EXCITING NEWS!!!

The last few days have been VERY exciting. I went to a wedding in the country, meeting a bunch of my wives family for the first time, getting to announce in person that WE ARE EXPECTING A BABY!

Everything is looking awesome after the first trimester, and if you're aware of the trials that it has taken to get to this point, then you'll understand that we're both extremely excited.

Prayer answers

This week I spoke in the chapel services for the school which uses our church about prayer and the difference it makes.

During the short talk I mentioned something that occasionally makes people think I'm crazy.

I reckon God answers prayer. Sometimes the answer is affirmative, sometimes the response is to patiently wait and other times the reply is no.

I've never heard a loud booming voice from the sky, had my attention captured by a burning bush nor been knocked off my horse and blinded by a bright light. These ways are possible ways for God to communicate, but I've never experienced them.

Instead, I find, that God answers prayer in four primary ways.

1 - Whilst praying about a situation I will get an idea.

2 - I will be reminded of a passage from the bible which will apply to the situation.

3 - Sometimes God will bring about conversations with others, Christian or otherwise, who will help provide an answer.

4 - Whilst I'm struggling with a situation I will hear a talk or sermon that will speak to what I am facing.

WHO or WHAT?

What is your church known for?

If our church was known for the talking head up front then we would soon be in trouble.

Shortly the church I'm working for will embark on the daunting task of calling a new minister. The job will be understandably drawn out, but probably not too painful, since we are a relatively healthy church in a wealthy part of Sydney.

But for many churches the undertaking would be much more difficult. Some communities of faith can't financially afford to pay for a minister. Some rural communities desperately struggle to find a minister who is willing to travel "outback."

In my denomination, having a full time minister is quite a luxury. I remember a figure bandied around that said that almost 50% of congregations are without a full time Minster of the Word.

I asked my initial question with this "fact" in mind. Most churches do not have an identifiable minister attached to them. Of those who do, most senior ministers will only be around for a set period of time (somewhere around a decade, 15 years max).

Perhaps churches shouldn't be known for the minister. Churches should instead strive to be known for WHAT THEY DO in the community, not WHO is leading their worship/preaching the sermon/leading the youth group (gasp!) on any given week.

Youth Minister: Church Revivalist?

I just had a guest post put up at More than DodgeBall about youth ministers not being church revivalists. Head on over and check it out here.

Cranking up the volume

Every day we get exposed to messages from the world around us, positively or otherwise.

Materialism. Feminism. Hedonism. Stoicism. Rationalism. Pluralism. Nihilism. Idealism. Deism. A whole bunch of other "ism's."

One point of church is to change to volume. A chance to tune into God and step away from the rest of the white noise.

Ideally, church should "turn up" the volume of your theology. It should increase the volume of who God is, what He has done for you and how he invites you to follow Him.

Eutychus ministry

An odd little story in the bible deals with a bloke named Eutychus.

The account of his death is told in the twentieth chapter from the book of Acts. In short, the Apostle Paul bores the young bloke to sleep by his preaching and he subsequently falls out a window. Fortunately, Paul (in an I-haven't-done-child-protection-training way) revives the chap and everything is fine.

I wonder how many modern day Euthychus' there are today.
How many people have been bored out of the church?
How many are dead to the gospel due to what they have heard in church?

Perhaps a re-engaging ministry should be established especially for those who have fallen out the third storey window.

Bibleopoly... Really?

Dear creators of Bibleopoly,

What were you thinking?

Did the world need another dodgy Christian rip-off?

Really?

Did you have to take the BEST THING out of the game? If I can't decimate my opponent, watching them dangle on the verge of bankruptcy, why would I want to play a game that ends in "opoly"?

Most regretfully, GB

This is how the game is described... Start "In the Beginning," journey through Bible cities, "Meditation," "Community Celebration." Earn a cornerstone by helping others. Collect Bricks & Steeples to build a church. Good deeds are rewarded, but sometimes Faith cards intervene. The object of the game is to be the first player to build a church in one of the Bible cities. In Bibleopoly, you cannot win by destroying your opponents. You can only be the winner by assisting the fellow players. This act of cooperation is what allows you to gain the things necessary to build your church and be a winner. For 2 to 6 players. It takes about one hour to play.

Arua obstacle?

As a youth minister, what I do takes a certain amount of skill. Not an insurmountable amount, but some.

To be a senior minister takes some certain talents. Not a barely possible mix, but some all the same.

To do many things during a church service takes some degree of proficiency. Not perfection, but it's sure nice not to suck.

I wonder, have those who do the "up front" stuff at church created an aura about what they do?
Do those who "watch" on any given Sunday think they are capable of doing the same things?
Are the actions of the "professionals" inhibitive to those in the pews?

