to talk about but don’t necessarily want to dedicate a whole worship service or message to it.   A blog provides the perfect forum.  It is also a great place to take part in the cyberspace dialogues about issues of our day.    It is a way to be part of what is happening in the world rather than isolated within the four walls of your church and the confines of its cliques.  

4.      Reading a blog is a great way for people who are looking for a church to get to know the pastor before they actually meet him.   By reading what you write, they can learn a lot about how you treat Scripture, how you treat those with whom you disagree, what you tend to focus on,  the passions of your heart, your family life, and your vision for the church.   There is no doubt that people today check out churches on the web before they ever darken the door. They choose churches to visit by perusing their webpages.   The pastor’s blog may be your best online advertisement.  

So now you have at least eight reasons.  Have you started blogging yet?

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Church Leadership Journal Wisdom

Recommended encouragement for couples by a fellow pastor

I’ve heard Mark O. Wilson speak.  It’s a great pastor in a medium sized town in northern Wisconsin and he has many very practical ideas.  This article is in Wesleyan Life online.   I highly recommend it.

http://www.wesleyanlifeonline.com/article?id=150&src=0

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Church Leadership Forward Look Journal

July sermons will be about relationships

Marriage has so much potential yet most marriages also experience a good deal of pain on the way to forging a better way.    What are some typical causes of this pain?  What can be done to bring healing and find lasting satisfaction and love?   I just finished planning the series for Sunday messages in July.   When I was at family Camp earlier this week, I felt led to focus on human relationships especially marriages during this month.   Since marriage is something we don’t do alone, we need the input of our spouse to get a well-rounded perspective.  I have invited my wife to join me on the platform for this series for Kitchen Table Talks about Relationships.   Like most couples, we’ve had our up’s and down’s in 42 years of marriage.  Our hope is that we have learned some perspectives that can be helpful to others.    I invite you to join us for this series.

Kitchen Table Talks about Relationships

Date

Title

Text

A Suggested Hymn

July 8

Respect is Essential

1 Peter 2:11-3:8  

Make Me a Blessing (389)

July 15

Dealing with Our Anger  

Eph. 4:25-31

What a Wonderful Savior (531)

July 22

Understanding Personalities Helps

Romans 12

I’ve Found a Friend (521)

July 29

2nd Mile Living 

Matthew 5:38-48

Spirit of God, Descend…(86)
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Church Leadership Journal

Guiding congregational prayer

Over the last several weeks, there has been more than one occasion for our church to join in united prayer as a congregation in various different ways.   Some of them have been ways that we do not see very often.  I thought it might be helpful for me to address in a blog article some of the practices that were in evidence as we prayed together.

Praying for Eric and Magda

This last Sunday, we had the privilege of praying for Eric and Magda and family as we commissioned them for short-term mission service in Romania.   As pastor, I asked for many to gather around them in front at the altar rail as we laid hands on them and prayed for them.   One might ask, “Why do we lay hands on them?”   The short answer is simply that it was done that way in the book of Acts.  For example, when Barnabas and Saul went on their first missions trip the Bible says that the church at Antioch laid hands on them.   “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”  So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off” (Ac 13:2-3 NIV).   IN the NT, the laying on of hands is also done in conjunction with prayers for receiving the Holy Spirit and prayers for healing.    Since a successful missions trip can only happen as the Holy Spirit empowers, it was natural also to lay hands on them as we prayed for the coming missions trip. 

As we prayed for Erica and Magda I suggested that we all pray out loud at the same time. 

Continue reading “Guiding congregational prayer”

Categories
Church Leadership Forward Look Journal

June messages planned

At Community Wesleyan Church we have a simple six word motto and mission statement:  Love God, Love others, Make disciples.   Each of the three elements is taken directly from Jesus’ instructions to us.  The first two are taken from the two commandments that Jesus identified as the greatest of all the Old Testament commandments.  He also declared that these two summarized all the others.  The third part of our motto is word for word from Jesus’ great commission to his church found in Matthew 28:19.   During the month of June we will be seeking to understand this part of our motto and mission better.    Our message series is titled:  Our Mission — Make Disciples. 

Our Mission – Make Disciples

Date

Sermon Topic

Scripture

A Suggested Hymn

June 3

What is a Disciple?

Matthew 28:16-20

Jesus Calls Us (424)

June 10

Why Make Disciples?

Mark 1:14-39; Acts 1:8

For God so Loved the World (164) 

June 17

How Can I make Disciples – Part 1

2 Cor. 5:11-21

Christ for the World We Sing (498)

June 24

How Can I make Disciples – Part 2

Matthew 5:13-16

The Light of the World Is Jesus (287)