A great read for those involved with church

I happened on a blog by Perry Noble, a pastor from South Carolina. He had a three part series that I thought would be great for you to read. If you want more go to perrynoble.com.

Pastors/Church Planters…BEWARE - Part One

I was thinking the other day about what I would types of people I would warn a pastor/church planter about–there are seven, here are the first few…

#1 - The “I’m Going To Leave If” Person

Pastors, you are going to have people threaten to leave your church–period. And 999 times out of 1,000 the best thing you can do is let them go.

I remember once in the early years being on the telephone for over an hour, begging a young lady in our church not to leave. Why was she wanting to leave? A group of singles had gotten together and forgotten to call her.

You are going to have people who don’t like the music, your wife, you talking about your kids, the way you dress, the kind of car you drive, the version of the Bible you use, your hairstyle, your zodiac sign, your staff, and your belief on the end times.

You can’t please everyone…and, to be honest, that BOTHERS me! But, reality is, according to Hebrews 13:17 you and I will stand before God one day and be held accountable for how we led the church…and I would much rather a disgruntled person walk out that God’s presence go instead!

Don’t ever be held captive by a person who keeps threatening to leave.

#2 - The “Let Me Tell You How Much Money I Have” Person.

Pastors, you’ve GOT to make a choice early - are you going to be motivated by money (thus becoming a prostitute, not a prophet) OR are you going to resign to the fact that Jesus purchased you, thus making you not for sale?

I remember early on a guy calling my assistant and demanding that I come to his house for dinner. (Something I just don’t do…explanation later!) He told her where he worked, where he lived (a NICE neighborhood), the kind of car he drove and also told her he wanted to get financially involved in the church…all I had to do was some to his house for dinner.

I didn’t go. I don’t play that game. When people begin to dangle money in front of you…it is ALWAYS attached to an agenda.

We have some incredibly generous people at NewSpring Church who give faithfully every single week. In our two campaigns that we’ve done we had a giver once give $1.4 million and another one gave $1 million…and neither of them ever asked me for one second of my time. They gave with a pure heart and with pure motives.

When people threaten to stop giving then that is an issue they will have to work out with God. Don’t let a person who has a lot of $$$ keep you from doing what God has called you to do.

When a person begins telling you how much money they have…trust me, they ultimately desire to either buy you or control you. Don’t let it happen. Tell them you are excited they have money, ask them to give generously, challenge them to be faithful in their giving…but don’t EVER begin to let them dangle money in front of you, thus becoming your source of motivation.

#3 - The “Feed Me” Person

I have never been able to keep one of these people around…ever!

You know the drill…they always come from another church (they weren’t being fed there either) and they want you to know that they are sincerely seeking a church that teaches the Bible (and they will stay as long as you teach THEIR VERSION of the Bible.)

But, if they become displeased with the sermon direction…or dissatisfied with your particular view on a theological issue…or convicted of not doing what they know they should be doing–they will say you are not feeding them and leave.

Pastor, being honest here…I’ve NEVER encountered a person who claimed they weren’t being fed that also had a dynamic personal walk with Jesus. If that were true then they would show up to the church FULL and not need to latch on to the breast!

It’s not our job to feed–but to lead to places where food can be found.

#4 - The “At My Other Church” Person

I have ZERO tolerance for this guy/girl.

They come into your church and begin to say, “Well, this is nice, but at my other church we used to (FILL IN THE BLANK.)”

I say, without apology, to these people that we are not “your other church,” and…if you liked your other church so much–GO BACK!

Enough about them…

#5 - The “This Is Too Big” Person

These people amaze me. A church will begin growing, lives will begin to change…literally the Bible begins to come to life…and because a person finally has to face the fact that the church is not about them…they take off, saying that the church is TOO BIG.

Now, that same person will go to a college football game the day before with between 80,000 to 100,000 fans (99% of whom they do not know) and be absolutely PUMPED that the stadium is packed. (Usually a sign that the team is winning!)

BUT…they want to go to “God’s house” the next day and desire for it to be small and “intimate.” Hmm, they want the football crowd to grow and the church crowd to be small…sounds like some very screwed up priorities to me.

Bottom line…the church is SUPPOSED to grow–period! And if it gets “too big” for someone, I would say it’s because their heart is “too small.” Seriously, ask yourself, what spiritual force would motivate someone to get angry when large numbers of people are coming to Christ and being taught to walk in an intimate relationship with Him? Jesus…or satan? Seriously–it’s NOT rocket science.

Let the “this is too big” person go…and don’t argue with them!

#6 - The “I Want To Know The Pastor If I’m Going To Be Here” Person

Here’s the deal, pastor, you and I are called by God to lead His church.

BUT…before that is an even greater call on our lives to love Jesus, love our wife and love and disciple our children…and there is no way that you can do all of that and also grill hot dogs with everyone in your church!