I would like to say that those leading ministries and church services don't create an obstacle to others in the congregation. I would like to say that the perception of Super Christian doesn't exist in the eyes of the churchgoer.

But when I think about the excuses given as to why they aren't involved... "I couldn't to that" is a common reply.

Perhaps the message to those up the front is that the way we do things is more of an obstacle than an invitation.

Patience for the germination?

In Matthew 13 Jesus tells the well known parable of the sower. As a parable, the main point is the underlying message about the nature and Kingdom of God, not the specific details.

But the tale Jesus spins makes me wonder about churches and the way they can view results.

Are churches prepared to wait for the results of a ministry to develop?
When a church weighs up bum-in-seat results, are they looking for growth to be slow cooked or microwaved?

If we delve into the parable, the results would not have be known until the seeds sprout. I wonder if some churches would have left the field by then due to impatience???

Aiming for a pass?

I've just submitted my first assignment for the course that I'm currently doing at university. And, truthfully, I'm hoping for a pass. But not much more. Sure, I want to do well and good marks are pleasing, but I'm a realist.

I would love to say that what I handed in was a literary masterclass. It wasn't. It may be due to the lectures only winding down last week, or that I had to write the entire essay today in my office (on the due date!), or that I have the phrase "P's equal degrees" in my vernacular, but it wasn't a grand entrance back into academia.

I wonder if I, and the church, hold a similar view when it comes to people and ministry.

We aim for a pass. We aim for good enough. We strive for keep-the-kids-out-of-trouble-so-their-not-sleeping-around-or-getting-too-drunk-on-the-weekend.

I mentioned in conversation last week that our standards are too low and compared it to the standards that Islam seems to hold for it's followers.

Looking from the rather ill informed, outside-looking-in vantage point, from what I can tell they wouldn't sit happily with a pass conceded grade in terms of their faith.

They demand more from their followers. They expect more from their followers. Often they receive more from their followers.

Perhaps, in that, there is a lesson for the Christian church and a challenge for those in ministry...

Kindy prayers

On the back of a youth ministry inservice, I've just flowed out of a week-long ordination intensive. In between, our church had an elders and leader's retreat. All in all, I've gained a head overflowing with input, three two-inch folders to read, an assignment due on Monday and a stack of blog post ideas.

Churches can think they have "arrived" once they posses the sacred cow of church existence. Playgroups.

Or, better yet, a kindergarten.

Today I heard about a church that had a kindy. But something was different.

They intentionally prayed for the kids who go to the kindy.

I don't know how attached the kindergarten was with the church, but I don;t think that should be the point.

I've known quite a few churches where the kids who flow through the gates of their kindergarten are little more than walking cash cows. Perhaps we need to remember that they are a fledgling ministry as well...

Really average?

"Are you at a big church?"

"No, not really. We probably have, I dunno, an average of 250 on a Sunday across the services?"

Last week I overheard a conversation similar to the one above. The enquirer was from a small rural congregation and the respondent was from one of the most wealthy parts of Sydney.

For some, their perceived average is nothing like reality.

If I were to ask you the average attendance of a church service of your denomination, how many would you say? 50? 100? More?
How about the average number in a youth ministry? 20? 40? More?
Does your upbringing effect your view of "average"?

For many in ministry, particularly youth ministry, they come from healthier (and generally larger) churches. They don't come from a struggling church who strains to scrape together 30 on a "good" Sunday.

I've heard it said that the average church service in my denomination is under 30 people (which seems to make sense once the weekly number of attendees is divided by the number of congregations, mindful that some churches have multiple services).

Occasionally those of us conditioned by a fortunate, (pseudo)thriving church past can needlessly cry poor. We pine over the 100 who turned up on Sunday morning. We mope over the "barely 20" teens who darken the doors on a Friday night (I've also heard that the average number of young people in a church is 5).

This post isn't about celebrating mediocrity, but perhaps some need to open their eyes to what the "real" average is in the wider church.

Favour church?

"Hey... We're coming to church on Sunday!"

Sometimes I hear this enthusiastically exclaimed, and every time I do, I wonder what response I'm meant to have.

If I'm told you're coming so you can reconnect with God, then that is great. Brilliant. Excellent. Bravo.

But occasionally the tone makes me uncomfortable. It comes across like you're doing someone (myself, the senior minister, the service leader, a musician) a favour.

This stinks.

If you're going to attend church as a token of affection for anyone but God, then understand that it doesn't thrill me. Yes, an exception should be made for those who are investigating following Jesus or the church anew, but the random Facebook message will not get much more then a smirk.

If you're going to attend church, what would make me much happier, is if you did it for reasons to do with God.

Really regional?

The Internet was outraged, the Twitter-verse imploded and Facebook froze.

And rightly so. I made a promise and I broke it.

