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