Category: Religious

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Religious

Disciples of All Nations

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations …”
Matthew 28:19a
     Making reproducing disciples of Jesus Christ is the central purpose of the church. Sometimes, as good Presbyterians, there is a tendency to think that each church should determine what the central purpose should be. I struggle in this area as well. After all, I was raised as a Presbyterian and well groomed in my theological training to appreciate the Presbyterian approach to being the church.
     But let me be clear, if we are to call ourselves The Church of Jesus Christ, then there are some decisions that are non-negotiable. The purpose of the church is one of them. Christ gives us our “marching orders” in the great commission of Matthew’s Gospel. The church’s primary focus is to direct resources that make disciples of Jesus Christ.

     It is easy to get distracted from this overall and primary mission. But then, in our personal lives, we see this all the time. We are distracted from God’s purpose in our lives by our own wants, needs and preferences. The Bible calls that sin. When our lives become more about “me” than “God” then Christ isn’t really Lord.

     There is a corporate culture in any effective organization, including the church. And that is a good thing, particularly when it provides guidance for optimal advancement of agreed-upon goals. The trouble, however, is that the corporate culture tends to assume authority in the church that belongs to Christ alone. Such a culture has rewritten the charter of the church over a period of many years. The result is a church that has edited out the biblical mandate to make disciples. In its place has come the concern with members’ interest and preferences. It is simply another manifestation of the classic struggle between God’s interest and the interest of the people who make-up the membership of the church.

     As your pastor, I am committed to continued study of the Bible and learning how God instructs all of us to be the church. This includes a determined dedication to the Great Commission of making disciples as our primary purpose. I am certain it will be a pulse-racing adventure!
Joy,
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Religious

Taking Scriptures Seriously and Personally

“There can be no true Christian spiritual formation
 without taking the Scriptures seriously and personally.”
 Richard E. Averbeck
     Twenty years ago, I invited a church member to share in a Bible Study I was leading. Her response surprised me; “I took a Bible course in college so I don’t need your study.” Only a few years ago, in my former church in Pennsylvania, I invited someone to a Bible Study. Their response was equally surprising; “I already do a lot around the church. I don’t have time to read the Bible.” Both of these persons demonstrate little understanding of the role of the Bible in our growth as Christians. Richard Averbeck is absolutely correct, there simply can be no true Christian spiritual formation (Christian growth) without taking the Scriptures seriously and personally.
     Neil Cole puts it this way, “Most of us would be ashamed if we compared the amount of books, magazines and newspaper articles we have poured into our minds with the amount of God’s Word we have invested into our souls. Doesn’t that tell us that we really value the world’s philosophies more than God’s? This must change if we are ever to become a living example of the people of God! We can start by investing approximately half-an-hour each day to hearing from God!”
     Last year, during a week of personal study, I read that the average person in this country views twenty-seven and one-half hours of television each week. That is the equivalent of more than one entire day per week! This author went on to write, quite persuasively, that those who hear the Bible read only on Sunday mornings, followed by a twenty-minute sermon, are in serious trouble. There is simply no way one reading from the Bible and a twenty-minute sermon can compete with twenty-seven plus hours of television. God’s Word is outmatched in sheer quantity of time. The values taught by television programming will trump the values of God in the lives of the believer.
     I am confident of this: the local church only has power when the majority of its membership chooses to read the Scriptures in large amounts, in whole context (not a chapter here and a verse there) and regularly, even daily. Jesus has called this church to an uncommon work in Palm Beach Countyand the Presbytery of Tropical Florida. This will require an uncommon source of power: the power that is released in the lives of those who take the reading of the Bible seriously and personally.
     Jesus said, “People won’t live only by bread, but by every Word spoken by God\” (Matt. 4:4 CEB). What is required first is a hunger for God’s Word born out of a desire to be useful to God.
Joy,
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Religious

Pay Attention to the Future

“The church had better pay attention to the future because that is where we will do ministry.”
Leith Anderson
      
     During my doctoral studies I had the opportunity to study with Leith Anderson. He is the author of Dying for Change and A Church for the 21st Century, as well as the Senior Pastor of Wooddale Church in the Minneapolissuburb of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, a congregation of over ten thousand members.
   
