Thinking About New Churches

TEXAS TRIP

2011-12-06T13:17:00.005-06:00

McKinney, Texas

This is a growing city north of Dallas that Sandy and I visited recently. The Wright family has moved there to start a new church.

Here is Randall and Collette with Joshua, Rebekah, and Leah on their pet cow.

This is their house.

This is the Wrights in the lobby of their church.

Just kidding on all three of the pictures above.
The cow is one of the sculptures in Dallas of a herd of cows.
The house is where they filmed some of the tv show Dallas.
The church lobby is in a local megachurch. Maybe someday...

But for now... they meet on Sunday mornings in a local school.

Here is the room before church started.

Technology is great when it works. It wasn't working that day. Randall and Josh are trying to figure it out.

Randall did a good job preaching that day.
You could tell he enjoys preaching.

He also enjoys relaxing at home watching an Alabama football game.

We had a great time with the whole family. Randall and the folks there have a great opportunily as McKinney continues to boom. (They have more restaurants than anyplace I've ever been) Looking forward to good things happening in the new church there!

Amarillo, Texas

It was a short flight from Dallas to Amarillo to visit Jeff and Sondra Cates in Canyon.

Here is a picture of them from another visit we made. They are standing in front of Palo Duro Canyon (second largest in the US). Hence the name Canyon.

Here is the church building - only about a year old.

This is the inside of the church looking toward the front. How many churches do you know of that have a saddle on the wall?

This is the baptistry located in the closet. Yes, it does look like a horse watering trough.

They have a shed on the property that is the official Man Cave. No women allowed.

Every Monday night, the men get together in the Man Cave and cook supper. We had ribeye steaks the night I was there. Good stuff!

Here are the 17 guys from that night. Great bunch of nice guys!

We enjoyed seeing Jeff and Sondra. Jeff is a man's man, but also is a thinker. The Cates are doing a great job building a church in Canyon!

Mid-Atlantic Trip

2011-10-27T08:23:00.008-05:00

October is a great time to visit the mid-atlantic part of our country. The weather is nice and the leaves are beautiful. Sandy and I recently drove through this area visiting church planters. Living out of a suitcase isn't always glamorous, but it is great seeing friends.

Our first stop was Glenville, West Virginia to see Kenneth and Shirley Cooper. Of course, we went out to eat together. Their daughter, Molly, went with us.

The Coopers have been busy fixing up their church building and showed us the renovations. We got a picture of them in a SS room.

They own a farm with some horses. It is beautiful country there!

We drove on up to Greensburg, Pennsylvania (near Pittsburgh) to see Tom and Pam Jones and Nate and Jenna Altom. After much work, the building they renovated is looking nice. They have been seeing God move in people's lives lately.

Here is Pam Jones and her 3 daughters singing. They are good!

Nate Altom has been preaching a sermon series on Heaven and Hell. He had the stage backdrop decorated for his series. I liked a question he had there - "Do you know what the Bible says or are you just guessing?" I admire Nate for even tackling the subject of Hell when so many avoid it. He did a great job!

On Sunday afternoon, everyone gathered for a baptism in a swimming pool. I always love to see baptisms.

Later on, Tom relaxed and played in the floor with his grandson, Paxton.

A couple of hours drive took us up to Erie, PA. Daryl Grimes is starting a church there. The family has moved to Erie and Daryl almost has all his support raised. The Grimes have 3 children - Charity, Luke, and Isaiah (all 3 are nice and respectful)

Here is a picture of Daryl and Michelle on Presque Isle with the city of Erie on the opposite shore.

This is Daryl and me in front of the Commodore Perry monument. He is the one who said, "We have met the enemy and they are ours."

Michelle and Sandy in front of a lighthouse.

Daryl plans on monthly services starting on November 20 and a launch of weekly services in the spring.

Driving from Erie to York, PA, we saw so much beautiful fall foliage.

In York, we got to see Allen and Jenny Hall (and Allison) and Tim and Jessica Hodges. Renovation on their church is about complete and they are making progress. We always have a great time with these folks.

I forgot to take pictures at church, but I did remember at the restaurant. I really like eating together and this is my favorite restaurant ever - Shady Maple.

The New Castle, Delaware church celebrated its 35th anniversary and we got to be there for it.

Right before I preached, I took a picture of the congregation.

3 former pastors and the present one - Jay Baines, me, Vergel Maness, and Wayne Hale.

The New Castle church was a Home Missions project. It mothered a church in Townsend, DE. That church in now mothering a church in Dover, DE. So New Castle is now a grandparent. I would love to see this happen more often.

On Sunday evening, we went to the Journey Church in Dover. Jay Baines is still pastoring Townsend while starting this new church. He preaches on Sunday morning in Townsend and then in Dover in the evening.

Here is a picture of Jay during the service.

They have a Journey Cafe before service. The chocolate chip cookies are delicious!

While driving from Delaware to Virginia, we stopped by my home church in Aberdeen, Maryland and saw the new pastor - Travis Shuck. Travis and Holly were a part of home mission churches in Wyoming and Colorado.

One more stop before heading home - to see Jason and Holly Weaver in Winchester, Virginia. Jason is still raising support, but we wanted to visit and say hi. I got the tour of the area including the high school where they hope to have Sunday services. They are a nice young couple and I'm excited about what God is going to do through them.

What a great trip we had! Thank you, God!

Marquette, Michigan

2011-09-15T10:31:00.005-05:00

Greg and Lea Floars are working in the upper peninsula of Michigan. It is a beautiful area with lots of trees. When the Sawyer Air Force base closed down, the government sold the houses and buildings there.
Greg and his church bought the former chapel and it is now their church building.

Sandy and I visited them this weekend.
Here is there auditorium before church started.

I got a picture of Greg looking studious in his office.
We took a lot of time there talking about plans for a new church they will be starting in the upper peninsula in the near future.

Here's Greg behind the pulpit. If the pulpit looks big, it is because it doubles as a baptistry.

Greg and Lea took us to a beautiful spot that overlooks Marquette and Lake Superior.

There's a sharp dropoff, so we can't back up too much.

We had a great time with Greg and Lea and the people there. There are lots of good stories about people have been saved and lives changed! Looking forward to see what else God is going to do in the UP of Michigan.

Heritage Trip

2011-09-09T10:39:00.006-05:00

Each year the Home Missions Department sponsors two Heritage Trips. David Crowe plans these. They are a combination American heritage, FWB heritage, and visiting church planters.
On Labor Day weekend the Home Missions staff and their wives were joined by a group that visited Washington DC, West Virginia, and Virginia.

Here is Board member Bobby Shepherd with his wife, Juanita.

Here is Board member Bob Lewis with his wife, Brenda.

Board member Ron Parker was also there with his wife, Elaine, but I didn't get a good picture of them. It was good for our Board members to have a chance to visit home missionaries.

We toured Washington DC one day. There was a protest at the White House and our Director acted like he was a part of it.

Storer College in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia was started by Free Will Baptists after the Civil War. We visited there and David Crowe told us its history. I guess most of you know that David is very knowledgable about FWB history.

John Colby was a FWB evangelist in the early 1800s. We visited his grave in Norfolk, Virginia. Here is the Home Missions staff - David Crowe, Larry Powell, and Richard Atwood - in front of his grave.

On Sunday morning, we visited the new work in Suffolk, VA. David and Charity Sexton and Marc and Casie Neppl have converted a former funeral home into a church building. Looks great!

Here is David Sexton giving a tour.

The church was pretty full - attendance that day of 118.

Marc Neppl has been learning the guitar so he can play in church.

A ladies trio sang. That is Casie Neppl on the left and Charity Sexton on the right.

The church graciously provided lunch for us after service. It was delicious!

I had to get one last picture of David - just as his mouth was open.

We drove to Harrisonburg, VA for the Sunday night service there. Paul and Patty Collins welcomed us to their new church building. It looks great!

Paul gave a tour of the new building.

Before the service.

We are very excited about the two works in Virginia that we visited. God is working in both places and great things are happening!

It was a great trip, but we were worn out and ready to go home.

Here is the Powells and Crowes at the airport.

It is good to be back home - but Sandy and I leave tomorrow on another trip.

New York

2011-09-09T09:06:00.005-05:00

Two weeks ago, Sandy and I traveled to the state of New York to visit the two Free Will Baptist home mission works there. First, we visited Rochester. After church on Wednesday night, the Booths invited us to their house for supper.
Here is a picture of Dana and Betty Booth.

Dana took me upstairs to show me how he encourages people to be faithful to church.

On a more serious note, Dana was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer. He has had more tests to see if the cancer has spread, but has not received the results yet. Please pray for him.

We also got to see Jim and Sylvia Martin. They work with the Booths.
Here we are eating again.
The couple in the middle is Nathan and Rachel Atwood (our son and the Martin's daughter)
We appreciate the good work the Booths and Martins are doing!

We left Rochester and headed to Buffalo. On Saturday, several folks gathered together for an Operation Saturation.
Here is Emily Williams and others as we were waiting to get started.

This is Brian Williams giving instructions to everyone about to saturate the area with information about the church.
Home Missionaries Tom and Pam Jones are sitting there listening. They came all the way from Pittsburg to help out! I like that unselfish attitude!

We met at the new location of the church. To help get the cheap rent, Brian and the church agreed to renovate the building. They have been working hard to get it done.
Ken Akers (Masters Men Director) and I helped do some of the work. I appreciate Ken and his desire to help new churches. His wife, Sandra, also came up to Buffalo.

On Sunday morning, we met for the last time at the school they have been renting.
Here is Darin Alvis in front of a church sign. I love good signs.

Tim York led the singing. Amanda York is signing. Leah Williams is playing the bass. Dalton Alvis is playing the drums.

Brian Williams is giving announcements. Just over his shoulder you can see Joy Alvis. She plays the keyboard.

The Williams, Alvis', and Yorks make a good team! This Sunday, September 11, is the Grand Opening for the church in their new location. Pray for a great start!

National Convention 2011

2011-08-03T10:10:00.007-05:00

The Free Will Baptist National Association met in Charlotte, North Carolina this year. As always, one of the best things about the convention is seeing your friends. However, I did take a week's vacation after the convention. Being nice for a whole week wears me out.
Thank you to Rachel Atwood and Dawn Elliott for the pictures.

The Home Missions Reception on Sunday night was well attended.
Here are some folks in line for food.

