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HAS IT COME TO THIS?

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SOUL WINNING IN THE CONTEMPORARY CHURCH

soul winning

By Ken Blue

I never thought I would see the day when churches that emphasize soul winning would be castigated as the downfall of America. Yep, you heard me right. There are those who say the reason for the corruption in America is that pastors and evangelist have focused on soul winning instead of politics.

Someone has a screw loose in their head if they think there is anything more important than getting people saved and keeping them out of hell. Those who teach this are only excusing their own lack of soul winning and their unconcern for the lost. Jesus said He came to seek and save the lost. Also, as My Father hath sent me, even so send I you. In the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son, we are told three times that there is more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who gets saved than 99 people who are already saved.

These deceived souls don’t believe a pastor can do more than one thing at a time. The pastor is to do the work of an evangelist/missionary by getting people saved and starting new churches. The pastor is also to feed the flock the Word of God so they can grow thereby. Any pastor who lays down the ministry of soul winning is disobedient to God and will watch his self-righteous church die.

It is strange we don’t hear any criticism of Dr. Jack Hyles or Dr. Rice who put soul winning at the top of the list. Pastors are commanded to preach the Word, not the ideology of other evangelist or pastors. Don’t go to seed on any subject, but if you must, make it soul winning. God will be pleased with you, and a sinner will thank you. Your soul winning church is not the cause of the downfall of America or anyone else.

 

 

WHAT IS LEADERSHIP?

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THE POSITION OF LEADERSHIP

leadership

By Ken Blue

The American Heritage Dictionary says leadership is, “1. The position or office of a leader: 2. Capacity or ability to lead.” You will notice that one is a position and the other is capacity. It is possible to have the position of leadership without the capacity to lead. Or, one may possess the capacity and not have the position.

There is a world of difference between position and capacity. One may be promoted to a position of leadership such as in a military or government job without possessing the capacity. However, those under his leadership must comply or pay the price. This same situation may exist in large cooperation, but it is not as prevalent.

However, church leadership is altogether different. The pastor does not possess leadership qualities because of his possession. This is one reason many churches cannot grow. The pastor must have the capacity to lead. No one follows because they are required to. Ninety-five percent of church work is done by volunteers. There must be other factors that influence people to follow the pastor. Leaders have followers. If no one is following, you are just taking a walk.

A few misconceptions about leadership: Position of office, telling others what to do, being the loudmouth of the group, or having the prominent position. None of which will work for long.

There are three imperatives of leadership and they are the same in the secular or the sacred. One of these qualities is personality. The more people you can relate to, the more influence you can have. We know many who lead from the strength of personality. The second quality needed is aptitude. The better you are at your vocation, the more people are apt to follow you. So, learn all you can about your calling. Learn from the greatest in that field. Read all you can on how to improve your vocational skills. People are reluctant to follow those who are unsure of what they are doing.

Finally, to have a lasting influence in leadership, you must be a man or woman of character. Of the three, your character is most important. People will not follow a person they cannot trust. What is it that exposes your lack of character? It will usually be your mouth. Therefore, be slow to speak and swift to hear.

CHECK OUT AUDIO SERMONS AND SONGS

PASTORS DRIVING IN THE FOG

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PASTORS WITHOUT GOALS OR OBJECTIVES

pastorsBy Ken Blue

The longer I live and the more I talk with pastors, the more confident I am that many of them are driving in a fog; if they are moving at all. We all know what it is like to try to drive in those blinding conditions. Sometimes fog lights help, but the fog line on the right side of the road may be the best guide. That line gives you some point of reference as to where you are.

It appears that pastors do not want a clearly defined purpose, or stated objectives for fear of failure. Perhaps they like being in the fog, that way no one can figure out where they are going. You would think they would be eager to establish these, and clarify them to their members.

