Perhaps my readers will put up with a little personal contemplation. I am thinking today about how aging changes one’s perspective. I marvel when I consider that Paul was probably near 50 when he wrote his earliest letters, or that most of his letters in the New Testament were written when he was near 60 or slightly older. The older Paul writes differently than the younger Paul. Eventually the enthusiasm and expectations of youth wane. Reality sets in. One becomes aware of the fact that “I will not get everything done in my lifetime that I originally hoped.”
At this point, many people give up and quit. This is a major factor in the common definition of “retirement” in our society. Others renew their resolve and determine to choose the most important matters or most pressing priorities, and to commit fully to using life to accomplish the things that matter most. I call this version of life “reinvestment.” A quote I recently read says that our greatest fear should not be accomplishing too little, but rather in accomplishing a lot of things that really don’t make any difference.
All of this gives me pause and opportunity for reflection. I do not consider myself old—I hope to have another 15 years (at least) with energy and vitality to be involved in things that matter most. But I also become more aware each day that life is not a given, and that the opportunities and energy will one day fail.
The conclusion of these ruminations is that I find it important than ever to come face to face with myself. Here is my “take”: I am an aging man who wants to help share the good news of Jesus as extensively as possible. I want to facilitate evangelism, help in the task of planting and establishing churches, strengthen existing churches, train leaders, encourage the downtrodden, build families, and encourage other Christians to share the good news. This is my priority list: evangelism, mission outreach, leadership development, teacher training, Christian families, and healthy relationships.
“I am only one. I cannot do everything but I can do something. That I cannot do everything will not keep me from doing the something that I can do.”
Where’s the meat?
Recently I spoke on Wednesday night in a church. It was the last night of a mission emphasis series. Wednesday night often provides an opportunity for a little more feedback or “give and take” during the presentation, and on this night the presentation and discussion was lively. During the presentation, I noticed a man whom I had not met and did not know sitting in the audience. He was obviously involved in what was happening–listening, answering my questions, sharing a hearty “Amen” from time to time.
Afterward, I learned that he was a member at another congregation in the area and that he had come as a visitor for the last night of the mission emphasis. All of that is normal enough and there would be no point in telling this story were it not for his comment during our post-class meeting: “I haven’t heard that much ‘meat’ in a class or sermon in a long time!”
What an indictment of those of us who teach and preach! Where’s the meat? Too many churches are trying to find spiritual life while dining on “spiritual junk food.” I did not think the mission class on the Wednesday night described was all that special, but in retrospect I believe we had made an honest effort to struggle with the biblical text and provide strength and support for the Christian life.
Many preachers have long ago cast off the “milk” (Hebrews 5, 1 Peter 2). But instead of weaning the congregation from milk to meat, they have substituted junk food. I hear more and more sermons that tell me about the written word (Bible) instead of telling me about the living word (Christ). The purpose of the Bible is to tell us of Jesus so that we might come to know him. I read sermon outlines with points that help me know about the Bible, but have no obvious application to the life I will live in the coming week.
Preachers and teachers, here’s a good question to ask as you prepare your sermons and classes: Where’s the meat?
Developing the Habit of Consistent Bible Study
Every day is a good day to develop good habits. Many Christians I talk to long for a way to develop better spiritual habits, especially related to systematic Bible study and regular prayer. For about eight years during my first years in ministry, I read the New Testament through each month. I developed a reading schedule and followed it diligently. I challenged myself to read the entire Bible through each year. I confess that for many years I failed in this effort–until I developed a plan. Now I keep a Bible reading schedule in my Bible and completing the reading is much easier. Earlier this year, I read the Spanish New Testament through over a two-month period. I challenged myself to read a certain number of pages each day as I read through the NT books consecutively. Such efforts require a constant awareness of the Bible reading task and use of every spare moment. The value of having a reading plan is that we know what we are supposed to do with those spare moments that come our way during the day. Having a reading plan keeps Bible study at the forefront of our thinking. I will be the first to admit that such Bible reading and Bible study is difficult without a plan. The details of the plan and the way it works are less important than having a plan (although some plans are too ambitious and one becomes discouraged when one rapidly falls behind in the reading schedule).
During 2011, I am web-publishing a Bible reading and devotional guide designed to read through the entire New Testament in a year. The devotional guide uses a unique schedule with readings assigned only five days each week. This gives two days each week for catching up and for alternate devotional readings (such as the Psalms or Proverbs, or assigned readings from church Bible classes, etc.). This approach uses five days each week, 52 weeks each year, to read the 260 chapters of the New Testament (5 x 52 = 260). The devotional guide provides an overview of many of the chapters with thematic explanations and summaries, as well as an alternative Bible reading from the chapter for those who may not have time to read the entire chapter. The guide also provides questions and ideas for personal reflections along with a brief prayer. For those who would like to explore this approach further, you may check out my Devotional Index. I plan to republish the guide in 2012 with a slightly different reading order and some editing.
