Oldest Granddaughter and her two children.

A Biblical Study of Stewardship
An Executive Summary – Dr. James E Taylor & Franklin M Porter Sr.

Introduction
The lack of biblical stewardship has reached a crisis level in America. At the root of this crisis is a lack of discipleship which calls us to revisit the meaning of biblical stewardship. If we are to accomplish our God-given vision to be a "movement of Great Commission Christians who are glorifying God by building Christ's Church worldwide," we must relearn the scriptural principles that guide earning, spending, saving and giving.
Jesus declared in Mark 1:15, the kingdom of God is within your reach. God's rule and reign is available to all who will receive it. Responding to His call requires a radical change-we serve a new Master, and everything we have belongs to Him (Psalm 24:1) Truly, if God owns our hearts, He will most certainly have our "wallets" as well. Therefore, any discussion of stewardship must begin with a healthy understanding of the Kingdom of God. The general concept of stewardship is not limited to matters of money or finances. Biblical stewardship encompasses far more; it means coming fully under the reign of God in every area of our lives.

Stewardship Defined
In short, a steward is a person who takes care of someone else's property. The Old Testament concept of stewardship begins and ends with God. God is creator and owner of all things. In Genesis when God gave Adam and Eve dominion over creation, He told them to rule on His behalf. Our stewardship in the Kingdom of God was established from the beginning. When the Israelites were poised to enter the Promised Land they were reminded that the land belonged to God and that they were at best temporary tenants. The principles of God's ownership and our stewardship are foundational to all of the laws regarding land and possessions.
The concept in the Old Testament teaching on stewardship May be summarized as:( 1) God owns everything. 2) God's covenant people are responsible for their management of God's resources. 3) Giving is a worshipful response to God's ownership of all things.
The concept of stewardship is continued through some of the parables of Jesus and the teaching of the Apostles. Jesus calls us to become wise and faithful stewards-responsible for and accountable for both material and spiritual things-handling money, life, gifts, our churches and the gospel message according to God's purposes.

Seven principles of stewardship provided in the New Testament give a framework for a Christian lifestyle of stewardship.

a. Good Stewardship Begins with the Recognition just as the Old Testament that God is the Owner of All Things (1 Chronicles 29:1-4, Luke 12:42-48, Luke 16:1-13, Matthew 25:14-20, Luke 19:12-27) We cannot "give" God ownership of our material goods. He already owns it all. We can only recognize and submit to His ownership.

b. As Stewards, We are Entrusted with Goods to Care for as Part of Kingdom Discipleship Until the Return of the Master Jesus Christ (Mathew 25:15, Luke 19:23, Mathew 25:27, Luke 12:42) God is mainly concerned with our faithfulness of what He entrusts to our care. We can trust that God in His providence puts into our hands only what we can aptly handle and that He expects us to bear fruit in His Kingdom.

c. Earthly Resources Can be Used for Eternal Purposes (Luke 16:13-15, Hebrews 6:10) Worldly wealth can have eternal value. We are to view money as a tool that can accomplish eternal work-reaching people for Christ.

d. Our Stewardship Must Serve Not Only Our Own Purposes, but the Purpose of the Master, Jesus Christ (Luke 12:47, Luke 17:7-10) The greatest punishment in the parable of the faithful and unfaithful servants comes to the servant who knew the master's will and did not do it.

e. As Stewards We Need a Balanced Picture of Hardship (Mathew 8:19-22, Mathew 10:22, Mark 10:45) God has often called his people to endure hardship, but a balanced view is necessary. We should resist lifestyle inflation to minimize debt, increase giving, and be ready to support God's call to new ministry.

f. We Will Be Held Accountable for Our Stewardship (2 Corinthians 5:10, Ephesians 2:8,9, Mathew 16:27, 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, Romans 14:12, 1 Corinthians 3:14,15) Our redemption does not remove us from responsibility and accountability before God. It will be an evaluation of both deed and heart.

g. Our Stewardship Embraces Both the Spiritual and the Material (Ephesians 5:15,16, 1 Corinthians 6:19, Hebrews 13:2, 1 Peter 4:9) The use of time and opportunities to minister certainly must be governed with wise stewardship.

