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THE POWER OF USING POWERPOINT

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By Ken Blue

 All appears quite on the home front. The brethren who were vehemently against PowerPoint have evidently seen the light, or retreated into a cave. There is no need for fear. There never was, but anything new terrifies the brethren, until they can convince others they came up with the idea. So, do thy self no harm.

 If your church is small, and you seldom have visitors, PowerPoint will be of little value to you. Most churches of a hundred or less operate as a family atmosphere. All the members know each other by name, they are one happy family, and many hope it stays that way. Everyone has access to the pastor, and he loves it. In addition, all the members bring their Bibles, and can find the books with ease. If you don’t have visitors, and your church is not growing, you may not need Power Point.

 On other hand, if you have visitors each Sunday, PowerPoint can be a great advantage, and should be used. Keep in mind that most visitors are self-conscious, and your church is a strange environment for them. They do not want to be pointed out, nor embarrassed as they fumble through the Bible in an attempt to keep up with the pastor. So, if you want your church to grow new converts, make it easy for visitors and new members to follow you. You want your visitors to return next Sunday. Give them a reason to return.

Wisdom will dictate that you put your sermon outline, sub points, and Bible verses on Power Point. The benefits of doing this far exceed your fears. It is better to make is easy for people to trust Christ than it is to try to teach them to find verses in the Bible before they are saved. Win them first, and then teach them. Preaching and teaching is an educational process. You should use every tool available to reinforce your teaching. Power Point, and handouts will do that.

Now, for those who fear that people will not learn how to find the books in the Bible, and that is the excuse many pastors use, the key is to not put the verses up on PowerPoint in the evening service. Visitors seldom attend these services.

Pastor seldom give it a thought that most believers in both Testaments did not have a Bible in their hand. The priest or the preacher read aloud, and the people listened. So, don’t get the idea that the Bible is a fetish that must be held in your hands. It is the Word of God, no matter how it is proclaimed.  

 

You should not throw the baby out with the bath water. Learn how to balance your ministry so you can best help those who attend. However, you should create handouts of your sermon, and let the people fill in the blanks. Yours is a teaching ministry. Let wisdom guide you instead of fear.

Creating an outline, and putting Bible verses for PowerPoint will require a little more effort on your part. However, the benefits far outweigh the time invested. Don’t allow PowerPoint paranoia  to paralyze you. I believe there are two reasons pastors refuse to do the above; it requires work, and they are lazy, they fear what other pastors will think and say.

 

IS THE MUSIC IN STEP WITH YOUR MESSAGE?

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By Ken Blue

Perhaps the best example of “the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing,” is in the lack of coordination between the Pastor’s sermon, and the music director’s selection of songs. Seldom do these two connect the music with the message. I have watched song leaders pick songs for the service five minutes before a service begins.

Pastor, if you perform a wedding, the party selects wedding songs and music to match the occasion. If you serve at a funeral, the songs match the event. At a birthday party, they sing “Happy Birthday.” So, why is it that most song services in church have no connection to the sermon? The reason, no doubt, is ignorance of its importance, or a lack of planning by the pastor. Many pastors have no idea what their sermon subject will be a week from Sunday. That may be the real cause of the problem.

Another reason for the problem, is the pastor is too lazy to plan his preaching schedule, and topics. Therefore, he doesn’t have any plan for the music ministry. This takes time, thinking and planning. Many pastors don’t have any plans beyond next Monday morning. This is inexcusable.

Everything that happens in the service should reinforce and support the purpose of the sermon. This includes all the services. That means that the Pastor must plan all sermons or subjects weeks before they are preached. He must then meet with the music director and see that the songs support the sermon.

How is it at your church? Do the songs have any real purpose or are they just filler? Are the songs selected because they are familiar, and old favorites, or do they promote the theme of your message? Think about it, and see how next Sunday’s selection matches the goal of your message.