You may also find helpful ideas for developing a reading plan in the blogs which are included in the Bible Study category. (You may follow the link, see category lists further down the page, or click on the Bible Study category link at the bottom of this blog, depending on which “blog view” you are using). I encourage you to begin now to develop your plan for 2012. Choosing a plan and developing good habits during the last few weeks of this year will make next year’s efforts much more rewarding. May God bless you in your efforts to hide his word in your heart!
Moving Ahead Where God Leads
Today I will give a mission report and update to the church, telling what God is doing and where God is leading us in our ministry and mission work. The process of collecting information and reflecting on God’s leading has encouraged us. Today’s blog is a brief version of the summary I will share today. (I often summarize in the plural since Jan is an integral part of this ministry and mission work. From time to time she teaches a class as requested, but I am usually the one speaking and teaching.)
It has been fifteen months since Jan and I finished our full-time ministry with the church and embarked upon a new ministry and missions journey. This journey is similar to what we anticipated; it is also much different than what we dreamed. This journey is leading us to unexpected places and opportunities. These fifteen months have been a time of “finding our legs” in this ministry and listening to God to understand why he has put us in this place at this time. Here is a summary of some of the activities we have been blessed to share.
Looking ahead, it looks as though 2012 will be more focused on foreign mission efforts with much of that planning already in process (including the possibility of trips to Chile, Uruguay, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Guatemala, and Honduras, plus other locations).
Not By Our Power!
Listen to the words of Zechariah 4:6: “Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of Jehovah unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith Jehovah of hosts.”
This verse was impressed upon me when I saw it posted above the stage in the chapel of the Michigan church camp we purchased from a denominational group. Perhaps the verse was outside my awareness and memory verses during my growing up years because of a lack of emphasis on the Holy Spirit. The Old Testament verse is not a clear reference to the Holy Spirit. The verse does not say that the power for rebuilding the temple is “Holy Spirit power.” The point is that human power and might, even that of a king, is not sufficient for the task at hand. The power for God’s work is God’s power.
Earlier this week I have written twice about the power of the gospel–God’s eternal plan. The difference between a stagnant church and a growing church is determined by whether the gospel is being shared regularly. Church growth does not require super-human power. Church growth is not by human might or power. The modern church too often has its focus in the wrong place on the wrong things. The answer to church growth is not in more advertising, public relations, slick posters, better lighting or less lighting, better sermons or shorter sermons, more community events or less. The power for God’s work is in God’s word, the sword of the Spirit.
I have ministered to churches that needed healing. That is a special kind of ministry that should last for a limited time. Some churches are not strong enough and healthy enough to reach out, and in their weakness cannot retain those who are added. Such churches need healing. But eventually the key to healing and strength is to restore the activity and capacity of that which is broken. As physical therapy exercises and strengthens the physical body, so must the healing church be involved in “spiritual therapy.” Few activities exercise the spiritual body more than sharing the gospel. I am glad the contemporary church has recognized the need for fellowship, education, and ministries that meet internal needs. These are important, but they will by themselves grow the church. The church grows when the gospel is shared.
To experience this kind of healthy church growth, we must depend on God and his power. Ours is to do all we can with the open doors and opportunities he provides. Pray as if everything depended on God and work as if everything depended on you.
Family Matters
The Bible teaches the importance of the family. Church leaders across Latin America, when given the opportunity to tell me what topics they want me to address in seminars, often ask me to focus on the Christian family. There can be no strong, biblically-qualified church leaders without strong families.
The church must be a supporter of strong Christian families. In a society where the family is under attack and crumbling, consistent teaching is needed. Encouragement is essential. The future of the church may well depend on its ability to encourage and support couples who love one another and provide examples of lifetime commitment. The future of the church may well depend on the establishment of families where children are nurtured in the faith.
[This week I am going to have the opportunity to spend some time with my sister who is 18 months younger than I. We two are all that remains of the original family system. We see one another too seldom, even though we usually chat by phone a couple of times a month.]
His Eternal Plan–Part 2
Note: This is a continuation of thoughts and reflections which were introduced in a previous blog.
A church growth survey revealed that the difference between church stagnation and church growth was minimal. In fact, four to five personal evangelistic Bible studies per year (per 100 members) can make the difference between declining or growing. In an average sized church of 150 members, a minister or missionary with a serious commitment to church growth can be the difference in whether the church is growing or not. (When we talk of church growth we are not talking about swelling but about evangelistic growth by conversions to Christ.) The minister or missionary who seeks out a few prospective Christians and teaches weekly evangelistic Bible studies regularly and faithfully can be the difference. Ditto, a church leader or church member. This information, multiplied by the active efforts of a cadre of committed Christians with evangelistic hearts, is incredibly powerful!
In my own ministry it took me a while to learn this basic truth (quite a few years before the church growth study was published). I look back on my early ministries and see that God was getting me ready: the need for more study and for ministry experience, the development of good personal ministry habits, the development of my own personal spiritual life. I look back on the first six years of my full-time ministry and realize that those were years of testing and trying, seeking effective outreach methods, breaking down my own barriers and fears of talking to people about Jesus. I was involved in campaigns, door-knocking, bus ministry, and several other things–all of which provided wonderful practice and opportunities to break down the natural hesitancy and reluctance to bring up the subject of Jesus in everyday conversations and encounters.
