ministry

x’s and o’s

Frank

I’m a sports nut. My fandom unfortunately is not matched by my skill. When I played sports in high school, I may not have been able to hit the open three, but I could dissect the defense like no other. When playing in the secondary in football, I could read the quarterback’s eyes, the way the line was formed, and the direction the backs were leaning and I could tell you exactly what play was coming. But if the play was a hand off to a big bruising fullback, I’d be lucky to get him down if he made it that far.

This problem also stretches to other areas of my life: my mind races faster than any of my natural abilities. When it comes to ministry, I’m always thinking of the whats and hows and seldom am able to put everything on my mind into practice. Part of it is a desire to have the perfect plan, the perfect results and a paralyzing insecurity that keeps me from acting out of fear of being imperfect.

One of the ways I try to overcome this is by digging deeply into things and learning as much as I can. I figure if I have enough tools in my toolbox, I can fix anything. The latest such obsession is in small groups. I’ve gone through a couple of iterations this year, have had schedules and focus changed, had people come and go, and am facing the new year hoping to chart out a course for my own spiritual growth and the growth of those in my group.

I’ve used study series from Living on the Edge, study notes from the Serendipity Bible, and my own Bible knowledge to come up with lessons. I just finished Sticky Church by Larry Osborne and my Evangelist gave me a copy of Purpose Driven Church by you-know-who as a follow-up. An elder in Atlanta is looking into doing lessons online, while Living on the Edge offers their R12 curriculum online as well. Now I just found this book from a post on Michael Hyatt’s blog. All that, and I’m still open to suggestions.

Is there a perfect model for small groups and discipleship? As long as we’re still imperfect people, the answer is no. I like the illustration my Evangelist recently gave during a lesson. “[with respect to church functions/activities] following the direction of the Holy Spirit is like surfing. You go out on the water and wait and wait for the perfect wave. You can’t get up too soon and you can’t wait too long or you won’t be able to ride it. You can’t ride just any wave either. So sometimes you wait for what seems like forever while other times it seems you don’t have to wait at all. And when you finally do get on that perfect wave, you can only ride it so long before you reach shore and then you have to go back out and wait some more.” I’m waiting for my perfect wave, so to speak, but I need the wisdom to not ride it too long.

“Many are the plans in a man’s heart,
but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.” (Proverbs 19:21)

x’s and o’s

Frank

I’m a sports nut. My fandom unfortunately is not matched by my skill. When I played sports in high school, I may not have been able to hit the open three, but I could dissect the defense like no other. When playing in the secondary in football, I could read the quarterback’s eyes, the way the line was formed, and the direction the backs were leaning and I could tell you exactly what play was coming. But if the play was a hand off to a big bruising fullback, I’d be lucky to get him down if he made it that far.

This problem also stretches to other areas of my life: my mind races faster than any of my natural abilities. When it comes to ministry, I’m always thinking of the whats and hows and seldom am able to put everything on my mind into practice. Part of it is a desire to have the perfect plan, the perfect results and a paralyzing insecurity that keeps me from acting out of fear of being imperfect.

One of the ways I try to overcome this is by digging deeply into things and learning as much as I can. I figure if I have enough tools in my toolbox, I can fix anything. The latest such obsession is in small groups. I’ve gone through a couple of iterations this year, have had schedules and focus changed, had people come and go, and am facing the new year hoping to chart out a course for my own spiritual growth and the growth of those in my group.

I’ve used study series from Living on the Edge, study notes from the Serendipity Bible, and my own Bible knowledge to come up with lessons. I just finished Sticky Church by Larry Osborne and my Evangelist gave me a copy of Purpose Driven Church by you-know-who as a follow-up. An elder in Atlanta is looking into doing lessons online, while Living on the Edge offers their R12 curriculum online as well. Now I just found this book from a post on Michael Hyatt’s blog. All that, and I’m still open to suggestions.

Is there a perfect model for small groups and discipleship? As long as we’re still imperfect people, the answer is no. I like the illustration my Evangelist recently gave during a lesson. “[with respect to church functions/activities] following the direction of the Holy Spirit is like surfing. You go out on the water and wait and wait for the perfect wave. You can’t get up too soon and you can’t wait too long or you won’t be able to ride it. You can’t ride just any wave either. So sometimes you wait for what seems like forever while other times it seems you don’t have to wait at all. And when you finally do get on that perfect wave, you can only ride it so long before you reach shore and then you have to go back out and wait some more.” I’m waiting for my perfect wave, so to speak, but I need the wisdom to not ride it too long.