Practical Directives on Stewardship
There is no effective difference between ignorance of God's principles and rebellion to those principles. A thorough understanding of four practical directives is needed to address human resistance to stewardship issues.

Spiritual Warfare: Those subject to the spirit of mammon suffer under a satanic lie that man-made things (job, work, luck, and money) are their providers instead of God, the true provider. Christians must be alert and ready to employ the weapons of spiritual warfare in the ordinary world of wage earning, bill paying and giving.

The Health and Wealth Gospel: In reconciling the positive and negative scriptures dealing with wealth, it is our attitude, namely our desire for it, that can make its possession evil (1 Timothy 6:9,10). We reject as unbiblical the suggestion that God has set up universal laws of prosperity, put into action by faith and positive confession. There is equal error in believing God must meet both our needs and desires or that somehow the poor have dishonored God by not being delivered from poverty. We affirm that material poverty is part of the curse of our fallen world and it is never God's pleasure or delight that his children remain in poverty. Our contention is that if the church embraces the reign and rule of God in the management of all its possessions, then it will see, as a by-product of the advancement of the Kingdom, a powerful liberation of God's people.

The Spirit of the Tithe: Although Christians today disagree over the place of the tithe, historically, the tenth, or tithe has always symbolized the whole. The tithe is a token symbol affirming that the whole belongs to God. Viewed this way, the amount or percentage given is not the issue, rather, it is the spirit or the heart behind the gift. In Matthew 23:23, Jesus affirms the tithe, but rebukes the Pharisees for losing the spirit behind it: "You give a tenth of your spices . . . but you have neglected . . . justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former." If in fact the heart is the key issue and if we are merely stewards of what is ultimately owned by God, then the driving question we must ask is not, "How much do I give?" but "How much dare I keep?" To this end, five practical principles apply to the spirit of the tithe:

Give First: the tithe reminds us that God comes first in our lives, that He alone deserves preeminence.

Give Cheerfully: "Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." (1 Corinthians 9:7)

Give Faithfully: faithfulness is the heart of biblical stewardship. Christians should live their lives in a way that will result in the Lord saying, "Well done, good and faithful servant" (Matthew 25:21-23).

Give Wisely: the investment of God's resources must be done with wisdom. It is wise to give first to one's home church, and then to worldwide ministries including those of The Christian and Missionary Alliance.

Give Without Seeking Recognition: "But when you give to the needy [not if], do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing" (Matthew 6:3). Such giving not only guards against religious pride, but also is one of the primary ways God builds faith into our lives.

The Stranglehold of Debt: Many believers are unable to obey the clear directives of God on stewardship because they are in bondage to debt. Romans 13:8 says, "Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another." The goal here is not to be legalistic or impose guilt but to ask, "Are my finances headed in the direction Scripture is pointing?" Our stewardship teaching must address this problem or it will fail to produce effective disciples of Jesus Christ. It is not God's will for His people to be enslaved by debt but that they should be free in all areas of their lives.

Summary
The Christian must rekindle their passion to become godly stewards-men and women who handle God's resources with integrity. Our Vision to become "a movement of Great Commission Christians who are glorifying God by building Christ's Church will only be realized if we make a wholesale commitment of all we have and all we are to Him. The scripture calls us to be wise and faithful stewards who handle life, money, spiritual gifts, and the gospel message faithfully.

Pastor’s Frank & Esther Porter

Invites you Sunday’s to
A Home Church at our home at 310 Wilson Dr. Midwest City just one block south of S E 15th on Felix then turn east 1/2 Blk.

