Moneyball for Churches

This blog post is neither about Money nor Baseball!

Rethinking Church Planting

Excerpt:

There are scores of white collar, middle and upper income, educated, successful professionals in our churches who have untapped capacity in terms of their time and energy. These guys can be motivated and equipped to plant churches.

Comment: Moneyball  is fundamentally about player evaluation and winning with the most cost-efficient use of talent. The book was made into a movie starring Brad Pitt. What this has to do with church:

• Every Christian has a set of spiritual gifts sovereignly granted by the Holy Spirit
• Every Christian additionally has talents, abilities and life experiences
• Wise church leadership will strategically utilize those whom God has lead to that local church
• To not tap that talent is ... well foolish and a waste.

Image source. 

When to RUN

• If your pastor thinks the Olivet Discourse is a popular chain of Italian restaurants…RUN
  
  
• If your pastor thinks that transubstantiation has something to do with the New York City Subway System…RUN
  
  
• If your pastor thinks that John Calvin is a famous fashion designer known for his skinny jeans…RUN
  
  
• If your Pastor thinks the Canon of Dort was used by the Royal Navy during the reign of Queen Victoria…RUN
  
  
• If your pastor thinks that the Fruit of Spirit is referring to a popular brand of men's briefs…RUN
  
  
• If your pastor can name every starting player for his favorite sports team but can only name 3 of Jesus' disciples…RUN!
  
  
• If your pastor thinks that Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were the original members of the New Kids on the Block…RUN!
  
  
• If your pastor thinks the Augsburg Confession is when the Spanish Inquisition succeeded in getting Martin Luther to confess to being a Heretic...RUN
  
  
• If your pastor thinks that catechism is a disease of a popular house pet…RUN
  
  
• If you ask your pastor about Jude and he says, "Oh yeah, I LOVE that Beatles song!"…RUN
  
  
• If you ask your pastor about the meaning of a particular Greek word used in the New Testament and responds by shrugging his shoulders and saying "It’s all Greek to me"…RUN!
  
  
• If your pastor can't draw an Aleph, Bet or Gimmel and thinks that Hebrew has something to do with making coffee…RUN!
  
  
• If your pastor ever explains that he needs you to tithe so that he can purchase fuel for his private jet….RUN if you can still afford too.
  
  
• If your pastor and her husband recommend that you stand in front of a mirror and declare how wonderful you are…I think you get the picture.
  
  

Comment: A friend posted this on Facebook! I improved upon the catechism which was originally: "is when a child goes to the doctor to get his immunization booster shots". Friend called this "Here are some thoughts from Chris Rosebrough"

Is the church more about culture than doctrine?

This is a followup to my previous post: What is Culture? And when I say church I am speaking of the kind of church I am in. One that would be called a fundamentalist Baptist Church. Here's my concern and perhaps I am way off but ...

• I know a seminarian who told me he aspires to be a fundamentalist pastor.
• I believe in the fundamentals of the faith and as one can see from my doctrinal statement that I could easily be called a fundamentalist.
• When I was in seminary school I aspired to be a Baptist pastor.
• What I believe I am seeing in church is that we are more about culture than about a doctrinal position.
• Examples ... discussions at fellowships:
  • What Christian Day school did one attend?
  • What Bible College did one attend? "I went to Pillsbury ... or Northland"
• About the culture of fundamentalism: It seems to revolve around the so-called traditional fundamentalist taboos: Movies, dancing, drinking, cards, et cetera. "behaviors that are expected, rewarded and reinforced by and within a particular group.”
• I sense that our churches have become cultural centers (perhaps I should say "sub-cultural" centers instead of bastions of doctrinal truth. And the church is to be "the pillar and ground of the truth" (1 Timothy 3:15).
• We gather, I fear, wearing the clothing of the fundamentalist club instead of to worship "in spirit and truth" (John 4:24)

Comment: I appreciate your comments. Help me figure this out! What I see as expected:

• Sending one's child to the church's Christian Day School
• A young person enrolling in the approved Bible college
• Being "called to ministry" (want to be rewarded .... express being called!)
• A woman not being a professional.

Churches teaching financial literacy

Churches seek to offer more firm footing

Excerpt:

He wasn't the only churchgoer who has been hearing messages about the economy lately. With the financial world in free fall, increasing numbers of people are turning to their faith communities for moral and practical support.

Granted, the latter sometimes seems a bit ironic to the clergy. The Rev. Dave Sheldon of St. David's Episcopal Church in Minnetonka was in a meeting with five other people when they asked if the church could start offering financial advice.

