HGTV and Me

(There has been some confusion about the blog and the website, so for now, the blog will be posted both on here and on the website.)

One of the TV channels that I love is HGTV. I like getting new ideas on decorating and arranging things in the home, and I like seeing how others setup their homes, both indoors and out. The "___ Crashers" series is one of my favorites, and I would love it if they would be in a store near me sometime and come rescue our house from the hum drums!

One other series that I like is House Hunters and House Hunters International. In case you haven't watched these shows, people get a choice of 3 homes and they have to choose one of them to purchase (or in some countries rent, as outsiders are not allowed to own property.) It is fascinating to see what each country is like, as they will show the surrounding area and people in the villages. Some places are pretty cheap, and then some are so expensive I don't see how anyone can afford it.

I lived in what was then West Germany while serving in the US Armed Forces in the late 70's and early 80's and I remember very fondly the country and the food. (I still love German food today, and I've found several authentic restaurants within a couple hours drive from here.) I spent quite a bit of time "on the economy" as it was called when we weren't in the field on some training mission. I also learned quite a bit of german in my travels, and I still remember some of it, but not nearly as much as I used to.

But when they show pictures of places in Germany, I almost get homesick. There were so many good times there, although that is the country where I was injured while on maneuvers which created my release from the military. But I still miss it. I think about Uta @ Zum Bambi's Gasthaus and her mom and dad. I'm sure they have passed on now and hopefully Uta is still cooking up the Weinerschnitzels for people today. I miss my army buddy Clint Walker and the good times we used to have kicking around Babenhausen. But one other thing that I miss is how different the country was. It was clean. People cared about their homes, their towns and each other. The streets there are clean, you do not see the destitute roaming around. Littering is absolutely not tolerated. And people are friendly to you, whether they know you or not.

Here in America I just don't see that anymore. Almost every town of decent size in the US has a "slum" section, an area where drugs are sold, homeless people are allowed to set up shelter. We step over the drunks on the sidewalks as we head to work, shop or church, never stopping to offer any help. We offer pitiful advice like: "If they wanted to help themselves, they would." "I don't have time to solve the worlds problems, let someone else do it." "Why can't they (whoever they are) do something about these people?"

In 2 days we will celebrate Thanksgiving here in the US. We are supposed to be thankful for all that we have been given. With the looming debt crisis around the world, I don't know how many people are going to be thankful this year. They will be too busy worrying about their stock portfolio's to realize that the greatest thing to take stock in is their family sitting at the table before them. They will worry about needless things, yet the destitute outside their door will look in the windows and marvel at what all they have.

So during the next two days, please take time to look around you. Yes, there will be food banks and kitchens open to serve a meal to a family who otherwise would not have anything this holiday. But what about afterwards? What will they be doing on Black Friday while you're out shopping? For some families, I suspect that they will be huddled in their cars that are parked in some lot, empty of gas, expired/missing tag, with the adults wiping the tears from the children's eyes as they watch people with packages of toys scurry from store to store.

I'm tired of what I see in America. We have so much, yet we gripe (oh how I would love to use another word!) about what we don't have. One thing I learned about Europeans is that family counts. They treasure each other. They don't always have alot, but family and friends ranks first on their list. I want us to be that way. The family you have is the family you had better treasure. You're not guaranteed that you will have them the next day. The friends you have, you had better treasure. Without friends you have no support system outside of the home.

What? You say that you have no family or friends? It is just you, alone in your apartment or home. Well, you do have a friend. His name is Jesus. We used to sing a song from the hymnal long ago, and maybe we need to sing it again:
What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear,
What a privilege to carry,
Every thing to God in prayer.

God knows your needs. God knows your situation. He knows what your future holds. Though it may look bleak now, if you have accepted Christ in your heart, your future is brighter than ever. You have Heaven to look forward to one day, and there is no greater reward or future than that.

So I challenge you. If you are one of the lucky ones who are reading this, you're definitely blessed. You most likely have a roof over your head, and a desktop/laptop that costs hundreds of dollars sitting before you. The world is literally at your feet. So starting today, I want you to put your feet in the world. Go find the people who need God the most, yet most people will not take the time to show them God. Start in your neighborhood.

What? You don't have any of that in your neighborhood? Yes you do. When I worked for Allied Van Lines I moved people into large extravagant homes and they could not even fill up half of the rooms with furniture. But it was the "in place" to live, so they sold their home that suited them and bought something that alot of them lost later due to too much debt. So even in the "finest" neighborhoods, you have someone who needs you and needs Jesus. They may put on "airs" for everyone, but you've seen through it, or they have confided in you. Start to be a true friend. Have them over for Thanksgiving. Show them the love of Christ and what all that He can offer, and that they don't have to try to obtain everything that they want, when He can give them all they need.

Do your part to make this a better world. Pick up that piece of paper and put it in the trash. Buy an extra cup of coffee and put it in the hands of the homeless. Purchase one less present for your children and one more for a homeless or orphan child. Invite a single person or widow/widower to your home for Thanksgiving. And then invite them back regularly to share meals and fellowship times. Give the drunk, the homeless, the drug addict someone to love and let them know that someone loves and cares about them on days other than the holidays. Then we can have a nation that will realize that no matter what the stock markets do, what the news media print, or what their personal situation is at the moment; someone loves and cares about them and that we are all truly blessed.

In closing, I want to be a House Hunter, be it International or not. I want to find a house where families gather with friends, strangers are invited in to share in the company, and most importantly, Christ is shown to everyone present. Will you prepare your house?

How to "retire" a church worker

One last blog in this series for now about how to have a successful church. Suppose you have been reading this and you agree that it is time to restart your church on the path to success in being a Godly Ministry.

But you face one LARGE hurdle in accomplishing your task. We’ll call him Elder Smith.

Elder Smith grew up on your church, raised there by his family that still attends, even his grandkids and maybe great grandkids, just as he did when he was a great grandchild of one of the founders. Elder has become one of your oldest members and his ability to be an active part of your congregation is very limited. Everyone feels sorry for him, and no one wants to hurt his feelings, so he is put on committees so that he will still feel a part of the congregation. You as a pastor in particular do not want to upset him, as his family might retaliate, (Christians retaliate? Well, church members at least!) and cause discord or leave the church. (sometimes that is a blessing too.)

How about giving Elder Smith a retirement party? We give employees who have served a company for many years retirement parties. So why not do the same for someone who has served the church for so many years. This gives them the dignity to leave the post, their family can celebrate the occasion, and quite often the person who was in that position is grateful to finally be off the committee.

It happened to me one time. He wound up in the hospital a few weeks after his “retirement”, and he told me when we were alone that he was so glad that he finally didn’t have to serve actively anymore. His health wasn’t the best and he had a hard time making the meetings. He counted it a blessing. We gave him a small party after service one Sunday. We had everyone bring a “covered dish” to the social hall before church, and we purchased a specially decorated cake from a local bakery and decorated with some balloons and décor from the dollar store. The cost was fairly low to the church, but the results were rather high.

No one was hurt. People who needed to serve on the committees were now in place. And the church continued to function.

Solutions can always be found, if you are willing to look at the problem in a new light. What can you do with your ministry to make it a success? I would love to have some comments from others who have implemented some ideas that turned their ministry around.

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.