Here is Josh Bennett, Danny Elliott, and Brian Williams. Maybe Danny ate something spicy.

Summer Elliott, Mark and Danielle McCraney, and David Crowe.

Emily Williams and Collette Wright

Ron and Elaine Parker and Earl and Bernice Hanna

Mike Hayes is anxious to get the crate unpacked and booth set up.

Teresa Womack and Sue Hayes setting up the Home Missions booth.

David Crowe and Ida Lewis are proud of our display.

I helped, too.

Daryl Grimes, Allen Hall, Greg Floars, and Mandy Jones

Grandpa Jones with two of his grandchildren

The missionaries are lining up for to march in during the Wednesday night service.

Flags from all over the world lead the missionaries as they come into the auditorium.

Thank God for a good convention!

Going On Lately

2011-07-08T08:50:00.004-05:00

Battle Creek, Michigan is Cereal City - both Kellogg and Post are located there. Jeff and Charissa Isaacs are also there - starting a church. Sandy and I visited with them last week. The chuch building looks great. It was a church years ago and then a funeral home. After a lot of renovation work, it is a church again.
Here is Jeff getting ready for Wednesday night Bible study.

Sandy and Charissa talking after church.

Here's the whole crew. Jeff and Charissa have 2 children: Clay and Sarah.
There is a good work going there (about 50 in attendance now) and we are looking for a good future.

Greg Floars and the church near Marquette, Michigan had a float in a couple of Independence Day parades. The theme for their float was Fallen Heroes. All told, they will appear in 4 parades in the upper peninsula. I like it!

Barry Long had a weekday camp in Aurora, Colorado (suburb of Denver). A youth group came out to run the camp at a local school. 49 kids attended! They also had a cookout for the neighborhood on July 4 with 66 people!

Here is a picture of Larry and Wanda Powell in St. Croix, Virgin Islands. They recently visited there and Brother Larry preached in the FWB church. The Powells went to the Virgin Islands in 1967 to start that church. The church and school are both going strong.

Good things are happening all over. Don't be discouraged by all the stories of gloom and doom.

God is working!

CELEBRATING A NEW BUILDING AND GETTING READY TO BUILD

2011-06-16T13:55:00.005-05:00

Paul Collins and the folks at Harrisonburg Free Will Baptist Church in Virginia just celebrated the Dedication of their new building.

But it took a long time to get to that point.

Here is Paul and me on the property when the new building was just a dream.

It took a lot of time, work, money, and prayer to get the nice building they have now.

Here is Paul Collins and FWB Pastor Billy King at the Ribbon cutting ceremony.

Very nice looking auditorium!

163 people came to church that morning!
Congratulations to Paul and all the folks in Harrisonburg!

Now the flip side:
Last Sunday, Sandy and I visited with Clayton and Tammy Hampton in Clarksville, Tennessee.
The Two Rivers FWB Church meets in a rented building.
Here are some of the people talking before service.

Clayton at the pulpit.

Here is Clayton and Tammy with their 3 children, a son-in-law, a daughter-in-law, and 2 grandchildren. Nice looking family.

Here is the location for the new church building. They should start digging and construction within a few weeks.

It will take a lot of time, work, money, and prayer.

But it will be worth it!

OXFORD, ALABAMA

2011-06-09T14:26:00.003-05:00

A new church was started in Oxford, Alabama this past weekend. Len Blanchard and his wife, Linda, have moved there to start the church. On Saturday, 56 people showed up to help Len get the word out about the new church. It was hot! Here is a picture of some of the youth group from Piney Grove Church in Guin. They are a great bunch of young people and were a big help!

Len is working up a sweat and we haven't even got started.

Here is Sandy and me and our team. They were hustlers - even running to many doors. And they weren't afraid to talk to people. Between all the teams, 15 people said they were interested in the church.

We ended with lunch together. The Moody FWB Church provided lunch for us.

You could tell Len was a little nervous on Sunday morning. This was a big event! This first service was in the Civic Center. Starting this Sunday, they have another building rented. Here is Len and some of the folks setting up for church. The attendance was 126! Of course, many of these were out of town friends. But there were local people, too.

Shane and Jaime Suggs are moving up from south Georgia at the end of this month to be the co-church planters. Here they are giving greetings.

Of course, we had to have lunch again. Catered barbeque - it was great!

Len has experience, a heart for people, and a passion for the work. I'm excited about what God is going to do through him, Linda, Shane, and Jaime.

SAN ANTONIO

2011-06-01T14:42:00.005-05:00

A group of pastors and their wives (and some other folks) accompanied the staff and wives to San Antonio over Memorial Day weekend.
We visited two Home Mission churches while we were there.

Here is Jeremy and Jill Lightsey. They currently have Sunday services in a daycare facility.
Jeremy did a great job preaching that morning.

On Sunday evening, we saw home missionary Don Bailey and his family. We had a picnic on the church property.

This is the line for food. Home Missions Board Member Ron Parker has his hands on his hips. Looks like he is trying to be patient until he gets to the food.

Don showed us around their new building. They hope to be in it by the end of summer.
Here is Larry Powell (HM General Director), Trymon Messer (former Director), and Don Bailey.

Don and Sonya Bailey family

Besides seeing the home missionaries, we did some other fun things on the trip. San Antonio has several interesting places to see.

Here is Sandy and me in front of the Alamo.

We took a boat ride on the Riverwalk. It was hot that day and Jay Baines from Delaware covered his head with a towel.

I didn't even get a picture of David and Kathey Crowe. They worked the whole trip to make sure things went well for us and did a great job!

If you have never been to San Antonio, I definitely recommend it as a place to visit. And stop by and see our home mission churches while you're there.

OAKLAND, TENNESSEE

2011-03-24T09:08:00.004-05:00

Oakland is a suburb of Memphis. Tim Osborn is starting a church there.
For the 2nd time in 2 years, Sandy and I spoke at the church's couple's retreat. They have a bunch of nice people and we have a good time with the folks there. The conference center is on a beautiful and peaceful piece of property. (And they have great food, too)
Here is a picture right before one of our sessions.

This is Tim and Robyn Osborn.
Tim is going through chemotherapy for colon cancer. 3 down and 9 more to go - he should be finished with them in July. The prognosis for beating the cancer is pretty good - about 65%. Please pray for him and the family.

On Saturday afternoon, we got to see the strip mall where they rent a space for church.
(Tim has been on a diet and lost a lot of weight - he looks younger.)

On Saturday night, Tim and Robyn took us to a hole in the wall restaurant that he had seen on TV. The food was great. Tim may have lost weight, but he can still put away the fried chicken!

Here is a picture on Sunday morning before church started. Notice the mirrors in the back. It used to be a ballet studio.

This is the praise team. The two young ladies on the front right are Osborns - Micah and Emma. Tim and Robyn have 7 children and I like every one of them.

This is the congregation during the service. We had 64 people there! Tim said if one family had been there (that is usually there), they would have broken their attendance record. The church is really rallying around the Osborns during this ordeal. There is a great spirit of love in the church. I look for greater things in the future.

ARIZONA TRIP

2011-02-22T10:48:00.006-06:00

Sandy and I just got back from visiting our FWB church planters in Arizona. On Thursday and Friday we visited with the Goodmans and Bennetts in Marana (just north of Tucson). Jeff and Josh took me out to see the area and then to have a Sonoran Hot Dog for lunch. It was, I mean they were good.
On Thursday night, we attended their weekly Bible study. They meet at their apartment complex and here is their sign and the room they meet in.

Everyone is invited to a free meal before the study. Here is Jeff, Josh, Heather, and Ashley getting everything ready.

Singing

Jeff is teaching.

After another song, Josh finished the teaching.
They both did a good job and told it straight. There was a record attendance of 41!
On Easter Sunday, they start meeting on Sunday mornings in a local school.

We had a great breakfast on Friday. You can eat outdoors in February in Arizona.
On the left is Jeff and Heather with their daughter, Ava.
In the center is Josh and Ashley Bennett.
My wife, Sandy, is on the right.

Here is Sandy and Ava with some beautiful desert scenery. Ava was a little sweetie the whole time. (Sandy was, too)

Cactus are bigger than they look on TV.

Arizona has a beauty of its own.

In the center right of this picture is Old Tucson, the location of many movie westerns.

On Saturday we drove up to Florence to be with Howard and Patsy Gwartney.
They took us out to see the property for their new church.

Here is another picture of the property. It was a rare occasion and actually rained.

Of course we had to eat out. Here we are with Howard and Patsy.

This is Sunday morning at the school. You can see the church's truck. They started unpacking it about 6:30 that morning.

Before church

Mrs. Pat Thomas mans the information table. She also plays a clarinet in the band, sang in a trio, and teaches a weekly Bible study at an RV park. She is Patsy's mother and the wife of former Home Missions Director, Roy Thomas.

They have a pretty big orchestra for a new church. They sounded good, too!

Howard during the service.

At the end the chairs are all stacked up to go back in the truck. A lot of people pitched in and take down was like a well-oiled machine.

It was very exciting to be with these families and new churches! We had a lot of fun together. I also enjoyed our times of serious discussion. The Bennetts, Goodmans, and Gwartneys all have a heart for God and for starting new churches.

BOOT CAMP

2011-02-08T09:36:00.003-06:00

Every new home missionary goes through a week of training here in Nashville called Boot Camp. Here is a picture of the 6 men who met last week along with the Home Missions Staff.
From left to right:
David Crowe, Director of Development
Richard Atwood, Director of Missionary Assistance
Mark McCraney, Castle Rock, Colorado
Daryl Grimes, Erie, Pennsylvania
Randall Wright, Dallas, Texas
Tim York, Buffalo, New York
Heath Webb, Boise, Idaho
Darin Alvis, Buffalo, New York
Larry Powell, General Director

I appreciate all the people who helped out. We skyped with present church planters David Sexton and Macr Neppl in Suffolk, VA; Tim Riggs in Mobile, AL; and Jeff Goodman and Josh Bennett in Marana, AZ. All the guys commented on how helpful they were. My wife, Sandy, spoke to the guys about helping their wives and women's ministries. Janice Donoho did a good job of getting everything ready for the meeting, including the food. Here she is getting the pizza ready for lunch one day.

Can you see Randall Wright hamming it up for the camera in the picture below? He kept us all laughing with his funny comments. To be fair, he had several intelligent comments, too.

