Where did everyone go?

From a Previous Blog: (I’m skipping over #4 for now)

Make sure that you have a vision of not only increasing membership, but also attendance. If people do not come anymore, find out why. Did they move? Is there a problem with transportation? Hurt feelings? Find out and fix it. Have a team solely responsible for this. People who feel led to minister to others through comforting words or who can also find solutions will make good members for this team.

I’ve seen churches where the membership gives up when attendance starts to fall. They decide that there is nothing that can be done about it. The “family” or the “clic” that is running the show has run the show into the ground and there is nothing that they can do about it. In these cases, it takes someone who will stand up and get together a group that is louder, bigger and most passionate than the trouble makers. Then they start to change the way that things are done, instituting ministries that reach out to the community and draw others back.

But sometimes churches falter and no one really knows why. One problem is that the pastor hasn’t done as suggested in an earlier blog and surrounded himself with people who are “in the know” in the community, so that they can alert him to any problems that they see arising.

Other times, it is simply that the ministry doesn’t meet the needs of the community. Use the guidelines that I gave earlier and fine tune your ministries to what is needed in your community.

Lastly, some churches become stale and too comfortable in what they are doing. They become a “family” that winds up being “exclusive” instead of being “inclusive.” People start to feel left out, no one asks how they would like to be an active participant in the church, so they wander off, many times fed up with church to the point that they don’t seek another one to attend.

The pastor realizes that they have gone missing, and many times he/she may not know the circumstances surrounding their disappearance. This is when he should go visit them, or have the elder/deacon assigned to them pay a personal visit (I’ll cover this in the next blog). Be upfront. Be blunt. Ask them to be blunt. But don’t be offensive or take offense at what they have to say. Use their words to consider what needs to change. Was it their perception? Or do they have a point? Stand back and observe the ministry/person/committee that they are talking about. Do you see the same things becoming apparent. Take action to correct the problem before it runs someone else off.

Have a visitation team that goes out to people who are unchurched or who have left the church and talk with them. Show them that the church is actually interested in them. Many times this is enough to draw them back. Once a visitation member builds their trust, they may confide things that no one was aware of before.

Keep a dialogue going with these people. Only by working on trying to correct problems and preventing them from happening again can a ministry be successful. Will there never be problems? NO. There will always be problems as long as there are humans. But there will almost always be solutions also. That is why Jesus died on the cross for our sins and then was raised from the dead. A solution was needed. God has given us examples through His word and through the life of Jesus. It’s time for us to put them into action.

You can't get blood from a Tulip

From a Previous Post:

Jesus Jar: pass out glass jars for people to put their change in regularly. This does not take the place of tithes. This is offerings. Decide on what the money should be spent on (building fund/missions) and at least semi-annually or annually disperse the funds to the appropriate people/agency. Collect the monies monthly in a large container. Many banks have a machine that will count the change for you. Also, many churches have a Christmas tree in their sanctuary or somewhere in a prominent place. Have them bring “gifts” of money to put under the tree during a service that will be used for a predetermined fund of the church. This is great to use to bless a family in need at Christmas. Doesn’t have to be a church family. If there is not a need in the church, then anyone in the community should be eligible to receive aid.

If pastors dread one thing, it is preaching on tithing. That is a sore spot for many people. Problem being is that they don’t understand one basic and simple concept. You Can’t Outgive God. Period.

Psalms 50: 1-11

 ¹The mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof.

 ²Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.

 ³Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.

 ⁴He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people.

 ⁵Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.

 ⁶And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah.

 ⁷Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God.

 ⁸I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt offerings, to have been continually before me.

 ⁹I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy folds.

 ¹⁰For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.

 ¹¹I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine.

God owns it all. He created it from the beginning. It was His to begin with. He gave it to us.

Some people are too scared to give their money to the church, fearful that they will go lacking for something. If God is as powerful as you say He is, why would he leave you out in the cold for giving to Him? God gave you your gifts that you use to create an income for yourself and your family. He just wants 10 percent back. You still get to keep 90%. That is a better deal than most governments will give you. Yet I bet you pay your taxes. (well, most of you). And when you are blessed with extra monies, do you tithe from that? Do you realize that you have some left over that you can give also? That is offerings. Sometimes it is hard to part with money that is in excess of your tithing amount. That is one reason why I like the concept of the “Jesus Jar.” You simply put the change from your pocket/purse into the jar, and turn it into the collection area designated at your church. You never really miss those few cents, and they add up quickly when the whole church comes together and gives. I’ve seen churches that couldn’t pay their bills because of the economy around them or low attendance that could suddenly pay that insurance bill that came due.

Some churches have specific needs that they are saving for. New roof, New HVAC system or anything else that is a major repair. Sometimes that is hard to take the money from the budgeted tithes and spend towards that. This helps to alleviate the problem by providing an extra source of income for the church. A hundred people bringing several dollars of change a month adds up quickly when the church acts as a collective group.