     The singular most important comment that he made to the twelve pastors in his class was, “The church had better pay attention to the future because that is where we will do ministry.”
   
      Anderson continued that yesterday’s successes (in the church) often are the greatest obstacles to today’s innovation. Simply, because it worked so well yesterday, the leaders of the church are reluctant to change the method for doing ministry. Trouble is, what was state-of-the-art yesterday is often obsolete today, much like my old record player.
   
     What is the church to do? One answer, of course, is nothing. The church can continue to do ministry like it has for the past number of decades. What is likely, however, is that such a church will then begin to behave like an older person: Taking fewer risks than in the days of youth, concerned with paying off the mortgage and making plans for retirement and death.
      
     Another answer is for the leaders of the church to revisit the church’s core values (the question of what is important around here), the mission statement (the question of why is the church here), the vision statement (the question of what will it look like when we have achieved the mission) and a development of a fresh strategy for realizing the vision (the question of how will we get there). Such an approach will infuse fresh energy into the church and enable a witness to Christ that is relevant to a changing culture.
      
     Your Long-Range Planning Committee will be addressing these questions as they begin their work. I hope you will partner with them by holding their efforts in your daily prayers as they seek God’s wisdom and direction for this church.
   
Joy,
                       

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Religious

Grand and Beautiful Testimony

     Craig Barnes is a Presbyterian pastor and president of Princeton Theological Seminary and someone whom I admire a great deal. Before his current presidency, Barnes was the preaching pastor for the Shadyside Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, PA. During his ministry with that congregation, the church undertook a renovation and expansion of their facilities. At the launch of the financial campaign for the work, he wrote a letter to his congregation. I share a portion of it here with you.
 
     “When someone enters your home, they learn a lot about you. The way you decorate and furnish the rooms, the art and photographs that hang on your walls, and even the way you maintain the house tells people who you are and what you value. The same thing is true about our church home. A church is certainly more than a building. It’s the people, centered in Jesus Christ, who make up the church. But every church expresses its personality and values by how they organize and maintain their building.
    
     Our church is a grand and beautiful testimony to our devotion to Christ. The great lantern that sits above our Sanctuary is a physical witness to our mission to be the light of hope to the community around us. Our grandparents who built this facility wanted people to follow that light into the congregation where they would find a ministry that can restore the human spirit. But after all these years, our church home is now in need of some significant renovations.”
    
     Perhaps what I like best in those words from Craig Barnes is the image that the church is a grand and beautiful testimony to our devotion to Christ.
    
     Years ago, during my first ministry in Florida, there was a young family in the church I served. The wife was a former Miss Florida. She was active in the church, he was not. One day she dropped by the office and told me how unhappy she was. As a former beauty queen, she had always enjoyed the attention, the affection that came with the title. When she married, she believed that the only affection and demonstration of devotion she needed now was from a husband. Yet, something happened. His affection for her evaporated – at least any demonstration of it.
  
     He was in sales so he drove a new car with all the bells and whistles.  It was necessary for him to make a favorable impression on potential customers. They couldn’t afford two nice cars, he thought, so he required his wife to drive an old pick-up truck that lacked air-conditioning. As she told me through tears, it wasn’t so much that she hated driving that ugly truck, though she did. What bothered her was that it didn’t concern her husband that she had to settle for the old truck. The old truck became for her a symbol that he no longer valued her, no longer desired the best for her, and no longer had a grand and beautiful devotion to her.
    
     The Bible teaches that Jesus has chosen to “dwell” in us – to take-up residence in our lives. The Lord of all, the One who rescued us from death now makes His home in each of us. The question we must ask is, “What kind of accommodations are we providing?” Do our lives resemble an old, ugly pick-up truck or a grand and beautiful Sanctuary? It is really a question of desire and intentionality. Are we following a purposeful path each day to grow-up into full maturity in Christ or have we settled for church membership and worship on Sundays. The difference is considerable.
    
