The Big Idea: Every church has an abundance of nonhuman resources that are
sometimes overlooked and thus seldom fully utilized.
I know I've been guilty of just looking through human eyes at what is available (typically at physical things like facilities/finances). This has helped me remember that God has given us everything we need to accomplish his mission. He has given us the best story/offer ever through Jesus. He also sends his Holy Spirit into our lives as a guide and empowering us to witness and serve others. There are resources available to accomplish the task at hand; and I'm not on my own (though it can feel like it sometimes).
Resource 5-5:
This exercise was designed (I believe) to help us mentally sort though what tangible and indefinable resources our local church possesses. I know for our student ministry, we need to rely more heavily on the power of prayer; and I'd also like to see if we can get some kind of mentoring thing going with our students and our kids.
Also, I think more people would be willing to get involved if they knew it would bring them satisfaction. This should make me a little more confident when I set out to invite others to join me in ministry.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
lecture 4 journal
Reflect on how you have viewed the laity.
It would be easy to get critical of the few people who failed to follow through on promises, let us down, etc.; but I won't do that. I admit in the past I have muttered to myself "if only they were as committed as me, then they'd really jump in and help." That doesn't help anyone. I've come to a point where I understand that I need to heavily lean on our youth staff (volunteers) to do anything of significance. They are some of the brightest, most talented people I know, and they're doing great things for God and our students. I now view laity as my partners in ministry.
The Big Idea—Realize the church is for people and that people are the church’s most
valuable resource.
I think realizing that the church is for people is easy to accept. It should be a place where hurting people are healed, where broken people are restored and where those serving God can have a ministry role. I think we often forget about people being the church's most valuable resource because we can get so caught up in the how of doing ministry and neglect the why/who (reason for doing ministry). I need to be constantly developing leaders within my group and help them to reach others. We can do so much more when we share the load. God, please remind me that these are not only the people You gave your Son for, but also the people through whom You intend to spread the Gospel.
It would be easy to get critical of the few people who failed to follow through on promises, let us down, etc.; but I won't do that. I admit in the past I have muttered to myself "if only they were as committed as me, then they'd really jump in and help." That doesn't help anyone. I've come to a point where I understand that I need to heavily lean on our youth staff (volunteers) to do anything of significance. They are some of the brightest, most talented people I know, and they're doing great things for God and our students. I now view laity as my partners in ministry.
The Big Idea—Realize the church is for people and that people are the church’s most
valuable resource.
I think realizing that the church is for people is easy to accept. It should be a place where hurting people are healed, where broken people are restored and where those serving God can have a ministry role. I think we often forget about people being the church's most valuable resource because we can get so caught up in the how of doing ministry and neglect the why/who (reason for doing ministry). I need to be constantly developing leaders within my group and help them to reach others. We can do so much more when we share the load. God, please remind me that these are not only the people You gave your Son for, but also the people through whom You intend to spread the Gospel.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
lesson 3 reflections
The Big Idea: The mission Jesus gave the Church is simple but profound: more
Christians, better Christians.
More- It is simple because according to 2 Peter 3:9, God doesn't want anyone to perish, but to come to a knowledge of the truth. He doesn't want any single person to spend eternity apart from Him. He wants to include all people in his family.
Better- This one is a little bit trickier, mainly because one of the first thoughts that pop in my mind when I think of better is "better/worth more than another". I think that better here in this usage is that Christians are better equipped and trained to share the love of Christ with others. This can be done through purposeful evangelism, sharing with one's family, co-workers, neighbors, etc.
Resource 3-1
Obviously, the great commission outlines what God wants from us, to share the Good News of Jesus with those who don't know it or haven't experienced it personally for themselves.
Tom Nees states four things that missional churches everywhere have in common ("1) They make disciples of lost people. 2) They reach across cultural barriers. 3) They commit to compassion evangelism. And 4) they reproduce themselves with new churches.”) The one that has been ringing home with me is the compassion evangelism. We need to meet needs with love, which give us the right to be able to share Jesus with them.
Bill M. Sullivan said “Missional starts with who we are inside. . . . The evangelization of the world waits not on the readiness of God but on the obedience of Christians.” The world and its lost are not waiting on God to act; He already has. It's really waiting on Christians to say yes to God. This kind of change of mentality must happen IN us at the deepest heart level, at our core.
“The content of mission—the message of evangelism–is the Good News of Jesus Christ.” —Claude E. Payne
We shouldn't forget that no matter the method, sharing the unchanging message of God's love for all people through Jesus Christ is our main goal. People need to know that they are loved by God.
“Soul-stretching, expansive ideas come to my mind when the words mission and vision are used. My list includes objectives, purpose, achievement, missional, evangelism, vision, creativity, passion, imagination and all-out commitment for God.” —Neil B. Wiseman
“There is a sense of mystery in mission which beckons us on to explore and discover riches as yet undreamed of. It is the mystery represented by the person of the Holy Spirit that in a sense guarantees the future of the church in the third millennium.” —Martin Robinson
We need our imagination and our faith challenged in order to really grasp what God wants to do here on earth through us.
Christians, better Christians.
