Where Are You?

 "Where Are       You?"

I'm not even looking for a person, per se. My question is, where are the opportunities that God places in your path? Let's look at a few. 

1. Your Server. This one gets mentioned a  lot and is pretty obvious. I've never had a server turn me down when asked, "How can I pray for you?" Make a note in your phone and next time you go to that restaurant, ask for her / him by name and remind them that you have been praying for ______. They appreciate it. 
   
   
2. Your Neighbor. How many times do you see them in the yard, at the mailbox, even inside their home or yours? Do you know if they are saved? Where or do they go to church? Do they have prayer concerns? You don't know if you don't ask. 
   
   
3. Your Co-Workers. I realize that you have a job to do and some jobs are not easy to make conversation, but small talk happens. Lunch. Breaks. Walking in and out. What do you talk about? Talk about church. Talk about your faith. 
   
   
4. Your Fellow Shoppers in the checkout line. This one makes people the most uncomfortable. Deep theology is not the point, but talking about faith or church can happen easier than you think. They say, "The weather is getting nasty." Your response, "I've been through some storms but God has always been there with me." 

I'm sure we could keep going with opportunities. The point is, we need to be LOOKING for the opportunity that God has placed in your path, your life. I have heard people say that God has no surprises. Of course He doesn't! He made the day and everything in it. He can do whatever He pleases with a spoken word (creation), but He chooses to use us in His work that we might share in the blessing. 

Join Him on a journey called life; and see how He will use you for His Glory!

1 Peter 1:7 These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 

What Can I Do?

What can I do to help the church I attend to grow numerically as well as spiritually?

 In a perfect world, every church member should ask themselves that question every day. Obviously, we do not live in a perfect world, however I do believe we should pose the thought to ourselves. 

So, here we go...As an individual church member, what can I do to make a positive impact for the Kingdom as I am a part of a local church? 

I.   Pray for God to purify your heart. Come before a Holy God and ask Him to equip you and prepare you for this task. 

II.  Pray for your church staff. That they may provide wise counsel in teaching and preaching as well as proper resources. 

III  Pray for God to place people in your path to share His love with. Be attentive to those "Coincidences" that God orchestrates for you to be at the right place at the right time. 

IV. Pray for God to give you discernment as to how to share His love. We are all different and one approach does not fit all. However, YOU do not save people. You expose people. 

V.  Pray for your efforts to be overshadowed by God's glory. If you seek recognition for your evangelical efforts, question your motivation. It's not about you. It's about Him.

When asked if he would rather produce more Christians or better Christians, the seasoned pastor replied, "That's easy. If we produce better Christians, they will produce more Christians."

Church Growth starts with individuals. If the people in the church aren't growing spiritually, it is going to be hard for them to include others in the journey. 

So, I pray that you are on a journey with God. I also pray that you are burdened to have others on the journey with you. I pray that you will be bold in sharing His love with those you meet. 

Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV)
¹⁹  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

One Bite at a Time

As the old saying goes...

"How do you eat an elephant?  

One bite at a time."

This saying can apply to a lot of situations, but today I want to apply it to church growth. OK, that may be the one area that this saying has not been applied. Where I am going with this is, one person, one staff member, can't be responsible to "GROW A CHURCH". Some would like to let the pastor or staff have all of that responsibility. That is not feasible, nor biblical. So, how do you grow a church? You enlist everybody to take a bite! Yep. Everybody. Trust me. That excuse you have in your head right now...I've heard it. That justification that you are toying with as to why YOU should not be   involved in church growth...Hogwash! I plan to have a series of posts that address different ways t be a part of church growth. Are you gonna check back and see what they are, or are you gonna dismiss them like the other nudges God has put in your path?God wants all of us to be a part of growing His Kingdom! What? you said grow a church! Now you're talking about God's Kingdom. It should be the same emphasis. I will definitely step on some toes, but hopefully not yours. For now, Happy Thanksgiving!I'll check back in Monday. 

WELCOME?

 

It amazes me how many articles and books are written about how to make church guest feel welcome. Almost everyday I am reading about how churches, or better yet church members, are not making their guest feel welcome. Scripture teaches us to love our neighbor. For that matter, Scripture teaches us to love our enemy. 

Why is so hard to love a church guest? 

Here are a few common denominators. 

1. I am comfortable, so they must be. We are creatures of habit. We know where everything is; How to get there; Who teaches what class, etc. However, our guest do not. They don't even know where the bathroom is! 

2. They don't look like they fit in. REALLY?! How do you know what this person is like? They may be a great   person.They may be your next best friend. If someone doesn't engage this guest, you can bet they won't fit in...'cause they won't be back. 

3. The Holy - Huddle Syndrome. I admit, I borrowed this term from Thom Rainer. Thanks Thom! You can picture this. We are so engaged in our "Inner Circle" that we don't notice, much less engage the visitor standing right next to us.

4. I'm not a greeter. / It's not my job. I hate to break it to you, but we're all greeters, or we should be. Newcomers MUST be treated special. If you don't have new faces coming to church, how do you grow? You don't. So meet and greet every new face as if your church's life depended on it. 

So... You get the idea? Churches across this nation and around the world can start greeting with a new passion, or see their congregation dwindle. I believe that there is a place for the official greeter at the door. But, we all need to be a greeter. In the hall, in our classes, in our break time...Research, polls and study's have all found the most common answer to the question, "Why did you not go back to that church?" The answer to that question is ...

Drum Roll Please!!

"They weren't friendly." 

With that being said, meet that guest with a smile and make them feel special. 

John 15:12 

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 

 

Where's My Bike?

WOW! I have been away for a long time. 
Well, I won't bore with all the whys, but it is good to be back in a position to write again. 

I saw this picture and was reminded that even when you stand still, life goes on around you. I also was reminded that if we choose to do nothing; after a while, we become useless. At best you become an example for someone else to use of what NOT to do. 

Someone knew that the bike was a fun mode of transportation at one time. However it was neglected and left to be overtaken by another life form. So, where am I going with this? Well, I am glad you asked!

If we never use our God given talents, or acknowledge His guidance in our life, we become stagnant or indifferent. God has blessed each of us with abilities to benefit ourselves as well as others. I really believe that. We are all given unique gifts according to Scripture. 

Ephesians 4:10-12  ¹⁰  He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe. ¹¹  It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, ¹²  to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 

With that being said, no where in God's Word will you find it said that some of us get a pass on sharing the love of Christ with our fellowman. We are commanded to tell other about the Good News. 

Matthew 28:18-20  ¹⁸  Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

So, Jesus, the Son of God tells us to GO and MAKE disciples. That means tell others about how good God is and what He has done in your life and how Jesus is the only way to spend eternity in heaven with the Almighty God, Creator of the Universe. 

What if we choose to be complacent in life? What if we choose to sit back and wait for someone else to tell our neighbor about Jesus? What if we don't tell our children or grandchildren about Jesus?

Then...SATAN wins that battle. No doubt, God wins the war, but spiritual warfare is rampant and the way we wage war on Satan is to pray and tell others about the wonderful, saving grace of Jesus.

Be careful to not confuse church membership or church attendance or quoting a prayer as being the same as have a life changing relationship with God's Son, Jesus.  

Don't be complacent and let the rust accumulate and the tree choke the life out of you. Be alive! Appreciate the life you have. Appreciate the eternal life you have if you in fact have a relationship with Christ. 

James 1:22   Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you are to be about growing the Kingdom. 

GET UP!!