Today was the first time that we’ve had two worship services. I couldn’t sleep very well over the weekend. I was nervous that things wouldn’t go well, that I would preach all the way through Sunday School, or that people would be uncomfortable with the situation. I was pleasantly surprised.

Things went smoothly. The music was excellent in both. We ended up with 80 people in the early service (more than I expected) and 170 in the second service. With about 8 or 10 who stayed for both, that made close to a record attendance. The senior adult class even had a record attendance of 35!

As far as preaching two services is concerned, I noticed that I changed the message just a bit between the services - moving an illustration and re-ordering a couple of points. I also didn’t eat any breakfast so by the time the second service was over, I felt spent! Pleasantly spent.

We have an opportunity to reach more people and we need to focus on growing both services together. I can’t wait to see what the future holds!

The second day of Engage is over and I’m perusing the notes I scribbled during the day. Here are some extremely valuable insights I gained…

From Jonathan Falwell…

• America (and especially Christianity) needs bold leaders right now.
• Drawing from Ezekiel 2:5 and Judges 6, people need to know that “a prophet has been among them,” rather than our watering down of the truth.
• 57% of Christians in America believe there could be another way to heaven other than Jesus.
• We spend too much time arguing over which bait is better and not enough time fishing. (And Jonathan Falwell doesn’t know how to fish… at all, but you’d have to hear the story yourself - my side was hurting!)

Let me say, I may not have written as much down from Jonathan, but I was extremely inspired by him. He is dominated by a spirit of sincerity and I appreciated his down-to-earth approach to ministry. His challenge will stick with me!

From Kerry Shook…

• What would you do if you had one month to live? (other than ride a bull named Fu Man Chu)
• What would your church do if it was destined to die in 30 days?
• We often have good intentions, but aren’t very intentional.
• Don’t fall into the “someday syndrome.” Someday, we’ll… whatever.
• Life change is worth celebrating.

From David Jeremiah…

I didn’t take notes on David’s message - it wasn’t really a note-taking kind of message. But I can tell you that I feel more than ever that Jesus is coming soon! Israel has re-gathered, oil is crucial, a European Union is real, conditions are ideal for the return of Christ! So? So tell the gospel like never before!

Tomorrow I’m attending a workshop on the open media revolution, which is one of my greatest areas of passion. Probably 1% of American Christians understand it, yet most interact with it every day - it’s the cloud that connects us, but it’s a cloud that didn’t exist a decade and a half ago. More on that tomorrow…

Ha, thought that headline might grab attention - I’m joyfully married, but I’m also being blessed this week at engage08. It’s being hosted by Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas. We’re hearing from some amazing speakers, including:

• Kerry Shook, Pastor of Fellowship of the Woodlands outside Houston, Texas.
• David Jeremiah, Pastor of Shadow Mountain Church in San Diego.
• Jack Graham, Pastor of Prestonwood.
• Jonathan Falwell, Pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia.
• Greg Laurie, Pastor of Harvest Fellowship.

WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

Last night, I had an epiphany. Well, several actually. We intended to kick off our new outreach program at Bethel using the GROW strategy. Justin worked excessively hard making copies, arranging the room, preparing a video, and of course praying about this new opportunity. Aside from he and I, two others showed up. We have twelve Sunday school classes, eight active deacons, and about 220 people attending worship. Two?

Times are hard, people are busy, some are under the weather, old methods don’t work, evangelism is scary… we talked about it all. We few brainstormed and prayed. And I had some significant thoughts about the situation…

The evangelistic temperature of a church begins to rise with its Pastor. That’s right, if there’s a weak link in the chain, it’s the leader. And it’s the other leaders alongside him. My own passion needs stirring. Like John Wesley, I need God to set me on fire and set me before the people so they can watch me burn with evangelistic fervor.

We need an evangelistic culture. I’m quite weary of hearing complaints about stuff. I hear people getting emotional about trivial matters, but few hearts seem to be breaking over the lost culture in which we live. Did you realize millions are speeding toward hell today? We can stop them with the good news of Christ, but we’re too busy arguing over silly issues and personal preferences.

We need some confidence boosting. Okay I admit, witnessing is hard. It’s hard for you, it’s hard for me, it’s hard for Billy Graham. Do you expect any different? I don’t think Jesus commissioned us to tell the whole world about Him… if it’s easy to do so. Nonetheless, the leadership of our church needs to help folks understand how to witness with confidence, which means…

• Providing resources such as videos, CD’s, tracts, books, etc.
• Providing training, but apparently not on Tuesday nights.
• Telling stories - sharpening each other by mutually inspiring experiences.
• Prayer, prayer, and more prayer for a brokenness about the lost.