10:00AM Fellowship / Refreshments
10:30AM Praise & Worship
10:45 Service Starts
11:00 Message by Pastor Frank
Time for Ministry and Fellowship

Healing The Sick, Saving The Lost,
Setting The Captives Free.

Do we receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, or as Savior only?

 

Some say a person who refuses to obey Christ can still receive Him as Savior. They teach that the gift of eternal life is available by faith even to one who rejects the moral and spiritual demands of Christ. They accuse others of teaching "lordship salvation," implying that it is novel to suggest that submission is a characteristic of saving faith.

Until relatively recently, however, no one would have dared suggest a person can be saved while stubbornly refusing to bow to Christ's authority. Nearly all the major biblical passages calling for saving faith refer to Jesus as lord (cf. Acts 2:21, 36; Romans 10:9-10).

Biblically, however, repentance is a total about face — turning away from sin and self and unto God (cf. 1 Thessalonians 1:9). That is no more a result of human effort than faith itself. Nor is it in any sense a pre-salvation work required to prepare a sinner for salvation. Real repentance is inseparable from faith and, like faith, is the work of God in a human heart. It is the response God inevitably generates in the heart of one He is redeeming. 

What is faith? Some say faith is merely believing certain facts. One popular Bible teacher says saving faith is nothing more than confidence in the divine offer of eternal life. 

Biblically, however, the object of faith is not the divine offer; it is the Person of Jesus Christ. Faith in Him is what saves, not just believing His promises or accepting facts about Him. Saving faith has to be more than accepting facts. Even demons have that kind of faith (James 2:19). 

Believing in Jesus means receiving Him for all that He is (John 1:12). It means both confessing Him as Savior and yielding to Him as Lord. In fact, Scripture often uses the word obedience as a synonym for faith (cf. John 3:36; Acts 6:7; Hebrews 5:9). What is a disciple? In the past hundred years or so, it has become popular to speak of discipleship as a higher level of Christian experience. In the new terminology, a person becomes a believer at salvation; he becomes a disciple later, when he moves past faith to obedience. 

Such a view conveniently relegates the difficult demands of Jesus to a post-salvation experience. It maintains that when He challenged the multitudes to deny self, to take up a cross and follow Him (Mark 8:34); to forsake all (Luke 14:33); and to leave father and mother (Matthew 19:29), He was simply asking believers to step up to the second level and become disciples. 

But how does that square with Jesus' own words, "I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners" (Matt 9:13)? The heart of His ministry was evangelism, and those difficult demands are evangelistic appeals. 

Every believer is a disciple and vice versa. A careful reading of Acts shows that the word disciple has been a synonym for Christian from the earliest days of the church (cf. 6:1-2, 7; 11:26; 14:20, 22; 15:10). 

What is the evidence of salvation? In their zeal to eliminate good works as a requirement for salvation, some have gone to the extreme of arguing that good works are not even a valid evidence of salvation. They teach that a person may be genuinely saved yet never manifest the fruit of salvation — a changed life. 

A few have even taken the absurd position that a born-again person may ultimately turn away from Christ into unbelief, deny God, and become an atheist — yet still possess eternal life. One writer invented a term for such people: "unbelieving believers"! 

Scripture is clear that a saved person can never be lost. It is equally clear that a genuine Christian will never fall back into total unbelief. That kind of apostasy proves an individual was never really born again (1 John 2:19). 

Furthermore, if a person is genuinely saved, his life will change for the better (2 Corinthians 5:17). He is saved "for good works" (Ephesians 2:10), and there is no way he can fail to bring forth at least some of the fruit that characterizes the redeemed (cf. Matthew 7:17). His desires are transformed; he begins to hate sin and love righteousness. He will not be sinless, but the pattern of his life will be decreasing sin and increasing righteousness. 

You need to settle these critical questions in your own heart. Study the gospel Scripture presents. Listen with discernment to every speaker you hear. Measure everything by the Word of God. Above all, make sure that the message you share with unbelievers is truly the gospel of Christ. 

