Archive - February, 2009

Crazy Economics 101

February 26, 2009 in Church Related, Crazy Stuff with 1 Comment

If you are confused by the current lending and credit crisis, then watch this 10 minute video. It does a great job of describing what has happened. In a nutshell, the banks let people borrow more than they could afford, and when too many people defaulted, the banks got into big trouble.

Psalm 37:21 (NLT) – The wicked borrow and never repay,but the godly are generous givers.
Romans 13:8 (NLT) Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another.

As Christians, we should put ourselves into position to financially help those in need. And we should model and teach financial responsibility. If you are struggling with debt, then please start taking the steps to get out of debt as soon as possible. Check out Joe Sangl’s website where he has some excellent info about what to do next.


The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

Expository vs. Topical Preaching

February 25, 2009 in Church Related with 14 Comments

I get frustrated every time I read or hear a pastor saying that expository preaching is the only right way to preach.   I was listening to a podcast a few months ago where this topic came up again. Most people think expository preaching is verse by verse going through a book of the Bible.  That is typically how it is presented.  However, that is not true “expository” preaching.  That is more of a commentary-style exposition.   First let me define what expository preaching really is.  Here’s a couple of definitions that were used in the podcast

Expository preaching is the presentation of biblical truth derived from and transmitted through a historical,  grammatical, Spirit-guided study of a passage in its context which the Holy Spirit applies first to the life of the preacher and then, through him, to his congregation. — Haddon Robinson

Expository preaching is the Spirit-empowered explanation and proclamation of the text of God’s Word with due regard to the historical, grammatical, contextual and doctrinal significance of the given passage with the specific objective of invoking a Christ-transforming response. — Stephen Olford

Now I agree with these definitions. It is important to look at the context and meaning of the scripture that we use while preaching. The problem is that the most famous sermon in the Bible does not fall into this category. The Sermon on the Mount is a topical sermon.  A powerful one that utilizes many different texts and addresses many different problems.   I like to define my style as “topical expository”  I like to take topics and then use passages of the Bible to clearly communicate Biblical truth that we can apply and use in our life today.  I do think that too many preachers use verses out of context to make their point.  However, let’s quit criticizing different styles of preaching.  As long as we remain faithful to the text, then our calling is to preach so lives can be transformed.  Whether you preach topically or expository, or a combination of the two, what is most important is that you are sharing what God leads you to share.  In other words, remain faithful to God and don’t let critics tell you the method to use.

Making the Change from Blogger to WordPress – Part 1

February 24, 2009 in Technology with 1 Comment

Posts in this series
Part 1 – Why Make the Change?
Part 2 – How I Moved the Blog

I recently changed from the free Blogger.com service to my own WordPress site.   For most people visiting my site, they may not even notice.  The links are the same, the content is the same, and the comments are all the same, but behind the scenes there was a huge change. Here are the reasons why I changed.

Advantages of WordPress

  • Multiple pages – I can add different pages for different purposes.  Currently, I have an about me, links, and archive page, but you can add anything.  It’s super flexible to build a simple or complex site.   I would recommend using it for a complete church or business website.
  • Speed - Blogger was sloooooowww.   I had several javascript sidebar items on my blogger page and they took forever to load.   WordPress is much, much faster to load.
  • Control – I can host all of my own images and content.   I can access my database.  I can make any changes whenever I want to.  Why, because I pay for my own domain and my hosting.   I have unlimited file storage and data transfer through Bluehost.com for $6.95 per month.
  • Widgets and Plug-ins - there are thousands of third-party apps that you can add to your wordpress installation. You are seeing the effects of several of them now.  The power is incredible.
  • Themes – changing your theme on blogger is extremely frustrating.  On blogger, you have very little control without learning their xml structure for templates.  On wordpress, you have many more high quality free themes to choose from.  There are also very powerful and great-looking themes available at a reasonable cost from ithemes and studiopress.
  • Support and Improvement – WordPress is constantly adding new features and they have great support.  Blogger has finally started adding some new features, especially in their Blogger in Draft, but still they lag way behind
  • Search Engine Optimization – WordPress has many more options to help you be found

Advantages of Blogger

  • it’s free
  • it’s by Google

If you aren’t blogging yet, but want to start, I would urge you to consider starting from the beginning with wordpress.   If the cost is an issue, then you can get started with wordpress using their free wordpress.com service. It’s not quite as powerful, but it’s a good way to get started blogging. And the transition is easier from wordpress.com to wordpress.org.