Everyone came over for dinner at our house one night. Tim York's wife Amanda was able to come and also Mark McCraney's family: wife, Danielle, and their two boys, Ethan and Lucas. Sandy made a great meal. After dinner we have a wonderful time of prayer together and then talked and laughed. I really enjoyed spending time with these folks and getting to know them better. I'm encouraged about how God is going to use them.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE HOME MISSIONS BOARD AND STAFF

2010-12-08T09:28:00.006-06:00

Here is a picture of the Home Missions Board meeting in December, 2010.
These men take time out of their busy schedule to serve for no pay. They have a heart for starting new churches and for the home missionary families. Thank you, Board members!
From left to right:
Bob Lewis, Tennessee
Earl Hanna, South Carolina
Bob Thebeau, Missouri
Matt Upton, California (Board Clerk)
Randy Wright, Alabama (Board Chairman)
(Standing is General Director Larry Powell)
Ron Parker, Louisiana (Board Assistant Chairman)
Tim Stout, Ohio
Bobby Shepherd, Arkansas
Jerry Atwell, Mississippi

Sue Hayes and Janice Donoho
Sue is CELF Accounting Administrator and Assistant to the Director.
Janice is Assistant to the Director of Missionary Assistance.

Larry Powell, General Director

David Crowe, Director of Development

Kathy Brown (on the left) is the Home Missions Accounting Administrator.
Ida Lewis (on the right) is the Publications Editor.
In the middle is me, Richard Atwood, Director of Missionary Assistance.

I'm thankful to work on the same team with all these good people on the Home Missions staff. They do a great job, work hard, and love home missions.

I'm also thankful for all the home missionary families. They are salt of the earth Christians trying to shine their light in dark places.

From all of us on the Board and Staff, we hope for you a happy time with your family and friends over the Christmas holidays!
We pray for God's blessings and direction for you for 2011.

A New Church in Greenfield, California

2010-10-07T15:08:00.007-05:00

Jim and Tracy Kilgore moved to Greenfield, California to start a new Free Will Baptist Church. On Saturday, October 3, they had an Operation Saturation to spread the word about the church. On Sunday, October 4, they had their launch service. Masters Men Director, Ken Akers, and my wife, Sandy, and I went to California to be with the Kilgores for this special weekend.
Here is a picture of the Kilgore family with Ken and us. We ate together at a local restaurant. Three of the Kilgore children are here - Hannah, Samuel, and Daniel. Their oldest, Caleb, is in college.

About 70 people showed up on Saturday for the Operation Saturation. Several pastors of other FWB churches came with several people in their churches. Some drove 2-3 hours to be there.

Here are some of the folks who went door to door that day. The guy with the beard and glasses is Tracy's first pastor - Sam Hensley, with his wife Bobbie. Sandy is beside them.

Here is Jim and me beside his church sign.

We are gathered to hear instruction.

That's Hannah Kilgore facing the camera.

Jim is handing out assignments. The guy with the glasses is Stan Barron, brother of home missionary, Jerry Barron.

Jim's neighbor cooked lunch for all of us.

This is Sunday morning as the crowd gathers. 57 people came that morning! A few were visitors from out of town, but over 40 were from Greenfield. That's a good attendance for their opening service.

I was honored to pray a prayer of dedication for the new church.

Tracy did a good job leading the singing.

Jim preached a great message.

Of course, we ate again after church. Jim is waving because he is excited and relieved that the service went so well.

Colorado Trip

2010-09-28T13:14:00.005-05:00

Sandy and I just got back from a 9 day trip to Colorado. We visited several home missionaries there and held a Regional Meeting in Colorado Springs.

On the first Sunday, we went to church with Scott Cheatham in Denver. Here is their building:

Scott is not ashamed that he is Free Will Baptist.

I like churches that have signs that let me know where to go.

Here is Scott and Becky and Sandy and me in their auditorium.

Here is Scott and Becky with their 3 children, son-in-law, and grandson.

Aurora is a suburb of Denver. The Longs have recently moved there and are meeting people as they work to start a new church. This is Barry, Jessica, and Austin with Sandy in the Longs home.

Naturally, we had to all go out to eat.

You don't go too far south of Denver before you get to Castle Rock, where the Burkes have moved to start a church.

Here is Sandy and me in front of the namesake of the town.

Donnie and Susan with the town of Castle Rock behind them. This is almost at the top of the rock.

The trail ended near the top, but Donnie and I climbed on up to the top.

Here is Donnie pointing out something to me.

Proof that I climbed to the top.

We took a picture of Sandy and Susan down on the trail.

We went to a local cafe to eat. They had great food.

This is a picture of the auditorium of the new building in Colorado Springs. Dexter Guin, Tim Hodges, and their people have done a lot of work. The building is beautiful. Already they are having a lot of visitors.

It was Pastor Appreciation Day that Sunday. Tim Hodges is presenting gifts to Dexter, Dennise, Keilah, and Kristin. His wife and two daughters are also a big part of the ministry.

Our regional meeting was held at the Colorado Springs church. The old auditorium is now the fellowship hall. Here is a picture as we are getting ready to start our meeting.

This is a picture of all the guys at the meeting - Tim Hodges, Barry Long, Scott Cheatham, Dexter Guin, Mark Thomas, Richard Atwood, and Donnie Burke.

One afternoon we all loaded up into the church van and Dexter took us on a ride through some beautiful Colorado scenery.

At 11 Mile Canyon, Sandy had to put her feet in the water. It was cold.

Of course, we had to eat together one more time before everyone went home.

These Colorado church planters are a great bunch of people! We loved spending time with them. Pray for their success in reaching people for Christ and building churches.

Northeast Trip 2

2010-08-27T10:22:00.009-05:00

Sandy and I left Quebec, Canada and drove down into New York state. Since the Brian Williams family had just recently moved to New York, we wanted to spend some time with them. (They have actually been staying with Jim and Sylvia Martin and will be moving into an apartment in Buffalo on September 1.)

Here's the Williams family when we went out to eat. There is Brian, Emily, Leah, Lauren, and Lucas.

Lauren is trying to teach me something.

Brian's steak didn't come cooked as he wanted it, but he was nice and ate it anyhow. Then he mentioned it to the waitress and got a new steak and potato for free. Here he is with his second steak of the night. Pretty smart.

On Sunday, we went to church near Rochester with the Booths and Martins.
Here is Dana and me after church.

While we were in Rochester, Sandy and I stayed with our son, Nathan, and his wife, Rachel.
(They are a nice looking young couple.)
This is on the Erie Canal.

Here is Jim Martin teaching on Wednesday night. He did a good job.

The FWB home missionaries from Pennsylvania and New York had a regional meeting near Rochester. We met in a motel meeting room. Here is the group before one of our sessions.
We had a great time discussing and listing things on the white board.

And we had a great quote from Tom Jones - "They ain't comin!"

We had pizza that night and I got the picture just as Tom opened his mouth.

We did go out for one nice dinner. With all this eating, you can see why I'm fat.

Nate and Jenna Altom

We took a boat ride on the Canandaigua Lake.

Brian and Emily Williams

Jim and Sylvia Martin

Allen and Jenny Hall

The captain needed help and some volunteered to steer the boat.

This last guy almost wrecked us, so we gave it back to the captain.

Dana and Betty Booth

Tom and Pam Jones

Sandy Atwood, Sylvia Martin, and Emily Williams

Here's the whole group in front of the motel.

It is truly a privilege to spend time with all of our home missionaries. They are salt of the earth people. And they are friends.

I thank God for them.

Northeast Trip 1

2010-08-27T09:21:00.009-05:00

My wife, Sandy, and I drove on a long trip to visit home missionaries in the northeastern part of our country and Canada. We had held two regional meetings with church planters.

We drove over 1200 miles to get to our first stop - North Kingstown, Rhode Island. Bill Reynolds is the church planter there. Attendance is good in their rental building. Bill showed us the plans for their new place and it looks great. Bill hopes to have their land paid for by next spring and start building.

Here is a picture of the Reynolds family: Christy, Michaela, Hannah, Billy, and Sarah.

We forgot to take pictures of the Sunday morning service. But the Reynolds took us to a great pizza place. We got a picture of Bill and Christy eating.

Bill and Christy and Sandy and I then drove to Bangor, Maine. Jeff and Donna Crabtree from New Brunswick, Canada drove down to meet us there. Bangor is about halfway between the two. We had sessions in our motel room where we talked about assimilation and unity in your leadership team. (Sorry for the smudges on these pictures - we didn't realize that our lens was dirty.)

Christy got tickled about something.

We drove down to Bar Harbor for an afternoon. The ladies found some sunglasses to try on.

Bill and Christy had some cool sunglasses here.

Here's Jeff and Donna with Bar Harbor in the background.

Here's the whole group.

We had a great time together and some interesting discussions. We appreciate the good work of the Crabtrees and Reynolds!

Leaving Bangor, Sandy and I drove up through Maine to Quebec, Canada. We saw a moose on the side of the road in northern Maine.

At the border, Sandy and I must have looked suspicious, because they detained us for about 45 minutes and searched everything in our car - even cases for our glasses and Sandy's purse (that took awhile).

We finally made it safe and sound to Quebec city to see Danny and Dawn Elliott and family. They had finally got their furniture after sleeping on blow up mattresses for several weeks.

Here's a picture of the family with the city of Quebec in the background.

Danny had told me about a Quebec dish called poutine. It is french fries and cheese curds covered with gravy. Danny and I added sliced meat to the top. It was delicious! (Of course, it has my 4 favorite food groups - meat, cheese, potatoes, and gravy). If you get to Quebec, I recommend that you try it.

We didn't get a picture of the poutine, but we did get one of us eating ice cream for dessert. It was also delicious. I might think about moving to Canada.

Here is Sandy standing in front of a mural with the history of Quebec.

Summer Elliott is showing her Wii skills.

Here's Danny and Joshua in their apartment.

Autumn looks a lot like her mother.

We appreciate the Elliotts and the time we had together (and the good meals Dawn cooked)!
Danny and Dawn start language school soon. (People in Quebec speak French). Pray for them as they learn the language and build relationships with people.

Ghosts of Conventions Past

2010-06-30T15:08:00.009-05:00

I was looking at some pictures recently and saw these from past National Conventions.

2008

Here is Randy Wright praying at the Wednesday night commissioning service.