So the next time the upcoming expenses look daunting, consider having this in place to help with the budgeting. It is relatively painless and easy for the members to do. And everyone has a jar sitting around somewhere, even the mayonnaise jar that is almost empty in the fridge. Start the program now so that the funds will be available later.

Do your Ministries know how to Minister?

From a Previous Blog:

Make sure that the church ministries are doing something to minister to the congregation and community. Is this a time when the men or women meet, eat, and gab about the latest news? Or do you have speakers who can come in and motivate, educate and get something going or furthering a goal of the group? Have the ladies start a quilting/sewing club that meets, and can also listen to the heartbeat of the community when they come to join in the group. Men, start a group that gathers regularly and goes hunting or fishing or some other popular sport in the area. Invite non-church members who love the sport to join in. Have a “wild life” supper near the end of the hunting seasons to celebrate the time and the catch that was shared together.

Every church and every community is going to be different. Different areas of the country will have different needs and likes/dislikes. If you’re by a seaside community, you will likely have more tourists in your area than a small town in the middle of the state with no particular place of interest near it. Make sure that your ministries match the needs of the community.

Some towns have a higher number of unemployed and/or homeless people living there. These places need to have shelters, especially when weather conditions are going to be bad. You do not have to have a shelter full time either. During hurricanes along the coast, blizzard conditions in the mountains, or excessive heat in the flatlands, open your social/fellowship hall to meet the needs. Provide ice water and a cool place to come in and relax for a while during the heatwave. This will also give you a chance to sit and talk to people and find out what their needs are, and if you can help them. Turn up the heat and have your congregation bring blankets for people to curl up on and get out of the cold for the night. Give the homeless a shelter during a hurricane so that they do not lose their lives due to falling trees, power lines or other weather conditions.

If you have a large number of motels or b&b’s around you, consider putting up flyers about your service, and let people know that they are welcome in your church, even if they do not have “Sunday Clothes” with them to wear. Jesus didn’t require people in His presence to go get dressed up before He would teach/preach to them. So why should we? Offer donuts/pastries and tea/coffee before service. The vacationers may have missed the continental breakfast at the place that they were staying, and this would give them a reason to come check you out.

Yes, they won’t be there to be an active part of your ministry on a regular basis. But what if they either do not attend a church, or they attend one where they are not being taught. This could be your chance to make a difference. Plus, many people like to explore and check out a community before they move there. This could be a way of getting them pre-interested in your church for when they return to live there in your community.

There are many other ideas, but these are a few to get you thinking about how you can minister to the community and the church members around you. Think about what you have for your surroundings, and build a ministry that will match the interests. Needs will be met, and hopefully people will become closer to God in the process.

Harold Camping Strikes Again

By now everyone should know who Harold Camping is. And everyone should feel disappointed, relieved or somewhat quizzical when his prediction last Saturday didn't come true if they believed in it. (if you're reading this, I hope you weren't one of the few who did)
Frankly, I believe in the bible. Everyone has quoted the scripture in Matthew and maybe a few people will have at least learned one bible verse to include with their knowledge of John 3:16.
But if I could warn Harold and any of his followers of one thing it would be this:
You went against God and were made a fool of, the first time in 1994 and now in 2011. Learn from your mistakes. Do not be duped into the revised Oct 2011 date that has just been released. (3 strikes and you're out!?!) Sooner or later, God may say "enough is enough." Besides, what if you're wrong and God comes today or tomorrow.
Prince once put out a song that said "Party like it's 1999" (another prediction that went sour, though not Harolds this time).
I say "let's get right with God now" in case Oct 2011 is too late!
Okay, enough on that subject, new post in series tomorrow.

A Pastoral Accountability

From a Previous Blog:

Consider having an outsider or several outsiders on a panel or board for your church. Use people who are considered influential in the community. These people are not given a vote on church business, but they are “outside” voices who can guide your church on the direction that it is being put on. They are a great gauge as to how the church is perceived in your community and/or town.

Too many times churches are run by families or clic’s that a family has put together. They tell the pastor what to do, how to do and when to do. Only a select few are ever given a voice, and if committee members have to be rotated, the same ones are rotated around the committee’s to keep anyone new from coming in and having a say. The church that I grew up in was like that. One family ran the show. They had a few other families in with them, and if a pastor didn’t go along with their “suggestions”, that pastor was quickly replaced.

Granted, there were some that needed replacing quickly. One in particular who never should have been a pastor. He would have been of more service teaching in a school or seminary. One pastor stood up to the “clic” and family and lasted quite a long time before finally being shoved out the door. He accomplished a lot of good, attendance almost doubled, and the church became an example of what a church should be.