Thoughts

In our time together this morning Esther and I was discussing how the Lord has used others to support us in our ministry. About the people that have stood beside us and the ones that have stood with us no matter what. We are truly blessed He has used people that we did not think about. The ones we thought would stand with us have gone a different way. Esther said we will accomplish this task the Lord has given us a call to create a work that will make a difference for us and others. What we are doing at Shepherd's Fold Community is attempting to build a firm foundation and belief in what the Lord has done in and through us. This effort will need some young blood to take it onto the next level so we have been praying for some who will set under us and glean from us the call God has placed on us.  

This will be a task that the Lord will accomplish through His people He brings to us. We are as transparent as a clear piece of glass our books are open and the Board of Directors make the decisions with the help of the members. As pastor's Esther and I pray and discuss the spiritual matters with the leading of the Holy Spirit. If you have any questions about this work just ask and you will receive an answer from the Pastor's and or the Board of Directors.

 

 

February 27, 2009

As I was getting around today I read an article where the Lutheran church was thinking about ordaining a Homosexual pastor and agreeing to marry same sex couples in their churches.

(Lutherans Considering Gay Clergy

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America released two reports last week containing recommendations regarding allowing Lutheran clergy to perform same-sex marriages and allowing churches to call a homosexual minister to serve as pastor. The two documents, prepared by the 15-member Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality, will be reviewed by the Church Council in March and then debated at the 2009 Church wide Assembly in Minneapolis in August.

Since 1991, gays and lesbians have been allowed to serve as clergy in the ELCA as long as they remain celibate. If adopted by the church, the new policy would allow people living in "publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships" to serve as clergy.

But not all Lutherans are happy about the possible alterations to church policy. Dr. Gerald B. Kieschnick, president of the Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod, expressed "great disappointment and deep sadness" over the proposal. In a letter to his 2.5 million member denomination, Kieschnick said that the changes "would constitute a radical departure from the 2,000-year-long teaching of the Christian tradition that homosexual activity, whether inside or outside of a committed relationship, is contrary to Holy Scripture."

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is the nation's largest Lutheran denomination with 4.7 million members. For further information about the proposals, visit www.elca.org and www.lcms.org. )

This is the article I was speaking about.

The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ with all the understanding of the happenings in the scriptures don’t we get what it means because of the hardening of their heart, this means we would not Harkin to the Word of GOD. The Church of Jesus the Christ in these United States is really that worldly. Do we have to do what is politically correct to stay afloat? Are the times we live in making us willing to do what ever to bring people in to support us and keep the doors open if this is true then we need to close our doors and go to the caves and PRAY like there is no tomorrow. 

I say we need to rally together in one accord and bring righteous understanding and be an example to our world and we need to start in our own back yard. It is not that we hate those who oppose the Word of God or those who discredit the ways of God we are to love the person but hate the sin to come against sin with all our strength and ability. Let me remind you again Scripture says we are to heal the sick, save the lost and set the captives free!

Pastor Frank Porter

 

Church #6

Changing the Way We Do Church 6

The sixth step in church reformation is

6. Move from fads, copycat programs, and trite and phony rituals, traditions and doctrines to creative initiatives in the Spirit of (but exceeding the results of) the early church we have to do what we hear The Spirit saying.

I am 67 years old and I have known the Lord for 54 years. I have seen a lot of movements come and go and have studied many others who came and went before I came and studied. I have lived through discipleship, seeker-sensitive, charismatic, cells church, signs and wonders, and house church movements. I have seen spiritual "stars" and "celebrities" come and go with their followers willing to follow them off a spiritual cliff.

Today we have "Emerging-Missional" or G12, reformed seeker-sensitive and a few more that I am not even aware of. I have studied the Reformers, the Quakers, the Shakers, the Salvation Army, the Christian Missionary Alliance and the Baptist as well as the Methodists; they have been launched, matured and taught by sincere men and women whose heart was to create an expression of the body of Christ that was consistent with biblical principles and their interpretations of the same.