The focus on souls, the evangelistic focus, the study, the testing, the desire to save souls and make a difference–these were rewarded over the next 20 years of ministry as we worked with two churches that grew in marvelous ways.
Later, we accepted a job in Christian higher education, and during a Personal Evangelism class at Ohio Valley, there were 9 baptisms as a result of the efforts of the students in the class.
When we left Ohio Valley, we ministered for 21 months in an Oklahoma church. During those 21 months, there were 34 baptisms.
Early this year, we completed an interim ministry with a church and thrilled when there were 5 baptisms in January. The church has now had 19 baptisms this year.
In Colombia last month, I marveled when the local minister lamented that the number of baptisms had diminished in 2011 in comparison to 2010. The church had had only 28 baptisms through the first 8 months of the year.
Do I have to tell you that these churches are not stagnant? Are you surprised that these are growing, vibrant churches? These examples validate the survey results I mentioned at the top of this article. The key to church growth is simple: telling others the good news of Jesus.
The key is not in advertising, public relations, better facilities, better lighting, less lighting, better singing, better preaching…. You can make up your own list of the various ways in which contemporary churches try to “tweak” the mix and appeal to others. The key is in the gospel: let us share the gospel! Let us return to God’s Eternal Plan, telling others about God’s love for them and his eternal plan for their lives. God give us ministers, preachers, and evangelists who believe the gospel is God’s power to salvation to all who believe!
Early Bird: A New Study Begins Today
I look forward to the fall, winter, and early spring months for several reasons–one of those reasons is that this is when the Early Bird Bible study class meets at the church. At the Main and Oklahoma congregation in McAlester, the Early Bird class meets every Wednesday at 5:00 P.M. from October to March. This allows those who cannot drive after dark to attend a mid-week Bible study and arrive home before dark (or very shortly after dark during the shortest days of winter). It is also convenient for those with other Wednesday night commitments and those who like to attend Bible study right after work and then be at home for the evening during the colder months.
The study for this rotation will focus on the Prison Epistles. We begin today in Colossians where we will focus afresh on the identity of Jesus and discuss the importance of his identity for our daily lives. Later we will study Philemon as we think about healthy relationships with other people. Our study of Ephesians will focus on the importance of the church in God’s eternal plan, and the study of Philippians will help us understand how we can become more like Jesus. While most of those who attend are empty-nesters and retired, the class is open to all.
His Eternal Plan–Part 1
Last Tuesday, I was able to spend a little time with my good friend and brother in Christ, Jerry Tallman. Jerry is an evangelist at heart. During my years of ministry in Michigan, Jerry was my friend and sharpener (Solomon referred to it as “iron to iron”). We met almost every month at the area ministers’ luncheon and kept one another accountable for teaching evangelistic Bible studies, sharing the gospel, and bringing people to Jesus. It was a friendly and spiritual competition because the ultimate glory was always for God and the numbers we shared and the challenge we felt was limited to our own relationship–no broader bragging rights. Of course, whatever success we have in sharing the good news is due to the power of the gospel, but friends and encouragers like Jerry provide motivation to keep on keeping on. The truth is that our monthly check-in and mutual accountability brought hundreds of souls to Christ during that time.
The circumstances of getting to be with Jerry last week focus his story and his evangelistic heart. I was in Michigan and I knew he was going to be relatively close by, but we did not see how we would find time to get together. Then, on Tuesday he called to say that he needed to use the church building in Lansing (where I was ministering in a mission emphasis effort) for a baptism. Through another Christian, Jerry had made contact with and studied with an individual who wanted to be baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of sins. We were able to visit briefly after the baptism–Jerry was in a hurry to go and share with other members of this new Christian’s physical family.
Jerry has written a book about evangelism. The book summarizes the approach he uses to bring people to the Lord. He summarizes his approach as “His Eternal Plan.” That is the title of his book, and also of his website: www.hiseternalplan.com. On his website, you will see that Jerry is available for evangelism workshops in local congregations. He is a brother that has done evangelism and continues to do evangelism.
As we concluded our brief visit, we discussed and prayed about how we can help regenerate evangelistic fervor in local churches and in the mission work of the churches. We prayed for our individual ministries in outreach through evangelism and missions.
My opinion after 40+ years of ministry and mission work is that continual evangelism begins with the church leadership and those who serve as ministers, preachers, and evangelists, but that is the subject of another blog. (Note: Part 2 of these reflections will appear on this blog day after tomorrow.)
It’s About Relationships
Over the past couple of weeks, Jan and I have had the opportunity to renew our relationship with two churches that are very special to us. We spent almost two decades ministering with two churches–the Holmes Road church in Lansing, Michigan and the Fort Gibson (Oklahoma) church. These churches are special to us for many reasons.