Finally, the “patriarch” is now dead, and the church has tried to recover. Unfortunately, the damage is done. It took a year for a pastor to even agree to come to the church, the reputation was so bad with how the previous pastors were treated.

The rest of this is for pastors:

Do you want a church like that? Stop the madness now. Do you know how the community perceives your church?

One clue I’ll give you is that if people are moving into your community, and yet no one is coming to your church, someone is seeing something that maybe you aren’t.

One way to combat this is to put a board together that will counsel you and keep you focused. They will have no say in the workings of the church. Rather, they are your eyes and ears. Make them keep you in check. Make yourself accountable to them for your actions and deeds. Listen to what they say about your church, whether you agree with them or not. Don’t ridicule them either. Take note, investigate, and if it isn’t true, find out why the community thinks that it is. See what can be done to correct the perception.

Ask other religious leaders of your community and people of community leadership to be on your board. These are the people who hear the voices of the people around them.

Do not let them brow beat you either. Neither let them brag about their churches. This isn’t about them. This is about you. When you hold yourself accountable to the community, sooner or later, the church members will hold themselves accountable too. Perceptions will change, people will want to come and see why your church is different, and you can help lead people to God and increase their spiritual walk.

A Need to Know

From Previous Blog:

      Pass out a form with a list of the committees and their responsibilities to the congregation for them to read at least a month before nominations are held. Have interested individuals indicate which committee that they are interested in. Sometimes you may have someone with resources that fit a certain area that you are not aware of. It also gives people a way to drop off of a committee and serve in another capacity without having to request such an action.

Depending on the size of your church, you may or may not know what resources that you have available from the congregation of your church. Especially if your newer members have not expressed anything about themselves that told of their hobbies or past careers. Many people have career changes these days because of the economy and the shutting down of manufacturing facilities.

And sometimes a new or newer member of your church may not be aware of all of the things that happen “behind the scenes” on a continual basis. Some committees never get mentioned unless a current project needs help or resources from the church.

Make people aware of what your church is doing. You may have a committee that has become stagnant (see earlier blog) but could be revived and prove to be helpful in your ministry. 

So if you haven’t already, make a list of the committees on a paper or a document on your computer. Then start with the top one, and put all of the requirements for the committee, if any. Then put in plain words what is expected of each committee member. Then at least a few weeks, preferably a month before nominations, pass out the sheet to the entire congregation. (If you give out bulletins, this is an opportune time to include a sheet in each one.)

Tell you congregation that if anyone has questions about any of the committees, that they are to contact the chairperson. And if the chair has questions, they need to come to you as the pastor for clarification.

Tell everyone to consider where they can serve the best, and then they are to contact the nominations committee members (it may help to list them on the sheet somewhere) to inquire about being put on the committee. The committee members should make sure that they are aware of that persons qualifications so that they can present them as a candidate at the next meeting.

This way people who need to serve in a certain area are given the chance to serve on that committee, and from their qualifications, you can determine who is the most qualified to serve as chairperson, and not just a buddy or favorite of someone that is put there.

I'm a child of the King

From Previous Blog:

Children and Youth committees need to have someone who has a child that is full time in their home in that age group. A senior or junior in high school should serve on the committee (rules can determine if they have a vote or not) so that the young people have a voice in what happens in their ministry. Kids know what kids want. Adults can decide if it is appropriate or not.

I have known churches where the only people on a Youth/Children’s committee were on Social Security already, and some didn’t even have grandchildren active in the church. The problems manifested themselves tremendously and they showed like eyesores. Activities from 50 years ago were suggested and given, and the attendance lacked because of it. Young families pulled out and took their kids to another church where the offering was more up to date.

Now I’m not saying that you can’t use the things of old. I think some things should be put back.

For instance, bible drills. One of the best ways to get a child to learn the books of the bible is to have them do bible drills. In case you are not familiar with them, this is what you do:

Have the children/youth line up in a row facing you. One hand is underneath the bible, one hand is on top of the bible. The adult calls out a book, chapter and verse. When you say the info, the child/youth searches for the scripture and when they have it, they step forward. Give a few of them time to find it, and then call on one of them randomly to read it. That way you know that they have found the actual correct scripture and it also gives them practice speaking in public. Two great lessons, and hopefully something about the verses will stick with them too.

Okay, back to the topic. Find out what children/youth like and incorporate it into your time with them. The best way to know what kids want is to have a parent/guardian on the team/committee that works with them. They see what their kids spend time doing, and they know what will reach out to them.

And kids/youth aren’t stupid either. Put an older youth on the committee. Let them have a voice in ideas that you may not think of, especially if it has been awhile since you were in that age group. They do not necessarily have to be given a vote, but draw ideas and input on your ideas from them. Two things are accomplished.

