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NEEDS AND TRENDS IN THE CHURCH TODAY

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THE CHURCH TODAY SHOULD BE AWARE OF EVIL TRENDS
The church today

By Ken Blue

Although needs and trends are not synonymous; needs may change as trends change. Trends can be good or evil. Certainly, no church should follow evil trends. The spiritual needs of believers never change. However, how the church addresses and meets those needs must change with time.

What the average church members need is relevant Bible teaching and preaching. That means, the preacher must be aware of the real world and the real people who live in it; then he must be able to build a practical sermon or lesson that clearly helps others with their problems. I know the Bible is relevant, but many pastors don’t know how to preach it so people can understand or apply it.

Some preachers think if they cram the sermon with bible verses, it has more authority and value. Nothing could be further from the truth. Neither Jesus or Paul were concerned about the number of verses in their messages. Look at them; they told simple stories about life and used biblical and natural examples to communicate one truth at a time. This is the need in the pulpit today. The primary purpose of the Bible is not to inform, but to transform. Do you really have an end goal for your sermon, or is the only end, just to preach another sermon. You should write at the top of your sermon notes what your objective is.

Some pastors think if they can get their members to conform to four or five standards, they have met the needs of the believer. The category is: A haircuts, dresses on women, tithing, Bible reading, and soul winning. These may have an outward show, but they do not meet the needs of church members. Usually, these are promoted by the pastor so the members will build his church membership. So, make the sermon relevant to the time and place.

Church members need a sense of belonging and ownership. New members must feel they fit and are accepted. This means the church must create a strategy to assimilate them into the fellowship with other believers. Remember, the glue that holds the ministries together, is the cement that keeps others out. Do everything you can to create a spirit of belonging and ownership within your members. The saying is true, “Use me or lose me.”

Members must be able to develop close friendship ties. Experience shows that if a person does not have a family member or a close friend in church, they will not stay. The pastor should know this and do everything within his power to create ministries where these relationships can develop. Private small groups are one of the best ways for this to happen. Everyone wants to be an important part of an important ministry. The church should have in place and a strategy for recruiting and placing members in ministries best suited for them. Friendships are developed in these ministries. This takes planning and work, but the payoff is great!

Worship is expressing love and praise to the Lord. Although it can be spontaneous, it should also be planned as part of the church service. There are various way to do this and the pastor should vary from time to time. One could use music, testimonies, giving and sermons as worship. The one thing the congregation can do collectively is worship and praise God. This too, should be well planned.

Perhaps the most important part of a church is its atmosphere. Dr. Jack Hyles said that the difference between an exciting church and a dead church is the atmosphere. The preacher must be positive in his messages and announcements. The pulpit is not the place for scorn, griping, complaining, or excuses. A pastor told me that he could not get his members to bring visitors to church. He had pastored for 15 years in a large city and maintained about fifty members. I later found out that practically every sermon was against the Roman Catholic Church Whore, fags, other translations of the Bible and the present government. Are you surprised that his members would not invite others? I’m not.

[pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]…show people what great things God is doing in the lives of church members…[/pullquote]

Preach down the blessings of God! Exalt the goodness and love of the Lord. Talk about and show people what great things God is doing in the lives of church members and in your church. Stop trying to kill the frogs, make the pond bigger. This will keep the Devil off balance.

Church members want a quality ministry and buildings. Many church members are actually ashamed to bring family and friends to their church because the buildings are dirty and unkempt. Many churches are also shoddy in their ministries. The music is not well planed or practiced. The bulletins are pointless and so is the sermon. Cut the grass! Paint the buildings! Clean the carpets! Improve the nurseries and bathrooms! I preached in a church that had only one bathroom. To make things worse, they had only one towel. It was the kind you have in your home, and everyone used it. Visitors will not return to any church run like that. Do the best you can with what you have to make everything first class. Start the services on time and stop them on time.

Vision for world missions is a must for the church. People must see the needs around the world and then be led to get involved in meeting those needs. This involves more than giving and praying for missions or reading a mission letter. Allow people to visit a mission field. Get them personally involved in world mission projects.

People need purpose for everything that the church does and for what you want them to do. Pastors must get off their backsides; discover what the real needs of their members are, and then research ways to address these needs with the Book. Have a purpose statement and teach it to your people until everyone knows what their church is about. Stop trying to make your church like someone else’s. Find out how to best meet the needs of your members and then implement what is needed to accomplish it.

THE RASH MOUTH

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DEALING WITH A RASH MOUTH
RASH

Recently I read the newsletter by a big mouth independant, KJV, Baptist Evangelist (?) who called Rick Warren, with whom he disagreed, “That Devil”. The following article by Charles Finney describes such rashness.

[pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]”Take heed to yourselves that you be not rash”[/pullquote]

“Take heed to yourselves that you be not rash. Some ministers are exceedingly rash and hasty in forming and expressing their views and opinions on almost every subject–are precipitate and unguarded in their measures–are stiff and stubborn in the positions they take, and can never be long employed as ministers in any one place. They will almost always leave their people in a divided state. This may be true of a minister who thoroughly does his duty, and nothing more. But it may be, and often is owing to downright rashness and indiscretion in the minister. Not long since, a young minister observed to an elderly one, that “he was determined to drive the devil out of the Church to which he was preaching.” The aged man replied, “See that you do not attempt to cast out the devil through Beelzebub the prince of devils, and act yourself like the devil in banishing him from your place.” Ministers should always take heed that in opposing Satan, they do not come to possess his spirit.

