Ministerial Leaders:
Do you wonder what it will take to bring your church to the next level? Maybe you have attended a church growth conference or adopted the practices of a large church. Perhaps you have hired a new worship leader. These things may make a difference for a little while, but eventually, life returns to the way it was. The results are not lasting.
We need a process based on the five elements evident in the early church. In Acts 2:42-47 the church connected to God and others, grew through discipleship, used their ministry gifts of service, took the good news of Jesus to the world, all while worshiping God. In this we have an intentional plan for continued development. We will expand our discussion on these principles over the next two years.
Check out these resources for Connecting.
Bishop Mirkovich
TO WORSHIP
The Block Party Church
by Michael Binder
Article Excerpt:
One afternoon, our neighborhood association called. They wanted to know if our church could help them "throw a party."
They had money available to spend on something the neighborhood cared about, but they were having trouble getting input from people who lived in two local complexes: one large low-income housing unit and a building that was home to people living with HIV-AIDS. The association had received a lot of input from homeowners in the neighborhood on how the money should be spent, but they wanted to be sure everyone was represented.
Over the course of just a few years, the neighborhood had learned that our church cared about those living in these spaces. We had become people who had enough relationship and credibility to invite them to a celebration where their voice could be heard by our wider community. This was an incredible opportunity. So we said yes, and we threw a party.
"Divine detectives"
It fit perfectly with the mission of our church: "to love our community in the name of Jesus."
So how did we find ourselves in this place? It began with an assumption—that God is at work in our local context, and has been working long before we have been there. God is out ahead of us in the neighborhoods where we live, inviting us to participate in the things he is doing.
If God is out ahead of us, then two questions guide our participation in his mission: "What is God doing?" and "How can we respond to that?" These are simple questions, but they can be hard to answer. Yet asking them is the first step in learning. They put us in a listening posture. They position us to become "divine detectives" in the neighborhoods where we live, work, and worship.
In Luke 10:1-12, Jesus sends out a group of 70 disciples in pairs into towns and places that Jesus himself intended to go. We have returned to this text repeatedly. It goes against the conventional church/community relationship that first asks how the church can help meet the needs of the neighborhood. It forces us to ask how we can extend peace and receive from people before we can offer the good news we have received through Jesus. Returning to this text also reminds us that God is the primary actor in any work we are doing, and that we need to be sensitive to what God is inviting us into before assuming we know what we should say or do.
We didn't have a grand plan to reach this particular group of people. Things happened because we began looking for God's invitation to participate in what he was already doing.
God is up to something in our neighborhoods. And he is inviting us to join him. I encourage you to begin looking and listening for what God might already be up to.
It might just be a party.
Source: www.christianitytoday.com
TO GROW
Constant Reminders for Every Leader
by Michael Bayne
Article Excerpt:
There are 4 ideas that I have to keep coming back to as a leader every single day. Leadership lures us toward self deception and I am tempted to ignore these ideas! Over and over I have to embrace these humbling ideas as I try to lead the people around me. Here they are…
- I don’t know everything. // The best thing I can do as a leader is to strive to be a learner. I need to ask questions. I need to empower those smarter than me. I need to allow others to get the credit!
- I’m not good at everything. // There are some things I don’t even need to pretend I am good at. There are some things I just don’t need to do or be involved in. Every time I try to do something I am not good at I rob another leader of the chance to shine.
- I can’t do everything. // I have to be willing to say no. When I say no to one thing I am saying yes to something else. No empowers me to say yes to what matters most. I don’t need to fuel the idea that I can meet every need!
- I’m not the secret to this organization’s success. // I can be replaced. I am not the secret ingredient to whatever good is happening. I have to remember that I will be the leader where I am at for a season and one day I will pass that role to another. God can use who he wants to lead, it’s an honor to be a small part of what He is doing.-
Source: www.michaelbayne.net
TO SERVE
Caring for Those We Lead
by Gilbert Kingsley
Article Excerpt:
I have often told students over the years that I care more about them than what they can do for us.
I was sitting in an elders’ meeting recently listening to two counselors, also elders, share about caring for our people. They said, “The vast majority of peoples’ needs can be met by someone who cares.”
In other words, people that we may think need a counselor simply need to be in a caring community. They called this “soul care” and they described it this way.
L- Love
Go to where they are.
Are you curious about where those feelings come from?
Feelings reveal reality. Explore feelings.
Feelings are driven by perspective. Perspective is driven by beliefs.
O- Offer yourself
It’s easy to identify people by sin. But the New Testament refers to people as saints.
Requires vulnerability on our part.
Helping self-disclosure is healthy.
V- Validate
Most of us want to vindicate.
We need to be about valuing others.
People need to feel safe.
Asking questions. “Tell me more about…”
Do we want to fix them more than we want to know them?
E- Encourage
When we know the good, the bad and the ugly and still love them, that’s very encouraging to them.
There is so much more that can be said about "soul care."
Source: www.gilbertscoachingtips.wordpress.com
TO GO
How Andy Stanley Uses Five Faith Catalysts as Mission Measures
by Will Mancini
Article Excerpt:
NORTH POINT COMMUNITY CHURCH VISION FRAME
Mission… to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
Strategy… to create environments where people are encouraged and equipped to pursue intimacy with God, community with insiders, and influence with outsiders.
The Five Faith Catalysts (We call these mission measures on the Vision Frame)
- Practical Teaching
- Providential Relationships
- Private Disciplines
- Pivotal Circumstances
- Personal Ministry
Because Andy is so intentional, I admire the way he keeps the Five Faith Catalysts in front of their people. Here are two examples that are great benchmarks to learn from. The first is how he introduces them to new believers. The second is how they create a unique website to support sermon series on the Five Faith Catalysts.
Source: www.willmancini.com
FREE MINISTRY RESOURCE
This month's resource is a free sermon series with resources by Craig Groeschel from the website, http://open.lifechurch.tv: In the four-week series "My Story," learn to live a story worth telling. With examples from the Bible, this series teaches us to start, stop, stay, and go according to God's will.
The series includes video sermons, promo art, and all support material.
LINK TO RESOURCE PAGE FOR MY STORY MATERIALS HERE
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