“Many are the plans in a man’s heart,
but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.” (Proverbs 19:21)

K.I.S.S.

Frank

Keep It Simple, Stupid. It’s a sound principle in management, but it’s also worth applying to our own Christianity (though maybe leave the ‘stupid’ part out).

I’ve had a serious bout of writer’s block over the last week, so I’ll leave it to others to make my point for me. The bottom line is that we don’t need gimmicks or flash to live out our faith and spread the Gospel.

What we don’t need: christian products that rip off popular culture or a hip approach to Christianity.

What we do need: humble ministry.

What we really need: The Gospel of Jesus, period.

K.I.S.S.

Frank

Keep It Simple, Stupid. It’s a sound principle in management, but it’s also worth applying to our own Christianity (though maybe leave the ‘stupid’ part out).

I’ve had a serious bout of writer’s block over the last week, so I’ll leave it to others to make my point for me. The bottom line is that we don’t need gimmicks or flash to live out our faith and spread the Gospel.

What we don’t need: christian products that rip off popular culture or a hip approach to Christianity.

What we do need: humble ministry.

What we really need: The Gospel of Jesus, period.

Hand Up or Handout?

Frank

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. -James 1:27

I recently brought up my involvement in an addiction recovery ministry. I thank all of you for your encouraging comments. Truth is, I wouldn’t be involved in that ministry if I didn’t need it myself. Besides my character, I have learned much about the human condition and those things that drive us to our drugs of choice. I’ve also learned that in order to overcome our addictions and surrender our will to God, we need to “hit bottom”. This means we’ve reached our lowest point and that realization motivates us to change. Recovery “raises” that bottom, so our motivation for sobriety moves from being afraid of the worst that could happen to desiring the best that God has in store for us. The temptation for many is to prevent a loved one from reaching their bottom. We don’t want to see them suffer. We want to save them. But suffering is exactly what they need to find the desire for recovery.

This creates a paradox to the Christian. There is no sin so horrible that God can’t forgive. “Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear” (Isaiah 59:1) And we are commanded to “forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (Colossians 3:13b) Likewise we are commanded to “carry each other’s burdens” because “in this way you will fulfill the Law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2)

It’s easy to forgive an addict without enabling him. But where do you draw the line when carrying his burdens? On one hand, he needs to suffer the consequences of his decisions. But that does not mean we cannot help. Picking him up from the bar at 2:00 AM because he can’t drive home is not carrying his burdens. But “sponsoring” him at a meeting is.

With addiction, that line is more clear than when dealing with other sins. What about a single teenage mother? Is offering to babysit while she searches for a job enabling, or sharing her burden? This is something my wife and I are currently battling. There are a couple of single moms that we’ve been reaching out to and opening our home to. When we bring them to church, the stares we get say, “why would you help her? It’s her fault she’s in the situation she’s in.” Are we preventing them from hitting their bottom? I’d like to think instead we’re offering a safe environment in which they can work out their issues. Much like a recovery meeting.

Sadly, this perspective doesn’t seem to be shared. To some, we are offering a handout instead of a hand up. I am moved to pray the lyrics to Brandon Heath’s song, Give Me Your Eyes,

“All those people going somewhere,
Why have I never cared?

Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
Ones that are far beyond my reach.
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see”

I can then follow up with Leeland and Brandon Heath’s Follow You,

“Faith without works is dead
On the cross your blood was shed
So how could we not give it away so freely?”

I only pray others may see the world in the same way.

Hand Up or Handout?

Frank

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. -James 1:27

I recently brought up my involvement in an addiction recovery ministry. I thank all of you for your encouraging comments. Truth is, I wouldn’t be involved in that ministry if I didn’t need it myself. Besides my character, I have learned much about the human condition and those things that drive us to our drugs of choice. I’ve also learned that in order to overcome our addictions and surrender our will to God, we need to “hit bottom”. This means we’ve reached our lowest point and that realization motivates us to change. Recovery “raises” that bottom, so our motivation for sobriety moves from being afraid of the worst that could happen to desiring the best that God has in store for us. The temptation for many is to prevent a loved one from reaching their bottom. We don’t want to see them suffer. We want to save them. But suffering is exactly what they need to find the desire for recovery.

