THE FINAL CHAPTER

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(Brother Cheston Davis Jr., Sisters Millie and Peggy Sue)

By Ken Blue

“And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine… but thou hast kept the good wine until now.” John 2:10

Each life has its final chapter; written or unwritten. How long that chapter will be is anyone’s guess. I am confident a new and final chapter has begun for me. I am looking forward to its conclusion. I am not sure how many articles or sermons it will contain, but I hope to glorify God and edify His children with it.

It is fitting that this final chapter be called “the good wine.” I spent the first thirteen years of my life believing my biological father was dead. The subject was never discussed and that was that. However, my mother became concerned and decided to tell me as much of the story as she could.

In 1937 she met a man in the cotton fields of Missouri and nine months later I was born. She knew very little about him. She told me his name was Cheston Davis, and that he had lived in Stone County, Arkansas. Over the years I made a couple of attempts to find information about him or his family, but was unable to do so. I figured it was an impossible task and made no further effort.
A few months ago while in a conversation with my cousin, who knew the whole truth, she said she believed her daughter could give me some help. Her daughter is a detective with the Wenatchee police department, and within a week I had enough information to begin my own research.

A phone call led me to a young man in Missouri by the name of Cheston Grady Davis Jr. He and his family lived in the same area where my mother had met my father. He also has the same name as my father. After several phone calls, emails and an exchanging of family pictures, we came to the conclusion that we were indeed siblings of the same father. I received a wonderful reception by the family.

On March 6, 2010, I met Cheston, his wife and two of my sisters in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas at Captain Catfish for lunch. What a wonderful time that was! Each one had a story to tell, a hundred questions to ask and dozens of pictures to share. But, there’s more to the story.

All my life I lived under the cloud of being spoiled and an only child. Reluctantly, I admit to being spoiled by my mother, but I don’t want to hear any more that I am an only child. In fact, there were 16 children in all, and I was the second born. My father never knew of my birth.

Another wonderful ending to the story is that each one professed to have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. Isn’t it great that God opened the “good wine” in this final chapter of my life?

TRANSFERRED OR TRANSFORMED

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By Ken Blue

Churches should be adding new families on a regular base. I am aware that location has some bearing on ones effectiveness. However, the truth is that the only additions to some churches are transfer members. If this is the case, we are failing in our outreach to the lost. We should welcome transfer member, but they should not be the only additions we have. Do not become content to have only transfer members; this is like taking a dollar bill from one pocket and placing it in the other.

A church should keep records of who joins by transfer and who becomes a member by conversion and baptism. This information will reveal much about the evangelistic efforts and effectiveness of the church. It will signal where you need to make changes and focus your resources.

You will get what you go after. If you are content to have transfer members only, that’s what you will have. But, if you will concentrate on seeing the lost transformed and added to your church, you will see it happen. Evaluate your membership, is it built on the transferred or the transformed?

DOES YOUR CHURCH HAVE REVOLVING DOORS?

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By Ken Blue

Some churches have little trouble gaining members. They are diligently spreading the gospel, and people are obedient to the Lord. However, most churches have trouble keeping members. They lose them about as fast as they get them.

It is a fact that many churches cannot break the “75 barrier” or the “200 barrier”. Both barriers are related to “group dynamics” (principles that affect people’s ability to relate to one another in a particular group). The problem basically boils down to this: growth does not continue, because people are not being assimilated into the “family life” of the congregation. Some pastors do not really care about church growth, being happy to maintain the “status quo”. The solution to the “revolving door syndrome” actually has several different elements. The key is the involvement of every member.

We cannot over emphasize the importance of every member getting involved in some ministry of the church. If you want the church to become more important to the member, he or she must become involved. This means the church must have an unlimited list of ministries where members can serve. If you can maintain a high level of involvement, the dropout rate will be lower.