2006

Dana and Betty Booth and Jim, Sylvia, and Rachel Martin
(I'm so glad the Martins became home missionaries!)(Uh, of course, the Booths, too)

Allen, Jenny, and Allison Hall

Howard, Patsy, and Brooke Gwartney

Tom and Pam Jones: (Now his hair is cut short and I can hardly recognize him)

Tim, Lori, Carlton, Gabriel, Matthew, and Isaac Byers

2004

Janice Donoho, Sarah Hadley, and me at home missions booth (I'm resting after doing all the work)

Jim Fairchild, Don Bailey, and David Crowe

Home Mission Board members at reception

Jeff Crabtree and Todd Smith look like they aren't too enthused about the food.

Clayton Hampton (third time through)

Bobby Shepherd, Jeff and Charissa Isaacs

Carolyn Adams and Ida Lewis (We still miss Carolyn)

Richard Adams and Scott Cheatham

Cliff and Kathy Donoho, Sue Hayes, Kathy Brown, Ray Lewis

Christa and Calyn Bailey (Aren't they cute?)

Paul Park, Jerry and Carol Atwell

Khristi Shores and Sandy Atwood

Rick and Sharon Bowling and Wanda Powell

Larry Powell and Charlie Tremendous Jones

TEXAS

2010-06-15T15:02:00.006-05:00

The Texas State Association of Free Will Baptists met last week outside of Houston in the church of former home missionary, Randy Puckett. Their new building was beautiful! With 12,000 square feet, they had plenty of room.

Here is a picture of Randy and me in front of their building:

This is their lobby:

Right off the lobby, they have this room to gather for coffee, etc. Randy said it is a favorite spot.

Here is Shelley Puckett getting some snacks ready:

I'm happy for Randy and Shelley and their church.

Everyone at the Texas meeting was very friendly. Free Will Baptists have nice and good people all over and it was good to be in their meeting.

It was also good to see former home missionaries, Paul Hammons, who now pastors in Conroe, TX and Nick and Angie Stewart, who are still in Victoria, TX.

And it was good to see the present home missionaries in Texas.

We saw Jeff and Sondra Cates there, but forgot to take a picture.

So here is a picture of them in front of the canyon that Canyon, TX is named for.
(Jeff said they should be pouring concrete for their new building next week!)

Sandy and I rode over to San Antonio after the meeting to see the 2 FWB church planters there.

Jeremy and Jill Lightsey and Don and Sonya Bailey are both on the north side of town and still are 30 minutes from each other. We could ring the city with 10 more FWB churches and they wouldn't bump into each other.

Jeremy Lightsey's church is doing well with a Sunday attendance in the 60's. A big prayer request for them is to be able to afford a permanent location.

Here is Jeremy and Jill and their 2 daughters, Adria and Hope.

I asked them to pose for an action shot:

Here is Don Bailey and me in front of their new building. They hope to get it finished this summer.

This is a picture looking into the auditorium. Don said it should seat 160 people.

Don and I made sure we had a picture of us working.

Here is Don and Sonya with 3 of their children: Crista, Calyn, and Carson. Carra and Caleb were out of town.

Surprise! Chaplain Richard Anderson and his wife Faith and their 2 sons, came to Don's church on Sunday. Chaplain Anderson is based in San Antonio, but he travels as a recruiter of chaplains. The Andersons are friends with the other couple in the picture - Don and Marie Wilbanks. The Wilbanks brought their camper to live by the church and help Don with the new building. They have been there 3 weeks already and have been a great help!

We really enjoyed our visit to Texas! It is the second most populated state in the US and could use plenty of more good churches.

My brother Brian

2010-06-07T15:40:00.003-05:00

Today(June 7) is my brother's birthday. He would have been 54. But he died a couple of months ago. I would have called him tonight and we would have chatted about life, about our families, about ministry (he was a preacher, also). Our sense of humor was a lot alike, so we would have laughed about stuff without even finishing the sentence.
Just a couple of thoughts:

1. He was a good man. I guess most people feel that way about their brother. Brian loved his wife, loved his children, loved his grandchildren, loved his church, loved preaching and leading worship, did things to show that he cared, and stayed faithful to Jesus. During my senior year of college, when I thought everybody had forgotten my birthday, Brian threw me a surprise party. I still remember.

2. I think it is okay to talk about people who've died. I hope someone will talk about me.

3. This sort of helps put things in perspective. I could die suddenly, too. What is really important? Am I ready?

4. All those calls, cards, emails, and even messages on facebook did help. It is nice to know someone took a minute to let you know they care.

5. I still can hardly believe it is true. Somehow I think it is ingrained in us that we are supposed to live forever.

6. It makes all the difference in the world that Brian (and I) know Jesus who has the words of eternal life. A lot of people put birthday greetings to him on facebook today. They know he is still alive.

7. I'll miss talking to him tonight.

Brian, Mark, and me -

HERITAGE TRIP - PENNSYLVANIA

2010-06-07T14:25:00.009-05:00

All three of the men on staff at Home Missions along with their wives and several couples of Home Mission supporters went on the Heritage Trip to Pennsylvania over the Memorial Day weekend. Besides seeing some American and spiritual heritage on these trips, we visited some home missionaries.

All of us flew into Philadelphia and spent half a day touring there.

Here is a picture of Sandy and me in front of Independence Hall

On the bus: Board member Ron Parker and his wife, Elaine, are still in love.

Here is home missionary Allen Hall with wife, Jenny, and daughter, Allison, in front of the North Carolina Memorial at Gettysburg.

Several of the guys in front of Good News FWB Church in York, PA:

Pastor Hall opening the morning service.

Richard Atwood, David Crowe, Allen Hall, Larry Powell:

Allison drove the bus some:

Director Larry Powell speaking at the Keystone FWB Church in Greensburg, PA:

Home Missionary Tom Jones welcoming everyone. They have done a lot of work to get their building in shape. It is really starting to come together and Tom is happy for someone else to see it.

Tom's wife, Pam, is playing the keyboard and all three of the Jones girls are singing. Jenna (Altom) and her husband, Nate, are Associate Missionaries along with the Jones.

Here is Nate Altom:

David Crowe preaching. He did a good job organizing and leading this trip.

We had a great time seeing the church planters and spending time with other Christians.

Wisconsin

2010-05-25T14:20:00.005-05:00

John and Cheryl Reed minister in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Last weekend, Sandy and I visited them. We drove up to the peninsula between Lake Michigan and Green Bay and saw some beautiful scenery.

The four of us in front of a beautiful sunset over Green Bay:

Here is a goat on the roof of a local restaurant. We didn't eat there, just took pictures of the goats.

Sandy and Cheryl put their feet in cold Lake Michigan:

John and Cheryl are still in love:

Young John Reed leads the worship service:

Some of the folks during the Sunday morning service - there was about 100 that day.

John chose to not start the church in the suburbs, but in the city. They have seen many people reached and are building a good church in Green Bay.

Utah

2010-05-25T12:56:00.006-05:00

Utah has a lot of beautiful scenery and a lot of Mormons. It also has 3 couples who are working hard to start new churches there - Tim and Jessica Lewis in Ogden and Randy and LeAnn Ledbetter and Scott and Staci Warren in Salt Lake City. Sandy and I went there recently for a regional meeting with these couples. We met at the Warren's house.

Here is a picture of the three couples and my wife, Sandy:

During the sessions, Jessica Lewis had to put her foot up. It had recently been broken. Even though it hurt, she was a trooper.

We ate out one night at an all you can eat restaurant. Even though the three guys are in pretty good shape, I was humbled that they could out eat me.

Tim and Jessica are still in love:

Here are Miley Lewis and Mia and Jude Warren. These are some cute kids:

Both FWB home mission churches in Utah are doing well! Thank God! I appreciate the dedication and hard work these couples give. We had a great time being with them!

Ravi Zacharias Quotes

2010-05-12T08:18:00.001-05:00

To sustain the belief that there is no God, atheism has to demonstrate infinite knowledge, which is tantamount to saying, "I have infinite knowledge that there is no being in existence with infinite knowledge"

I have little doubt that the single greatest obstacle to the impact of the gospel has not been its ability to provide answers, but the failure on our part to live it out.

"These days its not just that the line between right and wrong has been made unclear, today Christians are being asked by our culture today to erase the lines and move the fences, and if that were not bad enough, we are being asked to join in the celebration cry by those who have thrown off the restraints religion had imposed upon them. It is not just that they ask we accept, but they now demand of us to celebrate it too."

Ravi Zacharias on the present time:
“Philosophically, you can believe anything, so long as you do not claim it to be true.
Morally you can practice anything, so long as you do not claim that it is a ‘better’ way.
Religiously, you can hold to anything, so long as you do not bring Jesus Christ in to it.”
From Jesus Among Other Gods

“I remember the time an older man asked me when I was young, "Do you know what you are doing now?" I thought it was some kind of trick question. Tell me," I said. You are building your memories," he replied, "so make them good ones."

Ability or Integrity 4

2010-05-06T15:03:00.005-05:00

“He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much." Luke 16:10

Most of life is made up of little things.

I like this Dwight Moody quote:

“There are many of us that are willing to do great things for the Lord, but few of us are willing to do little things.”

Whether it is ability or integrity, the battle is fought in the "little things."

In order to do great things, here are some little things to do:

* Be a thermostat, not a thermometer.
The thermometer tells the temperature, the thermostat sets it.
Sometimes you go to church or a class or meeting and everyone seems cold. We desperately need leaders who will bring warmth because they have been with God.

* Always be courteous.

* Be nice to everybody.

* Treat everyone with respect.

* Keep your appointments.

* Tell God that you won't look at anyone without their clothes on except your wife or husband. (Okay, maybe that isn't little.)

* Don't rely on your memory. If you keep telling people that you forgot, they will wonder why you don't write it down. A dull pencil is better than a sharp memory.

* Return borrowed items.

* Always say thank you and show appreciation. (Sounds like your parents. They were right.)

* Self-pity isn't attractive. Don't indulge in 'poor me'.

* Don't scold the congregation about those not present in church. The offenders can't hear you.

* Don't always talk about how much you do and how busy you are.

* Don't always 'one-up' people. "You think that vacation was good - you should have seen where we went."

* How about a little less criticism of others?

* Be honest in the use of time. Work hard even if no one is watching. Be careful of time wasters like TV and the internet.

* Listen before you speak.

* Be real.