"And I'm thinking, 'What's the deal?'" he said. "I'm the minister in the group. I make less than all of them."

Nonetheless, the churches are scrambling to offer help. Centennial United Methodist Church in Roseville has launched a financial management class taught by an economics teacher who is part of the congregation. With more resources available, Living Word Christian Center in Brooklyn Park has brought in professional advisers to start their Financial University.

Comment: The church, in my mind, should teach financial literacy (because the Scriptures have so much to say about finances!)

1 Corinthians 17: Concerning Announcements

Concerning Announcements


Comment: Read down for church bulletin bloopers.

Favorite blooper:

Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.

Comment: My preference would be - no announcements read during the worship service. I can read!

HT: Emeth Aletheia

Super Bowl at Church?

Super Bowl shouldn't be viewed on super screens

Comment: I believe in a separation of Church and State Football!

Tiff taught me that

Slain Colo. missionary mourned in Minn

Excerpts:

"She always told me, 'Dad, you think you can control things, but you can't. The Lord controls things,'" her father, Tom Johnson, told mourners. "I'd like to ask all of you to—instead of saying 'I love you' on the telephone to your children—to look them in the eye and say 'I love you'—because Tiff taught me that."


Johnson was born in nearby Hibbing and graduated from Hibbing High School and Normandale Community College in Bloomington, near Minneapolis.


One of Johnson's goals had been to help needy children in developing countries. John Mark, a missionary leader at Cedar Valley Church in Bloomington, called her a "beautiful and extraordinary lady."


"She was the type of person who would do anything you asked her to do," Mark said. "If you don't have love for Tiffany, something is wrong with your heart."


The Rev. Dave Oler of First Assembly of God Church in Hibbing officiated at the funeral.


"Jesus took Tiffany's life and blessed it and transformed it, and spread it out to the entire world," said Oler. "This world needs more Tiffany Johnsons—more people that would let God love them."


Comment: My thoughts and prayers are with the families touched by the church shootings in Colorado. Not mentioned in this article: The Work family lost 2 young daughters in the Colorado Springs' killings.

More from the Star Tribune: Praise for Chisholm woman killed by gunman in Colorado

Grandmother, Betty Holmquist of Little Canada, said Johnson gave her life to Jesus at an evangelistic event at the Target Center. “It was powerful,” she said. “They weren’t cheering for the Timberwolves, they were cheering for Jesus. We were sitting in the balcony, and when they were done speaking, we asked her if she wanted to go down to the floor. She said, 'I’ll go with you if you go with me.’ ”

Cool heroism

Vietnam vet among Springs wounded

Excerpts:

A Vietnam veteran is among the survivors, hit by gunfire at the New Life Church in Colorado Springs. Larry Bourbannais, 59, was eating a hamburger in the cafeteria on the church campus when he heard gunfire, said his daughter, Sherry Smith. Bourbannais headed in the direction of the shots as frightened people ran past him looking to escape to safety. "Where's the shooter, where's the shooter," my dad kept yelling, Smith said.

....

Bourbannais came upon the gunman near an entry way in a building and yelled at him to draw his attention, Smith said. That's when the shooter pointed a handgun at Bourbannais and fired, she said. Bourbannais had ducked behind a hollow, decorative pillar and was hit in the arm by the bullet and fragments of the pillar.

At about that moment, a woman with a drawn handgun turned a corner and walked toward the gunman and yelled "Surrender," Smith said. When the gunman pointed his weapon at the woman, she fired at him and kept walking toward him as she continued firing, Smith said.

"My dad said it was the bravest thing he had ever seen," Smith said.

The woman fired off about 10 to 12 shots as she kept walking toward the shooter.

Comment: The Pastor of New Life Church claims that this heroism "probably saved over 100 lives"!

Updated with more below:

Guard's hands "didn't even shake" as she shot gunman

Excerpts:


The guard who saved untold lives at New Life Church gives credit to God for giving her cover, and boosting her firepower as she shot a heavily-armed gunman.

"I give credit to God. I say that very humbly," said Jeanne Assam. "God was with me, the whole time I was behind cover. Based on the firepower he had, compared to mine."

"It seemed like it was me, the gunman and God," Assam said.
....
"I heard shots fired, there was chaos," she said. "There was a lot of people in the church. People were running away from shots fired.

"I saw him coming through the doors, and I took cover, and I waited for him to get closer...I identified myself, engaged him, and took him down."

She spoke unemotionally, but the first words she said were in tribute to the victims.

"I just want you to know it's an honor to be here and I want to extend my sympathy to the families of the victims and of the gunman. And I mean that very sincerely," she said.