The problem I see is that as soon as one of these emphases or movements is started, people flock to read and study them so that they can copy, emulate or assimilate their "best" traits, which are the ones that "work" best. Others flock to attack the new movements, and the writings of people devoted to one thought or another.

My only recommendation is that we keep on seeking, listening and innovating where church growth and evangelism are concerned. Don't just do something because someone else is doing it and they are having success. For example, I have seen so many churches with the attitude, "We pray or worship a lot in our church and God is blessing it. If you prayed or worshiped like we prayed and worshiped, God would bless you and you would grow, too." Suddenly spiritual prayer becomes a technique and it loses its spirituality. Then books and conferences on prayer-growth or worship-growth appear and people buy or attend them to learn how prayer or worship can "work" for them, too. People then become part of the prayer-growth-worship movement to the exclusion of everyone or anyone else.

Then the prayer-growth emphasis becomes a movement and maybe even a denomination, which then regulates how you pray for effective church growth (or even non-growth -- some churches don't want to grow). Finally, I have heard many churches state that they want a New Testament church. I understand what they are saying, but I don't want a New Testament church. I want a church that exceeds those results. I don't believe that the early church met in homes because we should only meet in homes. I think they adapted to what they had and they were successful. Now we must adapt to our culture and do what they did: prove that we can present a relevant gospel to our generation.

Whatever church emphasis you adopt or follow, please make sure it's a spiritual exercise and not some shortcut that exempts you from seeking the Lord for yourself. And when you adopt it, don't try to make it an iron-clad, no exceptions philosophy that condemns or criticizes those who don't do it like you do. If it is Spirit-led, then follow the Spirit and keep your eyes on Him. If it isn't, well I've seen enough of those in my lifetime and I'm not interested in feeding any more of them with my enthusiasms or loyalty. And I've had my expectations shattered again and again by men (and women) who had the "word" for the day, only to crash and burn when their initial insights could not stand up to the test of time or human limitations.

We as a Community of Jesus Followers must seek Him and what He desires us to do and act out that. Right now Esther and I are following something new for us and are looking for a people that believe in the Calling of God on our life’s and friend this is not easy you think you have some that believe in you however they don’t want to go through all it takes or trouble to establish a work. Not to be in a place to let this discourage us but say we will support you in what you are doing but we will go to an established place. Let us not look for excuses or an explanation for what we are doing with our Christian life. Our Growth in the Lord and ability to do His Perfect Will is just putting down the flesh and picking up the very promises of God to us. The call on our lives needs to be in who we believe God has set aside to place something from the Holy Ghost in us. The work is the same but the call of God is so important. All His promises are ours and it is time for us to do the works He has instructed us to do. Heal the sick, Save the lost and Set the captives free.

Pastor Frank

Church #5

Changing the Way We Do Church 5

The fifth step to church reformation is:

5. Develop services, meetings and even committee meetings that people want to attend because there is a spirit of excellence and the unexpected.

In what Esther and I are doing now all is in transition Looking for a place that will be in the right location and looking for a building we can get into with no support to speak of we know this is something the Lord has told us to do and He will bring people that Believe in what the Lord has placed in us. This is hard at times when people you thought new you and what you are decide to support some were else then you look to the Lord even more and this is a good thing. We want a midweek service and teach what has been assigned to us. Maybe we will use other homes across the city to accomplish this, Well something else to pray about, let us continue on in step #5.

It's not that the church has too many meetings, but rather that we have too many bad meetings. I watch as a discomfort comes over many people in our gatherings, even in business meetings. The facilitation is poor, the leader usually talks too much, people don't contribute for a variety of reasons and the result is boredom, lack of focus and confusion. I was in a board of directors meeting the other day and it was just flat out "bad." If I didn't have to be present, I would have run out of the room looking for comfort.