In part 2 of this series, I’ll share how I actually moved my blog, keeping all the links, posts, comments, and permalinks intact.  Part 3 will have the details on how I customized my theme and added sidebar content.  And finally Part 4 will be about which plug-ins I recommend.

Sunday Wrap-Up

February 22, 2009 in Church Related, Youth Ministry with 0 Comments

It was another day where I saw God move and work.  This will be short because I’m getting very, very sleepy …

  • I hate making decisions about whether or not to have church. The snow was pouring down, but the forecast wasn’t calling for much accumulation.  By the time church started it was gone.  We made the right call.
  • Because of the snow, I was expecting a light turnout.  Some of our regulars stayed home, but we had a number of new guests.  Every week, we see new faces.  The word is getting out that God is doing some incredible things through the people at Cornerstone!
  • I preached on a tough passage this morning in 1 John 3:1-10.   I said what I needed to say and I let God take care of the rest.  People need to make sure that they are truly children of God.  God calls us to radical obedience, not a safe and comfortable life.
  • After church, we loaded up a van and hit the road.  Our young adult praise band, Scattered, led worship for a youth rally in Weber City, Virginia.  I was able to bring a short message about faith.   I am so stinking proud of our teens at Cornerstone.   They are incredible musicians, but they have a passion and love for sharing Jesus and I am seeing them grow more every week.  They were even invited to play at a summer camp in June.  They really sounded good.
  • I also appreciate the youth that traveled with us to setup and tear-down and run all the technical stuff.  It was a very challenging room for acoustics and they pulled it off with no time to spare.
  • I am also glad my family traveled with me tonight.  It was awesome to let my kids see the passion and worship that occurred tonight.  Not only that, but they got to spend time with their dad on a Sunday, something that usually doesn’t happen much.  I would encourage anybody to take their family with them on as many business trips or ministry trips that they can.   We made this trip extra special because we traveled on to Pigeon Forge tonight to stay at a new hotel with an indoor waterpark.  All day tomorrow we be splashing and having fun as a family at Wilderness at the Smokies.  This place looks awesome.

This is already longer than planned, I’ll share more details when we get back to the big city of Galax.

Crazy Love Book Study – Chapter 1

February 20, 2009 in Book and Music Reviews with 17 Comments

We had our first life group study tonight for Crazy Love. We had quite a few people who were unable to attend so I decided to post the videos here and also to use this as an online discussion group each week. Our assignment for next week is to read through the first chapter. You can add comments below if you have questions or if you would just like to share your thoughts. Think of this as a group discussion that continues throughout the week. I’ll add my comments on the chapter as I read through it again. And here’s the cool part, it’s open for anyone to add comments, even if you aren’t in our life group. If you’re adventurous, then you can check out an online book discussion with plenty of comments and discussion about the first two chapters of the book at this site.

Here are the videos we showed tonight. They give you a glimpse of what the book is about and who Francis Chan is. We had a great discussion time and I’m excited about the next 10 weeks. Also, our group will continue to meet at 7pm each Friday night. Join in on the discussion.  Watch all 4 videos in the playlist below.

httpvp://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=36ED57934CD85DAD

Crazy Love

February 20, 2009 in Book and Music Reviews with 1 Comment

One of the books that I read last year that had a profound impact on me was Crazy Love by Francis Chan. I love hearing Chan speak and preach, and this book really comes to life with the message that we should be crazy in love with God, because He is crazy in love with us.  I heard Francis speak for the first time at the Catalyst conference and I was amazed at his passion for teaching the truth of the Bible in a clear, humble way.  Chan tackles some of the tough problems within the church today, but he also shares valid solutions. I am excited that our life group at Cornerstone is starting a video study of this book tonight. Read this quote below to find out more.

http://www.crazylovebook.com/

Crazy Love

Are you making disciples?