Our ability and reputation are important.

Our character and integrity are essential.

“Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” Abraham Lincoln

From a bumper sticker - "TO BE, NOT TO SEEM."

Ability or Integrity 3

2010-04-23T10:11:00.005-05:00

Some of these may be ability and some may be integrity, but here are some practical ideas about our behavior (especially if you are in ministry).

1. Call if you say you'll call.

Not calling says that you don't mean what you say.

2. Return calls and reply to emails promptly.

Not responding to someone communicates that they aren't important enough for you.

3. Don't tell secrets or break confidences.

4. Don't use the pulpit to attack individuals.

Jesus said to go them alone first. It comes across as a bullying coward.

5. Follow through with announced plans.

Or explain why you had to change plans. But do this very much and people won't believe you.

6. Control your temper.

(This may be a good place to say that I have failed in all of the areas that I am writing about.

But I have got some better.)

7. Don't get your feelings hurt easily.

Keep a tough hide and a tender heart. Make people work at insulting you. Don't get insulted with just a little joke or someone in a bad mood.

8. Don't steal from the church (or anywhere)

Don't use the excuse that they don't pay you enough. Either ask for a raise or quit.

9. Live what you preach and teach.

Tithe, pray, read your Bible, love your wife.

10. Be easy to talk to and work with.

Don't jump on everyone who asks a question.

Don't always have to have your own way.

"I beseech thee in the bowels of Christ, consider that thou mightest be wrong."

Oliver Cromwell to Scottish Presbyterians.

More to come another day.

Ability and Integrity - let's work on both.

Ability or Integrity 2

2010-04-21T12:56:00.004-05:00

I don't want someone to perform surgery on me who hasn't been to medical school and doesn't have a clue about what to do. He may have the nicest smile and pay all his bills, but I don't want him touching me. Ability is definitely important.

We need pastors and church planters with ability. They should have some ability on how to teach and preach the Bible. Is there real content in the message? Do they work hard to communicate well? Let's just say the truth - we've all heard a lot of boring sermons. From Charles Spurgeon:

"If some men were sentenced to hear their own sermons, it would be a righteous judgment upon them; but they would soon cry out with Cain, "My punishment is greater than I can bear."

"Don't just throw the seed at the people! Grind it into flour, bake it into bread, and slice it for them. And it wouldn't hurt to put a little honey on it."

A pastor/church planter should have some ability to get along with people. I called a college a few years ago about an associate for our church. The person at the college said, "I have a young man graduating this year who is very intelligent and speaks three languages, but he doesn't work with people very well." While I appreciated his honesty, I told him that we were working with people there in Delaware and needed someone with that skill.

These are both skills that we can work on and improve. But you can be a great communicator and the life of the party and still fail - if you lack integrity.

One example of lack of integrity - being lazy.

I didn't say feeling lazy. I feel that way a lot and I give in some.

Hard work is required to accomplish anything that matters.

I like what Paul Thompson said at the Home Missions Summit a couple of years ago:

"God won't bless a lazy person."

I'm not really a fan of Stephen King's books, but I like this quote by him:

"Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work."

Ability is important. Integrity is essential.

Ability or Integrity

2010-04-14T09:35:00.002-05:00

Which is more important - ability or integrity?

Let's say that a new person to your church volunteered for several ministries. He had great musical ability and was a real asset to your worship service. He had a charismatic personality and seemed to attract people, especially young people. He always had a smile and complimented you and the church. You would be thanking God for sending him and praying for more people like that.

But after a couple of months, some red flags started appearing. He promised things that he never could quite deliver on. He seemed to show too much attention to the opposite sex and put his hands on the young girls a lot. You noticed that some of the stories he told couldn't possibly match up with other things he had already said.

You finally realize that you have to confront him about some of these things. He either blows up in anger or acts hurt and says he is leaving the church. You hear later on that he is now a part of the church down the road.

Ability is important.

When Moses' father-in-law counseled him on getting leaders to help in the work, he said to seek able men. Ability is important. But they were also to be men of truth, who hated covetousness.

Integrity is essential.

By all means, look for workers who have ability in the area you need. (I think we should look for church planters who have shown some ability in communication, making disciples, and leadership.) But also look for workers who are people of character and integrity -people who have a humble, teachable spirit. These people can grow in their ability.

Legos

2010-03-04T09:56:00.001-06:00

I loved Legos when I was a kid. I bought them for my kids so I could play with them again. Recently, I heard a speaker (Larry Osborne) compare people to Legos. There are different size legos with different size connections. Different people have a different number of connections available with other people. Some people are much more gregarious and have the desire and time to connect with a lot of people. Others want only 2 or 3 friends.
Each lego piece has a limited number of connections. When it is full, you can't connect it to any other piece unless you pull off another piece. This is also true of people. We only have a limited capacity for connections with other people.
Friendliness is different from connection. We tell the people in church to be friendly. That's good, but not enough. People want more than friendliness; they want friends.
Everybody wants some connections to other people. One of the best helps for long term discipleship is long term relationships. To help "close the back door" of the church, we need to help people develop connections with other people. Some people continue to go to a church where they don't like a lot that is going on. But they stay in that church because that is where their friends are. We all want to have a few friends in church.
Strong ties come from relationships that are long-term, frequent, and vulnerable. After a time, we learn to feel comfortable with certain people and we can tell them things that we wouldn't mention to others.
So how do we help people develop long term relationships? Not by dividing the Sunday School classes or small groups and making people get in a new one every 6 months. Let people stay with their friends. Some will want to move on because they didn't connect. Have opportunities for new groups. Maybe a semester setup would give people that opportunity to try another group. It would also give new people a good time to start in a group. A new person probably has more connection openings.
However you solve this, we have to make a conscious effort and process where we help people get connected. If that lego in your church has no connections to others in church, soon you won't see that lego in church.

Church Planters Are My Favorite People

2010-02-18T11:16:00.004-06:00

Sandy and I just got back from a trip to Alabama, Florida, and Mississippi. We thought it would be nice and warm to go south in February. We were wrong. It was cold and snowy. But the people we spent time with were warm. I know - that sounds corny. But it is true. As I travel among Free Will Baptist churches, I meet a lot of salt of the earth people. Many times the saltiest are the church planters. They have to be prayed up or they can't stay encouraged. They have a heart for God; they have a heart for people; and they have a heart for getting God and people together. Almost all of them are humble. (Yes, I said almost)

Chad Kivette is a former church planter and now a pastor in Pensacola, Florida. Sandy and I spoke about marriage and I preached. It was good seeing them. He said as we left, "I miss being a part of Home Missions." I said, "You are still part of the Home Missions family." Again, corny, but true.

Here is a picture of Chad and Paula and us.

While we down in that area, we got to see two present home missionary families. Tim and Angie Riggs are ministering in Mobile, Alabama. Here are two pictures of his church:

They have 3 sons - Stephen, Andrew, and Caleb. Stephen is graduating from high school this year and heading to college. We went to the mall together and Tim and I got something for our sweethearts for Valentine's Day. (We also went to the Bama Fever store) Tim wanted to get the picture in front of the Alabama sign.

We also stopped by Meridian, Mississippi on the way home to see Larry and Sherry Reynolds. Their children are grown and they have 4 grandchilden, including one little girl born just last month. We took pictures of Sherry, too, but only this one came out:

Here is a picture of Larry on stage in their church building:

The Riggs, the Reynolds, and the Kivettes are all friendly and easy to like. But they are also people of faith, courage, and determination.

They are my favorite kind of people.

2010-02-05T10:05:00.001-06:00

WHY DON’T PEOPLE INVITE OTHERS TO CHURCH?

I still think Christians inviting others to church is a great way to evangelize. A lot of churches have seen growth through this. But many churches hardly have any visitors week after week. Some pastors even nag their people at the end of every service – “Now go out and invite someone to church this week.” But they don’t. Why is this?

I can think of a few reasons.
1. Some people hardly have any friends that don’t go to church.
Some ideas
· Think harder. Most people know someone who isn’t saved or in church. Family members, coworkers, neighbors, facebook friends, the person who cuts your hair, etc.
· Build relationships with unsaved people. Take time to get to know them, listen, share funny stories. Look for a chance to tell your story of God in your life.
· Remember that some people may be interested in God or church, but don’t know where to go. They may be glad to get an invitation.
· Start sowing thoughts about God: give tracts, let them know about something good in church recently, thank God for good things, let them know you’ll pray about their problems.
· Go around doing good (Jesus did - Acts 10:38) People will be more open to talking to you about God and church.

2. Some people don’t want anyone else in church.
They may not admit it, even to themselves, but they like the way things are now. More people might bring – less room for parking, more crowded auditorium and they would have to sit in front, not a family feel, new ideas, new people in leadership.

3. Some people feel their church is okay for them, but not excited about how an unchurched person would feel about it.
What The Church Can Do To Make It Easier For People To Invite
· Start on time and end about the same time each week.
· Help people find their way around – signs, greeters, signs, welcome centers, signs.
· Welcome people, but don’t overdo it by hugging strangers or having 10 minute long greet one another times.
· Periodically have a big day or special event where everyone is inviting their friends. Have food. Don’t go too long. Announce a new sermon series starting next Sunday. Find a way to follow up.
· Don’t embarrass guests by having them stand or tell their name or wear a visitor badge.
· Put yourself in the place of a visitor. How would you like to be treated? Do that. Brainstorm with your people how new people would like to be treated.
· Plan the service with the goal of a worshipful atmosphere.
· Preach truth with love, passion, illustration, and application. Don’t be boring! Aren’t you sick of boredom in churches? So is everyone else!
· Fight for unity in your church. Nobody wants to invite people to church if there is division and strained relationships.
· Have a plan to help people build friendships in church.
· Give everyone a card where they can list 3 to 5 friends who aren’t in church. Ask them to pray for them, do good and build relationship with them, and invite them.

People invite their friends to parties, to watch the Super Bowl, to go play golf, to go out to eat. If they think it will be a good experience for their friends, they will invite them to church, too.

2010-02-02T08:09:00.002-06:00

IS IT OKAY TO INVITE UNSAVED TO CHURCH?

A friend of mine recently wrote a blog talking about the purpose of church. He asked whether we should invite unsaved people to church. Here’s a link to that blog:
http://thebrinkonline.com/blog/read/a-thought-on-the-purpose-of-church-services
His basic thought was that he had been taught all his life to make the service appealing to unbelievers so we could reach them. But he was afraid this was not Biblical and would hinder Christians from witnessing outside the church.