Joy,
Categories
Religious

We Require Spiritual Nourishment

     Take out orders have become a commonplace alternative to home cooked meals in our increasingly frantic and busy culture. Physical nourishment has never been an option for when time permits – our bodies are designed in a manner that it must have the fuel food provides to function. Eating is not a choice. The question for busy lifestyles is what we will eat and how that food will be provided. Though fast food is often the food of choice for people on the go, there continues to be an increasing number of alternatives. Nevertheless, the pressing issue before us today is less the quality of the food but more the convenience of its availability. We have become a “take out” culture.
     What we often overlook is that we also have been designed by our Creator to require spiritual nourishment. The soul hungers for God as the body hungers for food. When the soul is neglected, the hunger often results in unhealthy addictions – sex, drugs, alcohol and excessive eating. Yet, those caught in the grip of addictions will readily confess that they fail to satisfy beyond the short term. That is because nothing can satisfy our spiritual hunger but God.
 
     Naturally, the best meal for the soul is regular worship and participation in a small, intimate Christian community of care, such as a small group. But just as we rarely have the time for home cooked meals, we find that regular worship and small group participation is difficult. We are a frantic and busy people.
   
     Certainly the church must continue to offer meaningful and dynamic worship and opportunities for small groups, but more is demanded. Just as we increasingly rely on take out food for the body, the church needs to provide take out food for the soul. Without the proper nourishment, we spiral into destructive addictions.
    
     I have become committed to our church making available “take out” for the bread of life, Jesus Christ. One resource that is available is printed sermons available in the Narthex (lobby area of our church) or on the church website. Each month, a new sermon will be added to those currently available. Passing these messages along to a friend or work colleague expands the circle of persons who are nourished by the preaching ministry of this church. Another resource is the weekly devotional, Heart & Soul, that is printed in the worship bulletin. This resource is also available on our website and includes every devotional I have written in the past year. You are invited to expand the ministry of our church by being a point of distribution of these and other resources, as together we seek to bless our community.
Joy,
Categories
Religious

Good is the Enemy of Great

“Good is the enemy of great”
     We must set high standards for the Lord’s work. This has become an obsession of mine. We cannot settle for less than the best. We cannot settle for good when God asks for our best. The proclamation of the gospel demands excellence. Anything less demeans the church of Jesus Christ.

     This striving for excellence must be seen in everything from cared-for buildings and manicured lawns to well-written and produced brochures and other printed materials.

     The practice of ministry also requires excellence. Excellence in ministry and programs demand both paid staff and gifted volunteers. Neither can be neglected. Growing excellence in ministry will require that we continually add to our paid staff and equip volunteers. In fact, research by the Alban Institute, a non-profit that studies congregational vitality, indicates that a church is optimally staffed when it has one full-time paid professional staff person for every one hundred persons in worship. Naturally, whenever a church seeks to move toward this model, financial resources must be available. That requires that a church culture of generosity be continually cultivated.

     Why one professional staff for every one hundred in worship? Volunteers alone cannot sustain excellence over a period of time. It is in the very nature of the word volunteer. Volunteers provide ministry leadership after hours from their “real” jobs. Persons may be retired but have other responsibilities. Volunteers may be parents and have sports events, rehearsals and other activities that require their time. Volunteers alone simply cannot sustain consistent excellence in the long haul.

     The ability of volunteers may also be less than what is expected or required for excellence and the ministry suffers. Paid staff receives consistent and ongoing training, performance objectives and supervision. Accountability to the Personnel Committee and Session raises the bar of performance. 

     I count it a great privilege to be the pastor of this congregation. As we move toward greater and greater excellence in ministry together, I continue to share here, and in other places, what moving from good to great will require.
Joy,
Categories
Religious