For too long pastors have been manipulated by church people into a “a pastor ought to know his church people” mentality. A thought that sounds good on the surface…EXCEPT for the fact that it is COMPLETELY un-Biblical! (Acts 6:1-7 is just one example. Exodus 18 is another!)

If a person comes in claiming they need to know you–TRUST ME ON THIS ONE–they have an agenda a mile long!!!

Yes, we should have relationships with the people we serve…but those should be led by the Holy Spirit and should NEVER take away from the first four priorities that I mentioned earlier. I lead a home group of incredible people who are not currently on staff. I go to lunch with lots of people in our church–but I never allow myself to be “guilted’ into doing so…and you can’t either.

Pastor, let me warn you–there are church people out there who will allow you to spend all your time with them…and then when your marriage falls apart or your kid turns out to be a hellion or you begin to fall apart spiritually they will turn on you so fast it isn’t funny!!! I’ve seen it…so have you–that is why you must prioritize your life…and if you don’t have time for every social in the church…so be it!

#7 - The “This Place Is Too Judgmental” Person

I was reading the other morning in the OT (either Jeremiah or Ezekiel) that if a prophet doesn’t preach repentance then he isn’t a true prophet.

Pastor, any time you begin to call people out in their sin…the fertilizer will hit the fan…and you will be labeled as an intolerant, judgmental preacher.

BUT…

The only people who get angry when you preach on giving are those who bow before money.

The only people who get angry when you preach on sexual immorality are the sexual immoral.

The only people who get angry when you preach on adultery are those who are committing adultery…or those who really want to.

The only people who get angry when you preach on gossip are the people on the prayer chain…uh…I mean those who are gossiping.

Pastors, speaking about sin isn’t easy…but it’s right. We are called to call for confession and repentance…and offer hope for those who are willing to follow Christ.

If someone isn’t angry at you then pray for God to set you on fire and lead you to preach a message that will hit the majority of your church between the eyes…and then HANG ON!

Missions Week 08

What a week! Here is a look at what we did:

July 5th- We sold Nelson's Port-a-pit chicken and ate some too!


Monday- we cleaned around the church. I mowed my lawn (lol) and it was good.

Tuesday we went to Potato Creek State park and picked up trash, cleaned out fire rings and got water out of boats.

Wednesday we went to the Lion's eye glass recycling plant in Upland, IN. We sorted over 10,000 glasses that will be sent to people who cannot afford them. What an amazing opportunity to serve. If you get the chance to go, you should do it.


Thursday we went to a local mobile home park and picked up trash and then served 40 hamburgers and a lot of hot dogs to the residents. It was a cool time to get to connect with people where they are.

Friday we held a free car wash which was really free. No strings attached and yet people still didnt believe us and also gave us $200 in donations which we gave to our church's missions fund.

Saturday we had a free breakfast for the community and that ended our week!



It was a great week of work, fun and hanging out with the kids. Nothing can replace time when you are building relationships with people.

Senior High Camp '08

What a great week at camp. I couldn't have done it without Ben and Amanda Capshaw, Bryan and Ashlie Donaugh and Matt Wallace. We make a great team!

The week was leaps and bounds above last year in terms of messages and worship. Jeff Eckart and Woody were my type of leaders. Down with the people, doing things with the people, getting muddy with the people!

I thought I was going to get into some trouble on Wednesday because we had a mud pit after one of our games and everyone, literally, everyone that played got muddy and drenched with mud. So naturally, they go back to take showers right? I went into the boys bathroom and there was water standing like six inches! It was crazy! Mud everywhere! But I didnt get in trouble.

Fun Fun Fun

I had a girl that hasnt been coming to youth group lately tell me that her dad said that she had to come on Sunday morning to "real" church to be able to go to youth group and have fun. I was on vacation and was talking with a mom and she said that she would keep her kid from coming to youth group as a punishment because it was a fun activity. I've had numerous kids say that their parents grounded them from coming to youth group events. We've got families in the church that won't let their kids come to youth because all we do is have fun. I'm fed up and tired of this. Really.
Here I am, working my but off to 1.) have an atmosphere and events that kids will WANT to come to 2.) Have people that will help me sponsor those events 3.) Have content that will mean something to this ever changing generation 4.) Make sure that I build relationships with these kids because if you don't they won't care and then I have parents fighting against me? C'mon! Really? Do they know that I am telling their kids to:

1. Honor their parents
2. To do their best in school because it will matter in the end
3. Telling them that they need to deal with their anger and attitudes
4. Helping them understand that they need to read their bible and pray
5. To be better people by following Christ

Does that sound like something that we should be keeping our kids away from? Mind boggling!

