Sunday I sat in the audience singing along with worship just like everyone else. The only difference was that I had helped to pick out the songs we were singing together. Many weeks I try to write my sermon and then pick out songs that might tie to it. Then I send those off to the ladies who lead to put everything together for worship. Some weeks things fit together nicely by simple design and some weeks do not fit together no matter how hard I try. This week I picked out some songs that might fit and hoped for the best. On Sunday as I stood there singing I really focused in on the lyrics and noticed how much connected to my sermon. In fact, a few of the lines were written down in my sermon without me even thinking about it. I was truly amazed at how well everything tied together.

I should not be surprised, God had done the same type of thing twice through the week. First, I was looking for an opening video and I ran across a couple I liked. One of them caught my attention and I thought it might fit in nicely. It was “I Still Believe” by Jeremy Camp. As I listened to the words I wondered if there was a story behind the song. After a Google search, I was shocked to read about the death of his first wife and his struggle to remain faithful. In one quick moment I not only had the opening video but a powerful illustration for my sermon. Second, I was thinking about the best way to end my sermon and a possible illustration. That very morning I opened up my blog reader called feedly and saw a review of a book by J.I. Packer that was about aging and ministry. I clicked a couple of links and there I read about 88-year-old Packer telling people to continue their ministry even in their old age. It was a perfect fit for my sermon.

Why do I tell you all of this? Let me be 100% clear, it is not because I want you to think I am brilliant in my planning. I tell you this because I am amazed at all the little ways that God shows up each and every week. Somehow each week God shows up and gives me the right illustration, He leads us to pick out the right song or puts together some small connection that I could never have imagined on my own. After my 22 years of preaching God has never ceased to amaze me. People stop me after the program and tell me how God touched their life that day or how that was exactly they needed to hear. I wish I could take credit for being the most inspiring preacher to ever speak, but I know that is far from the truth. I plan and I pray and God takes the pieces and puts them all together in a powerful way.

All this leaves me convinced that God can do that with anything. He can take your simple everyday actions and touch someone’s life. He can take your unplanned words and use them for His plan. He can take a song on the radio and speak to my heart. He can take a scene in a movie and touch us all in a deep and dramatic way. I truly believe it is possible for God to be present in all of the small stuff of our lives.

To God be the Glory.

“I wish I were honest enough to admit all my shortcomings;
brilliant enough to accept flattery without it making me arrogant;
tall enough to tower above deceit;
strong enough to treasure love;
brave enough to welcome criticism;
compassionate enough to understand human frailties;
wise enough to recognize my mistakes;
humble enough to appreciate greatness;
staunch enough to stand by my friends;
human enough to be thoughtful of my neighbor,
and righteous enough to be devoted to the love of God.”

– Gordon H. Taggart

The Old Testament was written mostly in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek. Scholars have tried for centuries to take those foreign languages and translate the Bible into English. Some versions have focused on literal translating, some on concept translating, some on ease of reading and others on poetic language. Each one has its place, but it makes the world of Bible reading very confusing. My first Bible was a King James Version translation of the Bible. When I was 9, shortly after my baptism I was given a New American Standard translation of the Bible. When I got to Bible College most of my professors used the New International Version of the Bible and one old professor would not accept anything other than the Revised Standard Version. When I became a minister I started collecting different Bible versions and now my shelves are full of dozens of other translations. As a result I cannot quote most Bible verses from one translation. I slip from KJV to NAS and finally into NIV or some other translation within a sentence or two. Most of the time it does not matter because the concept is in tact but a few times the translation makes a different.

One example is one of my favorite Bible verses – Romans 8:28. I originally read it in my King James Version Bible where it says, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” The emphasis is two-fold. People who love God, like me, will have things work together for good. There is my love for God and the good results of that love.

Later in life I read it in the New International Version and it said something a little different, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Here the emphasis is a placed not on me but one God. In all things God works … The object is still the people who love God, like me, but the action is done differently.

