My Blog Conversation with God

I have a love-hate relationship with blogs. I love reading what others are doing, and the insights they have on church and ministry, but at the same time, I sometimes get depressed by what I read. Not because it is bad, but because it is so good. I wish I was the one who had written it. I wish I was the one who had that many followers, or that many comments, or that many re-Tweets.

I get depressed at all the books other bloggers are writing, the conferences they are attending and speaking at, the interviews they are doing, and the opportunities they are getting. It’s most depressing when I read a blog by someone who is doing what I have always dreamt of doing, and they are ten years younger than me. [Read more…]

Keep Your Greek

I have taken first year Greek three times. I had to retake the class, not because I failed, but because I forgot everything I learned the first time, and the second time, and almost the third time.

The first time I took first-year Greek was at Moody Bible Institute. Then, when I entered the Master of Divinity Program at Denver Seminary, I barely missed the required 70% on the entrance exam, and so had to retake first year Greek again. A few years later, I decided to do a refresher course on Greek, and took first-year Greek from the Grace Evangelical School of Theology. Later, upon entering Dallas Theological Seminary, I studied first-year Greek for six months on my own so I could pass the entrance exam, which I did by the slimmest possible of margins. I needed a 70%, and got a 69.5%, which the professor graciously rounded up to 70%. [Read more…]

Three Tips for Planning Church Programs

Yesterday, I challenged churches to kill their programs. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have programs. We should…if they are properly planned and executed. Here are a few suggestions for planning new church programs.

1. Train on the Way
All programs must include something beyond just training. It does not appear that Jesus or the early church ever did training just for training. Most of the training was while they were on the way to do something. It was on the job training.

If Jesus taught evangelism training today, it would go like this. He would announce the training in church, in the bulletin, and on the website. Then, on the night of the training, when everyone arrives, He would say, “Ok. We’re all here? Good. There’s a van out back. Let’s all pile in. We’re going to go downtown and hang out with drug addicts. I’ll tell you what you need to know on the way.” I don’t care what program you start, if it does not include actually doing what you are being trained to do, don’t do it. [Read more…]

10 Questions to Determine if your Church is Missional or Traditional

Many churches claim to be missional, but are really just traditional. There is nothing really wrong with traditional church, but they often lack several missional elements.

To help determine whether your church (or a church you are thinking of joining) is missional or traditional, below are ten diagnostic questions. But be warned: Seeking to become missional may kill your church.

being missional may kill your church

1. What would you do if the church members became convinced that to do a better job at reaching people in the community, they needed to change the name of the church?

2. What would you do if the church members became convinced that to do a better job at reaching people in the community, they needed to sell the church building?

3. What would you do if the church members became convinced that to do a better job of reaching people in the community, the church needed to switch service times from Sunday morning to Tuesday night?

4. After attending meetings and preparing a sermon, the pastor finds that he only has five hours of time left in his work week. Do you think he should spend those hours with people who are already part of the church or with people who are not?

5. Recently, some teenagers have been coming to church who wear all black, and smoke out front before and after the service. What do you think the church elders should do?

6. A single mother comes up to you after church one day for advice. Due to work and her busy schedule, she can only attend one “church function” a week, either the Sunday morning service or her Tuesday night “Life Group.” She confides in you that she actually “gets more out of the Tuesday night group and is developing good relationships there” but would feel guilty “skipping church” on Sunday. What do you tell her?

7. A Hindu attends church one Sunday, and afterward tells you that he doesn’t believe in eternal judgment or that Jesus is the only way to God. What do you tell him?

8. How long have you lived where you live right now? What are the names of your neighbors, and what problems are they facing right now?

9. How are you showing love to others tangibly, and to whom are you showing this love?

10. How much money does the church receive, and where exactly does this money go? Is there a “missions” or “outreach” budget? What percentage of your budget is it? What sorts of things is it spent on?

Can you think of any other diagnostic questions that help determine whether a church is missional or traditional?

Is Acts Prescriptive or Descriptive?

Guy Muse asks the following about Acts:

Is Acts solely a historical description and non-binding on us today? Or is the record meant as a prescription–a kind of road map Jesus meant we are to follow?

Many take a middle-of-the-road approach. The parts we like we tend to classify as “prescriptive.” For example, we like Acts 1:8 where we Gentiles are included in Jesus’ Great Commission. As Evangelicals we believe we have the responsibility for taking the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

…To me, that is the problem of the middle-of-the-road Acts position. We tend to pick and choose which parts we like and will try to put into practice. Those practices that aren’t part of our tradition we classify as descriptive narrative–the same way we do with large portions of the Old Testament. [Read more…]