This creates a paradox to the Christian. There is no sin so horrible that God can’t forgive. “Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear” (Isaiah 59:1) And we are commanded to “forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (Colossians 3:13b) Likewise we are commanded to “carry each other’s burdens” because “in this way you will fulfill the Law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2)

It’s easy to forgive an addict without enabling him. But where do you draw the line when carrying his burdens? On one hand, he needs to suffer the consequences of his decisions. But that does not mean we cannot help. Picking him up from the bar at 2:00 AM because he can’t drive home is not carrying his burdens. But “sponsoring” him at a meeting is.

With addiction, that line is more clear than when dealing with other sins. What about a single teenage mother? Is offering to babysit while she searches for a job enabling, or sharing her burden? This is something my wife and I are currently battling. There are a couple of single moms that we’ve been reaching out to and opening our home to. When we bring them to church, the stares we get say, “why would you help her? It’s her fault she’s in the situation she’s in.” Are we preventing them from hitting their bottom? I’d like to think instead we’re offering a safe environment in which they can work out their issues. Much like a recovery meeting.

Sadly, this perspective doesn’t seem to be shared. To some, we are offering a handout instead of a hand up. I am moved to pray the lyrics to Brandon Heath’s song, Give Me Your Eyes,

“All those people going somewhere,
Why have I never cared?

Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
Ones that are far beyond my reach.
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see”

I can then follow up with Leeland and Brandon Heath’s Follow You,

“Faith without works is dead
On the cross your blood was shed
So how could we not give it away so freely?”

I only pray others may see the world in the same way.

Support Your Local Gunfighter

Frank

Right now is the Fall version of Air1’s drive to cover their operating costs. Air1 is listener supported radio, so it runs ad-free. I’ve written before about how expensive it is to operate Christian Radio and strongly encouraged supporting stations and programs that minister to you.

But there’s another side that in my cynicism I often neglect. These stations may encourage and minister to you, but it’s just as likely they’re encouraging and ministering to someone else. If you listen to Air1 you’ve heard the testimonies: people overcoming struggles in their marriage, people coming to Christ, et cetera. I’m admittedly cynical against someone listening to a song by Matt Kearney and suddenly accepting Jesus as their savior. But it cannot be denied that this music encourages those who listen to it.

My wife and I have our own testimony- listening to Christian music has re-sensitized us to worldly music. I’m a big fan of classic, hard, and alternative rock. Most of what I enjoy listening to is mildly encouraging (i.e. not down, depressing, nihilistic) but still worldly on the subjects of life, love, and sex. It’s hard for us to listen to mainstream radio now because the worldliness is made more clear.

I also have another standard when pledging my support. Besides ministering to me, I strongly encourage support when a ministry is calling Christians to a higher standard. This relates to my cynicism against the evangelistic value of Christian Radio but also consistent with the theme of this blog. That’s why I support Living On The Edge even though I don’t necessarily agree with all their doctrine. Air1 not only calls us higher through the lyrics of specific songs but also through ministries that “advertise” between sets. Groundwire, Walk The Way, and Teen Challenge are all examples of this.

Moral of the story, if you’re a fan of this station, give. Support their supporting ministries. Pray for those who are listening. Allow the Holy Spirit at work through this style and genre of music to work in you as its worked in many others.

“Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:19-20)

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.” (Colossians 3:16)

Support Your Local Gunfighter

Frank

Right now is the Fall version of Air1’s drive to cover their operating costs. Air1 is listener supported radio, so it runs ad-free. I’ve written before about how expensive it is to operate Christian Radio and strongly encouraged supporting stations and programs that minister to you.

But there’s another side that in my cynicism I often neglect. These stations may encourage and minister to you, but it’s just as likely they’re encouraging and ministering to someone else. If you listen to Air1 you’ve heard the testimonies: people overcoming struggles in their marriage, people coming to Christ, et cetera. I’m admittedly cynical against someone listening to a song by Matt Kearney and suddenly accepting Jesus as their savior. But it cannot be denied that this music encourages those who listen to it.

My wife and I have our own testimony- listening to Christian music has re-sensitized us to worldly music. I’m a big fan of classic, hard, and alternative rock. Most of what I enjoy listening to is mildly encouraging (i.e. not down, depressing, nihilistic) but still worldly on the subjects of life, love, and sex. It’s hard for us to listen to mainstream radio now because the worldliness is made more clear.