The difference is subtle but important. The old verse implies that things are working for good and in the new translation the emphasis is on God’s work IN all things. Things are not working for our good – God is! All kinds of bad things can happen to people even those who love God. It is one of the difficult realities of life especially a life of faith. The good news is that God has not left us at those times. Instead, God will take those bad things and turn them into something good. In tough times – faith will grow, love will be shared, people will learn of grace, and God’s kingdom will grow numerically and spiritually. Some good will come from bad times.

So today as I hit my knees in prayer I claim this verse again. People I know and love are struggling and going through difficult times and I am asking God to be in those moments. I ask him to somehow take the negative circumstances in life and turn them into something good. His word says He will. Today I am glad for that promise.

Over the past several months I have read numerous articles that described “the best advice I have ever received” or “the one event that changed my life.” I really enjoy reading these types of articles mainly because they remind me of what could happen at any given moment in the Church. This Sunday God could use something I say (or you say) to touch the life of someone in a way I could never imagine. Years from now they will stand up and tell how one Sunday morning they heard an overweight, balding preacher say something that altered the course of their life. Amazing.

The sad part of these articles for me is that I feel like my life is devoid of very many of these events. Honestly, I have received good advice, but I cannot really think of any life changing advice. I can only think of 3 decisions that altered the course of my life. One decision to be a Christian, one to stay in Bible college and one to get married. That is my entire list of life altering decisions. Now, that is not to say I have not had some life altering situations thrust upon me. My life has been changed by death, the poor decisions of others and other situations beyond my control. When I think about it there are very few life changing, course altering, defining moments of my own choice that have shaped my life.

Rather, my life has been shaped more by the simple decisions I make every day. Take today for example. Today I held my wife for a few moments when I wanted to go back to sleep. Then a got ready for the day. Instead of watching TV I decided to go into my sons room and lie on his bed and talk. I tried to encourage and coach him through sports and ultimately life. Then I decided to eat a couple of chocolate chip cookies and a glass of chocolate milk – a decision this is not helping me physically. Then off to work where I started my day with a short prayer and time listening to the Bible. I am now halfway through the entire Bible which excites me, but I feel my prayer life is flat and needs some work. I know I need to do something to change it and make it better, but what decision will I have to make to do that? Next I read blogs. I wanted to skim but today I read a few article about pastors. pastor’s wives, and pastor’s families. I was glad I made that decision. Finally, I tried to focus in and write this article. I wanted to go find more cookies but decided I needed write something. After 15 minutes of procrastinating I came up with this idea for my blog and now I am writing.

All of those decisions seem so small. You might have gotten bored just reading it. It is not the type of story that makes your hair stand up and tingle with excitement. These are the daily decisions of life. And yet, my relationships with my wife is getting stronger, I pray my son(s) have a great father, I am slowly growing in my prayer life, I am going to get through the Bible again in a year and a half plus I am on my way to post another 250 blogs that over 1000 people will read. The end result would not be possible without the little decisions along that way.

I want my life and ministry to be about dramatic life change but I find it is more about daily cheer leading. Each week I cheer people on to continue making daily decisions for God. Then in 20 years or more they will look back and see how far those little decisions have taken them. Maybe how far they have taken you.

So today I want to cheer you on. Contact your spouse right now and tell them you love them. Contact your kids and tell them you are proud of them. Take two minutes to pray. Find 5 minutes to read just one small part of your Bible (look it up online if you need to). Write something. Read something. Say something. Tell someone. Make that little decision to do that one thing. The cumulative effect of that will be felt over a lifetime.

Through the years I have been witness to God doing some amazing things in local Churches. I have had the tremendous privileged of baptizing hundreds of adults and youth as God continued to add to his kingdom. I have led Churches to double in size or even get started strong from just a handful. I take credit for nothing that has ever happened in my ministry that was good but I have helped a few things go wrong. (But that is another post for another day). I view myself as a tour guide on an Alaskan cruise, there is a lot of truly amazing and beautiful things that we get to see God do and I am just here to point it out and tell you about it. For example, since I have been in Adrian there have been 18 baptisms if you count the CIY group and there have already been 5 this year. I had nothing to do with any of these, God just allowed me to be here to witness the growth of His kingdom.