I put the responsibility for poor meetings at the feet of leadership, for they are the ones who call the shots. What we usually lack is any kinds of accountability and feedback that can help our meetings improve. If the youth are sitting in the meeting and they look bored, then they are bored. And if leadership insists on doing the same thing for the next meeting, the people will be bored then, too. The same holds true for any service and meeting.

Everyone who leads a meeting should hold to the same standard that Jesus set, as found in Mark 12:37: "The large crowd listened to him with delight." People walked for days to listen for days only to return home for days and they kept on coming, because Jesus had something to say. His "meetings" were filled with controversy, the unexpected, excellent insight delivered in an exciting and dynamic fashion. Jesus' stories were relevant and He allowed people to ask questions. And He did it all without video, ushers, PowerPoint and audio-visual paraphernalia

So what kind of meetings do you lead? What kind do you attend? What price are you willing to pay to see the Mark 12:37 dynamic present in your work and meetings? I am not saying it is easy, but this level of excellence must be achieved if the Church is going to move from people who have to attend to people who want to attend.

Church #4

Changing the Way We Do Church 4

The fourth installment of my series on reforming the way we "do" or conduct the business of the modern Church. If I am understanding it correctly, the business of the Church and its leadership is explained as follows:

Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-13 The New Living Translation).

Unfortunately, modern leaders are not being developed by the Church and there is also little ministry development taking place beyond the pastor. Most Christian leaders are shaped outside the church and then come to the church to worship. They don't learn leadership or aren't equipped to fulfill their purpose in church, and then go out to society with those values and that knowledge. Instead, society prepares them and they come to church where they can usually do "anything" they want, as long as it is ushering, choir or nursery and fits in with church tradition or the desires of the pastor or board.

4. Help leaders and governing bodies move from attitudes of ownership to attitudes of servant-leadership and stewardship.

When leaders refer to "my" people, "my" staff or "my" church, their vocabulary reveals a dangerous and incorrect attitude that they "own" what is going on. That attitude creates leaders who often do whatever they want to and with the church because it is "mine." I knew of a church where the pastor employed a large number of family members who were not particularly gifted or anointed. He felt he had the right to do so because it was "his" church. The church, however, is not a social service agency, and the pastor cannot employ the divine right of kings that allows him to bestow gifts and offices on whomever he chooses.

I knew of another church where the pastor's son was an alcoholic and everyone knew it. Yet the pastor, his father, thrust his son into leadership to the pain and consternation of many. Why did the pastor do this? He did it because he felt he owned the church, its money and its ministry positions.

I have found two verses that contain the leadership philosophy that every church leader should have and employ:

As a fellow elder, I appeal to you: Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor (1 Peter 5:2-4 The New Living Translation).

Jesus is the Great Shepherd and Senior Pastor of every church. He purchased it with His blood and He is the One who owns it and does what He wants. It is a serious matter when leaders usurp the role that belongs exclusively to the Lord Jesus. In my opinion, that is exactly what has happened. Consequently, the people or sheep are not the focus of care, but rather the pastor and his (or her) whims and wishes.

The Lord wishes to reveal His will for each church through leadership, which means that leaders must see themselves as stewards and not owners. That also means that leaders must work to advance God's work, not just defend and maintain it. There are many "well-run" churches with money in the bank, who haven't launched a new ministry or outreach in years. Are you telling me that Jesus would want them to have money in the bank as their top priority when two billion people in the world have never even heard the gospel, while thousands of unused or underused saints sit in air conditioned buildings every week and listen to messages that do not equip them to do anything productive but "feel good"?

Feel free to write a comment in an email to me.

Church #3

Changing the Way We Do Church 3

3. Help leaders be productive in their purpose as they oversee Holy Spirit chaos created by people pursuing and fulfilling their purpose.