More- It is simple because according to 2 Peter 3:9, God doesn't want anyone to perish, but to come to a knowledge of the truth. He doesn't want any single person to spend eternity apart from Him. He wants to include all people in his family.
Better- This one is a little bit trickier, mainly because one of the first thoughts that pop in my mind when I think of better is "better/worth more than another". I think that better here in this usage is that Christians are better equipped and trained to share the love of Christ with others. This can be done through purposeful evangelism, sharing with one's family, co-workers, neighbors, etc.
Resource 3-1
Obviously, the great commission outlines what God wants from us, to share the Good News of Jesus with those who don't know it or haven't experienced it personally for themselves.
Tom Nees states four things that missional churches everywhere have in common ("1) They make disciples of lost people. 2) They reach across cultural barriers. 3) They commit to compassion evangelism. And 4) they reproduce themselves with new churches.”) The one that has been ringing home with me is the compassion evangelism. We need to meet needs with love, which give us the right to be able to share Jesus with them.
Bill M. Sullivan said “Missional starts with who we are inside. . . . The evangelization of the world waits not on the readiness of God but on the obedience of Christians.” The world and its lost are not waiting on God to act; He already has. It's really waiting on Christians to say yes to God. This kind of change of mentality must happen IN us at the deepest heart level, at our core.
“The content of mission—the message of evangelism–is the Good News of Jesus Christ.” —Claude E. Payne
We shouldn't forget that no matter the method, sharing the unchanging message of God's love for all people through Jesus Christ is our main goal. People need to know that they are loved by God.
“Soul-stretching, expansive ideas come to my mind when the words mission and vision are used. My list includes objectives, purpose, achievement, missional, evangelism, vision, creativity, passion, imagination and all-out commitment for God.” —Neil B. Wiseman
“There is a sense of mystery in mission which beckons us on to explore and discover riches as yet undreamed of. It is the mystery represented by the person of the Holy Spirit that in a sense guarantees the future of the church in the third millennium.” —Martin Robinson
We need our imagination and our faith challenged in order to really grasp what God wants to do here on earth through us.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Journal assignment 2- NNU online class
- Reflect on the quote from C. H. Spurgeon (Lectures to My Students, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1954, 32.): "We must feel that woe is unto us if we preach not the gospel; the word of God must be unto us as a fire in our bones, otherwise, if we undertake the ministry, we shall be unhappy in it, shall be unable to bear the self-denials in it, and shall be of little service to those among whom we serve." Charles definitely gives a good word to us here. We should identify with Paul who said "woe to me if I do not preach the gospel."(1 Cor. 9:16, NIV) If we don't we will quickly lose sight of why God called us to join him in his work. We won't be able to say no to our own desires so that we can say yes to what God wants.
- Reflect on "The Big Idea.""Effective ministry requires that a pastor be thoroughly converted and that he or she be living out a vital faith at home." How could anyone argue with that? It would be like a salesperson peddling a product they don't believe makes a difference in the life of the customer; except that we don't have anything to sell. We're simply sharing God's offer of love and redemption to any who would receive it. That faith, that conviction should bear itself out in our homes first; then let that spill over into ministering to others. How in the world could I tell someone else that Jesus can help/change them unless I've experienced that for myself?
- Reflect on "The Big Idea.""Effective ministry requires that a pastor be thoroughly converted and that he or she be living out a vital faith at home." How could anyone argue with that? It would be like a salesperson peddling a product they don't believe makes a difference in the life of the customer; except that we don't have anything to sell. We're simply sharing God's offer of love and redemption to any who would receive it. That faith, that conviction should bear itself out in our homes first; then let that spill over into ministering to others. How in the world could I tell someone else that Jesus can help/change them unless I've experienced that for myself?
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
administration
so I'm supposed to "journal" about what I think when I hear the word "administration". First thought is a newly coined word (also most overused and most annoying) meh. This little collection of letters is supposed to convey some form of displeasure mixed with a sense of apathy. That pretty much sums it up for me. I don't like having to organize things or do paperwork, but I definitely enjoy the benefits of putting the time into administration. It's easy for me to look back and tell that things got better for me when I begin to invest some time in a ministry or activity on the front end.
Monday, May 11, 2009
something you should do
If you have kids, and videos of those kids, you should without a doubt make some kind of video with them. They will love it. I made one for my wife for mother's day, and my kids have watched it fifteen times already. It's so much fun to watch them watching themselves. If you're my facebook friend, I posted the video yesterday. Check it out.
Monday, April 13, 2009
unsatisfied
Monday. Again. Not my typical Monday. Took the day off after staff meeting because I won't be able to take a regular day off this week due to TNT. Anyway, after getting home from my mom's house (have I mentioned we love living in TN?) we settled into the normal routine. I watch Heroes, Kristy gets on facebook) then we continue to mindlessly watch TV until bedtime. Recently I've just been getting tired of it. Nobody appreciates/operates well within a structured routine like me, but there are some things I just refuse to do. So tonight, we turned off the TV, put the laptop down and prayed together. We talked and even got a couple things done around the house. I hope this becomes a new trend. I mean seriously, I've seen EVERY episode of Seinfeld possible. Time for some more meaningful disciplines.
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