"I just prayed for the Holy Spirit to guide me my hands weren't even shaking."

Comment: The shooter had multiple weapons and 1,000 rounds of ammunition: Details on the shooter

How the substitute became the regular organist

The minister was preoccupied with thoughts of how he was going to ask the congregation to come up with more money than they were expecting for repairs to the church building. Therefore, he was annoyed to find that the regular organist was sick and a substitute had been brought in at the last minute. The substitute wanted to know what to play. "Here's a copy of the service," he said impatiently. "But you'll have to think of something to play after I make the announcement abut the finances."

During the service, the minister paused and said, "Brothers and Sisters, we are in great difficulty: the roof repairs cost twice as much as we expected, and we need $4000 more. Any of you who can pledge $100 or more, please stand up."

At that moment, the substitute organist played, "The Star Spangled Banner." And that is how the substitute became the regular organist.

From my Sister-in-law, Kathy

Ryan Martin: The church is called the glory of Christ

The church is called the glory of Christ

Excerpt:

I wonder how many of the problems in the churches in evangelical America stem from an inadequate understanding of the church’s importance in God’s great work of redemption. She is the prized jewel, the chief institution in this dispensation, by which God is working in the world for the salvation of the elect. No other institution rivals her–not government, not para-church organizations, not even the family.

Comment: An excellent read.

Pastor appreciation

Appreciate Your Pastors This Month

Excerpt:

Congregations across the country are encouraged to honor their pastors in celebration of Clergy Appreciation Month.

Every year, October is set aside to show gratitude for the hard work, sacrificial dedication and blessings provided year round by ministers and pastors.

"As a pastor myself for over three decades, I know firsthand both how difficult and how rewarding it can be to serve a congregation," said H.B. London, vice president of church and clergy ministries at Focus on the Family. "I've discovered that one of the most important things a pastor needs is encouragement and affirmation from his congregation."

Pastors and their families live under constant pressure especially as their congregation watch their every move and expect them to be close-to-perfect people. Clergy are expected to always be available, on call 24/7 with all the answers and never down.

"Those are unrealistic expectations to place on anyone, yet most of us are disappointed when a pastor becomes overwhelmed, seems depressed, lets us down or completely burns out," according to The Parsonage, the pastoral ministries of Focus on the Family.

Clergy Appreciation Month calls congregants to recognize their pastors – leaders who have been entrusted to tend to the spiritual well-being of believers.


Comments:

1. Having been there (I pastored for 16 years), I know how hard the Pastorate is! And sadly how little positive feedback one receives!
   
2. The best way to appreiciate a Pastor is to:
   
   
   
   1. Support the ministry by faithful attendance and service
      
   2. Daily prayer for your Pastor(s)
      
   3. Really listening to the message with an eye on personal application
      
   4. A kind word and warm greeting
      
   
   
3. It doesn't hurt to do something special for your Pastor as well. More below.
   

When I was a Pastor at Haddon Heights Baptist, a business man in the church gave each Pastor a turkey at Thanksgiving and a ham at Christmas. This really ministered to Kathee and me!

Ryan Martin on Corporate Worship (# 2)

The church assembles for worship, part 2

Excerpt (Be sure to read the entire article!):

As I said, the application of the phrase “house of God” to the church means that the church is the “new temple,” the place for public worship. I believe this becomes even more explicit in the clear New Testament teaching that gathered believers are together a “new temple” in this era of God’s work.

This is most clearly taught in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17.

"Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple."

The teaching that the assembled church is the temple of God should not be confused with the teaching in 1 Cor 6:19 that our individual bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. This is an important separate teaching with the implication that we should live holy lives lest we make the Holy Spirit a partaker of sin. The teaching that the church also is the “new temple” has the implications that the church must be holy and that God dwells in the midst of assembled believers. Because the Spirit of God dwells in the midst of assembled believers, that group of assembled believers is holy. The church is owned by God, completely devoted to him and his worship


Comments:

1. Previous post: Part 1: "The House of God"
   
2. Note the important distinction between Temple in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (corporate) and 1 Cor 6:19 (individual)
   

Thanks Ryan. These are ministering to me!

Sunday at Fourth Baptist

This morning Pastor Levy preached from 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16 on the need to worthy of being imitated and the privilege of suffering for Christ.

Tonight was Dr Hauser's last message at Fourth. They are moving to Louisville KY in a week. His text was Acts 20:27-32 with a message of warning of false teachings in the church.

We had a relatively busy weekend as we entertained both yesterday morning and then dinner today.