The current crisis and I believe there is a crisis, is mostly a crisis of leadership. Either leaders are so hands on that they are stifling those around them or they are so hands off that committees and boards are running the church, and some of them are not spiritually equipped to do so. I can remember meeting a group of elders, whose church was half the size and half the budget it had been five years earlier.

They sat in this meeting and pointed fingers at each other in blame, while some wanted to know why they had been informed by the pastor of some things that had happened. They did nothing to set things right or make any good decisions or changes just went on watching things go from bad to worse.

When people pursue their purpose, and not the purpose the Spirit is saying and don’t support the proper direction is left to fail. If a faithful member's purpose is to go to Africa, the elders and church must help that person get on the field, whether that is part of their vision or not. As soon as they get one on the field, someone else may step forward and state that they are called to go, too. That is the "chaos" to which I refer. The Holy Spirit is not limited to operate in an orderly manner where purpose is concerned.

What's more, leaders need to focus on their own productivity, which must go beyond preaching on Sunday morning and Wednesday evening. Each leader must know his or her purpose and then they must hold themselves accountable for results. It is not enough to judge the job that others are doing. Leaders must produce and be subject to others in their own work.

We will further discuss the attitude that leaders must have if they are to fulfill this third step. If anything is going to change in the church world, the leaders in that world must learn new ways of thinking and behaving, and that will not be an easy thing to achieve.

I am attaching an article I wrote for Charisma Magazine a few years ago that addresses the leadership issue, called Sinners in the Hands of an Angry Leader. It will prepare you for my next post, the fourth in my seven-part series.

Pastor Frank

Church #2

Changing the way we do church #2

I started offering some thoughts last week on what needs to happen for the body of Christ to snap out of the mess it seems to be in.  Yes, we can do Sundays pretty well, but what about the rest of the week. Is the church providing opportunities for people to live and apply their beliefs?  If not providing opportunities, is the church at least equipping the saints for their purpose work?  In my humble and limited estimation, we are not doing either particularly well.  So rather than just gripe, I have always tried to provide options and ideas. The second recommendation I have for changing the emphasis for local churches is:

2.  Equip people to perform missions (domestic and foreign), to launch business ventures and to carry out any other activity their purpose dictates and faith allows.

Since we are so focused on Sunday morning, we need people to help carry out that venture.  If you can usher, sing in the choir, do nursery or serve cookies to visitors, you will find opportunities abound for you to be "involved," But what if you can't do those things?  First, you will face enormous pressure at times to be involved in one of those Sunday activities.  If you cannot, then there isn't much else to do around church. 

Yet churches should be proactively seeking to equip people for whatever it is that God wants them to do instead of trying to squeeze people into the few limited options available for ministry in most churches.  Here's an example.  I was speaking at a church once and stopped in the middle of my message to ask a question:  How many of you here have ever thought about the Supernatural Power of GOD in you?  Of the people there, I would say that 5 hands went up!  I was surprised.  I then turned to the pastor and said, "We need to host a seminar here on how to operate in the Power of GOD."  To my knowledge, that seminar never took place. 

Churches should host a many and equip people for domestic missions in their own back yard.  We should be creative in equipping people for successful work and ministry by providing a host of cutting-edge programs with follow up to help people take the next steps on their road to purpose. 

For example, I often tell pastors that just because someone's purpose is to be a swimming coach, we don't have to build them a pool.  But if God sends nine swimming coaches to one church, then the leadership has at least to consider building a pool, whether it is part of the pastor's "vision" or not.  If the Holy Spirit saw fit to send that many with that particular gift, He must be up to something and the church should be flexible enough to cooperate. 

When the focus of the church is on the denominational doctrine, the pastor or the leader's vision, the people then become useful only to the extent that they can help advance any of those three.  I would argue that the Church, under the Lordship of JESUS, is about the people and His will for them.  That is why purpose is such an important issue. One's purpose represents orders from headquarters and it is the church's job to make sure those orders are carried out.