In this post I wrote that I'd blog next about regional churches but instead posted on ministers raving about their church.

Well, belatedly, here is the foretold post...

Some churches like to think of themselves as "regional."

Perhaps they have a prominent minister. Or had a renowned ministry. Or maybe the membership directory indicates that they have "members" from across a wide area.

Whilst having a conversation with a minister last week he mentioned an often neglected criteria.

You are a regional church if you genuinely SERVE a large region.
You can be considered a regional church if you IMPACT a large geographical region.

If you just like the term, or judge the appropriateness of the title based on your furthest travelling congregant, then you're probably NOT a regional church.

Raving 'round the clock

This week I've been at the annual Youth Pastors conference for my denomination. Included yesterday was a visit to Parramatta Mission with the senior minister Keith Hamilton.

The thing that struck me the most from the experience, along with the amazing work they do with the homeless, was the way the bloke raved about his church.

From the moment we met him and were shown around, introducing us to their ministries and volunteers, he rarely stopped talking.

For a solid hour he enthusiastically chatted about his church.

I wonder how long many ministers and ministry leaders could rave about their church?

Were-actual-wish

Whenever a church finds itself between ministers, one of the first things it needs to do is get a church profile together to show potential candidates.

Churches use this as a good time to give themselves a label. Thriving. Accepting. Progressive. Evangelistic. Family-Friendly. Regional (a term I'll chat about in my next post).

The trouble is, churches get confused between were, actual and wish.
Sometimes they describe what they were. It may have been a generation or a decade ago or mid-March 1912, but the church labels itself with what it WAS known for.

Sometimes a church will describe who they wish they were. They call themselves what they would LIKE to be in a season, year or decade in the future.

Unfortunately, it is all-to-rare that the profile a church provides falls into the "actual" part of the spectrum.

Sexy giving

I just listened to a bunch of giving videos here and one thing that caught my attention was the idea to make the budget/giving sexy.

No, this doesn't involve the treasurer doing a strip tease.

Instead it needs three things.

A need.
An amount.
A time frame.

Whenever you ask for money, include the three above things.

People give to specific needs. They don't to vague figures on a spreadsheet.
People give when they know how much money is required. They don't if their is no goal to acquire.
People will give more readily if they are given a time to do it by. People are wired to act within a date. Otherwise we will just keep putting it off...

Youth ministry costs

I've had "the talk" a few times.

The "you've broken something the the hall again" talk.
Or "the youth group leaders miscounted the money again" discussion.
And I've overheard the "chat" about the amount of noise kids made during church or the "mess after youth group."

Youth ministry costs churches.

It costs them money.
It costs then light fixtures.
It costs them windows.
It costs them an otherwise vacant building.
It costs them peace and quiet.

But that's the price a church should be willing to pay to see ministry to young people happen. In reality, it's usually not that great a burden...

The option of not going anywhere...

Sucks.

Youth ministry goes in cycles. Sometimes you are on the upswing. Sometimes you are in the midst of a downturn.

No matter where you are. There is one constant.

Kids will leave. Not all, but given enough time, some.

Some will move away. Some will have a conflicting event that is unavoidable. Some will be slammed by school work or disapproving parents. Some will find better things to do on a Friday night. Some kids will just stop coming.

I understand that some kids won't be fond of me. That's okay. If they go to another youth group, are cared for and grow closer to Jesus. That's great.

But however it happens, when kids leave, it's not a great feeling. But it is made much worse when they drift away to nothing.

PS. Apologies about the lack of posts over the last week, my Mum unexpectedly had a triple-bypass operation a few days ago. Turns out she had a mild heart attack a while ago, so it's good that the doc's caught it now. She's getting out of intensive care later today.

Thirdaversary

Today is the third anniversary of my blog since I started with this little-viewed masterpiece.

What do the stats say?

22,762 page views from 10,372 individual visitors from 74 countries. 86.89% from Australia.
One singular view from Bahrain, Nigeria, Croatia (Hrvatska), Bolivia, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Botswana, Czech Republic, Virgin Islands (U.S.), Guatemala, Kuwait, Venezuela, Peru, Slovak Republic and Ghana.

My most popular month for views was January 2011 with 1,30 and with visitors was April 2011 with 504.

My two most popular posts are "Putting on a Greek play," "Marriage advice for the ADD" and "Christian swingers."

603 people have searched and stumbled over my blog with most people finding my blog by looking for something to do with swinging (164 times), relationships with non-believers (67 times), the reason for "Good Friday" (48 times) or theater masks (34 times). From the 306 individual searches the post popular was "christian swingers" with 114.

The most random search to find here? "18 never been kissed loser," "unicorn kills mime" and "christiannymphos"

Finally, much thanks to my current churches website, Tom's blog and MoreThanDodgeBall for pointing the most traffic my way.