February 18, 2009 in Church Related, Leadership with 1 Comment

Every church must answer the question, “what is our purpose?”   The Great Commission is very clear that our purpose is to make disciples.  When we start to define what a disciple is, we typically use words like a student, an apprentice, or a follower.  But the word also carries the connotation that the knowledge gained is being taught and passed on to others.  The next question then is naturally, “what does a disciple look like?”   Once you answer these questions, then you can start designing systems and processes to ensure that you are following the Great Commission.  We are not called to just fill up the seats, we must make sure that people are coming to Jesus and growing in their faith.   In the book innovatechurch,  10 characteristics of a disciple are described from scripture.

Principles that define a disciple

  1. A disciple is someone who seriously considers the cost before following Christ (Luke 14:28)
  2. A disciple is someone who is totally committed to Christ (Luke 14:26)
  3. A disciple is someone who is willing to carry his or her individual burden to sacrifice for Christ and His cause (Luke 14:27)
  4. A disciple is someone who is willing to give up all earthly possessions (Luke 14:33)
  5. A disciple is someone who continues in God’s Word and experiences the freedom in Christ (John 8:31-32)
  6. A disciple is one who genuinely loves other believers (John 13:35)
  7. A disciple is one who abides in Christ, prays, bears fruit, and glorifies God (John 15:5-8)
  8. A disciple is one who is full of the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:52)
  9. A disciple is a servant who obediently follows the desires of the Master (Matthew 26:19)
  10. A disciple is a servant who is intimately involved in the mission of Jesus to make disciples (Matthew 28:16-20)

After looking at this list, let me ask you two questions.  How are you doing personally as a disciple?  And how is your church doing?  It can be tough to measure your effectiveness at making disciples.  The typical metrics of church attendance, giving, and professions of faith aren’t clear indicators that you are doing a good job.  We must take the time to ensure that our teachings, processes, and vision are actually accomplishing our goal of making disciples.  It’s hard to quantify life change, but that is exactly what we must strive to do.  If you are a pastor, let me challenge you to spend time looking at these characteristics of a disciple.  Then look at the ministries and programs within your church.  Is there a clear connection between the two?  If not, you know where you need to start:  Matthew 28:18-20

InnovateChurch

February 18, 2009 in Book and Music Reviews with 0 Comments

innovatechurch I just finished reading innovatechurch, innovative leadership for the next generation church, by Jonathan Falwell.   If you haven’t heard, God is doing some amazing things at Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia.  This book is a collaborative effort from the leadership of Thomas Road and Liberty University.  I have taken several seminary classes from Liberty, so I like to keep up with what is happening there.  Since the death of Jerry Falwell, the church has experienced tremendous growth, building on the framework and structure and leadership that he provided.  His son Jonathan is now pastor at Thomas Road.

The church is indeed doing some innovative things, but the book is more about not losing sight of the gospel message in the effort to be innovative.  Thomas Road is a great example that you can still reach your community with a church that has traditional elements in the service.  I think  many pastors get caught up in the contemporary and modern style of worship and church, and forget that much of the country, especially in the south, has grown up around church.   We must find ways to connect the truth of the message to the culture that we live in.  As pastors, the most important thing for us is to discover God’s vision for our leadership and church.  We need revelation, not imitation.  Thomas Road has done a great job of keeping their church relevant to their culture without compromising their vision.

The book is separated into 8 different areas of innovation:

  • Leadership
  • Worship
  • Discipleship
  • Outreach
  • Church Planting
  • Apologetics
  • Culture
  • Prayer

There are many great leadership lessons throughout the book.  I can highly recommend reading it.  There was only one section that I struggled with. In the section on culture, everything was based on being politically involved through government and through the legal system.  My idea of influencing culture comes not through the political process, but through the lives of people living out the Gospel.  What Thomas Road is doing through their service groups in the community is a great example of being a positive influence on culture.  I have said it before, but we should be known for our love, not for what we are against.   The church for far too long has delegated it’s responsibility to change culture to politicians and lawyers.   I think we should follow the example of Jesus and engage culture by actually taking the gospel message to them.

Again, overall this is an excellent book.  It challenged me in how we are doing some things at Cornerstone.  I especially liked the chapters on discipleship and church planting.  This book was a great read, considering how the culture of Lynchburg and our city are so similar.

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