They learn how committees work. They feel that they are being a part of the church, and not just an attendee. This also gives motivation for others to aspire in the church so that they can serve as well.

Our children/youth of today are our leaders tomorrow. Don’t keep them in the dark until they get a plate full shoved at them with no utensils to use or choose from. Quality leadership is taught, not given. Let’s start now before it’s too late!

Rock On

From previous blog:

      Nominations committee should have people on it who have been ACTIVE in the church for several years. By active I mean, that they have done more than sat on a committee and showed up at meetings. Someone who leads a group, and/or is involved in an active part of a ministry of the church. These are the people who will be aware of others that have the drive and desire to further the ministry of the church.

Many times churches face a situation where nobody wants to work or serve on a committee that actually does something. As long as you have to show up for the meetings once or twice a year, and get patted on the back for doing so, may people are content with their “service to God.”

These same people put the same kind of people on the other committees, that way no one makes them look bad. And it is always the same ones that serve, because no one else will step up to the plate, and people are too scared/shy to approach the ones who would be beneficial to inquire if they would serve.

These are the people who need to be motivated. Committee chairpersons need to assign tasks for them to complete. If they still don’t, then they should be removed at the next term of office. Every committee should be accomplishing something for the betterment of the church. If not, the committee and its purpose is either unnecessary or the members  of the committee are. We need to get churches back to the point where goals are set, and committee members understand their role in reaching the goal.

So how do you change things? Put active people in places where activity is needed. You can put a rock on a hillside. Walk away and expect it to roll downhill, because that is what gravity does. It causes things to go downhill. But most of the time, if you don’t nudge or bump the rock, or the ground doesn’t shake below it, there will be no movement of the rock, no matter what you think it should do. So go nudge the rock. Start a movement that will continue until its goal is reached.

Then when these people get moving and decide that they want to keep on going, a lot of times they will want to serve in positions where they can motivate others, or at least have some control of who they have around them to motivate.

And make sure that these people understand what all of the committees roles and tasks are. When someone is suggested for a position, require them to back that up with how they think that person is qualified for that position. This will stop the cycle of people being put on committees or places of leadership where they are not qualified to serve. It doesn’t mean that they are not capable of doing something else in the church. But make sure the leader can do the job!

How to hammer out your problems

I want to break the previous post down over the next few blogs and show how and why this will work.

1.     Find people that are an appropriate fit for your church committee:

a.      If you have a Building and Grounds committee, put your carpenters, plumbers, electricians, contractors, painters, roofers, landscapers, etc on the committee. That way if you need something fixed, you know who is a possible source in your church, plus you can use their expertise to verify what the repair person is telling you.

Now pastors, this is not for you to get a bunch of free work from your members. I believe that one way people can give to their church is to do things that they are good at for no charge for any labor. The church should still pay for materials. But if you know a trade and you see the paint peeling off of the wall, take a day off or use a Saturday (or whatever your day off is) and repaint that area. Make sure that you touch base and get the okay from the committee, that way duplication is not planned and feelings hurt. If you do not see anything in the church or on the grounds that you can tell are in need of repair, ask the committee. Sometimes they are aware of things that are ongoing that they have not brought to the church because of taking bids, or waiting on funds to become available in the budget. Your offer of labor may make the project affordable now and it can be taken care of, and they will provide you with the specifics of what is needed and how they want it done.  One warning with this: Let it be the committee’s vision of how they want it done. If there is nothing structurally or local code that is wrong with their choice, remain quiet and perform the task or ask to find someone else. This is not an opportunity for you to insert your wishes if you are not on the committee. You’re the instrument by which the task is accomplished. Your tools can’t talk (although in these days, it won’t be long before everything can) and neither should you.

The finance committee should operate on the same principle. People who are used to crunching numbers and handling money in their employment are the people who should be handling the church money. If businesses think that they are trustworthy to deal with the vast income that they receive, surely they can be competent to handle the churches finances.

11 Part Series: How to Maintain a Successful Church

** For anyone who hasn't realized it, this blog is updated on Monday, Wednesday, Friday **
** Each part will be posted on these days **

I've talked some about worship and different areas of a basic church setup. I now want to post what I use for a church that I've pastored and any others that I will pastor. This goes back to help answer a question that I asked in the first blog; "How do you measure church growth?" There are many ways, but a church that follows this basic guideline will be more apt to succeed. I'm going to tear this apart for the next 10 postings and look at many facets that makes this successful.

