Wouldn't it be awesome for us to be able to impact churches around us. I would really love to see us be able to minister to churches around us, through workshops and seminars. Using the talent that we have within our own church. We really do have a lot of gifts that God wants us to tap into.
What might be some of the areas that you think we could begin to develop into a seminar or workshop?
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Impact vs. Ministry
Impact is kind of a catch word now a days, probably because it's less "churchy" then ministry, but there is a a difference. Whenever you are given an opportunity to influence someone's life, you are given an opportunity to impact them. But there are two ways to impact a person, either positively or negatively.
Ministry only produces one result, and it's always positive. In order for us to minister to someone our heart must be in tune with Christ's. I can help someone or impact someone in a positive way and not truly be ministering to them. The difference in ministering is God. When I allow myself to be used by God, that is when ministry takes place. Ministry is always dependant on God, but our ability to minister depends on God and on us.
Great questions to ask that will help you identify whether your ministering or impact/helping/ect. include:
Who am I doing this for?
Why am I doing this?
Am I doing this for man's applause (including my own)?
If I don't receive an credit for this will I be happy?
I want to encourage you to those that minister adn not just those that impact.
Ministry only produces one result, and it's always positive. In order for us to minister to someone our heart must be in tune with Christ's. I can help someone or impact someone in a positive way and not truly be ministering to them. The difference in ministering is God. When I allow myself to be used by God, that is when ministry takes place. Ministry is always dependant on God, but our ability to minister depends on God and on us.
Great questions to ask that will help you identify whether your ministering or impact/helping/ect. include:
Who am I doing this for?
Why am I doing this?
Am I doing this for man's applause (including my own)?
If I don't receive an credit for this will I be happy?
I want to encourage you to those that minister adn not just those that impact.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Time with the Family
Hey All,
It's good to be back. Angela, Brett and I had a great time with my parents. We were able to see their new home, church, and to watch the RED SOX WIN THE WORLD SERIES with family. hope that you are all gearing up for the holiday season, because it's coming faster, rather then slower.
I am continuing to work on a organizational manual for the music ministry. i believe it will give all of us a focla point in our vision and focus for this ministry. God continues to remind me of things he has placed on my heart and challenges me to reach those goals, as well as continues to bring more passion and desire. The challenge for all of us is not to grow content at where we are at. I want to continue to challenge each of us to move forward within our individual and collective ministries.
There is still a lot to accomplish as we reach out to each other and the community around us. I'm always open to suggestions and ideas about what we can do better, where we are going, and how we are going to get there. I hope that comes across to all of you.
We'll see you all soon
It's good to be back. Angela, Brett and I had a great time with my parents. We were able to see their new home, church, and to watch the RED SOX WIN THE WORLD SERIES with family. hope that you are all gearing up for the holiday season, because it's coming faster, rather then slower.
I am continuing to work on a organizational manual for the music ministry. i believe it will give all of us a focla point in our vision and focus for this ministry. God continues to remind me of things he has placed on my heart and challenges me to reach those goals, as well as continues to bring more passion and desire. The challenge for all of us is not to grow content at where we are at. I want to continue to challenge each of us to move forward within our individual and collective ministries.
There is still a lot to accomplish as we reach out to each other and the community around us. I'm always open to suggestions and ideas about what we can do better, where we are going, and how we are going to get there. I hope that comes across to all of you.
We'll see you all soon
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Invested
Can you believe it, I actually gave the devotional. I think that most of you know that I don't claim to be a preacher, mainly because I'm not called to be, but every so often, with long streaches in between, I will do it.
Many of you are in other ministries on Wednesday Nights and do not get the opportunity to here what happens in the Sanctuary, so I thought I'd give you a run down of what I talked about. It really has been what I've been trying to see accomplished within the life of the music ministry over the past several months.
I talked primarily about Elisha and how he was invested in and then how he invested in others. Here are my notes from that night.
I wanted to start with examples of people throughout the Bible that invested in others.
Jethro to Moses
Moses to Joshua
Elijah to Elisha
Saul to Samuel
Mordecai to Ester
Elisha to Jehoash
Daniel to Nebuchadnezzar
Jesus to the Apostles
Mark to Barnabas
Paul to Titus
Paul to Timothy
· I want to talk about the something that Dan Johnson said on Sunday. He said, “we’re only one generation away from being extinct!”