We’re growing a bit. We’re adding a second service. We’re seeing visitors come, and return. Great. But these are things that are happening without much effort. We can’t get to the throne some day and say, “Well Lord, I didn’t do much, but growth happened anyway… where’s my crown?” No, I need to evangelize. It’s a need in my life. I can’t grow if I don’t share, and if I try to grow without sharing, I’ll become a grumpy, self-centered believer.

We must turn up the heat, increase our passion, and get involved. I, as a Pastor and Leader, promise to prayerfully find ways to encourage and equip. I won’t resort to guilt trips (except in the beginning of this article), but will instead challenge you to search your own heart. Are you sharing the faith? You’re His child, His ambassador, saved and covered by the gracious provision of the blood of Christ. You remain alive today for the primary purpose of bringing the nations into the white hot enjoyment of God’s glory by telling them about Jesus. Do you have a fever?

The Six Church Marketing Bad-Attitudes | Ministry Marketing Coach.

Chris Forbes, over in Okhahoma, has done another awesome job of articulating the attitudes that I believe are killing so many churches today. These six bad-attitudes represent six small-minded, closed-minded ways of thinking about outreach. Well worth the read!

What Does the Future Look Like for Your Church’s Ministry? | Ministry Marketing Coach.

Chris Forbes, the Ministry Marketing Church, has written a pretty great article about writing our future as a church. Goals, dreams, ambitions… though they aren’t everything, they do determine our direction. You lean into a curve and try not to lean into a punch. Are we leaning toward success or failure?

If you could write tomorrow’s headlines for your life, your church, your family, or your organization today, what would you want to write? So, write it, and go for it, and let God have all the say, as well as all the glory

This past Sunday was tremendous! It started off with a pretty neat first session of our Marriage Matters class. If your marriage were an animal, what would it be, and why? Pretty cool question and we got some pretty cool answers! Angie and I sang during the morning service and I’ve discovered a special harmony with the one I love so dearly. In my more selfish times, I don’t want to suffer the embarrasment of singing before a congregation, but I’ve discovered that praising God together brings about a wonderful connection.

Sunday evening, we heard from Kurt Talley, our Awana Missionary, who did a great job of reminding us of the need to reach the next generation. The night closed with our Family Meeting in which we discussed God’s rich provision and the challenges that lie ahead in relation to our growth. How do we accomodate more people? Right now it’s looking like two services is the immediate answer.

WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

I thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with fellow brethren (and sisteren too!) yesterday at the annual meeting of the BMA of the Ozarks. I preached in the morning and the people responded very warmly to the message. I also got to see a couple of friends that are outside this area. I think people in ministry need these kinds of opportunities to get together to talk, share, and fellowship. I do have a suggestion, however, for all who will listen…

WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

Later this morning I’ll be preaching the annual message at the BMA of the Ozarks meeting. I was looking forward to hearing our elected speaker, Gary Brewer from Cave Springs Baptist Church, but Gary is headed to Little Rock to be at a family’s side through an intense surgery (so say a prayer for them). I was elected the alternate, so I’m now meditating over the message. Preaching primarily to preachers brings about the special challenge of speaking to the struggles of Pastors and churches. Here’s what I’m sharing…

WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

Okay, Bethel has hit a tight spot in a very good way. We’re growing… quickly right now. We’ve obviously hit kind of a ceiling on how many people we can hold in our auditorium. Last Sunday we had 240 souls present, 206 of them in the auditorium and it was crowded. What are our options?

1. Build a new building - the price tag will be hefty no matter how efficient we try to be.
2. Expand our current auditorium - this means knocking out roof and walls and widening it, changing its shape from a box to a fan, which will also cost a lot.
3. Move to 2 services - lots of pros and cons on this one, more volunteers needed, possible divisiveness, but also an opportunity to free up space and reach more people without the million dollar price tag.

Our Leadership Team has discussed the issues repeatedly and we’re about to have to discuss the issues even more urgently. So I’m looking for feedback. You can offer feedback through my contact form, or by leaving a comment (click the title of this article and scroll to the bottom). We’re praying hard for God’s direction and I’d love to hear your thoughts. The greatest goals I have are

1. We keep glorifying God.
2. We keep serving and reaching people with the gospel.
3. We remain true to God’s Word.
4. We retain a close fellowship.
5. We do what is most wise and follow the Holy Spirit.