Through all these years of growth numerically in the Church I have noticed a predictable pattern. First, people are really excited. They go home each week praising God and happy to see all the new faces. Usually this is accompanied by a sense of relief for some Churches. In a couple of the Churches I served there was a real question if the Church was going to make it or if it was going to have to close. New people mean new givers and new givers mean the Church will stay open. The flip side of this reality is there is a substantial drop in people serving. This seems counter intuitive but it happens every time. When new people come in to the Church, the people who have been carrying the weight of ministry for a while want a break. Unfortunately most new people are not really ready to serve for a year, especially if they are a new convert, and this leaves a gap between current ministry workers stepping down before new ones step up.

The primary second emotion of growth is … ANGER. With the growth of a Church people are happy and excited at first, but soon it leads to anger. That’s right – anger. Why? There is quite a list actually:
-The parking lot is full (or people are in “my” space).
-The Church building is dirtier. More people make a bigger mess.
-People are smoking outside the building.
-Someone said a foul word. (Don’t be surprised when non-Christians act like non-Christians)
-The auditorium is full (or someone took “my” chair/row).
-Someone brought a drink in the auditorium and spilled it.
-Ministry demands are greater. (2 kids in the nursery was fine, but now there are 8)
-I don’t know everybody.
-The teens don’t clean up after themselves.
-Two services will create two Churches.
-Events are now geared differently toward younger people.
-The worship is changing.
-No one has been to visit me lately (especially the pastor).
-The lobby is too full.
-I can no longer talk to the pastor before/after Church for long periods of time.
*I could go on and on and on.

If left unchecked this anger can lead to gossiping, slander, back biting, false accusations and the destruction of what God is trying to do. I have seen it over and over. The Church begins to grow and the people who were once excited and even relieved to see it happen are now inadvertently trying to stop it. So here are my simple suggestions for any Church member or attendee who is starting to see their Church grow.

1. See the good God is doing and focus on that.
2. Understand that to fulfill the great commission (Matthew 28:18-20) the whole Church needs to work together.
3. Pray before you speak anything negative.
4. Remember the joy and excitement you feel now – and never forget it.

“Thank you God for seeing new people added to your kingdom. May the future hold many, many more.”

Every once in a while I like to share some of my favorite blog posts from around this interweb thingy:-) If you live in my area this will give you some reading on a cold and snowy Presidents Day. Enjoy.

Great Articles on Personal Issues (In light of Valentine’s Day & 50 Shades of Gray movie)

*4 Love Languages Gary Chapman Forgot by Barnabas Piper

*10 Articles on Pornography by Tim Challies

*9 Little Character Tests That Tell You Way Too Much About Yourself – by Carey Nieuwhof

*My Spouse Doesn’t Enjoy Sex – At Desiring God

Top Lists on Church

*10 Reasons Even Committed Church Attenders are Attending Less Often – by Carey Nieuwhof

*10 Principles to Building a Great Guest Experience at Your Church – by Paul Alexander

*The Top Ten Most Fiercely Defended Traditions in Churches – by Thom Rainer

*15 Concerns in Children’s Ministries – by Thom Rainer

*

I am continuing my series of post based off of conversations I have had lately about Mega-Churches.
*NOTE – I had trouble with the last two posts so I am reposting them*

When I boil everything down I hear people say about Mega-Churches I find one common theme – Mega-Churches are unfamiliar to us. It is like a person going from Adrian Missouri to New York City. They are both cities but that is about all they have in common. I once heard a Church consultant say that a Church of 100 has more in common with a Church of 100 across town from an entirely different denomination than it has in common with a Church of 1,000 of the same denomination.

For most of us there is a familiarity with smaller Churches. I am told that 80% of all Churches are under 200 people so it is very likely that most of us grew up in a smaller Church, attended at least one as an adult, possibly we were married in one and it is where our parents go every Sunday. Smaller Churches have numerous things in common from coast to coast and those characteristics make us comfortable from the moment we walk in the doors.

