Encourage Your Pastors

I realize this may seem a bit self-serving, but since the Scriptures command church members to relate to their leaders in such a way that they find their ministry a joy (Hebrews 13:17), I figured I'd take that risk.  Brian Croft (who has an excellent blog for pastors) writes of five ways to encourage your pastors:

1) Share appreciation for how hard he works.  Maybe the most hurtful words a pastor and his wife can hear are not, “Bad sermon” or “that was a dumb decision” or “I don’t like the way you do that.”  Rather I submit words that imply this message can be the most hurtful, “You are lazy.”  Because of this, some of the most encouraging words a pastor and his wife can hear are words of gratefulness for how hard he works to preach faithfully and care for God’s people.

2) Give specific feedback to a sermon.  I’m not talking about the slap on the back, “Nice sermon” comment.  Instead be specific…”that insight into the text was really helpful, or that application really met me where I am struggling.”

3) Acknowledge the sacrifice of his family.  This will encourage his wife and children, but it will also be very meaningful to the pastor.  The pastor knowing you are thinking of his family can often times mean more than you thinking of him.

4) Reveal how you have spiritually grown under his ministry.  This is one thing a pastor labors to hear and hopes is taking place all over his congregation.  Stop keeping him in suspense and tell him so he knows.

5) Tell him how you specifically pray for him.  Your pastor of all people should know the significance of prayer.  The most meaningful things I hear isn’t, “I prayed for you” but, “I prayed that your sermon would be powerfully preached and eagerly received, or I prayed God would protect you and your family from the enemy through this important week.”

If not in these ways, find some way to encourage your pastor this week.  Never underestimate how meaningful and well-timed it can be when God would so lead you to do so.

Coming and Leaving Well

Over the next two Sundays, I will be leading a class to introduce newcomers to our church.  As I have served as a pastor for the last four years or so, I have seen a lot of people come and go from the church.  And a lot of the people who come are people who have recently left other churches and are looking for a new church home.

While I believe there are good, wise and legitimate reasons to leave a church, I also believe that all Bible-believing churches together compose Christ's universal Body, and therefore each local should have some responsibility to other churches in how they welcome and receive new folks who come from another church. 

For this reason I was really grateful for the wisdom I received from Kevin DeYoung in these two blog posts.  The first one addresses how to start at your new church, and the second one addresses how to leave your old church.  I plan on giving a copy of these two articles to everyone in attendance at the class this Sunday, and to future newcomers in the months and years to come. 

Something I am really learning over the past few months is the seriousness and importance of membership in the local church.  So I am glad for resources like these, which put practical advise on how to walk out such important matters.

Resigning Church Membership

Add this to the file of posts I'm making to help myself find a link to something I want to refer to in the future:  Jonathan Leeman applying his pastoral wisdom on matters of church membership and discipline.

The Verdict that Matters

This man's blog really is a regular source of encouragement to me:

“We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.”  2 Corinthians 5:10

This is our ultimate accountability.  Let’s get ready.  Let’s live with intentionality.  Let’s live in repentance.  Let be aware, moment by moment, that right now counts forever.  What we think, what we say, what we feel, what we do and don’t do — we matter.  We matter to Christ.  We will matter forever.  And very soon we will “report in.”

This is solemnizing.  This is dignifying.  It is also encouraging.

What if, as you stand there before Christ your Judge on that great and final day, surrounded by all the redeemed, each one awaiting his or her moment before the Lord — what if, standing there before him, he asks, “Everyone, I want to know who among you appreciated this person’s ministry?  Who would like to bear witness to how he helped you for my sake?”  And no one says anything.  Total silence.  Awkward silence.  Everyone is embarrassed.  Everyone is thinking, “Would somebody please say something?”  You are standing there wondering, “So my entire life comes down to this?  What a failure I am!”  Only one voice breaks that terrible silence.  The Lord himself stands and says, “Well, I appreciated his ministry!”

It’s an improbable scenario.  But putting it like that does isolate the most urgent question of all.  Is the approval of Jesus enough for you and for me?  Do we love him enough, do we revere him enough, that his judgment is the one we’re living for?

We care what others think.  We want to please them (1 Corinthians 10:33).  But whose opinion will count forever?