How to have a successful church:

1.    Find people that are an appropriate fit for your church committee:

a.     If you have a Building and Grounds committee, put your carpenters, plumbers, electricians, contractors, painters, roofers, landscapers, etc on the committee. That way if you need something fixed, you know who is a possible source in your church, plus you can use their expertise to verify what the repair person is telling you.

b.    Put people who work in the financial industry (banks, credit unions, CFO’s, etc on your finance committee.

c.     Nominations committee should have people on it who have been ACTIVE in the church for several years. By active I mean, that they have done more than sat on a committee and showed up at meetings. Someone who leads a group, and/or is involved in an active part of a ministry of the church. These are the people who will be aware of others that have the drive and desire to further the ministry of the church.

d.    Children and Youth committees need to have someone who has a child that is full time in their home in that age group. A senior or junior in high school should serve on the committee (rules can determine if they have a vote or not) so that the young people have a voice in what happens in their ministry. Kids know what kids want. Adults can decide if it is appropriate or not.

e.     Pass out a form with a list of the committees and their responsibilities to the congregation for them to read at least a month before nominations are held. Have interested individuals indicate which committee that they are interested in. Sometimes you may have someone with resources that fit a certain area that you are not aware of. It also gives people a way to drop off of a committee and serve in another capacity without having to request such an action.

f.      Consider having an outsider or several outsiders on a panel or board for your church. Use people who are considered influential in the community. These people are not given a vote on church business, but they are “outside” voices who can guide your church on the direction that it is being put on. They are a great gauge as to how the church is perceived in your community and/or town.

   2.  Make sure that the church ministries are doing something to minister to the congregation and community. Is this a time when the men or women meet, eat, and gab about the latest news? Or do you have speakers who can come in and motivate, educate and get something going or furthering a goal of the group? Have the ladies start a quilting/sewing club that meets, and can also listen to the heartbeat of the community when they come to join in the group. Men, start a group that gathers regularly and goes hunting or fishing or some other popular sport in the area. Invite non-church members who love the sport to join in. Have a “wild life” supper near the end of the hunting seasons to celebrate the time and the catch that was shared together.

  3.   Jesus Jar: pass out glass jars for people to put their change in regularly. This does not take the place of tithes. This is offerings. Decide on what the money should be spent on (building fund/missions) and at least semi-annually or annually disperse the funds to the appropriate people/agency. Collect the monies monthly in a large container. Many banks have a machine that will count the change for you. Also, many churches have a Christmas tree in their sanctuary or somewhere in a prominent place. Have them bring “gifts” of money to put under the tree during a service that will be used for a predetermined fund of the church. This is great to use to bless a family in need at Christmas. Doesn’t have to be a church family. If there is not a need in the church, then anyone in the community should be eligible to receive aid.

  4.   Have a long term goal and a short term goal for the church. Short term should be 1 year or less. Long term should be 3 to 5 years. Examples:

Short term: Develop a plan to find out what the needs of the community are. How can the church resources be used to further the development of the community? Are there organizations that need a place to meet? Are there Christian charities/ministries that need extra volunteers? Find people to meet the needs. Start an after school daycare for latch key kids.

Long term: Increase membership by ____ % (use the population trend of the area for a guideline). Build new building (gymnasium/sanctuary), Replace roof or whatever is going to need replacing or repair in a few years. Upgrade facilities to more modern and efficient.

  5.   Make sure that you have a vision of not only increasing membership, but also attendance. If people do not come anymore, find out why. Did they move? Is there a problem with transportation? Hurt feelings? Find out and fix it. Have a team solely responsible for this. People who feel led to minister to others through comforting words or who can also find solutions will make good members for this team.

6. Have the church membership split up between the elders/deacons of the church. Have each one responsible for keeping in touch with the families that are assigned to them. If a family misses 2 or more weeks of services, have them contact the family to make sure that everything is alright. Send out anniversary and birthday cards as appropriate to their families. If a family has a need, they are to contact the elder first, then the elder will contact the pastor if they are not able to meet the need or if they determine that the pastor would be the appropriate one to handle the situation. This frees the pastor to focus on the most important needs of the church, and it also has someone besides the pastor responsible for the congregation and their needs. 

7.   Lastly, make sure that you have a regular number of salvations for unsaved attendees. We are responsible for leading people to the Lord. We can’t make them choose God, but we can lead them to the decision time. If you’ve gone a year and no one has accepted Christ, find out why. Are you tracking the people who attend the church and getting to know them? Assign groups of people to the elders of the church for them to shepherd and get to know intimately. This way spiritual guidance can be given on a more frequent personal basis, and the church and/or pastor can be kept apprised of any situations that may arise where the church/pastor can help.

Starting Over

On a recent trip I met someone who I hit it off with immediately. We were talking about churches and he mentioned about starting a church, and some of the local denominations. His next sentence caught my ears. “Why not start over? It has to be better than what we have now.”

Wow, what a statement. Starting over. That tells us a lot about how denominations are perceived. And also one other thing. Long established churches. It is not uncommon to wind up with a lot of clic’s and groups that can quickly make anyone start to feel like an outsider if they are new. I addressed this in a previous blog, so I won’t go into this again.