Do we have fun? You bet ya! I love having fun...but I also love it when these kids finally start getting it. Youth group isnt all fun and games...don't be the enemy be the solution!

In not of

What does it mean for a church if it is inward focused? Can that church truly be fulfilling the call that Jesus gave to us to “Go” and “reach” people? How does a church focus on simply keeping their people happy and still paying tithe rather than being out in the community and reaching people that are desperately needing the message of hope, love and forgiveness that only comes with knowing Jesus? How does a church in a struggling community build a $10 million dollar building with marble from overseas while there are people in their community that cannot afford food or health insurance? What does that say about us as a denomination or deeper, what does that say about us as believers?

I don’t claim to know it all or even half of what I need to know. I do know this: Jesus cannot be happy when we are asking ourselves is it worth it to reach out to the lost and dying rather than make our people upset. I know that God wants us to give our best and if that means lying down a service rather than giving it a “warm death” then we should stop having services. We, ministers, stretch ourselves so far simply because of the expectations that people have of us. Instead, we should be doing ministry that matters like spending time with people that need to know that you can live a life for Christ. Having ministries that reflect what Jesus would do were He here rather than just having things or a calendar full of events for the “church folk”. We love being comfortable. That is the goal it seems of most churches. I am heart-broken to hear of a friend who left his church because he was reaching out to too many of the unchurched, “rough” kids and the church kids were afraid. Maybe they need to be afraid. We have tamed our children for generations and told them to be “apart from the world” rather than being “in it and not of it”.

I am shattered by the lack of response there is to reaching out to the community. We must be reaching out or we are failing at being followers of Christ. We have fallen asleep in our pews.

Myrtle Beach, Lost dogs and Sting Rays oh my!

First off, let me say sorry for now. No pics because some nerdork stole our cameras. Anyways let me get to it:


1. Vacation was GREAT! No shoes, no problems, no rain, no worries...plenty of chips and salsa, lemonade and time spent with family (miss them already) and friends.

2. I traveled the furthest out yet, almost to my shoulders, into the ocean. If you know me and my fear of sharks you'd be proud no doubt. My strategy was to have someone in front of me so that "if" a shark/jellyfish/jaws come to bite someone, it will not be me and I can run like a schoolgirl. It worked.

3. Sarah happened to step on a sting ray! I just happened to be standing behind her ( lol see #2) and I had a crisis of faith. I didnt know at the time it was a sting ray and that it wasnt a shark or whatever, so here I was, standing looking at my wife wondering, "should I go help her" or "should I run"? I did neither and just stood there. She was fine...she just touched it with her foot.

4. We discovered a new game called Ingenious. We love it.

5. While down there, we watched "The Happening" and it was not happening. Bad ending. Disappointment reigns down.

6. On our way home, about 3 hours from home, we get a call that our dogs had run off. Helpless and sick we drove home and looked at 2am and then again at 630am and couldn't find them. Thinking that we had lost them, we get a call yesterday morning from the pound. The said that they had 2 Boston Terriers! Dude...crazy days...I never want to have that experience again. EVER!

Blessed be your name today Lord God!

Charlie bit my finger - again !

How funny is this! I need it...

Everybody is free Music Video (sunscreen)

An ode to my Seniors this year! The rest of us could use the reminders!

God of this City

I love this song because it reminds me that God has a much much bigger plan for His people. Greater things are yet to come...I believe it. Do you?

Road Signs

Just came across this today in my devotional and wanted to share it:

Jeremiah 31:21, "Set up road signs; put up guideposts."

I was thinking, what kind of road signs have I been seeing my life recently? Good ones? Bad ones? Signs that don't have anything on them? Signs help us to know where we are at in that particular moment. Speed limits, rail road crossing, and no passing zones all tell us what we should do or not do in that moment. So my question for you is, what are the signs telling you right now? Who put those signs up? Have people imposed their signs on you? I have had to keep reminding myself lately that "Hurt people, hurt people".

Don't let someone impose their negativity or their opinions on you and make you feel like what they are saying is fact or law. Meet with God and let Him help you set up your own road signs and guideposts that will lead you where HE wants you to go.

Numb What? Spelling Bee

Hilarious! I was laughin' too hard after this one!

News story and video

Hey, just thought I'd give you an update on the church break-in that happened a few weeks ago. I wish I would have caught the dudes license plate or something. Oh well.


Heres the link:
http://www.wsbt.com/news/local/19384874.html

A fill in the blank just for you about me...

Copy and paste this into your comment and fill in the blanks.

01] I _____ Andy.
02] Andy is _____.
03] If I were alone in a room with Andy, I would _____.
04] I think Andy should _____.
05] Andy needs _____.
06] I want to _____ Andy.
07] Someday Andy will ____.
08] Andy reminds me of _____.
09] Without Andy _____.
10] My memories of Andy are _____.
11] Andy can be _____.
12] The worst thing about Andy is _____.
13] The best thing about Andy is _____.
14] I am _____ with Andy.
15] One thing i would like to know about Andy is _____.
16] Andy should go and _____.
17] Andy _____ me.