What must a pastor do to get out of the fog and see clearly his purpose, objectives, and goals? First of all, he must have a stated purpose for the church. Can you put in a simple sentence why your church exists and what you believe God wants it to focus on; if not, you are still in the fog. An example of a purpose statement is that of Open Door Baptist church. “We exist to bring families from spiritual infancy to spiritual maturity.” That statement is clear and defines what the churches main business will be. Everything else they do moves the church toward that purpose.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]The purpose statement declares why you exist.[/perfectpullquote]

Once the purpose is established, clearly stated objectives must be put in place. The purpose declares why you exist. The objectives state what actions are necessary to carry out your purpose. Pastors should have no more that 5-7 objectives. Objectives are not goals. They are simply the major areas you must focus on to support your purpose.

Once the objectives are in place, goals must be set in each one of them. Some goals may be set for what you want the church to be in five years. Goals must be broken down to 12, 6, 3, and 1-month segments. They must be on the pastor’s calendar, and on your desk, or they will be ignored.

Also, goals have a beginning and ending date. They must be measurable, attainable and have ownership. From your calendar, you know what you are to do each week and every day. If you have done it right, your calendar will become your boss. You no longer are in the fog. If things get a little fuzzy, get your calendar out and bring yourself up to date.

Why do pastors ignore this kind of planning? One, it requires you to think and work. It won’t allow you to fly by the seat of your pants. It holds you accountable. It shows where you are failing, and the bottom line is fear.

CHECK OUT AUDIO SERMONS AND SONGS

KEEP YOUR FORK

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By Ken Blue

 

Recently I attended a funeral where the story was told of a woman who was dying of cancer. She gave some last instructions to her pastor and one of them was that she was to be buried with a fork in her hand.

The pastor was puzzled at her request and asked for her reason. “Well, you see, when you eat at a fancy banquet, and they remove the plate after the first course, they always tell you to keep to your fork. That means something real good is about to follow.”

“My life has been good and God has greatly blessed me. However, I know the best is yet to come. So I want to keep my fork. Also, all those who see it will be reminded when they see a fork, the best is yet to come. So, you see Pastor, I’m counting on you to see that the fork in my hand is visible to all, because the best is yet to come.”

“For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:” Philippians 1:23.

SHOULD CHURCHES CONTINUE TO GROW

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By Ken Blue

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

Regardless of the choice one makes, we cannot argue with the fact that God wants His church to witness to the lost. If a church is healthy, there should be constant professions of faith and growth in membership. If there are no professions of faith, there is something wrong with the evangelistic ministry. If there is no membership growth, there is something wrong with the organization.
How large should a church be? That is the question. There are those who believe a church should have one hundred or less in membership. Others pick a higher number, but not by much. On the other hand, there are those who see the “sky as the limit.”
I always had my sights on building a large church. The reason, no doubt, was the cultural mentality when we started Open Door, and my own personality. However, I never build the attendance I thought possible. Part of the problem was my own inability. Another, barrier was the size of our building. We were always at 80% capacity, or more. A church seldom grows beyond that percentage.
Although I never realized my vision, I can look back and see how God enlarged the ministry of Open Door in spite of me. This was accomplished by the many men and women who committed to fulltime service and built a ministry for the Lord.
There are 6 men from Open Door who are pastoring or have started churches in Washington State, 3 in Arizona, 1 California, 1 in Nebraska, 1 in Montana, 1 in Florida, 1 in Mexico, 1 in England, 1 Germany, and 1 in Michigan. These are the ones I remember, I am confident there are others. This was not my vision for Open Door, but God had a better plan.
I spoke recently to a pastor who averages about 400 in attendance. He said his goal was to start new churches in the surrounding communities with paid pastors from his church. These pastors and churches would be under the leadership and umbrella of the mother church. The new churches will be called “Campus Churches.” Dr. John Rawlins had a similar setup in Cincinnati, Ohio. He called them “Satellite Churches.”

Personally, I believe the pastor should let the church grow according to God’s increase, and one’s ability to pastor it. However, wisdom and the Holy Spirit may lead the pastor to start other churches with those members who live a great distance from the church.

Because of the cost involved in attempting to build buildings or rent facilities today, it is practically impossible to do it solo. Thus, the idea of starting other churches with existing members and a paid pastor may be the best method for starting new congregations. It is an idea worth considering.