One way to correct this problem is for the pastor to fill out the order of service, and see that all involved in the music ministry receive it. Include in it the song selection. If you are doing a theme for a month, ensure that everyone, who needs to know is informed of what you expect. The more people you have supporting your objective, the more likely you are to achieve it, and the more you communicate, the more they will be able to help you. You are trying to get a point across with your sermon, I hope. Why not plan so the music will assist in that goal? Are you lazy?

 

LEADERS ARE DECISION MAKERS

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By Ken Blue

Leaders of  great organizations were ask, “how did you become a great leader?’ They responded, “By making right decisions.” To which the novice responded, “How did you learn to make right decisions?” “By making wrong ones;” they all agreed.

Leadership is all about making decisions, and if you are to last in that position, you had better learn to make the right ones. People will not respect or follower a leader for long that cannot make right decisions.

Right decisions require, first of all, some skull work. You must think it through before you put your mouth in gear. A major problem of the amateur leader is that he speaks before he thinks. This character flaw must be corrected. You cannot make comments, and then tell people they did not understand you. You are blaming them for your double-mindedness. Think it through first.

One of the best examples of leadership is seen in the book of Nehemiah. He knew the problem, and the need. Necessity is the mother of invention. He prayed, and was ready if called upon. He surveyed the situation, but told no one what God had put in his heart until he had all the facts. Read his strategy, and learn from him.

Remember, you are not a leader because you make decision. You become a better leader because you make right decisions, and have followers. If you have the aptitude, you can learn to become a better leader. There’s many helps available; take advantage of them.

GLORY TO GOD!!!

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 By Ken Blue

 

 

When I received the note and picture from Pastor Murphy, I bowed my head and wept for joy. I hope you can rejoice with the great people at Open Door. Here is the message Pastor Murphy sent me.

 

Pastor Blue,

This is a picture from last Sunday night “special recognition service” We had 31 people join the church and 22 people baptized last Sunday night. We had a total of 68 go through the discipleship classes. (Sunday evening).

 

Praise the Lord for what he is doing at Open Door it truly is a miracle on 44th ave in Lynnwood Wa. Warren Wiersbe said, “If you can explain it, than God is not in it”. I am thankful that I cannot explain it. Thanks again for laying such a great foundation at Open Door; it truly has made my job much easier. Feel free to post this picture on your blog and write anything you want to go with it.

Thanks

Pastor Jason Murphy

Open Door Baptist Church

Lynnwood, WA

425.743.4922

 

Pastors, one of the purposes of my ministry is to encourage you, and get you to believe God wants your church to grow. Great sermons, Bible Conferences, A soul winning night, or the kind of music you may have will not do it. It takes more.  I believe God can do the same for you and your church. Contact Pastor Murphy, and discover what they are doing that God is blessing. You will be glad you did.

PROCEDURE

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By Ken Blue

1 a : a particular way of accomplishing something or of acting  b : a step in a procedure. 2 a : a series of steps followed in a regular definite order *legal procedure* *a surgical procedure*  b :  : a traditional or established way of doing things  b : PROTOCOL”

 Pastor, do you have a clearly defined procedure on how your church is going to reach young families, and the steps you will take after they profess to trust Christ?  Is this procedure in writing and on your calendar? Are your staff members and church leaders aware of it? If ask, could they clearly state your purpose statement and assimilation procedures? If not, guess who dropped the ball?

 The definition of a procedure is stated above, and is clear. It means you have an established way of accomplishing the assimilation of families into your church and the ministry for Christ. It is a series of steps. Are those steps clearly defined, and is each one well planned and implemented?   

 In the matter of bringing families from spiritual infancy to spiritual maturity, there a four steps that must be clearly defined and employed. 1. You should have a class every four months for new members. This class is a requirement for membership, and teaches what your church is all about. Each class should take three to four hours to teach. 2. Four months later, there should be a class on how to study the Bible and grow in your new life. 3. four months later, a class should be taught on how and where one might serve the Lord in the local church. 4. Finally, four months later, a class should be taught on how to commit one’s life to God’s will for their life.

 Any pastor, sincere about the things we have stated above, should contact Pastor Murphy at Open Door. He said, on Easter weekend they had, “20 people to accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior, we had over 100 visitors…”