Here is my comment:
I'm glad you brought this up for a couple of reasons. This is very important and we need to be talking about it. And I'm glad you are willing to separate tradition from the Bible. Tradition is not always wrong, but let's be willing to ask why we do something. However, I don't see most churches really changing their services to reach the unsaved. I know some churches do things like leave out a cross or some songs for fear of offending people. But I've never been to any of those. I'm afraid that most churches aren't really thinking about the unsaved at all. Or at least not very much. I've got so many thoughts on this that I'll probably write a blog about it myself. I'll send you a link. This is an important issue for the home missionaries that I work with. Personally, I want to get more unsaved people in church and want to see us all to a better job welcoming every newcomer. I think we can do this without compromising. Thanks again for your good thoughts.

That’s the end of the comment that I posted. I have other thoughts on the purpose of church. But I want to say a few things specifically about having unbelievers in our services.

I do believe it is Biblical to invite the unsaved to church as a way of evangelizing them. Psalm 40:3 says “And He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.” Seeing our praise of God can be a testimony to unbelievers. In I Corinthians 14 we see that the unsaved can come to God through preaching: “24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all. 25 And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you.” When Jesus tells His followers to love one another, it is a testimony to all. 35 "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." Hopefully, the people we invite to church can see this in our church.

I can see a couple of dangers associated with this. One is pragmatism. The dictionary defines pragmatism as
a philosophical movement or system having various forms, but generally stressing practical consequences as constituting the essential criterion in determining meaning, truth, or value.

Pragmatism = whatever works.
That philosophy could lead to appeals to the flesh that gather a crowd, but don’t build a church. We could be tempted to change our message for fear of offending someone. (I believe that many people want to hear the truth preached. Mainline, liberal denominations are hemorrhaging members. Who wants to waste time being a part of something that isn’t real and doesn’t matter? I think a lot of people in America are tired of cotton candy and want some meat.)
But you can make people feel welcome without compromise. When my wife and I have someone visit our home, we don’t compromise what we believe. For the last two years, we have hosted a Christmas dinner for students at the local International English Institute. 25-30 students show up along with the teachers and a few people from our church. Several of these students are Muslim. We sang Christmas carols, prayed before we ate (in Jesus’ name), read the Christmas story, and gave them a Christian tract along with some goodies. We hope that we sowed good seed into their lives.

Another danger of relying on inviting people to church as a means of evangelism is that Christians won’t obey the command to preach the gospel. My friend fears that we’ll just let the preacher evangelize. I don’t believe it should be either “Come or See” or “Go and Tell”, but both. All Christians should be involved in outreach. Preachers should be teaching people ideas on how to sow the seeds of the gospel in people’s lives. When people do speak to their friends and family, it will usually progress naturally to an invitation to church.

I don’t see churches changing their services that much for the unsaved. What I see more is churches not reaching sinners at all. Many churches haven’t baptized anyone in a year or two or three. Why not? Why don’t Christians in many churches invite their friends and family members to church? That is the subject of my next blog.

2010-01-25T10:04:00.003-06:00

LOMBARDI’S 5 RULES FOR SUCCESS

The Colts and the Saints are in the Super Bowl this year. I’ve been a Colts fan since I was a kid in Maryland, so I’m glad. The trophy given to the winner of the Super Bowl is the Vince Lombardi trophy.
Vince Lombardi was the coach of the Green Bay Packers. He led them to 5 championships in 9 seasons. Under his leadership, the Packers won the first two Super Bowls. There’s a book out now about the 26 Rules of Lombardi. But I was cleaning out my files recently and came across notes about Lombardi’s 5 Rules for Success. I know starting a new church isn’t exactly the same as football, but I think we can see some application.

1. Lombardi had 1 goal – to win.

“Winning isn’t everything, but the will to win is everything.”
“If it doesn’t matter who wins or loses, then why do they keep score?”
We Christians know that it is hard to keep score on our work for God. Our goal is to be faithful. But I think I Corinthians 9:24 says something about our attitude in our faithful work: “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.”
As an athlete denies himself and gives his all, so should we. I like a guy to be aggressive. Don’t wait for things to happen. (The verse about waiting on the Lord doesn’t mean we should never do anything – the Bible is filled with action verses.) Plan, visit, study, pray, call, talk, write, email, preach, teach, mail, do. Then God has something to bless. It’s like having a garden. There is no life apart from God (God gives the increase - I Corinthians 3:6), but somebody has to plant and water. God will grow our church, but we must sow the seed.
“The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.”

2. Lombardi built an organization that shared his philosophy.

“Teamwork is what the Green Bay Packers were all about. They didn't do it for individual glory. They did it because they loved one another.”
“Build for your team a feeling of oneness, of dependence on one another and of strength to be derived by unity.”
You can’t please everybody. And neither can you have a church going in 10 different directions. Know what you believe. Teach it. Get people of a like mind to work with you. For those who can’t work with your philosophy and beliefs, let them exit gracefully. There must be a sense of unity and oneness for your church to prosper.

3. Lombardi taught his players the basic fundamentals.

“Some people try to find things in this game that don't exist; but football is only two things - blocking and tackling.”

We need to teach people the basics of doctrine. We need to teach people the basics of Christian living. Instead, many churches waste their focus on politics, the environment, convictions that are not Bible-based, endless disagreements on the end times, etc. No wonder many Christians are ripe targets for cults. They don’t know what they believe or why.

4. Lombardi trained his players to execute 6 basic plays to perfection.

“Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.”
Sometimes the difference between and ho-hum sermon and a great one is taking the extra time to find the right illustration or think awhile to come up with a good application. It’s tempting sometimes to blow the dust off a message we preached a few years ago and taking 15 minutes to review it. But that can lead to a dull, lifeless message. Our people need better than that.

5. Lombardi instilled in his players enthusiasm.

“If you aren't fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm.”
People want to follow someone who is passionate about what they believe. You don’t have to have a life of the party personality to do this. People are looking for something that you really believe and that comes from your heart. Be an encourager. Build faith in your people. Here’s a quote from CS Lewis that I like:
“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”
If you are starting a church, you are one of the most important people in your town or city. You are making an impact on the lives of generations of people. You are speaking for God and dealing with eternity.
That’s something to be enthusiastic about!

2009-11-19T09:45:00.002-06:00

PLANTING FAST-GROWING CHURCHES

Planting Fast-growing Churches is the title of a book written by Stephen Gray. He is the Director of National Missions for General Baptists. He is also a former church planter. Dr. Gray sent questionnaires to 336 recent church plants in 5 denominations. The criteria for churches in this study: 1. At least 3 years old, but no older than 6 years; 2. Had to be led by a first-time church planter; 3. The new church must have been started in a city of at least 30,000 people. He separated the churches into two categories: Fast-growing and Struggling. A fast-growing church reached an average attendance of at least 200 and was financially self-supporting by 3 years from its public launch. Only 7% of the 2285 churches that qualified for this study were fast-growing. All other church plants were labeled struggling.

Here are some of the conclusions that the author reached from this study:

FINANCES

· Churches that received no additional startup money didn’t grow as fast as those that could get some help. But churches that received over $50,000 in additional funds (after salary) did worse than churches that received less than $50,000. Dr. Gray was concerned that new churches that received too much money or received support for too long could develop a welfare mentality.
· A significantly higher percentage of fast-growing churches taught financial stewardship within the first 6 months.
· Churches that gave a greater percentage of their income to outside causes did better.

LAUNCH

· The new church should have between 25 and 50 adults prior to launch.
· Both small groups and preview services should be used to build the core group.
· Many fast-growing churches had preview services every other week instead of once a month.

MINISTRIES

· 97% of fast-growing churches had a children’s ministry, while only 42% of struggling churches did.
· 92% of fast-growing churches offered 3 or more ministries at their opening. The most common ministries were worship, children, and teen.

This book was interesting to me. But that doesn’t mean that I have to agree with every conclusion. I would like to know more about the fast-growing churches. In what region of the country were they located? Did they have significant number of other members of their denomination or a mother church help them? Were some of these statistics the cause or the result?

However, this book can help us think about what we need to do to have faster-growing churches. It would especially be good for new church planters who haven’t had their first service.

I’ll end this with a quote from chapter 1:
“Church planting will make you feel alive, and it can push you to the brink of insanity. It will give you a new sense of God’s presence and convince you that Satan is alive and well. You will celebrate the birth of a new church will unearthly joy, and experience betrayal from friends and family in ways you never thought possible. As a church planter, you will experience high highs and low lows. It’s dangerous and dramatic. As they say on television – kids, don’t try this at home.”

2009-11-12T10:06:00.002-06:00

THE NONES ARE COMING

DISCOURAGING THOUGHTS

The “Nones” are people who claim no religious affiliation. According to an article in The Week magazine from November 6, 2009, a study by Trinity College found their numbers are increasing. In 1990, 8 % of Americans claimed no religious affiliation, while in a recent survey that number has climbed to 15%. Their numbers are higher in the Northeast and the Pacific Northwest. Nones also have a higher percentage among younger people.

Ravi Zacharias in Jesus Among Other Gods says,
“Philosophically, you can believe anything, so long as you do not claim it to be true.
Morally you can practice anything, so long as you do not claim that it is a ‘better’ way.
Religiously, you can hold to anything, so long as you do not bring Jesus Christ in to it.”

Another survey by the National Opinion Research Center says that regular church attendance has fallen in the US. In 1971, 41% of the population attended church regularly, while in 2002 the number had dropped to 31%. Denominational loyalty has also eroded with churchgoers shopping around. Southern Baptist researcher Brad Waggoner says, “There’s no simple answer why people are so restless.” Since younger people tend to be more nonreligious, some are concerned this may be a growing trend in America. Trinity demographer Ariela Keysar says secularism in the US may one day rival the famed religious indifference of Europeans. “We’re not there,” she says, “but we’re going in that direction.”

ENCOURAGING THOUGHTS

A slim majority of the Nones believe in God and a third say they pray weekly or daily. Fewer than 10% call themselves atheists. Even though over 3 million people in America claim to be atheists, that number is only 1% of our population. This, in spite of an almost all out war by evolutionists and atheists in books, curriculum, TV shows, etc.