· 1 Kings 19:16 God tells “the famous prophet Elijah” to anoint someone who could become better then him. How humbling is that? But, so it goes with us, we must pass our torch on to someone else. Your investment in them could change the world in greater ways then you ever could by yourself.
· Just think of those that passed the torch on to you, I’m not talking about a weekly investment, although that’s important, in 2 Kings 2 we see that Elijah and Elisha walked together in an very “everyday living” kind of way. Just hanging out with one another.
· I’d like you to look at this through two different lenses, both the lens of Elijah and the lens of Elisha. All throughout the accounts that we have, Elijah gives Elisha an out (i.e. 2 Kings 2:2). Each time, Elisha realizes the value of being around Elijah, and wants to gleam all that he can, so he decides to press on with Elijah.
· If we take a look at 2 Kings 13:11 - 14, you’ll see that Elisha’s investment was in Joash, the ungodly King of Isreal. I think it’s important to point out that God doesn’t give us the responsibility of collecting on the investment we make (forcing or guilting someone to utilize our investment), our responsibility is just to make the investment.
· Another point is that both Elisha and Elijah invested because they wanted to. Yes, God told Elijah to do it, but Elijah still had a choice, and neither of them received a tangible reward for making an investment.
Sometimes we think that it’s Pastor’s job (or the “Staff’s) to invest in people, and it
is, but how effective is it for a staff of around 10 people (in a church of 250) to
invest, as opposed to 250 people investing in each other and to their circle of influence.
· So I want to challenge you to find someone to invest in, and it may not even be within your generation, actually I dare you to invest in someone one or two generations younger then you. Look for someone who desires to be invested in. Seek them out, teaching them what God has revealed to you through His word and your expereinces. I’ve heard it said that mentors don’t look for you, you look for mentors! But to me it looks like Elijah sought out Elisha.
· Then desire to be mentored, to have a teachable spirit, and allow someone to invest in you. Seek out a Godly mentor. Will it take time, of course it will, but the reward will be lasting relationships with them and a deeper relationship with the Lord.
· For those of you who have been on a Mission Trip, let me ask you, who becomes more blessed by your investment, you or the one you ministered to? I dare say that the majority would answer, I was so much more blessed, then I blessed anyone else. That’s because when you invest, God takes on the same principle and invests in You, so that you in turn can invest again!
Many of you are in other ministries on Wednesday Nights and do not get the opportunity to here what happens in the Sanctuary, so I thought I'd give you a run down of what I talked about. It really has been what I've been trying to see accomplished within the life of the music ministry over the past several months.
I talked primarily about Elisha and how he was invested in and then how he invested in others. Here are my notes from that night.
I wanted to start with examples of people throughout the Bible that invested in others.
Jethro to Moses
Moses to Joshua
Elijah to Elisha
Saul to Samuel
Mordecai to Ester
Elisha to Jehoash
Daniel to Nebuchadnezzar
Jesus to the Apostles
Mark to Barnabas
Paul to Titus
Paul to Timothy
· I want to talk about the something that Dan Johnson said on Sunday. He said, “we’re only one generation away from being extinct!”
· 1 Kings 19:16 God tells “the famous prophet Elijah” to anoint someone who could become better then him. How humbling is that? But, so it goes with us, we must pass our torch on to someone else. Your investment in them could change the world in greater ways then you ever could by yourself.
· Just think of those that passed the torch on to you, I’m not talking about a weekly investment, although that’s important, in 2 Kings 2 we see that Elijah and Elisha walked together in an very “everyday living” kind of way. Just hanging out with one another.
· I’d like you to look at this through two different lenses, both the lens of Elijah and the lens of Elisha. All throughout the accounts that we have, Elijah gives Elisha an out (i.e. 2 Kings 2:2). Each time, Elisha realizes the value of being around Elijah, and wants to gleam all that he can, so he decides to press on with Elijah.
· If we take a look at 2 Kings 13:11 - 14, you’ll see that Elisha’s investment was in Joash, the ungodly King of Isreal. I think it’s important to point out that God doesn’t give us the responsibility of collecting on the investment we make (forcing or guilting someone to utilize our investment), our responsibility is just to make the investment.