Five Faith Practices of Discipleship

“We can’t entertain people into discipleship. We (each individually) must develop practices that counteract culture and conform us to Christ.”
Roger Helland & Leonard Hjalmarson
     It is now widely acknowledged that people are continually being shaped by their culture and environment. Pop culture has formed us – discipled us – through the medium of advertising and peer pressure. We feel that we must dress like everyone else, live like everyone else, spend our resources and behave like everyone else. Certainly we work hard to have nice things but, perhaps, that is part of the problem…some are working to hard and missing what really matters, significant relationship time with those we love and with Jesus Christ. We have “conformed” to the world.
     The consequence has been disastrous for the church. Congregations are filled with people who say they are Christians, perhaps even sincerely wishing to be Christians, but who look less like followers of Jesus and more like the rest of the world. It all has to do with what forces we have allowed to “shape” us.  Some years ago I identified what I believed are the irreducible faith practices of those who follow Jesus; The Five Faith Practices of Discipleship. The hope, of course, is that if every member were to identify a few manageable and intentional changes in priorities, they would be less conformed to the world and more conformed to Jesus.
Here are the Five Faith Practices of Discipleship:
*    Worship Regularly
*    Pray Daily
*    Learn & Apply God’s Word
*    Participate in a Ministry
*    Give Financially to the Work of the Church
     Naturally, these are not the only practices that mark followers of Jesus. But they are the “irreducible minimum” of intentional discipleship. This is where someone begins who desires to honor the call of Romans 12: 2 – “Don’t continue to be like the rest of the world. Start taking on the image of Jesus Christ. (My paraphrase).
     It has been argued that the health of a local congregation never rises above the spiritual health of the individual members. First Presbyterian Church is a good church, no question. Here we see incredible people doing incredible things. Here we see incredible forgiveness being demonstrated and compassion and care given abundantly. But this church can be so much more and can impact the local community far more significantly. One thing is required, one thing…that more and more people reading these words begin to take seriously the five faith practices and allowing God’s power to shape them into something so much more than they are now.
Joy,
Categories
Religious

Do You Want to be Transformed?

 “Some years ago, social critic Neil Postman wrote an engaging book, Amusing Ourselves to Death. Postman’s thesis was, in short, that we Americans are no longer interested in information, truth, or transformation. All we want is to be entertained.”
 From Preaching Master Class, William H. Willimon
     There is a fascinating story about Jesus healing a paralytic in John 5:1-9.  Jesus saw this man lying by a pool and learned that he had suffered as an invalid for thirty-eight years, so Jesus asked him, “Do you want to get well?” (verse 6).  At first glance, it’s one of the few occasions where Jesus seemed to ask a dumb question; anyone with an affliction spanning nearly four decades would want relief, wouldn’t they?
     This passage is a defining passage for many churches today – the question, “Do you want to be healed?” has become another, “Do you want to be transformed?”  Naturally, ask most church members this question they will respond, “Yes.”  Yet, if that question is followed by, “Then, what are you doing about it?” their eyes go blank.  Wishful thinking rarely translates into intentional behaviors or action.
     Each of you has heard, as I have, that our nation is literally dying from our “fast food diet.”  The popularly of fast food, of course, is not only that it tastes great but that it is cheap and … well, fast.  Our bodies – our health – would significantly be better served by intentional preparation of healthy meals at home.  With thoughtful shopping and the right recipes, we do not have to sacrifice either taste or inexpensive with such preparation.  But it does take time.  Preparing thoughtful, healthy meals that tastes great is not fast. And Americans seem unwilling to give-up “fast.”  Truth be known, they are not will to give-up “little effort” as well.
     The same is true for our growth in Jesus Christ. We want growth, certainly.  But we want it “fast food” style and “to go, please.”  We see this in worship by comments such as, “I go to church to be entertained” rather than “I go to church to express my gratitude for God’s love.”  As Tom Long once observed, when we realize that worship isn’t about us then we sing that hymn that we don’t like very much and speak the liturgy that – at that particular moment – leaves us cold.
     This is also true about efforts in spiritual formation.  I have heard from some of you, “Pastor, don’t give me homework to do, simply give me a video to watch.”  Translation: “I prefer to get there – spiritual growth in Jesus Christ – with little effort on my part.”  This is a “fast food” mentality.  Friends, we can change and become more like Christ but it will require intentional effort on our part.  The question remains, “Do you want to be transformed?”
Joy,
Categories
Religious

A Successful Plan

 “Any successful plan for spiritual formation, whether for the individual or group, 
will in fact be significantly similar to the Alcoholics Anonymous program.
-Dallas Willard
     Nearly ten months ago I preached a sermon about the need for Christian formation for strong faith communities. In that message I shared that such formation required the Vision,the Intentionand the Means for personal spiritual transformation. Simply, there isn’t the possibility for developing strong faith communities unless there is individual transformation into Christlikeness. The general pattern for such individual transformation is described by Dallas Willard as the little acronym “VIM,” as in the phrase “vim and vigor.” Richard Schaublin actually remembers that sermon ten months later. Many Sundays he will tell me before worship that he has “VIM!”
     Willard argues that if we are to be spiritually formed in Christ, we must have and must implement the appropriate vision, intention, and means. Willard continues that not just any path we take will do. If this VIM pattern is not put in place properly and held there, Christ simply will not be formed in us.
     