A church must increase its ministries in order to grow. I observed one church that had a ministry list of four, one was the missions program, and the other was their Christian day school. This shows a lack of understanding or a lack of vision.

Every church should make a list of ministries where members can participate, and that list must be adequately communicated to the congregation. The church should then double or triple the list. In addition, there must be a strategy and plan as to how each person will be recruited and installed in a ministry.

Remember, everyone wants to be an important part of an important organization. Also, the old saying, “use me or loose me” is not that old. If you want to shut down the revolving door, you must provide important places for important people to serve. Those places must be important to them.

DO YOU REALLY NEED ME?

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By Ken Blue

A good friend of mine and a long time member of Open Door Baptist related the following story to me. He was a police sergeant in a nearby city. He had several men under his command who were accountable to him.

A situation arose that required him to take action and meet with his immediate supervisor. In the meeting, he asked his boss if he was really needed in his sergeant position. His boss was somewhat shocked and said, “of course I do.” The sergeant asked again, “Are you really sure you need me here?” His boss responded again with assurance and then said, “Why are you asking me this question?” The sergeant said, “I notice that you are going directly to my men and asking them questions about their duties and also given them instructions on how to do their job. If you are going to communicate directly with them, why do you need me?” The light came on, and his boss apologized for his actions and indiscretion. He assured the sergeant it would not happen again.

My question for pastors is, do your leaders believe you really need them, or do you go around them and advise their workers? Do you get involved where you have no business? A sure way to send the message to others that you don’t trust them or need them is to go around them and advise their followers.

Several years ago I was preaching is a church and an assistant came to me and said, “The pastor assigns ministries to me, and then he gets involved to the point I can’t do what I was ask to do.” That assistant has moved on and so will all others who believe you don’t really need them.

WHY DON’T YOU HAVE MINISTRY LEADERS?

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By Ken Blue

“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:” Eph. 4:11-12.

The Pastor is called to the work of the ministry. However, in the minds of many, this work involves doing everything except what God called him to do. Some pastors and their wives think it is their responsibility to be involved in and run every ministry. Thus, they are the roadblocks to the service God has called church members to perform.

The first thing the pastor must do is be clear on what his duties are. The above text says it is to perfect believers. That means to “furnish” or “complete” members so they can do ministry. Pastors are administrators and members are the ministers. The job of the pastor is to train and equip believers for church ministry. You train people, not by indoctrination, but by involvement. Remember, Jesus preached to the multitudes, but he trained the Twelve.

If you are going to recruit someone for ministry, be sure you know all that is required of that ministry, and then put it in writing. If you can’t do that, it indicates you don’t know what you want. Next, pray and think of who would be most probable and dependable for the task. Ask to meet privately with them, and explain what you need. Assure them of your help and support. Give them a week to pray and consider the ministry, and set a date to meet for their decision. The most effective method of recruiting people is in private; the lease effective is to put needs in the bulletin.

You should list each task you are doing that someone else could do, and then look for that person. You should work yourself out of all jobs except what you are called to do. Once you give a ministry to someone, leave them to do it, and don’t ever criticize their efforts. Do not give advice or answers to anyone concerning the ministry of others. Send people to the person in charge of that ministry.

It is very difficult to remain quite or uninvolved when you know you could do better or if you aren’t 100% happy with how they do it. But, you must keep your mouth shut and your hands in your pockets if you want to keep people and let them do the ministry. The sure way to lose workers and members is to micro manage them or take a ministry from them.

If you believe you are the only person who can do it, or if you can’t trust people, you will never develop people. Pastors and their wives who do everything are exhausted and frustrated. Let me say in love and all kindness; the problem is not the people, it is the pastor and his wife. You must learn to train others and then sit down, be quiet, and let them do the ministry.

God did not call you to have your hands in every ministry. You are the “overseer”. Build a fence around every person’s ministry and then stay out of his yard unless there is a house fire. You can do it, if you will. I know of nothing so satisfying as to watch people grow and take charge.