Satellite sermons or Discipling pastors?

I recently visited a church that uses the satellite church model. They provide live worship and then stream in the sermon from their mother church. My overall take was pretty positive. The atmosphere was very friendly and the worship was great. The video sermon was beneficial and spiritually practical. Even though it was all good, I couldn't help but wonder why we are seeing this method spread across our country. Is this method growing because it's a great model or because we are not grooming new pastors/preachers?
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not opposed to this model. I'm simply wondering if this model was birthed out of necessity. Technology, which I lovingly embrace, has opened up many more ways to do "church" this method is just a foretaste of things to come. Live streaming has been made extremely accessible. If you own a camera, computer, and have Internet access you can stream services. Sounds easy and fun doesn't it? You know what is not so easy and sometimes a burden? Raising up a new pastor. Perhaps we should be discipling a new crop of pastors while or even instead of creating satellite churches. If no pastor can be raised then perhaps a streaming services is the way to go. But, most people would agree, a live pastor is much more beneficial to a community than a "streamed"pastor.


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Chain of Authority

Like many young men, during my teen and young adult years, I had a difficult time with authority. I constantly challenged and ignored the authority placed over my life. It's been a tough road, but over the years good leaders have shown me a healthy perception of the "Chain of Authority." I am thankful for these men and women for their generosity as they looked past my ignorance and saw a young man that just needed some good spiritual guidance.

There are two ways to view the "Chain" of authority. Both determine your successes and failures of life, family, and ministry.

View #1
The "Chain of Authority" ties me to a weight that will not let me do what I want to do.
This is how many up and coming leaders view authority. They are passionate and desire to make a difference. As the old proverb says, "passion without wisdom is a disaster in the making.". God places authority over our lives to lead us to wisdom. Sometimes that authority isn't pleasant, but it's always there for a purpose. When we get out of that authority without learning our lesson we get ahead of God and pass up some valuable lessons.

View #2
The "Chain of Authority" ties me to an anchor of wisdom.
When you are going through a storm your "self" can lie to you. Our passion can alter our vision and cause us to make serious mistakes. Its that "Chain" of authority that keeps us stable minded and open to wisdom beyond our own capability. That voice that comes from our own knowledge and understanding pales in comparison to the voice of experience and spiritual knowledge.

Choose to be anchored and seek wisdom!

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Do you really want to reduce Abortions?

I came across some amazing statistics regarding one of the hottest buttons in politics and religion – Abortion. 

We, as followers of Christ, will have the tendency to dismiss the following information and focus our attention on the government and lawmakers for legalizing the act of abortion.  When in reality, it’s our lack of cross-generational discipleship that is adding to and perhaps fueling this horrific reality. 

Women identifying themselves as Protestants obtain 37.4% of all abortions in the U.S.; Catholic women account for 31.3%, Jewish women account for 1.3%, and women with no religious affiliation obtain 23.7% of all abortions. 18% of all abortions are performed on women who identify themselves as "Born-again/Evangelical".

© Copyright 1998, The Alan Guttmacher Institute. (www.agi-usa.org)

These statistics suggest that women who are walking into abortion clinics have done so after they have walked out of our Churches.  Our own daughters and grand daughters, those that have been exposed to church and Christianity, are accounting for 55.4% of all abortions!  Our natural response to this information will be to dismiss the fact that these women are professing to be protestant or evangelical, but we can’t afford to dismiss what seems to be the truth.  After reading this information I was forced to ask myself, as a pastor, “WHY, why are our own daughters doing what we so vehemently stand against?” After some serious prayer and honest self assessment of my ministry I have come to face these facts of which may answer the question, “Why?”

1.    We are quicker to say NO than why not.

2.    We are quicker to judge than to help.

3.    When we are vehemently preaching/teaching about the wrongs of premarital sex we don’t consider whether or not there is a women in our pews that may be pregnant.

4.    The fear of being persecuted by the church for carrying a baby out of wedlock steers women into a socially acceptable solution.

5.    Our lack of compassion for those that feel they need to have an abortion pushes them towards that very act.

6.    We are always ready to talk seldom ready to listen.

Whatever the reasons, we are failing to communicate compassion and a willingness to help those that are struggling with responsibility of raising a child.  Changing the laws or winning the war on abortion does not change the fact that over 50% of abortions are attributed to our constituency.  Let’s wake up and start discipling those in our pews and classrooms.  Let’s start encouraging and providing avenues for discipleship in the home.  Let’s make a change in our Churches, homes, and families which will create change in our Country.

Measurement of Effective Church Discipleship

During a recent conversation, the question was raised, “How we can accurately measure effective discipleship in the local church?”  A complex question indeed, but I feel that a measurement tool can be created and be relatively accurate.  The ultimate ruler is the example that Christ gave to us as He discipled ordinary people into true heroes of the faith.  Those disciples then replicated the model as the first century church changed the face of the world forever.  In order to truly measure contemporary discipleship, we have to study the model Christ taught the early church.  They did not strive to find success in programs or events.  They found success in relationships as they strategically trained, educated, equipped, and empowered.  They organized according to the needs within their community and worked to fulfill those needs as they continually led people to salvation and a life long journey with Christ. 