I also have another standard when pledging my support. Besides ministering to me, I strongly encourage support when a ministry is calling Christians to a higher standard. This relates to my cynicism against the evangelistic value of Christian Radio but also consistent with the theme of this blog. That’s why I support Living On The Edge even though I don’t necessarily agree with all their doctrine. Air1 not only calls us higher through the lyrics of specific songs but also through ministries that “advertise” between sets. Groundwire, Walk The Way, and Teen Challenge are all examples of this.

Moral of the story, if you’re a fan of this station, give. Support their supporting ministries. Pray for those who are listening. Allow the Holy Spirit at work through this style and genre of music to work in you as its worked in many others.

“Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:19-20)

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.” (Colossians 3:16)

Where the Rubber Meets the Road

Frank

‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ (Matthew 25:34-36)

There was a recent article in my local paper describing the need for volunteers to help the Chaplain of our local hospital. The idea of chaplaining has intrigued me for some time- it’s an opportunity to directly engage the community while actively living the Gospel. From prisons to hospitals to the military I’ve been brainstorming pursuing such an opportunity as a means of expanding my public ministry. (I was sick and you looked after me)

“In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9)

Of course I was thinking God might be telling me something when on one of my flights last week an Army Chaplain sat in the row in front of me right after I saw an ad to be a Chaplain in the Air Force Reserves in the most recent issue of Relevant. (At this point, I hadn’t yet seen the article in my local paper.) So I shared this with a friend and he pointed out the hospital article and challenged me to do something about it. What? You mean actually acting out on these random thoughts in my head instead of crediting my own self-righteousness for at least thinking about it?

So I visited the hospital to check it out. As the position was being described to me I couldn’t help but feel fear. The thought of standing beside someone as their loved one passes away or explaining to a child why her parent doesn’t answer when he is in a coma caused my heart to sink. Could I really serve in this way, would I have what it takes to offer compassion and courage? Turns out, it won’t work out with my schedule. I thought I dodged that bullet, but then the Chaplain told me I might still find myself “on call” for after hours needs. You know, tragic car accidents, gun-shot victims, complications delivering a baby. Um, yeah.

It’s easy to point at Scripture and say what we should be doing, but it’s much harder to commit to actually doing it. Who knows how God will use this opportunity in my life, but I pray he gives me the strength and selflessness necessary to glorify him and not myself. I also pray that God helps others to overcome whatever fears they may have that prevents them from pursuing their own dreams for God. I’ve long held that many of the social ills in our society would be alleviated if the 80%-or-so of Americans that call themselves Christians actually lived it out. I’m learning that’s easier said than done.

Where the Rubber Meets the Road

Frank

‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ (Matthew 25:34-36)

There was a recent article in my local paper describing the need for volunteers to help the Chaplain of our local hospital. The idea of chaplaining has intrigued me for some time- it’s an opportunity to directly engage the community while actively living the Gospel. From prisons to hospitals to the military I’ve been brainstorming pursuing such an opportunity as a means of expanding my public ministry. (I was sick and you looked after me)

“In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9)

Of course I was thinking God might be telling me something when on one of my flights last week an Army Chaplain sat in the row in front of me right after I saw an ad to be a Chaplain in the Air Force Reserves in the most recent issue of Relevant. (At this point, I hadn’t yet seen the article in my local paper.) So I shared this with a friend and he pointed out the hospital article and challenged me to do something about it. What? You mean actually acting out on these random thoughts in my head instead of crediting my own self-righteousness for at least thinking about it?

So I visited the hospital to check it out. As the position was being described to me I couldn’t help but feel fear. The thought of standing beside someone as their loved one passes away or explaining to a child why her parent doesn’t answer when he is in a coma caused my heart to sink. Could I really serve in this way, would I have what it takes to offer compassion and courage? Turns out, it won’t work out with my schedule. I thought I dodged that bullet, but then the Chaplain told me I might still find myself “on call” for after hours needs. You know, tragic car accidents, gun-shot victims, complications delivering a baby. Um, yeah.

It’s easy to point at Scripture and say what we should be doing, but it’s much harder to commit to actually doing it. Who knows how God will use this opportunity in my life, but I pray he gives me the strength and selflessness necessary to glorify him and not myself. I also pray that God helps others to overcome whatever fears they may have that prevents them from pursuing their own dreams for God. I’ve long held that many of the social ills in our society would be alleviated if the 80%-or-so of Americans that call themselves Christians actually lived it out. I’m learning that’s easier said than done.