Archive for church philosophy and methods
One Of My Favorite Quotes
Posted by: | CommentsI was going through my Evernote notebook clips last night and came across a quote that I found on a blog a couple of years ago:
“The greatest opposition to what God is doing today comes from those who were on the cutting edge of what God was doing yesterday.”
- R.T. Kendall, pastor of Westminster Chapel
This had two implications for me:
- A lot of the people that I was taught to revere and respect as I was growing up were actually fairly progressive in their approach to ministry (for their time). What they did may not be considered progressive today, but it was then! In fact, today most churches have been there and done the things that were considered progressive back then.
- I am still just under 40, but I never want to be the opposition to God’s moving in this (or any) generation. Who has the right to say that God was done working in the 50′s. 60′s or 70′s? Who has the right to say that the 90′s Praise and Worship music was the ultimate sound that God wanted. None of us do. We need to allow God to work today just as He did in those decades. Creativity did not reach its pinnacle. Evangelism and preaching did not reach its final end. Things continue to progress. Things continue to change. They will until Christ returns. In fact, we will even sing a “New Song” in heaven. Some of you will not like that song either!
Does This "Church Math "Add Up For You?
Posted by: | CommentsRead this post at Tony Morgan’s blog. I am still processing through some of it, but I found it to be very, very accurate. What are your thoughts on it?
more staff = fewer volunteers
lack of planning = financial challenges
more meetings = less ministry
unclear vision = packed ministry calendar
packed ministry calendar = volunteer burnout
same methods = same results
Read more of them on Tony’s blog. Good thoughts or not? What do you think?
Disturbing…
Posted by: | CommentsAll I know is that I get sick of hearing and seeing stuff like this. I wish I could apologize to the community this church is located in…
Comments?
Catalyst Take-Aways #4
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Take-away #4 from Chuck Swindoll
“Tradition is the living faith of those dead passed down. Traditionalism is the dead faith of those still living.”
(Yes, another one from Chuck Swindoll! I have one more from him, as he is such a well of wisdom!)
My thoughts:
- I think too many people buck tradition because it is tradition and no other reason. I used to work for a pastor that said, “tradition is good, if it is good tradition.”
- I also think too many people hold on to tradition just because it is tradition. Not all tradition is good. Just because it was done does not mean it should still be done.
- When your focus is on Jesus, and helping people take steps towards Jesus, you will hold on to some tradition. Even if you are a progressive, contemporary church, you will still have some tradition, and you will create your own tradition. That is not a bad thing.
- The difference between tradition and traditionalism is where it lies in your worship.
- Tradition is good when it is used as part of your worship. Traditionalism is taking tradition and making it the object of your worship.
- Is does not matter if you use hymns or contemporary music, whether you dress in a suit and tie or wear blue jeans; both extremes can be a focus of traditionalism.
- The key: Keep your eyes on Jesus and be who God called you to be. Realize that there are differences. Learn to celebrate the differences and be glad that those differences allow us to reach different people. And remember, God is the focus of our worship.
- Use tradition to worship Him, but do not let it become the focus or our worship and turn in to traditionalism.
Catalyst Take-Aways #3
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Take-away #3 from Chuck Swindoll
“When God wants to do an impossible task, He takes an impossible person and crushes them. Leave room in your life for the crushing”
- If this is true, then I should welcome the valleys and struggles in my life as opportunities for spiritual growth.
- It is easy to plan everything so well that we forget to include God and His plan in things. We plan for all kinds of success, but very rarely plan for tough times. They will come!
- With this take-away in mind, Chuck also said, “Brokenness and failure are necessary.” That hurts to hear. That is not what I want. It is not really what anyone wants. But we grow more in the hard times than we do the good times. The good times show us how good we can be. The times of brokenness allow us to see how good God can be.
- This also reminds us that God’s way is better than our way. Our way would be easy, God’s way is never always easy, and often causes great pain.
- Chuck also said, “It is painful to obey. You will be giving up your way for the cross.” Man, that is tough to hear, and harder to practice!