· Another point is that both Elisha and Elijah invested because they wanted to. Yes, God told Elijah to do it, but Elijah still had a choice, and neither of them received a tangible reward for making an investment.
Sometimes we think that it’s Pastor’s job (or the “Staff’s) to invest in people, and it
is, but how effective is it for a staff of around 10 people (in a church of 250) to
invest, as opposed to 250 people investing in each other and to their circle of influence.
· So I want to challenge you to find someone to invest in, and it may not even be within your generation, actually I dare you to invest in someone one or two generations younger then you. Look for someone who desires to be invested in. Seek them out, teaching them what God has revealed to you through His word and your expereinces. I’ve heard it said that mentors don’t look for you, you look for mentors! But to me it looks like Elijah sought out Elisha.
· Then desire to be mentored, to have a teachable spirit, and allow someone to invest in you. Seek out a Godly mentor. Will it take time, of course it will, but the reward will be lasting relationships with them and a deeper relationship with the Lord.
· For those of you who have been on a Mission Trip, let me ask you, who becomes more blessed by your investment, you or the one you ministered to? I dare say that the majority would answer, I was so much more blessed, then I blessed anyone else. That’s because when you invest, God takes on the same principle and invests in You, so that you in turn can invest again!
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Whose Kingdom Are We REALLY Building?
I am involved in a choir outside of church and we are in the process of selecting a new conductor becauseour current conductor is retiring shortly. To be blunt, being involved in some of the process has been discouraging to me because of the lobbying that is getting involved. Some of the people don't seem to be thinking in terms of the overall growth of the choir, they're thinking in terms of who they like or who they know. Sometimes this same atmosphere is created within the life of a church, but God's desire is to see the larger scope of His kingdom built.
before I go any further, I want to assure you that I believe that God is involved with the smaller scope as well, but I believe that the smaller scope (i.e. an individual or an individual church is how he wants to work through us to accomplish building the Kingdom).
I hope that you're following me so far, if not post something and let me know.
Are we individually doing or part to build the kingdom of God or of ourselves? Before you quickly answer that, I'd like you to ask God to search your heart. Psalm 44 states that only God knows the secrets of the heart. I actully believe that God can make us aware of thoughts within us that we don't even realize are there, but he does.
It's so easy for us give the quick, easy, spiritual answer, "of course I'm building God's kingdom, but I believe that if we aren't asking ourselves this question on a daily basis, we're probably not building God's kingdom because both our humanity and our society are focused on what feels good to "me, and my rights, and the way I think", but the focus of God's Kingdom is away from ourselves, first to him and the way He thinks, then to others. We can all tend to get so focused on personality, perferences, issues, and so much other stuff, but that's the stuff that christ wants to use to draw us closer to himself through relationships. It's how iron sharpens iron (Pro. 27:17) and how we grow together by spurring one another on to good works (Titus 3:8). Paul talks about all this kind of stuff in his letter to Titus.
Sometimes God puts people in positions of leadership for at least three reasons, first to teach the individual leading, second to teach those that are following, and third in order to building His kingdom in each of those first two groups, plus the kingdom in a much broader sense.
So my challenge is, to work out relationships where you're at, look to strengthening relationships, not to run from them. (Yes, I am preaching to myself as well) If it's a theological issue, let it be known in the proper ways. If it's a preference or a relational issue, work it out through communication and resolve to stay committed to one another.
before I go any further, I want to assure you that I believe that God is involved with the smaller scope as well, but I believe that the smaller scope (i.e. an individual or an individual church is how he wants to work through us to accomplish building the Kingdom).
I hope that you're following me so far, if not post something and let me know.
Are we individually doing or part to build the kingdom of God or of ourselves? Before you quickly answer that, I'd like you to ask God to search your heart. Psalm 44 states that only God knows the secrets of the heart. I actully believe that God can make us aware of thoughts within us that we don't even realize are there, but he does.