Back to work tomorrow

Ryan Martin on corporate worship

The church assembles for worship, part 1

Excerpt:

For millennia, the church understood the purpose of its gathering to be for worship. Today some scholars argue that “Christians worship everywhere,” that there “was no chapter and verse” (so to speak) that indicated that the early church thought of its assembly as a time for worship.

This should be a warning to us on the dangers of exegesis. Sometimes we want the Scriptures to affirm certain theological themes that are true in a way that satisfies our own strict requirements, but failing to allow the Scriptures to affirm those themes in its way.

I believe that there are several passages in the New Testament that point to the assembly as worship. Here I want to highlight a few of them off and on over the next few days.

The first is the phrase “house of God.” While this phrase undoubtedly meant to give the church the nuance of the meaning of the Graeco-Roman household, I do not believe that it can be so easily divorced from its Old Testament referent, traces of which we see in the Gospels.

In 1 Timothy 3:15, Paul says that he wants Timothy to know how to behave in the “household of God,” clearly equating this phrase with the church, as we see in the following phrase, “the church of the living God.”


Comment: I only excerpted a small portion of his article. Read the whole! Thanks Ryan!

Sunday at Fourth

Evangelist Charles Kempf was the morning speaker. Pastor Levy said that many Evangelists preach "skyscraper" messages: "story upon story". This certainly was not the case with Dr. Kempf. It was excellent Bible exposition!

His message was from Philippians 3:12-14:

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Kathee made fajitas for lunch. Rachel joined us for Church.

Kathee working. I am ready to watch The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) on channel 66.

We will be going back to church tonight for worship & communion. We expect Roger back from reserves later tonight.

Boy River ministry

The picture is of Alto Methodist in Alto Michigan. My brother dug this up and sent it to me. My Aunt Eleanor and Uncle Jim lived across the street from this church. This is where my Mom and Dad were married in 1942.

---

Kathee and I spent the weekend up North:

1. We stayed two nights at the Longville Inn
   
2. I preached twice this morning. At the Log Church in Boy River, MN at 9:00 a.m. and then at the Faith Fellowship church at 10:30. Our friends Dennis and Kathy Gonczy minister there (Dennis is the Pastor of both churches). They are vacationing and I was the visiting preacher.
   
3. Kathee and I went to the Itasca State Park on Friday. The source of the Mississippi river is here:
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. On Saturday we visited Bemidji Minnesota and the Bemidji Woolen Mills there.
   
5. Our drive home after church was over 5 hours! (about 170 miles but traffic was terrible!). Kathee drove all the way.
   
   
   
   
   

Another surrender to culture!

Simpsons to Teach Theology, Boost Attendance

Excerpt:

The Church of England is getting help from the Simpsons to provide a more relevant way of teaching children about theology and to give a boost to dwindling congregations.

Comment: Try preaching the gospel!

Unusual messages on Church signs

The Signs of the Times

Comment: This was my favorite. Follow link for 7 more.

---

Happenings:

1. Roger (at USMC AT (Annual Training) at Fort McCoy WI, called me at 3. He had been "in the field" all week working from 4 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. They have today and tomorrow off. Next week he said he would be at Volt Field just a little East of Fort McCoy.
   
2. I mowed today. One of our trees has a dead limb and I called Sheldon (my Deacon @ church who happens to be a tree surgeon) who will remove it this week.
   
3. Worship tomorrow at 4th. Pastor Levy preaching in the AM. Sheldon in the evening.
   
4. Kathee and I continue in II Samuel
   

Church Gossip

Myrtle, the church gossip, and self-appointed monitor of the church's morals, kept sticking her nose into other people's business.

Several members did not approve of her extra curricular activities, but feared her enough to maintain their silence.

She made a mistake, however, when she accused George, a new member, of being an alcoholic after she saw his old pickup parked in front of the town's only bar one afternoon. She emphatically told George (and several others) that everyone seeing it there would know what he was doing.

George, a man of few words, stared at her for a moment and just turned and walked away. He didn't explain, defend, or deny. He said nothing.

Later that evening, George quietly parked his pickup truck in front of Myrtle's house...walked home...and left it there all night.

Comment: From one of Kathee's coworkers. Image from http://www.nicktarr.com

Pics: Northwoods Bible Church fire

approaching North: Lord, You Are Our Dwelling Place

Paul Fuller reports!
(comment ... photos from Paul Fuller's blog. Thanks Paul)

If so prompted by the Lord, I recommend that funds be sent:

Northwoods Bible Church
2119 Highway 217
Ray MN 56669

Fire destroys Ray church building