The following is a progressive list of what I look for in my own ministry, and the ministry of others, while evaluating discipleship efforts.  This list can be accomplished and found in a church of 30 or 3000 if it is indeed effectively discipling. 

A pastor/church that is effectively discipling should reflect the following in progression:

1.     The pastor is gaining trust as he develops relationships with his board and ministry leaders.

2.     The pastor decreases his daily responsibilities in routine church ministries as he delegates and trains his leaders.  This is to say he is able to concentrate more on the big picture as he equips others to focus on the details.

3.     The church body becomes more involved in personal outreach efforts.  Guests are now attending via personal invitations as well as random decisions to attend a service. 

4.     The number of salvations and assimilations are increasing yearly. 

5.     The church is now growing through new converts and not only through transitional growth.

6.     The pastor is recognizing leadership qualities within his church and is purposefully and personally active in developing those leaders.

7.     New leaders are being placed within the church as new ministries are being birthed or revitalized.

8.     New ministry efforts are being put into place as members are being trained and empowered.  Leaders are envisioning, developing, and running new ministries within the church.

9.     Members are accepting the call to ministry as well as embarking into fulltime ministry.

10. The pastor has a proven track record of reproducing three categories. 

a.     New converts are being assimilated into the congregation.

b.     New leaders are being trained for ministry.

c.      New ministers are being sent into the ministry.

I hope this causes us to think about our own ministries as well as encourages us to assist others in discipleship. 

Do You Really Understand Discipleship?

You can teach and preach on the topic of Discipleship, but unless you are producing new ministers than you can not possibly understand Discipleship. 
The word "Discipleship" has become a huge buzzword in church ministries this past decade.  People are trying to brand or trademark Discipleship as if they came up with the concept.  Unfortunately, our churches have so neglected Discipleship that it seems as if it really is a new concept.  Truthfully, Discipleship is nothing more than passionately pursuing Christ while passionately leading people to Christ.  The method you choose to Disciple can vary from small group ministries to having an open door policy at the church office.  The measure of whether your efforts are effective or not is the production of new ministers.  I'm not talking about new ministry leaders within your church.  That is not an effective measurement.  Convincing someone to volunteer in a class is not Discipleship.  I am talking about producing ministers that create new ministries within your church or branch off your church and start new ministries people that answer the call to become pastors, evangelists, worship pastors, and missionaries.  These are the people have truly been discipled.  Ask yourself this question - If you are truly being disicpled how could you not answer the call to ministry?  The rote response to this question is - Aren't we all called to ministry?  The answer to that is an absolute yes.  However, if Christ is our most precious example of Discipleship than why do we water down the fact that all His disciples were called into full time ministry?  Are we kidding ourselves when we say we are Discipling when we are not producing ministers?

Will power should not be the focus of a Fast.

It's January which means new years resolutions and fasting. Fasting at the beginning of the year as a congregation is becoming and has been a major part of the church life. If we are going to fast, let's try to make it the best experience possible. To do so, we must realize that "will power" has less to do with fasting than one would think. If we approach a fast with will power as the focal point we are relying on our own strength. Fasting is not about us, it's about focusing on God. Many fail to complete their fast because their will power runs dry and they have nothing else to rely upon. Their focus was on how long they could last without and not on how they could draw closer to God. If we approach fasting as a sacrifice to God we are making Him the focal point. After all, fasting is all about removing distractions so that we can hear some direction from God. Use your hunger and cravings for what you are fasting as reminders to pray and listen. Draw strength from God and you'll have a great experience as you fast in the New Year. Be blessed in 2011.


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Respect or Agree?

Awhile ago it seemed I lost the respect of one of my church couples. The situation caused them to leave the church and they have yet to return. During their departure they made sure to tell everyone who would listen they did not approve of my ministry style or my decisions. The whole scene caught me completely off guard. Up until this point they were faithfully attending the services and special events. They seemed to enjoy the church and my leadership. Everything was great until I made a decision of which they did not agree. After much thought and self inflicted anguish, I realized they never really respected or liked me, they simply liked the decisions I had been making. Once I veered from their approval, they made it very clear our relationship was superficial at best. So, was their disappointment aimed at me or my decision? After a few days of thought I came to the knowledge that yes, they were disappointed in me, but only because I was not what they wanted in a leader. They were looking for someone that would behave as they would and lead as they would. I, was clearly not that person.
It was a hard lesson, but I'm glad I learned it early on in ministry. Everyone will love you as long as you make the decisions they would. Your faithful and true supporters give you respect because they trust you to make the decisions that are healthy and wise. You can tell you have earned their respect when they support you after you have made a decision they do not agree with. That respect only comes with time and a proven track record. Until your track record deserves respect lead with open communication. This will help others see your approach to important decisions.
When building your leadership team, remember it is better to work with people that respect you rather than just agree with you.