Here is the problem I see – smaller Churches are familiar to US. They are comfortable to believers like you and I. If you have spent much time in one you are ready for all of them. But more and more the people who walk in the doors are not familiar with our customs and rituals. What we accept as familiar is odd to others. The way those of us who attend smaller Churches feel in Mega-Church settings is the way many of our visitors feel each and every week. They attend and we assume they understand everything going on. After all we know it by heart. We know when to stand and when to sit and who to shake hands with and when.

Unfortunately or maybe fortunately a number of people through our does have no clue what is going to happen. Many people come hoping they will not get embarrassed, be confused or bored. They are rarely drawn in by our happy fellowship; instead they are focused on making it out alive. One larger Church I attended in college still had the practice of having guests stand up and introduce themselves. I slid down in my seat hoping that I would not be noticed. I don’t remember most of what the preacher said that day I just was glad I made it out with my dignity and unnoticed.

Sometimes I like to attend a Mega-Church to listen to the sermon, hear the worship and draw close to God. Other times I go just to remind myself what it is like to be an outsider. To be sacred or nervous about what is coming next. To feel uncertainty in all that is going on. I do this because it reminds me about the people who attend the Church I lead every week.

I often wonder what a Mega-Church could do to make me more comfortable with my experiences. But then I really wonder what I can do to make our worship experience better for those I will see this Sunday. I hope you will join me in this search.

I am continuing my series of post based off of conversations I have had lately about Mega-Churches.
*NOTE – I had trouble with the last two posts so I am reposting them*

Most of the time people are not negative about Mega-Churches but occasionally when I hear people use them like an excuse. It happens like this, I mention that our worship program needs to limit announcements and have quality sound and music. Some people respond with a statement like “Well, we are not one of those Mega-Churches.” I have heard this type of statement about Children’s ministry, leadership, giving, the worship folder and about everything else involved with the Church. When I suggest that the quality needs to be better in what we do I am met with the resistance of “we are not a Mega-Church.”

I believe that the Church should do everything to the best of its ability no matter the size of the congregation. Being a smaller Church is not an excuse to let the quality of our service slip. After all my service is to the Lord and not just to people so I should never take it lightly.

I am reminded of the story in Brother Lawrence little book “Practice the Presence of God” about him cleaning in the very corner of the kitchen behind the stove. Another monk made fun of him and asked why he was worried about a little place that no one else would ever see. Brother Lawrence responded that there would be one set of Heavenly eyes that would see everything he had done. So it had better be done to the best of his ability.

Yes, Mega-Churches do things at a higher quality level because they have more people who see the work being done. But to me that does not matter. What really matters is that God will see all we do, so we had better do our very best. That doesn’t change if the Church is 20 people or 20,000.

I am continuing my series of posts based off of comments I hear about Mega-Churches.

“But I won’t know everybody.” This is by far the biggest concern I hear as a Church grows or about attending a Mega-Church. For most people there is an enormous concern that relationships will be lost with a Church that has a high attendance.

My response to people who say this is usually two-fold. One, you are right. You won’t know everybody. Two, unless your Church is less than 35 people you don’t know everybody now. Oh sure you may know 100 or more people’s names but I don’t you actually know them. I define knowing someone with two phrases; “you know what makes them laugh” (brings them joy) and “you know what makes them cry” (brings them sorrow). The average person has 12-15 people in their life that they currently know. The other people in your life fall into one of three categories: 1) I don’t know them at all. 2) I only know their name. 3) I used to know them (back when they were little or when we were in class together), but I no longer know them as their life has changed. If your congregation is over 50 people you do not know every one. I am the preacher and I do not know everyone.

After we clear away the facade, I want to underline that there is a difference between “not knowing everybody” and “not knowing anybody.” No matter the size of the Church you attend you need to develop 12-15 deeper relationships. You need to have people who know you and are known by you. These connections can come in a Sunday School, small group, leadership, a ministry team, play group, a card club, an affinity group or any other number of possibilities. No matter the size of a Church an attendee needs to focus their attention on knowing a few people really well. This is the most healthy way to grow as a believer and find joy in your Church relationships.