WHAT IS LEADERSHIP

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WHAT IS LEADERSHIP

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leadership

By Ken Blue

John Maxwell says, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.” If that statement is true, the pastor’s call to the ministry is really a call to leadership. Perhaps the following definitions Webster will help. “To show the way to by going in advance. To guide or direct in a course. To guide the behavior or opinion of; induce. To direct the performance or activities of.  To inspire the conduct of. To go or be at the head of. To be ahead of. To go first as a guide. To act as commander, director, or guide.  An example; a precedent.”

One is not a leader simply because he has the title or a position. Look behind you, if no one is following, you’re not leading; you’re only taking a walk.

There are many factors that may affect a leadership situation. The following example will suffice. Several New York business men invited a tribal chief of the rain forest to their city to work out an agreement on cutting timber in his area. He was picked up at the airport and shuttled about the city for the next few days. He was overwhelmed by the number of people, the skyscrapers and the traffic. The suits were in complete control as they led him about from one meeting to another.

After a deal was agreed upon, the business men returned to South America with the chief to map out the specific area to cut. The jet landed in a major city, and from there they were to be shuttled in a small bush plane to the village. However, the small plane experienced engine trouble and made a forced landing in the jungle. No one was hurt, but the business men were completely helpless, disoriented, fearful and lost. The chief reassured them by taking the lead. He knew the direction to the village and which plants and animals to avoid. In a couple of days, they reached their intended destination.

[pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]The pastor’s call to the ministry is really a call to leadership.[/pullquote]

The above story illustrates the many factors that impact leadership. You must know what you want; where you want to go, how to get there and convince others in your ability to get them there safely. In the city, the suits were leading. In the jungle, the chief was the leader.

Although leadership can be learned, there are certain qualities that cannot be ignored if one is to succeed.  Those who follow you must have rapport with your personality; they must have confidence in our competence and they must have respect for your character. Weakness in any of these will impact your leadership. You can lead, but you must be clear on where you want to go. This is discovered through the planning process. Then, you must be able to share the vision with others until they too embrace it.

The above puzzle is a more important illustration than you might think, weakness in any of these hampers your leadership. Meditate on each piece and discover the areas you need to improve. Failure in any one of these hampers your ministry. If you think soul winning and preaching is all you need, that’s all you will attempt. Everything depends of prayer and leadership.

BRUSH FIRES

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BRUSH FIRES
BRUSH FIREs

“While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said…” Job 1:17

Brush fires are hard to contain because of the winds that spread them. Just about the time you have one under control, a gust of wind blows sparks into another field, and off you go again.

The pastor must exercise wisdom and discernment when it comes to these fires. “Should I chase it, or will it burn itself out if ignored?” “Where no wood is, the fire goeth out…” Proverbs 26:20.

There are two dangers when it comes to brush fires: one is to ignore it and allowing it to burn down your ministry; the other, is responding with fire trucks and ladders every time there is smoke.

My experience is that most fires are not that serious and will burn themselves out, if you don’t stir up the winds or throw fuel on them.

The pastor must stop responding to every battle, every complaint and every problem. If possible, let others in your church handle these fires and keep the smell of smoke off yourself.

The pastor should determine that he is not going to be the only man in the church with a fireman’s hat. There are others who can put out fires just as well. Most of the people in your church won’t even know there is a fire unless you keep fanning it by call attention to it.

THE POWER OF A PURPOSE STATEMENT

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THE POWER OF A PURPOSE STATEMENT

PURPOSE STATEMENT

As a young preacher I attended Dr. Jack Hyles’ Pastor School on several occasions. Each year he reiterated their purpose statement by saying First Baptist is “The Church With A Heart.” He would spend the rest of the evening marching each of their ministries across the platform, illustrating their purpose. It took me some time to fully understand that action. But, I finally came to the place where I got it. Because they had a heart for all people, the church was committed to identifying all classes and groups and then developing a strategy to reach them for Christ.

I am convinced that every church should determine its true purpose; create a statement and then let that statement become their northern star to direct them. This should not be hastily done. One should take several days or weeks to think this matter through. If done properly, this becomes the hub around which all your ministry activities will revolve.

[pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]I am convinced that every church should determine its purpose so that all future planning knows what direction to go.[/pullquote]

Your purpose statement should state what your ministry will be about. Most Christians have heard of Focus on the Family. That purpose statement tells you where their effort and finances will focus. At Open Door Baptist we created the following purpose statement: “Open Door exist to bring families from spiritual infancy to spiritual maturity.” That purpose statement tells us exactly what our emphases and efforts will be. Every ministry should be started and structured with the whole family in mind.

Once a statement has been accepted it should be dissected and each part developed with action verbs to accomplish the purpose. All future planning should be done to move the church toward your purpose or northern star; as you do, you will begin to experience the power of a purpose statement.

Many churches create a purpose statement and then put it in a drawer, and  forget it. That is a sign the leadership is not serious, and has a fear of failure. The purpose statement should be on every piece of literature, and posted where everyone sees it. It must be your guiding star. How many people really know what your purpose is? That will tell you how your are doing.