Update time...

hey all. I just thought i'd update you on us:


1. We got a new King sized bed (thanks W). It's amazing.
2. Church softball is getting ready to start, I'm ready for it to start.
3. There are 9 Seniors graduating (only 4 come consistently). I am going to miss them greatly.
4. If you haven't listened to/watched the video below, take the time. It is encouraging.
5. My summer plans are weighing heavy on me this week. A lot to do...
6. The summer apathy bug has hit home in the church and in the youth group. We have definitely hit a wall, HARD!
7. I got to spend time last Friday with my Mom, my brother Kerry and the SPEDS playing some ball and hanging out. I needed it and I need more of it as we don't really have a lot of people to "hang out" with up here in Michiana or Indianigan.
8. We go on vacation in two weeks! I can almost smell the beach...or is that...never mind
9. I got to go see my Grandparents and mom for Mother's Day a few weeks ago. It was really good seeing them.
10. I read a blog and it had some great quotes on criticism from Rick Warren that I thought should be passed along:

"If you wrestle with a pig you'll both get dirty."
"Define yourself or others will."
"Bless those who curse you."
"Separate fact from opinion."
"Hurt people hurt people."
"Insults are insecurities."

Be thankful today for what you do have!

NEEDTOBREATHE - Washed By The Water

I love this song. It has a lot of meaning to me and it is also a GREAT song!

American Idol Season 7

I am so glad that David Cook won. He was MUCH better and is just a better all around artist. David A. really only sang slow tempo, ballad-esque songs. He was good but it seemed like he was a one trick pony. It was good to see someone so humble and thankful...it reminded me a lot of when the Clark Brothers won Next Great American Band. I think when all is said and done, David Cook will be one of the top selling American Idols. WTG!!!

Wowsers!

Hey there...

I hope you are blessed and thanking God for what you have. I just wanted to fill you in on a very "God" thing that happened to me late Monday night/early Tuesday morning.

To make a medium story short, I was taking the dogs out right before going to bed and spotted a car over by the church. I got a flashlight and started walking over to the car and a dude comes out of the basement door and I yell at him and he takes off. He was scared of my guns (arms for you older people). He didn't get much, a missions change jar and a couple digital cameras. It was interesting because my post that morning was talking about how God watches out for us when we are vulnerable. How true and striking to realize that all of us are more vulnerable than we think. It got me to thinking, what am I relying on God for? Food? No. Money? Not really. What? What can he provide for me that my culture tells me I can do on my own? What about you?

Just a word of encouragement

"...for the Lord will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard".

-Isaiah 52:12b


Before and behind! How comforting to know that even when it seems that you are vulnerable, God has "got your back". Be blessed

What a week!

Sarah and I had quite a week. It started on Sunday night three minutes before nTune began. I got a call from my Mom telling me that my Aunt Lois had had a heart attack. Sarah had just got back from being with her Grandma Saturday and Sunday morning. Then, Sarah's Grandma Mary passed away last Monday. So we went to Bluffton to help and to be with Sarah's Mom for the viewing and funeral. As luck would have it, IWU's Never Too Young Junior High Weekend started Friday and ended Saturday. Yeah...huh? We will miss Grandma Mary and her southern-bell way about her. Never complaining, never doing too bad always kind and loving. Always ready to beat you in Euchre. So this week should be a little better. We have an overnighter on Friday and then we are going to Celina to see the family on Saturday. Yeah for being busy! Here are some pics from the week/weekend:




Pics: The first one is of Bummies in Bluffton. This is Sarah's favorite place in the world...to eat and maybe to live. Her mom worked there and her aunt worked there. The second one is the group we took to IWU. The third one is Sarah "out like a light" on the way home from IWU on Saturday.

American Idol

Hey there...a lighter post....I just want to let you know that my top 3 favorites are all still in the race! My top three go like this:

3. Syesha Mercado- she is the best female vocalist. She might not have the personality that attracts everyone but I really like her voice and the way she uses it!



















1 & 2. Jason Castro and David Cook- I like them both for very different reasons. I think David Cook will sell the most albums and be the most popular. Jason Castro just has a way about him and his voice that makes you want to listen and he is so unassuming.



















Sarah likes Brooke (I did earlier on) and she really doesnt like Syesha. Oh well.
However, we both agree that we DO NOT LIKE David A. I was talking to my mom the other day and saying the only reason he is still in it is because of all the tweens that are voting for him. She said that there weren't only tweens voting for him ;) And I laughed. I have a 60% chance of having someone win this year. Blake got jobbed last year. Oh well.