Celebrity Pastors

I really enjoyed this panel discussion from the Together for the Gospel conference last month:

Complete This Sentence:

A Christian without a church is like...

New Books on Church Membership & Discipline

I am finding a great deal of wisdom, and a fresh vision for the importance of the local church in these two new books by Jonathan Leeman: Church Membership: How the World Knows Who Represents Jesus and Church Discipline: How the Church Protects the Name of Jesus. Sometimes I tend towards thinking that the 9Marks crew emphasizes the institutional church a bit too much, to the neglect of the organic church. But in this case I find their emphasis to be very beneficial and biblical.  

Here are a couple of endorsements for the membership book:

“Church leaders across many denominations will find this little book filled with practical ideas and good arguments that will help us cure Christians in our culture today of their allergy to church membership, pastoral authority, life accountability, and any limits to their personal freedom.”
- Timothy Keller, Senior Pastor, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, New York City

“We live in an age where people relate to and make decisions about church much like they do with a restaurant. We desperately need to be awakened from our consumeristic slumber. This book is the wake-up call that is needed to turn church consumers into gospel participants.”
- -Darrin Patrick, Lead Pastor, The Journey, St. Louis, MO; author, For the City and Church Planter

Three Views on the Lord's Supper

Specifically in view in these three posts is, how frequently should we take the Lord's Supper?  This is a question I have given some thought to, but probably not enough. 

I'd love to know what you readers think with regard to this question.  Leave a comment and let me know...

The Bane of the Medium-Sized Church

This post from Mike McKinley resonated with me, as it seems to describe the situation in a church that is approximately the one I have the privilege of serving in:

Our church is not big (speaking in terms of attendance and membership). I’d say that it’s small for a medium-sized church. But it’s growing, and attendance is certainly up from the 10 people who were here when I became the pastor. And what I’ve experienced is that as the church grows, more and more people find that it’s difficult to build relationships and get to know people in the congregation.

Now, in a weird way, I think this might be the particular bane of the medium-sized church. In a small church, it’s usually pretty easy to get to know most of the people. In a large church, people come in the door already knowing that they’re not going to get to know everyone. But in the medium-sized church, you’ve got some of the expectations of a small church alongside some of the challenges of size.

But as I’ve been thinking about this problem in our church, here’s what I’ve noticed: people who show up a lot usually aren’t lonely and disconnected. So for example: our church has a Sunday morning gathering, a Sunday evening gathering, small groups through the week, a fellowship meal once a month, a one-to-one Bible reading program, monthly men’s and women’s meetings, and a bunch of different community outreach and mercy ministries that are run by church members. Those are a lot of opportunities to connect with other people in the church. And in my observation, people who avail themselves of those opportunities almost always feel connected to others in the congregation. People who don’t show up for things, however, usually don’t feel as connected.

So it may sound a little old school (as in Hebrews 10:24-25), but there’s something to be said for the guy who wins the perfect attendance award. If you’re feeling like your church doesn’t have enough community, make sure that you’re plugging in to the opportunities that are offered. And don’t wait for someone to approach you, give them a call and invite them over for lunch after the Sunday gathering.

Depression & the Ministry

I found this article by Paul Tripp immensely helpful.

Being the Church

I love the vision these guys have out in Tacoma, Washington:

Soma Communities - Tacoma, WA from Verge Network on Vimeo.

I long to quit going to church, and to start being the church.

Church Membership & Love

Some time in the near future I'm hoping to listen to this sermon by Jonathan Leeman on the subject of church membership and love.

The Hermeneutic of the Gospel

Leslie Newbigin:

“How can this strange story of God made man, of a crucified savior, of resurrection and new creation become credible for those whose entire mental training has conditioned them to believe that the real world is the world that can be satisfactorily explained and managed without the hypothesis of God? I know of only one clue to the answering of that question, only one real hermeneutic of the gospel: congregations that believe it.”

Jeff Vanderstelt on Gospel Rhythms

One of the most important passages for me in understanding the church and its mission is 1 Peter 2:9-12,

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

In this 15-minute video, Jeff Vanderstelt begins with that great text and then shares how the network of churches he leads in Tacoma Washington have worked that out in the "ordinary" stuff of every day life:

Jeff Vanderstelt: Rhythms [VERGE 2010 Main Session] from Verge Network on Vimeo.