But I do want to address the idea of starting over. Starting over in many ways can be a path to a better life.

Christianity. When you accept Jesus as your Savior, you start a new life (hopefully), leaving behind the things that caused you to stumble in your life. Some people try to pin down exactly what actions are a sin. The bible is explicit on a few, but in a world that is rapidly changing, the list can grow quite quickly. So here is the simplest way to decide if you are in doubt.

(1) If you do something that makes other people look at you as a non-believer

(2) If you say something that makes other people look at you as a non-believer

(3) If you do something that makes you feel guilty

(4) If you do or say something that makes you wonder if it is right or wrong

Well, then it’s wrong.

Problem comes in what a lot of people do next, they listen to the words of an old popular song:

“If it feels good, do it.”

You cannot always substitute the “feel good” into the above to determine if it is the right thing to do. The only checkpoint for that is the bible. There are so many things that tell you what to do and how to do in the bible.

What? You don’t know what those are? Read the bible.

“But it’s too hard. I don’t understand it.” This day and age you can find all kinds of versions of the bible. Some versions stray from the original content, but the King James Version, New King James Version, and the New International Version are the ones who track the closest to the original document.

“But Keith, you just listed the King James as a version.” Yes, it is a translation, so it is a version. It is not the original document. Unless you are fluent in Greek and Hebrew, the documents that we have from that age would be “greek” to you. (haha, I couldn’t resist!). I personally prefer the NIV translation. The writers have gone back to the original document and they have tried to keep the translation current to the meaning of the language of today.

Find a version that you can read and start reading. Some of the items that are mentioned are hard to understand, especially in the Old Testament. My suggestion is to start with the New Testament and read one of the gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are the first four books that start off the New Testament. Pick one and read it, then skip to Acts and read until you get to Revelations. Stop. Go back to the Old Testament and read it carefully. If you don’t understand a term, go to Wikipedia.org or go to www.biblegateway.com and look it up. These two sites are free, and they have a ton of resources for you to read. I use both of them for my biblical studies. Plus, if you cannot afford a bible or another translation of a bible, biblegateway has many different translations for you to read. Then go back and read the rest of the gospels, and finally Revelations. Revelations can be a tricky book to read and grasp. I highly recommend a study series by Dr. David Jeremiah, “Escape The Coming Night”, which will help you understand Revelations, as well as apply it to modern times. I have attended several of his seminars, and listened to him on the radio, and he is “spot on” with his teachings and preaching.

So start over in your life.

Start over by reading the bible.

“But I’ve read it already.” Well, I don’t doubt you, but did you absorb anything that you read? Read it this time, even a chapter at a time, and then ask God to reveal to you what He wants you to learn from it.

Start over by being a “new you.”

Be someone that even you wouldn’t recognize. When you get to church and the same group gathers to start their gossip. Stand up and tell them they shouldn’t. If they still continue, walk away. Leave the room. Make a statement by doing so that you won’t be a part that does not fit with the Christian lifestyle.

Start worshipping while in church. (I’ve covered quite a bit about this in previous blogs)

Quit checking out who is doing what in the sanctuary. Shut your eyes and start your private prayer time. Start by asking God to work in your life. Ask God to help you clear your mind of everything else that is going on around you, and start praying for yourself, your family, your friends, the people who are currently in your church, the people who can’t be in your church, and the people who should be in your church.

Start to be a new employee/manager/owner

If you’re employed, go to work and be different. No gossiping. No backbiting. Start by telling someone thank you when they help, help someone when they need it, and start to be someone that others come up to you wanting to know what is different about you. PERFECT opportunity to be a witness for God in this situation.

If you do wind up in a place where you can’t be the Christian that you’re supposed to be, find a place where you can. Not all churches are Christian, though the name or denomination on the sign might indicate differently. If they need another book in addition to the bible, nope, not a Christian group. Resources that help you to understand what the bible is telling you are wonderful. But if someone wants you to study something instead of the bible, RUN FORREST RUN! Not all employers welcome a Christian environment. Employers are not allowed to discriminate on the basis of religion. Just be the example, and pray for God to change their hearts.

Start to be the spouse/(g)(b)friend that you need to be. If your “significant other” isn’t a Christian, rethink your relationship.

2 Corinthians 6:14 (NIV) says, “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?”

I’ll go more into this in a later blog series where I tackle relationships.

Be the “S O” that you need to be. Show them that you love them. Kiss them, hold their hands, do special things that cause you to have to go out of the way for them. Guys, hold the doors for the girls. And guys and girls, initiate bible study together. Have devotional time. There are plenty of resources for different types of devotions, based on what you enjoying doing and reading.