Understanding purpose, our purpose in life is to listen to our Head JESUS to be like Him and be in Him to follow His teaching and be about the work He created the Church for. This Purpose is so life-changing and all-encompassing.  Yet the church has been slow to respond.  The issue isn't going away, and I believe there is still plenty of time and incentive for churches to "retool" and get on board the purpose bandwagon.  Business has realized the need to do so and I am working to see the Church follow as well.  It's an issue worth giving one's time and effort and I want to help bring purpose renewal and revival to the Church in my lifetime and beyond.

 

Church #1

Changing the way we do church #1

I have now spent 40 years in church work and will celebrate the 33rd anniversary of my ordination this coming January. I heard someone say once that when you get older, you become more reflective and that's certainly true in my life.  I guess you simply have more things to reflect on when you have more life experience and many of those topics for reflection are your own mistakes!

In my studies there are seven steps that I believe churches must take if they are to recover from the misuse and despair that many are in.  I maintain that we know how to do "church" -- and I can feel some of my friends cringing when I say "do church."  I know we are to "be church" but please permit me to use this phrase to indicate more of a shift in how we think than what we do.  If our thinking changes, our actions will change, so I want to address the need for a mind renewal in the body of Christ the world over. 

At any rate, we know how to do church on Sunday. We have that down pat.  We can lift an offering, sing a few songs, take care of the kids, deliver the message and be out in time for the Sunday football kickoff.  We can do that whether or not God "shows up."  But do we really understand how to equip the saints for ministry, as Paul described in Ephesians 4?

So permit me to share those seven steps one step at a time over the next few weeks. The first step is:

1. Raise up an army of purpose-led men and women who have faith to do the impossible, freed from trying to be who they are not and released to be the fullest, best expression of who God created them to be. In the supernatural power of GOD!

There is a lot in this first step, so let's quickly unpack the contents.  Notice that I said purpose-led, not purpose-driven as the title of Rick Warren's phenomenal book indicated. When I think of someone being "driven," I think of someone behind them with a whip or stick driving them on as they both run -- one to escape and one to catch the escapee.  I rather think of purpose as something that leads from the front rather than pushes from the rear. JESUS CHRIST wants’ to lead His church to be victorious in our world today now!

Too often in church we are content to watch the faith of someone else in action.  It's often easier and less risky to judge the job that person is doing rather than try to do something.  That is why it is critical that you be challenged to find a faith project that is beyond your ability to accomplish and apply your faith to see it come to pass.  Notice also that I said "men and women."  The Church is the only army in the universe that insists on fighting its battles with half its army inactive and one hand tied behind its back.  We need women to be fully engaged in the purpose revolution. Both the genders need one thing understood it is all about JESUS CHRIST and who He is in you!

Then there's the strong pressure in many church settings for you to be who you are not.  We make it a matter of "common sense" and willpower to work in the nursery, be an usher or count money.  And really, we don't offer very many opportunities for work and ministry beyond the basics of ushers, choir, children and hospitality.  If your gifts fit into those areas, you will do well.  If not, there is subtle pressure for you to adapt your gifts to work in those areas.

What's more, churches need to improve their ability to release people and make room for new people.  If you have been sitting in church for 20 years, what are you doing with what you have learned?  Have you become spiritually fat and sassy, sitting in judgment of what is or is not going on, while you are responsible for absolutely nothing?  Are you content as a pastor to have people sit for 20 years or be an usher for 17 years and that be the sum total of their Christian experience?

Millions of people and 30,000 churches went through the Purpose-Driven Life program. Are we the better for it?  Is the church more purposeful?  Has there been a groundswell of creative ministry that has swept the world?  It may be out there, but very few have experienced it.  JESUS taught us to go about healing the sick, saving the lost and setting the captives free and that is what it will take -- a purpose revolution of the masses -- to change the way we do church.  Until that happens, we will have business as usual and, unfortunately, we will conduct that business for less and less people.

Pastor Frank