If you have a few minutes, check it out and let me know what you think....

The Church & Social Issues

There's a lot of discussion among church leaders today about "social justice", and what part (if any) this kind of work has to do with the church's mission. Loads and loads of books, conferences, articles, etc are coming out trying to address that complicated issue.

With all the discussion, I find these words from John Piper to be right on. I agree heartily with his point, and love his brevity in making it. Answering the question, "Should the church work on social and political problems?", Piper writes:

Yes . . .

If you mean: Ten million Christians should take 10 hours a week spent watching TV, and give that time to worthy social and political engagement.

No . . .

If you mean: The pastors should leave their Bible study and pulpits and counseling and evangelism, and put that time into politics and social ministries.

How Members Can Serve the Church on Sunday Morning

From the Nine Marks Blog:

At the Trellis and Vine Workshop in DC today, Colin Marshall shared ways that ordinary church members can serve the church on Sunday mornings.

Before the Service

• Read the passage in advance
• Pray for the gathering
• Greet newcomers (act like you are the host)
• Think strategically about who you should sit with
• Arrive Early

During the Service

• Sing with gusto (even if you can’t sing)
• Help with logistics (if there’s a problem, help fix it)
• Don’t be distracted
• Listen carefully
• Be aware of your facial expressions (you may affect others and discourage preachers)

After the Service

• Connect newcomers with others
• Get newcomers information
• Start a conversation about the sermon
• Ask someone how they became a Christian
• Stay late

Thinking about the Lord's Supper

File this in the category of items that I post here simply for my own future reference. If it benefits others too, all the better! Via JT:

Here is a thoughtful, helpful essay from Kim Riddlebarger, entitled “The Reformation of the Supper” (PDF), from the new book, Always Reformed: Essays in Honor of W. Robert Godfrey, ed. R. Scott Clark and Joel E. Kim.

The essay looks at three issues related to how often the Lord’s Supper should be celebrated, and how one’s theology of the Supper can impact the answer to that question:

1. The Biblical Evidence for the Frequent Celebration of the Lord’s Supper
2. The Historical Evidence for Frequent Celebration of the Lord’s Supper
3. Some Pastoral and Theological Implications of Frequent Celebration

What is Church?

How likely is it that you and your family can embrace and live out the following commands in Scripture by gathering with people for an hour and a half on Sunday morning?

John 15:12 – Love one another
Romans 5:13 – Don’t pass judgment on one another
Romans 12:5 – Be members of one another
Romans 12:10 – Honor one another
Romans 12:16 – Live in harmony with one another
Romans 14:19 – Build up one another
Romans 15:5 – Be like-minded toward one another
Romans 15:7 – Accept one another
1 Corinthians 12:25 – Care for one another
Galatians 5:13 – Serve one another in love
Galatians 5:26 – Don’t provoke or envy one another
Galatians 6:2 – Bear one another’s burdens
Ephesians 4:32 – Be kind to one another
Colossians 3:13 – Bear with each other and forgive one another
1 Thessalonians 3:12 – Abound in love toward one another
1 Thessalonians 4:18 – Comfort one another
Hebrews 3:13 – Encourage one another
Hebrews 10:24 – Stir up one another to love and good deeds
James 5:16 – Confess your sins to one another
1 Peter 4:9 – Offer hospitality to one another
1 Peter 5:14 – Greet one another
1 John 1:7 – Fellowship with one another
1 John 3:11 – Love one another
Ephesians 5:21- Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ

That's probably not all going to happen this Sunday. So as much as I love Sunday mornings with the flock at Joy Community Fellowship, we better not reduce church to what happens in that weekly meeting, right?

The Cross and Criticism

In my sermon from this past Sunday, I mentioned that the church (at its best) ought to be a safe place to be judged.

But the church won't be such a safe place if we do not know how to give and receive criticism in light of the cross. This article by Alfred Poirier gives guidance on how to do that. If you have a difficult time receiving words of correction, you'd do well to read this and glean from Poirier's insights.

Aspiring to Church Leadership?

Here's a helpful, and challenging set of diagnostic questions courtesy of Tim Chester to ask yourself (and others).

As I think about my own role of developing future leaders in the church I have the privilege of serving, I anticipate that I'll be referring frequently to this document.