Start over in your mind. Quit being negative. God is not negative. Start to believe in what you pray for, and in what you do in your daily life so that others can be reached for Christ.

In other words, START OVER!

Traffic Signs that you need to know

While driving on the road this past weekend, I wound up on a 4 lane highway that was divided by a grassy median. Two lanes went in each direction, and every so often there would be a portion of the median that was paved so that people could cross the road. On both sides of the road facing the direction that would have traffic flowing in the wrong direction, there were signs saying, “Wrong Way” or “Do Not Enter.”

This got me to thinking. That is what the bible does. It shows us that our ways are wrong when we are committing sins that the bible is Very Explicit about. God’s word should be a sign in front of our face when we are contemplating doing something that we know is wrong. Following Satan is the “Wrong Way” and the door that he will try to lead us through needs to be flashing “Do Not Enter.”

A little bit further down the road I saw a sign that said, “Keep right except to pass.”

I thought about this and decided that it is another sign that we need to apply to our daily lives. We need to “Keep Right.” We need to stay on a path that doesn’t stray away from God’s word and His commandments. And that includes not picking and choosing which ones we want to obey, and which ones we want to ignore. We need to either keep the whole bible as God’s word or throw the whole thing out. Some people have said that they don’t believe it is the word of God since man wrote it, yet they observe things that were written in the bible. You can’t have it both ways. Either read the whole manual and live a life like you should, eventually enjoying an eternity in Heaven with God. Or throw the whole thing out and risk getting fried (in about every way possible, both here on earth and in hell.)

But then I thought about the rest of the sign. “Keep right [except to pass]”

So, when would I pass? Well, that is easy to solve. A lot of people mature at a faster rate than others. The same can be said for Christians. There are some who buy the “fire insurance” and they can barely maintain a safe speed through life. You know these types of people because every little bump in life upsets their whole life, and they frantically try to “grab the wheel” to bring their life back under control.

There are others who notice the bumps, keep a tight grip on the steering wheel, and they make it through life fairly unscathed. They have learned how to worship God. They have learned how to ask God for what they need. They have learned to count on God to care for them and be their Rophe, Jireh, Nissi and many other names that I’ve covered earlier in other blogs.

These people are going to pass up the first type of people on the road to success and contentment in their lives. When you learn to trust God for your daily needs, you learn to keep your eyes on the road, study the “road map” on your trips and trust that you’ll arrive at your destination “Heaven” as scheduled.

Life is also like what I found when I went further down the road. There was an exit ramp. Life has exit ramps. Growing up I can remember the old folks saying that someone who had been active in church and then left to pursue “worldly” interests had “backslid.” I think of it as an exit ramp. They got off track and took another road, eventually realizing that they were headed in the wrong direction, and then hopefully they did a U-Turn and came back to where they took the exit ramp. There is almost always an “on-ramp” for them to get back on track and continue on with their life pursuing God. Sometimes they reach the wrong destination, and tragic events can often happen.

What road will you take? What lane will you find yourself in? Will it have “Wrong Way” signs staring you in the face? Or will you find traffic flowing smoothly in your direction, the Son shining upon you, and “Keep right except to pass” will be the road sign that greets you periodically. Sure, you will have “danger” signs, “reduced speed” signs and other road hazards in your way. But if you have God as your GPS (Globally Positioned Savior), your road ahead will be the best possible route in front of you.

What are you doing here?

This past weekend we were in Virginia and planned ahead of time to go to an Easter Sunrise Service. When we got to the place where the service was being held, a lot of the people looked at us strange. Like, “why are you here?” Even though we were supposed to be worshipping with other Christians on a special Holy holiday, they made us still feel like outsiders. Only 2 people actually spoke to us. Neither one of them was the pastor of a local church that was holding the service. May God bless those two.

Sometimes we wonder why our churches don’t grow. People visit, and no matter how they might be dressed, or you may not recognize them from the surrounding area, do you look at them like, “what are you doing here?”

Do you take any time to go up to them and introduce yourself and acknowledge them, or do you simply wonder why they never come to another service? I can tell you why!

When people make you feel like that, you have no reason to go back to the church. Your church gets labeled as being full of hypocrites because you are not friendly, it doesn’t matter if you are shy or scared to approach new people. It’s how you are perceived.

People wander into a bar, and chances are someone will start up a conversation. The bartender will ask them what they want to drink. And usually someone who is seated at the bar near where they are standing will start up a conversation.

So if partiers and drinkers can be friendly, and the church is unfriendly, why do you think the bars are full and the churches are empty?

People do not come to church anymore out of habit or respect to God. Most of them could care less about God. And why should they? When they go to church, all they will see is people standing and fidgeting during singing and prayers, acting like they are bored to death. Then some people even start to nod off during the sermon.