It's so easy for us give the quick, easy, spiritual answer, "of course I'm building God's kingdom, but I believe that if we aren't asking ourselves this question on a daily basis, we're probably not building God's kingdom because both our humanity and our society are focused on what feels good to "me, and my rights, and the way I think", but the focus of God's Kingdom is away from ourselves, first to him and the way He thinks, then to others. We can all tend to get so focused on personality, perferences, issues, and so much other stuff, but that's the stuff that christ wants to use to draw us closer to himself through relationships. It's how iron sharpens iron (Pro. 27:17) and how we grow together by spurring one another on to good works (Titus 3:8). Paul talks about all this kind of stuff in his letter to Titus.
Sometimes God puts people in positions of leadership for at least three reasons, first to teach the individual leading, second to teach those that are following, and third in order to building His kingdom in each of those first two groups, plus the kingdom in a much broader sense.
So my challenge is, to work out relationships where you're at, look to strengthening relationships, not to run from them. (Yes, I am preaching to myself as well) If it's a theological issue, let it be known in the proper ways. If it's a preference or a relational issue, work it out through communication and resolve to stay committed to one another.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Coming Up Higher!
I want to begin this weeks blog by expressing my appreciation to all of you who responded to the last blog, both here and to me personally. Being that this blog entry created more responses then all my other blog entries combined, I was overjoyed by the response!
Actions speak louder then words, a very familiar statement to use all and I believe that the church (at large) is becoming increasingly aware of this fact. So the issue is, how are we going to make our words become action.
I believe that in order to see our young people grow in Christ, we have to couple together and give them opportunity to grow. It's not something we can force them to take action on, but when they see us take action and interest in them, as opposed to just talking about it, that's when change will come.
So what do we need to do? I believe we need to take the time to invest, not just in our own relationship with the Lord, but to invest in the lives of our young people, and in the lives of those that don't know Christ. But that takes time and building relationships and sometimes, building relationships means we may have to help someone through an issue over a long period of time and it may mess up our schedule.
I believe when we (Every much including myself in this) begin to have a heart of compassion and a desire to see people grow, by working along side of them, that's when we really begin to minister to those around us and Christ grows within and ministers to us as well.
Actions speak louder then words, a very familiar statement to use all and I believe that the church (at large) is becoming increasingly aware of this fact. So the issue is, how are we going to make our words become action.
I believe that in order to see our young people grow in Christ, we have to couple together and give them opportunity to grow. It's not something we can force them to take action on, but when they see us take action and interest in them, as opposed to just talking about it, that's when change will come.
So what do we need to do? I believe we need to take the time to invest, not just in our own relationship with the Lord, but to invest in the lives of our young people, and in the lives of those that don't know Christ. But that takes time and building relationships and sometimes, building relationships means we may have to help someone through an issue over a long period of time and it may mess up our schedule.
I believe when we (Every much including myself in this) begin to have a heart of compassion and a desire to see people grow, by working along side of them, that's when we really begin to minister to those around us and Christ grows within and ministers to us as well.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Your turn to respond
Did you know that we are starting a youth choir?
You're probably thinking, what does a youth choir have to do with "Thoughts on Worship"? Well, I'm glad you asked.
Over the past several months the lord has really burdened my heart with the idea that we are having a disconnect between generations and more and more students are walking away from Christ once they graduate high school. My thought has been, what can we do as a ministry to connect kids to Christ in a way that will relate to them and in a way that will allow us to invest in them. My thought was a youth choir/discipleship ministry.
The idea is to "TIE" students to Christ and to other generations. I'm using the word "TIE" as a acronym for:
Teaming JR High, Sr High, and College students together through mentorship and to team them together with christ through discipleship.
Invite students to use their talents and gifts to glorigy God.
Equip students with opportunities to invest in others.
Some thoughts that I have on why we are losing our studnets once they get to college are
1. Maybe we're focusing to much on program and not enough on their relationship with Christ
2. Maybe we're not allowing studnets a safe environment to work out their salvation (or express their views, goals, ideas, and then train them.
3. Maybe we're afraid we don't have the correct answers to the questions and so we only teach on topics we know.
I have some other ideas, but I'd like to get some input from you, on your thoughts why we are losing our young people once they get to college.
You're probably thinking, what does a youth choir have to do with "Thoughts on Worship"? Well, I'm glad you asked.