A lot of these people leaving organized religion are leaving liberal, unbelieving churches and the Catholic church. Erwin Lutzer says the persecution in China during the Cultural Revolution wiped out theological liberalism. Maybe the Catholic church’s scandals and the liberal church’s lack of answers is starting to do that here.

It has looked tough before. Spreading the gospel in the first century Roman empire looked daunting. In the 1800’s infidel Robert Ingersoll claimed that “churches are dying out all over the land.” A 1966 cover of Time magazine asked, “Is God Dead?” In each case, the church of God preached the truth and endured.

The devil would like us to be discouraged and overwhelmed so that we would quit before we got started. God is alive and well. He is working in America and in your town. Let us be realistic and admit we have a challenge in America. Let us also remember that people still have needs that only God can answer.

Boot Camp

2009-10-23T08:42:00.006-05:00

A week long training for new home missionaries was held at the Home Missions office during the week of October 19. Seven new church planters attended.

Pictured above (from left to right) are Danny Elliott (Quebec), Brian Williams (New York), Barry Long (Colorado), Josh Bennett (Arizona), Donnie Burke (Colorado), Jeff Goodman (Arizona), Richard Atwood (Home Missions Staff), James Kilgore (California), and Larry Powell (Home Missions Director).

The discussion was informative and encouraging. Two missionaries on the field - Howard Gwartney in Arizona and David Sexton in Virginia - talked to the guys by webcam over the internet.

Here's pizza one day at the office.

Here's supper one night at the Atwood's house. Sandy Atwood makes great lasagna. That's Emily, Lauren, and Leah Williams near the front of the picture.

Of course, we had snacks to hold us over between lunch and supper.
Besides great discussion and good fellowship over food, some of our best times was the prayer together. We had times of laughter, but also times of tears. These are all sincere men with a great burden to reach unsaved people and build a new Free Will Baptist Church. I felt honored to spend a week with them.

2009-10-14T14:21:00.006-05:00

ALBUQUERQUE IN AUTUMN

This past weekend (October 9-11), Sandy and I went to New Mexico to visit Mark and Khristi Shores.

We spoke at a Marriage Seminar at their church on Saturday. Here's some of the group:

Sandy and Khristi are doing a little cleaning up.

On Sunday, Mark leads the singing while Khristi plays the keyboard.

The church auditorium and fellowship hall. They have worked hard to make it nice.

From the outside:

The Shores son Josh is in the middle. He is deputy with the county Sheriff's Dept. He is also an eligible bachelor. (Josh, you owe me $10 for putting that in there. ha)

This was also the week of the Balloon Fiesta. It is called the largest ballooning event on earth, the most photographed event on earth, and the largest annual international event held in the United States.

Mark, Sandy, and I got up on Saturday to see the balloons take off. Here's a flying cow:

I counted about 400 balloons in the air at one time.

We had a great weekend with the Shores and the church folks. Pray that they will be able to find a bigger building so they can continue to grow.

Oakland in October

2009-10-07T08:34:00.005-05:00

Tim Osborn and the Faith FWB Church in Oakland, Tennessee had an Operation Saturation and participated in a town festival on the same day (October 3). Here's the church's booth.

The Faith Praise Team sings to the early morning crowd

Ken Akers (Masters Men Director) and my wife, Sandy, and I went down for an Operation Saturation. Here is a group from Grace FWB Church in Nashville with Pastor Jamie Lane. We appreciate them driving 3 hours to help.

Tim Osborn was in charge of parking and was riding around in his buggy all day. He does a good job of connecting with people. Between walking around door to door and riding around with him, I got a sunburn.

By the end of the day, Micah Osborn was getting tired. Next to her are Jordan and Emma Osborn.

The church meets in a school. Like a lot of new churches, they have to haul their chairs and equipment and set up and take down each Sunday. Here's Seth Osborn before church.

Free snacks and drinks before church.

The Praise Team leads the morning worship.

Between the two events, a lot of people in Oakland heard about the church.

2009-09-29T10:15:00.007-05:00

BATTLE CREEK AND OTHER NEWS

Battle Creek, Michigan (aka Cereal City) is the home of Kellogg and Post. It is also where home missionary Jeff Isaacs is working hard on establishing a new church. The church has just relocated. They bought a former church building that had been unused for 15 years. Jeff and the folks from his church had help from some people from other Free Will Baptist churches in renovating the building. They now have a nice building in a great location.

Ken Akers (Master's Men Director) and I went to Battle Creek on September 25-27 for an Operation Saturation and their first weekend in the new building. A special Dedication Service was held on Friday night with several other pastors attending.

About 80 people were present, including several of the guys who had worked on the church. One man had his thumb 85% severed while working on the church. He had it stitched up and returned to work 2 days later!

On Saturday morning it was raining, but 9 brave souls ventured out to give out literature about the church. We had a great time and some people showed up on Sunday. Here's the 9 and also a picture of Jeff setting out.

Sunday morning was a great service with 138 people present!

Here's pictures of a full parking lot, a full house, and Jeff and Charissa.

Pray for the church as they follow up on the visitors. Pray for Jeff who has back surgery on Thursday, October 1.

Other News:

Dexter Guin and the church in Colorado Springs let us know that they finally got their building permit. Here's how Dexter put it:

Thanks for praying with us! After 3 yrs 9 months we finally pulled our permit today!!!!!!! Thank the Lord!!!!

This from Allen Hall in York, PA:

Hi, Bro. Richard. We baptized 6 all together in the frigid waters of a swimming pool. The first to be baptized was my daughter, Allison. I can't tell you what that did in my heart. Three of those baptized were a dad, mom & son. It was a precious service!

Tim Osborn in Memphis, TN reports that on their 1st anniversary service, the church broke its attendance record with 58!

Howard Gwartney in Arizona had 153 folks present for their 2nd anniversary service!

2009-08-28T08:37:00.007-05:00

TRIP TO THE NORTHEAST

My wife, Sandy, and I just got back from visiting 3 church planters in the Northeast. Our daughter, Rachel, went with us and was the official photographer.

The first visit was with Tim and Lori Byers in Conneaut, Ohio. This is right on Lake Erie not too far from the PA line.

On Saturday, the church had a "cookout". Here's a picture of Tim cooking and me trying to look like I'm helping.

People eating in the fellowship hall:

It was Tim's birthday, so he got to wear the birthday hat:

I would have helped clean up, but somebody needed to hold young Joseph Byers.

The beautiful church was built in the late 1800's.

Sunday morning service:

We drove from Ohio to upstate New York to visit Dana and Betty Booth and Jim and Sylvia Martin.

They bought a former Nazarene church building.

Shaking hands on Sunday morning:

Jim Martin is leading the singing:

We stayed with our son, Nathan, and his wife, Rachel (they've been married only 2 months). They work with the youth and children in the church. Here is a picture of them with the Booths and Martins.

Our third visit was with Tom and Pam Jones and Nate and Jenna Altom in Greensburg, Pennsylvania.

We had a short time with them, but a good time with a lot of laughter.

While the Byers and the Booths bought former churches, the Jones bought a former bar and dance hall. Several groups have come up this summer to help them in the renovation. I think it's great that this building will now be used to save souls instead of destroy them.

Still more work to be done.

It's tough everywhere to start churches now and it's really tough in the northeast. I appreciate all these families who are working hard to spread the good news about Christ.

2009-08-12T09:58:00.002-05:00

QUOTES THAT I LIKE

Some people collect stamps. Some collect autographs. Others collect antiques. Jay Leno collects cars. I like to collect quotes. (They are a lot cheaper than cars.) A good quote can communicate something important or interesting or funny in just a few words. If you are a preacher or teacher, I hope you use good quotes. They can help get the point across. And they are often memorable.
Here are some quotes that I like. Maybe you can use one or two of them.

Don’t waste time waiting for inspiration. Begin and inspiration will find you.

You can’t build a reputation on what you’re going to do. Henry Ford

I believe in planning ahead, because if you spend enough time planning, you never actually have to do anything. Garfield the cat

CS Lewis on the Christian faith:
If it is false, it is of no importance; if true, it is of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is moderately important.

If you are talking to people about Jesus, you are having a 100% success rate in sowing the seed.

"Ninety percent of all those who fail are not actually defeated. They simply quit."
-- Paul J. Meyer

A couple of quotes from Steven Wright:
I almost had a psychic girlfriend but she left me before we met.
I’d kill for a Nobel Peace Prize.
99% of lawyers give the rest a bad name.
All those who believe in psychokinesis, raise my hand.

Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there. Will Rogers

“Smoking is not a sin; but if you like putting dried leaves in your mouth and setting them on fire that’s your business.”

You'll always miss 100% of the shots you don't take. Wayne Gretsky

* If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around.*

Listen as if someone were about to give you the winning lottery number and you would only hear it once.

People judge you by your actions, not your intentions. You may have a heart of gold, but so does a hard boiled egg.

Never decide to do nothing just because you can only do a little.

God created the world out of nothing, and as long as we are nothing, He can make something out of us. Martin Luther

A little girl had just finished her first week of school. 'I'm just wasting my time,' she said to her mother. 'I can't read, I can't write, and they won't let me talk!'

We don’t need more strength or more ability or greater opportunity. What we need is to use what we have.

I’d be happy to hear from you with some quotes that you like. As I said, I collect quotes.

2009-07-30T07:28:00.000-05:00

THERE IS A GOD

This is the title of a recent book by Antony Flew. It is subtitled, “How the world’s most notorious atheist changed his mind.” Even though the father of Mr. Flew was a Methodist minister, he has been an atheist for most of his adult life. He authored several books stating the case for atheism and has debated many theists over the years. In 2004 he announced that he now believed in God. With all of the recent well-publicized books promoting atheism and attacking a belief in God, it is encouraging to read this book.

The main premise of this book is that the author has followed the evidence wherever it led. When Flew announced his change of belief he said,
“What I think the DNA material has done is that it has shown, by the almost unbelievable complexity of the arrangements which are needed to produce life, that intelligence must have been involved in getting these extraordinarily diverse elements to work together. It’s the enormous complexity of the number of elements and the enormous subtlety of the ways they work together. The meeting of these two parts at the right time by chance is simply minute. It … looked to me like the work of intelligence.”