I see this difference all the time. Someone gets sick and goes to the hospital. They feel sad because no one from the Church came to see them other than paid staff. Upon further discussion I find out this person knows something about everyone at Church and really does not know anyone deeply. There are no deep connections but rather surface relationships and thus no one comes to visit. Then I visit the hospital with someone who has 12-15 deep connections and their room is filled with people all day and night because they have relationships with people who know them and really do care. Their “group” shows up to love and support them and simply show they care.

The hard truth is that I can be a part of a small Church or a large Church and really never connect to anyone. The flip side is also true – I can be a part of a Mega-Church or a smaller Church and have deep relationships. The size of a Church is not the issue. The real issue is will I focus on deep relationships or surface ones? Do I want to know everybody in a shallow way or a few in a deep way? Who have I let into my heart and shared my life with? Who is sharing their heart and life with me? Church relationships have no correspondence to the size of the Church but rather to my willingness to connect to a few others in a deep way. The choice is yours.

I continue my series of posts related to several statements I have heard lately about Mega-Churches.

Several years ago a non-christian singer named Bob Seger wrote a song entitled “Feel Like A Number.” A few lines into the song Bob sings out:

I feel like just another
Spoke in a great big wheel
Like a tiny blade of grass in a great big field
To workers I’m just another drone
To Ma Bell I’m just another phone
I’m just another statistic on a sheet
To teachers I’m just another child
To IRS I’m just another file
I’m just another consensus on the street

A few lines later he finished out the song with:

And I feel like a number
Feel like a number
Feel like a stranger
A stranger in this land
I feel like a number
I’m not a number
I’m not a number

Most of us clearly understand what he is saying. We have our social security numbers, account numbers, credit card numbers, employee numbers and on and on it goes. A friend of mine once attended Kentucky Christian College and he told me that they had a T-shirt in the bookstore that said, “Everybody is Somebody at KCC.” Well, a group of students bought the shirts and then had their student ID numbers printed on the back. He thought it was hilarious but the faculty failed to see the humor. No matter where you live or work it is easy to feel like a number.

I say all this to underline that the Church is the last place we want to feel like a number. We want to feel like a part of a community, that we fit into a group that truly cares about us as unique individuals. Most of the time when I hear people say something negative about a Mega-Church it reflects the basic truth that in a big Church you feel like a number. A number used to boost the Churches political influence or the pastors reputation or make the leadership the envy of their denomination.

I must admit, I have been to about a dozen or more Mega-Churches in my life and in one or two I did feel like a number. Actually in most of them I felt very special. At Southeast Christian Church I was directed where to park. Then I was offer a beverage in the parking lot. Next I was greeted at the outdoor porch area. The door was opened to me by some nice people who greeted me again. I was greeted once again by a lady handing out worship folders and finally once more by an usher who helped me find a seat and asked if he could answer any questions. I have had similar experiences in other large Churches I have attended where they did even not know I was a pastor.

These types of experiences have underlined a truth to me – Every Church has to be careful not to treat people like a number. Being treated like number has nothing to do with size but with overall action. The actions of kindness can be present or absent in a large Church just the same as they can be present or absent in a small Church.

So no matter what size Church you attend you need to continually be asking yourself, “Do I treat people as special or like a number?”

Here are some spin-off questions to follow:

-Did I greet people with a smile?
-Did I only talk to people I know or was I open to new people?
-Did I offer people I didn’t know help finding anything?
-Did I ask people their name? (Did I repeat it and try to remember it?)
-Did I invite anyone to sit with me and my family?
-Did I have to sit in the same chairs in the same area?
(Would I allow other people to sit in MY seat?)
-Did I talk to the new people I met and ask them about their life?
-Did I offer to take anyone to lunch?
-Did I do anything to make someone feel special?

You see, in my experience, the reason some Churches get large is because everyone who attends feels very special. The opposite can also be true, the reason some Church stay smaller is because people do not feel special but more like a number. As Bob Seger frequently reminds me, no one wants to feel that way.