Over the past several months the lord has really burdened my heart with the idea that we are having a disconnect between generations and more and more students are walking away from Christ once they graduate high school. My thought has been, what can we do as a ministry to connect kids to Christ in a way that will relate to them and in a way that will allow us to invest in them. My thought was a youth choir/discipleship ministry.
The idea is to "TIE" students to Christ and to other generations. I'm using the word "TIE" as a acronym for:
Teaming JR High, Sr High, and College students together through mentorship and to team them together with christ through discipleship.
Invite students to use their talents and gifts to glorigy God.
Equip students with opportunities to invest in others.
Some thoughts that I have on why we are losing our studnets once they get to college are
1. Maybe we're focusing to much on program and not enough on their relationship with Christ
2. Maybe we're not allowing studnets a safe environment to work out their salvation (or express their views, goals, ideas, and then train them.
3. Maybe we're afraid we don't have the correct answers to the questions and so we only teach on topics we know.
I have some other ideas, but I'd like to get some input from you, on your thoughts why we are losing our young people once they get to college.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Sunday Night Spinoff
Sunday Night Brian talked about hungering and thirsting after righteousness and he presented some great thoughts to us. The Bible tells us that those who hunger and thirst after righteousness will be filled, but we have to search out "the righteousness" to be filled with it.
Physically, when you get hungry, we usually search for the substance that is going to fill us quickly and spiritually sometime we do the same thing. Physically, we know that McDonald's is right down the street and it's already prepared for us. Spiritually, we can do the same thing and go after what is easy and quick, but it doesn't always make it "Right" or " righteous".
We've all heard the idea, "if you shoot for nothing you'll hit it everytime", but if we shoot for something we won't be happy until we hit it". Well, it's true with our walk with the Lord.
So Todd, what's the point? Well here it is,
"Shoot for righteousness and you will not be satisfied until you hit it." It may not be easy, it may not happen quick, but it you search, truly search, for rightoueness you will find it!
Physically, when you get hungry, we usually search for the substance that is going to fill us quickly and spiritually sometime we do the same thing. Physically, we know that McDonald's is right down the street and it's already prepared for us. Spiritually, we can do the same thing and go after what is easy and quick, but it doesn't always make it "Right" or " righteous".
We've all heard the idea, "if you shoot for nothing you'll hit it everytime", but if we shoot for something we won't be happy until we hit it". Well, it's true with our walk with the Lord.
So Todd, what's the point? Well here it is,
"Shoot for righteousness and you will not be satisfied until you hit it." It may not be easy, it may not happen quick, but it you search, truly search, for rightoueness you will find it!
Thursday, August 16, 2007
It's been a few weeks
Thanks for coming to visit this blog. I think as the blog continues it will be a great resource to help each of us continue to work out our salvation like it says in Philipians 2:12.
A couple of years ago Whole In One traveled to Florida. As a resting point, we stopped at Angela's Great-Uncle's house on the way. We stayed there Saturday into Sunday and we did not have a service so we decided to go to church with them. It was the first Catholic mass that I had ever fully attended and it was definitly different then an Assembly of God church, but as we discussed the ritualistic aspects of their service, we realized that they do outwardly what we as Protestants should be doing inwardly.
Now please realize that I'm not agreeing with the theology of the Catholic church, but I do relaize that there are aspects of the church at large that we can learn, while staying true to the full gospel!
A couple of years ago Whole In One traveled to Florida. As a resting point, we stopped at Angela's Great-Uncle's house on the way. We stayed there Saturday into Sunday and we did not have a service so we decided to go to church with them. It was the first Catholic mass that I had ever fully attended and it was definitly different then an Assembly of God church, but as we discussed the ritualistic aspects of their service, we realized that they do outwardly what we as Protestants should be doing inwardly.
Now please realize that I'm not agreeing with the theology of the Catholic church, but I do relaize that there are aspects of the church at large that we can learn, while staying true to the full gospel!
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Your Input Needed
I'm working on a ministry manual for the fine arts department so that new and old members can have a clear direction as to what is involved within the fine arts department. The manual will include things like time commitments, involvement opportunities, dress code, retreats, benefits of participation, different explanations of what things are and how we do them, and expectations that participants have toward the fine arts department, as well as, what the department expects from participants.