He tells how the British National Council of Arts conducted an experiment by putting 6 monkeys in cage with a computer. “After one month of hammering away at, the monkeys produced 50 typed pages – but not a single word.” So then what’s the chance of the monkeys producing a Shakespearean sonnet of 488 letters? 1 in 10 to the 690th power (1 followed by 690 0s). If instead of monkeys you turned the entire universe into computer chips and had them able to spin out 488 trials a million times a second, the number of trials you would get since the beginning of time would be 10 to the 90th power. “You would never get a sonnet by chance.”
And yet some believe that a human mind got here by chance.

I also liked the chapter, “Did the universe know we were coming?” He imagines entering a hotel room on your vacation and everything is set to your likes – your favorite song is playing; your favorite painting is hanging there; your favorite snacks and beverages are there; all the grooming products that you use are in the bathroom; and even the TV is turned to your favorite channel. With each new discovery you are more inclined to believe that someone knew you were coming.
This illustrates how the laws of physics in our universe and the conditions on Earth are just right for life. If they were changed just a little, then life wouldn’t be possible. Since many atheists understand this, there is now a theory that there are many universes. We just happen to be in the one that is conducive for life. It is interesting that they are more willing to believe in an infinite number of universes than believe in one God.

Antony Flew believes in evolution and hasn’t become a Christian. But I still like seeing my faith confirmed. When I was a pastor, I liked to teach some apologetics. With our faith being assaulted so much by the modern culture; it helps to see that it makes sense to believe in God.

2009-07-15T09:28:00.000-05:00

WHAT ARE YOU READING THIS SUMMER?

I love to read. I guess you would call it a hobby of mine. I probably read about 75-100 books each year. (Many of these books I borrow from the library. A good library can be a great resource and great bargain!) I read books about history, science, politics, coins, economics, business, fantasy fiction, and Louis L’Amour westerns. (Unfortunately, Louis is dead and I’ve read all of his books about 3 times) Of course, I read many Christian books and books about church planting.
Here are a couple of books that I’ve just finished reading:

How The Mighty Fall by Jim Collins.
This is a business book written by the author of bestselling Good to Great. I know that we don’t get our principles of ministry from the business world. I think that is a mistake. But I do like to see if there are principles in business that are transferrable to church work. In this book, Collins deals with the question of why big and prosperous companies failed. He lists 5 stages of decline.
1. Hubris Born of Success
This certainly sounds Biblical. Proverbs says that “Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.”
If you have some success and start thinking, “This community and the Home Missions Dept are lucky to have me,” then maybe danger is lurking.
2. Undisciplined Pursuit of More
3. Denial of Risk and Peril
Under markers for stage 3, he lists Externalizing Blame. “Rather than accept full responsibility for setbacks and failures, leaders point to external factors or other people to affix blame.”
Now that can easily apply to church work. It’s easy to blame the culture, or our location, or those other Christians, or the sorry people in my church. But that way leads to death.
4. Grasping for Salvation
5. Capitulation to Irrelevance or Death

The YBH (Yes, But How) Handbook of Church Planting by Roger McNamara and Ken Davis

This is a pretty thick book (over 650 pages) that deals with just about everything you can think of in starting a church. It is subtitled A Practical Guide to Church Planting. Here are a couple of excerpts:

From the chapter on Dealing with Problems:
“Problems are synonymous with churches and church planting. You cannot have a church without encountering problems because churches are comprised of people and people have problems.
Don’t go around with a ‘persecution complex’ or feeling everyone is against you, but do recognize that trials and problems are a normal part of life and ministry. Even with good people there will be misunderstandings and differences of opinion from time to time.”
Then the chapter talks about the specifics of dealing with problems. I like the parts about teaching people how to forgive and teaching people how to handle gossip. Those two ought to be taught in every church.

From the chapter on Developing Lay Leaders:

Just the Right Person

Great people are ready to help me,
At the right time,
In the right way,
People I don’t even know yet.

I promise I will never give up
Because I don’t have the help,
But I will trust God to provide.

God has the resources to help me
that I have not even considered,
and multiplied thousands of persons
with all sorts of talents, skills, concerns, and contacts.
That God can bring into my life to fulfill His plans.

So I will open my eyes and see the faces
of people around me.
I will open my ears to hear what they are saying.
Today, tomorrow, next week
I’ll meet someone,
someone who is just the person I need.

And that right person will come along
to fulfill just the right place,
at just the right time,
and I will marvel knowing that God
arranged it so beautifully.

What are you reading? I’d be interested in having people who read this blog to post a comment and tell what you have been reading and what it has that is good.

2009-06-30T13:21:00.000-05:00

I’M SICK OF ALLITERATION

I’m talking about having all the points of a sermon outline start with the same letter. Something like this:

Building Churches
1. Beckon People to Come
A. Be nice to them
B. Balloons are pretty
2. Babies Should Be Taken Care Of
A. Boy, they can cry a lot
B. Bake cookies at 325 degrees
3. Before you start, pray (Guess I should have made that the first point)
A. Bereshith means in the beginning
B. Bow you head

Obviously, I’m being a little facetious. I have used alliteration many times.
But some messages that I hear have outlines that stretch to get the points alliterated. They seem to be trying to make their outlines into works of art. I hear words that I’ve never heard of before: semi-pelagianism and solafidianism (which is actually a good word).

Having a cute outline is not the main goal for our preaching. I would rather hear a sermon that actually said something. I would like to hear some Bible content. I would like to hear some practical application. I would like to hear a message that leads me to some action.
And yes, it’s alright to tell a story or two – if the story relates to the point. Jesus told stories. (But I don’t remember too many of His alliterated outlines)

With some people, preachers only have one chance a week to give a true Bible message that can impact their lives. And with some visitors, preachers only have one chance, period. This is too important an opportunity to waste with mumbled clichés or outlines that seek to impress instead of teach.

I don’t really care whether your outline is alliterated, starts with each letter of the alphabet, or if you only have one point.
But say something!

The Bible is just as true and relevant in the 21st century as it was in the first century. People need to hear a message from the Bible that they can understand. In your town this Sunday, probably one of the most important things happening will be your preaching.
Please say something!

Try it. Break the addiction. Preach this Sunday without alliteration.

2009-06-26T13:12:00.000-05:00

PREACHERS AND POLITICIANS

A couple of politicians have been in the news recently because their adulterous relationships have been exposed. One of these men is supposed to be a born again Christian and a member of a Pentecostal church. He was also very involved in Promise Keepers. The other is an Episcopal. As Governor of his state, he opposed faith-based license plates. He wrote,
“It is my personal view that the largest proclamation of one's faith ought to be in how one lives his life."
One lesson we learn from this is that when you do wrong, you will probably get caught. That shouldn’t be our main motivation to not sin, but fear of getting caught is part of what keeps me straight. That’s why most of us don’t drive 100 mph and run red lights. We don’t want a ticket. If you think you can cheat on your spouse and no one will find out, you are wrong.
Another lesson is that hypocrisy is hated. Both of these men lived lives that didn’t match up with their words. Of course, politicians are famous for making campaign promises that they don’t deliver. This brings me to the connection to preachers. Which is more important in leading churches and reaching people – trust or charisma?
Many politicians have a lot of charisma. They smile a lot, shake hands, kiss babies, and try to tell you what you want to hear. In our media age, charisma can go a long way in helping a person get elected.
For preachers, there is nothing wrong with smiling a lot, shaking hands, and kissing babies. There’s nothing wrong with personal charisma. What will really help us, though, to be attractive to people is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The fruit of the Holy Spirit is love, joy, and peace. I like people who show that they care for me. I like to be around people who show a true joy in living. I feel better being with people who exhibit peace even in tough situations. This is also true for patience and humility and gentleness. One of the best things you can do for your marriage is to walk in the Spirit each day. One of the best things you can do as a Christian to reach others is to walk in the Spirit each day.
But if we are talking about personal charisma and charm, than trust is much more important in reaching others and being a leader. You don’t have to have a life of the party personality to build a church. People are watching us. They want to follow someone they can trust. Some preachers are like politicians in that they are making promises that they don’t fulfill. After a while, people learn that the pastor doesn’t really mean what he says. Congregations get whiplash from all the new programs that some pastors keep promoting. And they certainly expect us to live what we preach.
I’m all for new ideas. I like to hear how other people are doing what I want to do. We may find a new method that really helps.But its much more important that we are Sprit-filled people of integrity

2009-06-25T15:16:00.000-05:00

CHURCH PLANTING IS HARD

I work for the Free Will Baptist Home Missions Department. It’s a great job! I get to work with some of my favorite people – church planters. Before I came to Nashville to work here, I was a church planter in Delaware. It was one of the hardest and most rewarding experiences of our lives. My wife, Sandy, and I have four children. Now that they are grown, Sandy is able to travel with me to visit church planters. Both of us have a heart for new churches and church planters and their families. In this blog, I just want to share about good books that I’ve read, ideas that I’ve heard about, and thoughts that I have about church planting and other facets of reaching people for Christ in North America.

It’s hard to start a new church.

* You have to find somewhere to meet for church services.
* You don’t have much money.
* Nobody knows anything about you.
* Since people attract people, it’s harder for you to draw a crowd because you don’t have any people yet.
* Somebody is always asking you what you believe – “So what’s the difference between Free Will Baptists and other Baptists?”
* You have to come up with all the organizational structure.
* A lot of people will come for awhile and then leave because they don’t like something about your preaching or the church doctrine or way you worship. Or they want more programs for their children.
* You attract a lot of people who are very needy or who have a lot of problems. You know that you want to help everyone, but they drain you of all your energy and don’t really give you any help.

And there are a lot of obstacles that apply to any church in America:
* People are busy.
* Americans are comparison shoppers.
* There are many false beliefs. Many people resent anyone who takes a stand on truth.
* People are suspicious about religious leaders.
* Our country has a culture of entertainment and pleasure.
* People have preconceived ideas about Christians and Baptists.

But you know what else church planting is – it’s fun!

* I was so excited at our first service (held in a living room with 35 people present) that I felt like my feet weren’t even touching the ground.
* Do you want real fellowship with other Christians? Work together on the new church building. At the end of the day you are tired, but it’s a good tired.
* You look forward to Sunday morning like you never have before.
* It is so good to have a crowd at your fellowship dinner that you don’t mind eating last and you’re not that upset that you have to eat dark meat chicken.
* Some people are saved. Their whole future is changed. That is the fun I’m talking about!

So if hard work and rejection will stop you, don’t try to start a new church. It isn’t for everyone.
But I’m sure glad I got to get in on it.