      Let’s look closely at this pattern Willard calls VIM. Vision is something that is cast by leaders of an organization. Simply, the leaders of an organization have a view for what makes for success and attempt to convey that view to individuals within the organization through vision-casting. For the church, the primary leader is Jesus Christ and the teachings of Jesus make it clear that the primary vision for the church is one of a disciple making community. (See Mark 1:37, 38 among multiple other sources in the Bible)

      Intention involves decision – a decision by each member of the organization to participate in the vision. Not all will, of course. There will always be a few who will respond that they “don’t like homework.” But for the majority that catch the vision, understand the vision and recognize its value, they will be the ones who decide to advance the vision forward along with the leaders. When a church member agrees to participate in the vision of disciple making, they demonstrate that they have been captivated by Christ’s vision for something greater than their personal lives.
      Means is what follows the vision and the intention to obey Christ and is the specific thing or steps one will follow to realize the vision. Bottom line, it is what we do. It is “homework” or what I prefer, “soul work.” Since Jesus’ vision of the church is to be primarily a disciple making community, the means that is identified must be useful in developing disciples. Discipleship Essentials by Greg Ogden is perhaps the best resource available today for this. Dr. Ogden will be with our congregation this November. This will be an opportunity to interact personally with one of the best thinkers today in Christian formation. I hope you will participate in this weekend experience and become personally engaged in VIM for the future Vigor of this great church. Your “Yes” to intentional Christian formation will result in a greater impact for God’s kingdom here in Delray Beach.      

 Joy,

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Religious

The Meaning of Membership

 “The more we thought about making disciples,
 the more we had to rethink the meaning of membership.” 
Glenn McDonald
\”Pastors must turn over much of the ministry to the laity. 
Pastors of healthy, growing congregations have a whole new set of tasks. 
If these pastors are still expected to visit all who are sick, meet all who are hurting and needy, 
and go to every meeting, they will have no time to do what they should be doing.” 
Paul D. Borden
     My single greatest desire is to see First Presbyterian Church of Delray Beach become the church the Apostle Paul envisions in his letter to the church in Ephesus, the Book of Ephesians. Clearly, simply and succinctly, that vision is like a ball team; the game is played by the players, not the coaches. For the church, every member is a player; the hired staff is the coaches. That means that “ministry”, including the ministry of care to the sick and needy, is primarily done by church members. The staff stands on the sidelines and “coach”, in church language, recruit players, discover where their talent is, develop that talent and then send them onto the playing field.
     “Listen in” on the coaching that Greg Ogden once gave to the Elders of my former church, the Lenape Valley Presbyterian Church, New Britain, Pennsylvania in 2006, and then answer, “How are we doing?” Ogden tells the Elders that seven things must happen if we are to be like the church Paul speaks of in Ephesians.
  1. Set the expectation for the congregation that your pastor(s) is (are) primarily equippers for ministry, not just caretakers or administrators.
  2. Change the paradigm of how you make disciples from a programmatic to a relational approach.
  3. Refuse to make an unbiblical distinction between being a Christian and being a disciple.
  4. Be willing to call people to the high bar of discipleship.
  5. View the church as the central context in which disciples is made. A Christian is one who has God as their Father, and the Church as their Mother.
  6. Develop a public pathway of discipleship. Have an answer to the question: “If I wanted to become a mature disciple of Jesus Christ here, how would I propose that happens?” (Note: that is what my book, Faith Journey was written to do.)
  7. Model discipleship by being in a small, reproducing disciple-making community (small group).
      I once had someone share with me that they were in a very unhealthy place, physically, emotionally and spiritually. They sought advice from a doctor. After a few questions to the patient, the doctor responded, “It seems that you have neglected the basics of good health: a regular bed time and getting up at the same time each morning, exercise and a proper, healthy diet. Correct these things and then we will determine “what’s next.” Ogdenprovided the Elders of that church the basics of good health. How do you think we are doing here at First Presbyterian Church of Delray Beach?
Joy,