Bars have dancing. Bars have music. People will ask you to dance with them. Sometimes they may even get you to sing at a bar, especially if there is karaoke. So why go somewhere once a week where the atmosphere is different? Bland, boring, and anyone can tell that everyone in the place (and sometimes the pastor/priest) would rather be somewhere else.

We have got to get back to worship. We have got to include people in our worship. You see that someone is obviously struggling with something, and is sitting all alone. Get your rear end off of the seat and go sit by them, or stand by them if that is the case. Take their hand and hold it. Put your arm around their shoulder, and let them lean on you and cry if they need to. START PRAYING FOR THAT PERSON!!! It doesn’t matter what their trouble is. It doesn’t matter if they NEVER TELL YOU what their trouble is. Start praying. Ask for the Holy Spirit to come and give them peace. Beg God’s mercy upon them and whatever situation is going on in their lives. PRAY FOR THAT PERSON! THEIR FAMILY! THEIR JOB! THEIR HOME! COVER ALL OF THE BASES!

BE AN EXAMPLE!   Let other people see what you are doing, and they will know that this is a church that cares, and hopefully they will come to know that you serve a God that cares. Don’t wait for later. Do it then. It won’t be disruptive if they are silently weeping on your shoulder while you lift up silent prayers to Jesus.

If you see someone sitting by theirselves, go sit with them. It doesn't matter if they are there for the first time or the one-thousandth time. Go let them know that someone cares! God cares! And I would hope that you do too!

Just before Jesus was captured by the Romans and crucified, He was in the garden praying to His Father. He had asked the disciples to pray with him, but they fell asleep, maybe even figuring that He could handle it on His own.

Are we going to be like the disciples? Are we going to leave someone alone to bear the burden and anguish that they are going through, or are about to go through?

Let’s stand up and stand with our fellow brethren. Let’s start to be available to our brothers and sisters and anyone else who is around us. The world is hurting bad enough without Christians adding any more hurt to anyone else, especially in our churches.

One Thing I Don't Understand

Will someone explain this to me?

Tell people Osama is dead without proof or a body and they celebrate. Tell people Jesus died and rose again with an empty tomb and eyewitnesses and they speculate!

As always, comments are welcome!

This Little Light of Mine

I was watching a popular TV show last night and a thought hit me like a lightning bolt. Have you ever noticed that you can often easily distinguish if someone is a homosexual. Especially the guys. Their mannerisms are different. Their speech is different. And often their style of clothing is different. I have seen it over and over again. This is not always true. I know someone who is caught up in the lifestyle, and to meet him, he just appears to be your average redneck. Unless you knew that he lives with another man and they sleep in the same bed, you’d never have a clue. He keeps his “secret” well guarded.

Using this as a basis, what kind of Christian are you?

If I met you on the street and we had never seen each other before, would I know that you are a Christian? Would there be something different about you?

Have you ever noticed that you can usually tell a priest/pastor from anyone else in the room? Usually, their dress code will be somewhat of a give-away. But not always. Sometimes it is just that they stand out. They may seem cheery, hold their head up more, and present a different countenance than the others around them.

There are some religions that make it easy to distinguish their followers. In the US, you will see young men riding around on bicycles, wearing black suits with white button-up shirts. You immediately know what religion they belong to.

And quite usually, when Satan has his grips on someone, you can tell it too. The haggardness of their appearance, the eyes that are blank or dark with despair, a countenance that makes you want to back up and not be a part of them.

So why is it that the world can’t tell we’re a Christian before they ever see us pull into a church parking lot? (btw, this doesn’t make you one!)

It’s because we are too busy doing things that we shouldn’t be doing, saying things that we shouldn’t be saying. We are always wanting to “fit in” with the crowd, instead of “standing out” so that we can be an example to the rest of the world.

When I meet someone, I can usually tell if they at least try to follow God. Their overall appearance (and I’m not talking about their clothing/hair style/etc) is calming, soothing, and they are someone that you want to be around. They always lift you up, instead of beating you down. You know that you can go to this person for guidance when you have a problem in your life.

Now, these people are not always Christians. There are some people who are just “Good People.” But for a large majority, these people in the above paragraph do follow Christ. And it shows. They will always be content in their troubles. Sure, they will have problems, they will not necessarily be wealthy, although if God chooses to bless them, then their storehouses will be plentiful.

Christians, let us start to be different. Live your life in a way that anyone who meets you in Wal-Mart, the grocery store, or the mall can see that you are different, even if they don’t realize that it is God within you that is making you this way. Quit thinking that your style of dress, lack or abundance of makeup or what car you drive or anything else is going to make you “Christ-Like.”

Let’s start being Christians. I used to sing a song as a kid in church, and I think we need to start singing it again.

“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.”

“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.”

“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.“

“Let it shine, Let it shine, Let it shine.”

Keep on shining until next time!