I'm thinking of creating it in a format that asks the five basic questions: who, what, where when, why, and how. I'm trying to think of the best way to create the questions in a clear and consise way, so it doesn't have to much overlap and yet it gives teh information that people are wanting to know. You're probably wondering, "what are you wanting from us?" Well, I'm wanting to know what your ideas are. If you were going to create a manual how would you go about doing it? Anything that would benefit and give insight to the process.
I NEED YOUR HELP!!!
I hope that my desire shines through my heart, "Although I am the coordinator of this ministry, without your input and involvement, I cannot fulfill my responsibilities."
I'm thinking of creating it in a format that asks the five basic questions: who, what, where when, why, and how. I'm trying to think of the best way to create the questions in a clear and consise way, so it doesn't have to much overlap and yet it gives teh information that people are wanting to know. You're probably wondering, "what are you wanting from us?" Well, I'm wanting to know what your ideas are. If you were going to create a manual how would you go about doing it? Anything that would benefit and give insight to the process.
I NEED YOUR HELP!!!
I hope that my desire shines through my heart, "Although I am the coordinator of this ministry, without your input and involvement, I cannot fulfill my responsibilities."
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Called to Serve
By the title of this, you're probably thinking about something church related, and we'll get there, but actually I had federal jury duty yesterday and this is the title of their orientation video. The video talked about what a honor and a duty we have as citizens of the United States, to be able to serve our country within the judicial system. I had 19 other people that were involved in the process with me "and boy did we have variety". I only related to them in terms of the court system, but through some of the jury selection process and through body language, you could tell who wanted nothing to do with being a juror, who was indifferent, and who was willing to be involved in the process. The thought that I had was, you will know them by their fruit and though it was only a short time period, I could see the fruit of over half the people there just by their body language and their answers to the judges questions. It's so interesting how biblical principals apply to all of life, whether you believe in the Bible or not.
The same is true with our relationship to Christ, Matt. 22:8-14 reminds us that many are called, but few make the choice to truly serve God and go after Him no matter what is going on around them. The difference between the jury and God is, the judge and the lawyers make the decision whether or not you're going to be chosen, with Christ, you make the choice whether you will be chosen. Will you follow Him Christ? Will you follow Him just enough to get by, or will you envelope your life with service to Him?
*If you've been to this blog before you may have notice that I've changed some of the choices for the overall name poll, so you may want to vote again. Thanks!
The same is true with our relationship to Christ, Matt. 22:8-14 reminds us that many are called, but few make the choice to truly serve God and go after Him no matter what is going on around them. The difference between the jury and God is, the judge and the lawyers make the decision whether or not you're going to be chosen, with Christ, you make the choice whether you will be chosen. Will you follow Him Christ? Will you follow Him just enough to get by, or will you envelope your life with service to Him?
*If you've been to this blog before you may have notice that I've changed some of the choices for the overall name poll, so you may want to vote again. Thanks!
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Your's, Mine, or God's
Have you ever thought about the idea of who's ministry are we involved in? Is it "Your" ministry, "My" ministry or "God's" ministry? For those of you that were here on Sunday Night we watched the movie "Flywheel" from teh makers of "Facing the Giants". One of the thoughts that movie presented was, what if we're looking at "money" wrong (you can switch "life" for money too). Instead of looking at the money we make as ours, what if we looked at it as God's money that he's allowing us to manage. I thought that was a great point, but it brought me to another thought that I thought I'd present to you. "Who's ministry are we involved with?", both in a general sense and a specific sense.
Friday, July 6, 2007
Expectations
I was just talking with some people the other day about how we expect people that are in church to have been walking with the Lord for a long time. I think we view them in relation to there physical maturity rather then their spiritual maturity. These two mindsets are exteremly different. Because we are "reborn" through Christ, that rebirth could have happened at any time. I think this plays a key role in how we relate to others and why we sometimes get offended or frustrated with church people, along with the reality that although we go to church and hopefully and prayerfully are believers, we are still human and at some times within our journey, walk in the natural man and not the spirit man.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
A "Tech"less Age!
I was reading a book just yesterday and it talked about how God could have sent Christ to earth during any age, yet he chose an early age. Just think of the communication abilities that Christ could have used during this age. The book was focusing on the humilty of Christ, that he would come at a time of relatively little technology. Have you even considered that idea?
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