Mike Slaughter on “First Doing … then Believing”

"The postmodern apologetic is first doing. . . then believing. It is not 'believing first and then doing.'" So says Mike Slaughter, Lead Pastor at Ginghamsburg United Methodist church in Tipp City, Ohio. To lead from the new apologetic, Slaughter offers several opportunities to show the love of Christ to their community through love and service. During the Christmas season, Slaughter asked those in his congregation to spend on others (in this case the Sudanese refugees) whatever they spend on themselves. "After all," Slaughter says, "it's not your birthday." The result was $300,000 given to the Sudanese. In the same spirit, he put forth an opportunity to help the victims of the tsunami disaster. Another $25,000 came pouring in. "God didn't call us, as pastors, to manage the church, but to be the hands and feet of Christ by winning the lost, healing the hurting and setting the captive free." In that spirit, Ginghamsburg began New Path Outreach ministries. Look at the description from their website:

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Angie Ward on Clues to Hidden Core Values

"9 Clues to Secret Core Values: More on discerning your church's hidden agenda" by Angie Ward, (Leadership Journal, February 28, 2005)

Thanks, and wow. Thank you to everyone who responded to my
previous column about hidden core values. Thanks for sharing your insights and
questions. It was a privilege to read about your stories and your struggles, and
I hope what follows will be of help on your leadership journey.

First, a quick review: Most churches these days have some sort
of mission or purpose statement. All churches, however, also have their own
internal culture, a set of shared attitudes, values, and beliefs that define
church and shape its practices. This deeply entrenched culture can be summarized
into an "ethos" statement which is almost never officially articulated, but is
nonetheless extremely powerful. Here are some (more) examples:

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Gordon MacDonald on Resilent Living

A Resilient Life February 22, 2004 – by Gordon MacDonald

The
event is engraved upon my soul much like words carved into marble face
of a monument. I have described it often because it shaped the way I
look at life.

I was standing at the starting line-the leadoff runner-in a mile relay championship race at the world-renown Penn Relays in Philadelphia. Our team had drawn the second lane. The first lane was occupied by a
runner who, a few weeks before, had broken the American record in the
100 meter dash. He was fast..and he was cocky.

"May the best man win," he said as he hammered his starting blocks
into the cinder surface of the track. "I'll be waiting for you at the
finish line."

It was trash talk, 1950's style. And it was intimidating to a skinny
15 year old who was competing in a large stadium with thousands of
people for the first time.

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Gordon MacDonald on Resilent Living

A Resilient Life February 22, 2004 – by Gordon MacDonald

The
event is engraved upon my soul much like words carved into marble face
of a monument. I have described it often because it shaped the way I
look at life.

"May the best man win," he said as he hammered his starting blocks
into the cinder surface of the track. "I'll be waiting for you at the
finish line."

It was trash talk, 1950's style. And it was intimidating to a skinny
15 year old who was competing in a large stadium with thousands of
people for the first time.

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Zan Holmes on “Do We Look Like Our Picture?”

On Sunday February 20, 2005 the Sanford District of The United Methodist Church welcomed Dr. Zan Holmes to its Lay Rally. He offered some challenging words around the question: “Do We Look Like Our Picture?” He recalled a moment in his life when he almost missed a ride at a strange airport because he “did not look like his picture.” Let’s center on to several verses from the book of Acts:

After his suffering Jesus presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God; While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. "This," he said, "is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy
Spirit not many days from now" (Acts 1:3-5, NRSV, also see Acts 2:1-12).

What does the picture of the early church look like?

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Rick Warren on Growth

Explosive growth: Unleash the creativity of your congregation by Rick Warren

Napoleon
once pointed to a map of China and said, "There lies a sleeping giant.
If it ever wakes up, it will be unstoppable." Today the American church
is a sleeping giant. Each Sunday, church pews are filled with members
who are doing nothing with their faith except "keeping" it.

The designation "active" member in most churches simply means those who attend regularly and financially support
the church. Not much more is expected. But God has far greater
expectations for every Christian. He expects every Christian to use
their gifts and talents in ministry. If we can ever awaken and unleash
the massive talent, resources, creativity and energy found in the
typical local church, Christianity will explode with growth at an
unprecedented rate.

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Roy Oswalt on Church and Ministry Expectations

Link: Congregational Resource Guide Article: How to Minister Effectively.

The Alban Institute has been helping churches learn how to deal with transitions for a long time. In the article listed below, Roy Oswalt, an Alban Institute consultant, outlines the corporate dynamics of four types of churches based on their worship attendance. The first, the family church, averages less than 50 persons per week in worship and their ministries are centered around the matriarch/patriarch of this small faith community. The pastoral church, which averages 50-150 persons in attendance centers its ministry around the pastor who navigates among the several matriarchs and patriarchs of that church. The next size church finds ministry based on the programs that nurture the 150-350 persons in worship each week. Finally, the corporate sized church returns to a central figure around which ministry extends … this time the figure is often the pastor (for good or bad!). Pinehurst UMC average between 100 to 150 persons in worship until just before moving into our new building in June of 2002. Since then our worship is in the 300-320 range and we stand poised to make another leap. Before we leap we need to gather ourselves and understand a little bit more about who we are. Read on …

"How to Minister Effectively in Family, Pastoral, Program, and Corporate Sized Churches," by Roy M. Oswald, Senior Consultant, The Alban Institute from Action Information, Volume XVII, Number 2, March/April 1991, pages 1–7 and Volume XVII, Number 3, May/June 1991, pages 5–7.

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Dan Reiland on Compassionate Ministry

A Wave of Compassion By Dan Reiland

On January 18, 2005 I returned from a tsunami relief trip to the country of Sri Lanka. Four others from Crossroads Community Church (where I serve) and a group from World Hope International comprised our team of nine people. We traveled halfway around the world to the center of the devastation caused by the tsunami on December 26, 2004.

What we saw, felt and experienced is difficult to put into words – that's one of the reasons why two of the people on our team were part of a film crew. It was our desire to capture the story of God's compassion, both already in action and the potential to be expressed, in a country where Christianity is not only the minority, but persecuted. Let me tell you about just a portion of our experience.

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John Maxwell is Wired (8.1)

WHAT ARE YOU COMMITTED TO? By Dr. John C. Maxwell

What do you think of when you hear the word commitment? Perhaps you picture a loving husband caring for his invalid wife. Maybe you envision a business owner who puts her resources and reputation on the line to lead her company through a crisis. Perhaps you see a dedicated teacher who spends hours of his own time tutoring underprivileged children. Or maybe the scene that comes to mind is one of a group of soldiers who willingly enters harm's way to protect their countrymen.

These are all wonderful examples of commitment. But have you considered the fact that individuals who act in less admirable ways also are committed? People who watch the clock at work are committed to making it through the day so they can go home. People who spend most of their free time in front of the television are committed to taking life easy. People who cheat on their income taxes are committed to beating the system.

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Angie Ward on Discerning Hidden Core Values

Every living body – individual or corporate – lives out of values. Often times these values are not explicitly stated. In the church not stating these values makes it difficult for new members of the body to find their place. Their DNA can seem imcompatible with the body's DNA. In human bodies this leads to rejection … could it mean the same for the church? As we move through our visioning process in the coming months this is the God-prompt that pushes me … what is our DNA (what are the core values and beliefs we hold dear)? Read how Angie Ward describes another situation and see if any of it looks familiar to you? (WAB).

"Discerning Your Church's Hidden Core Values: It's the unstated, underlying purpose that really drives a church" by Angie Ward, Leadership Journal (January 17, 2005).

A lot has been written lately about the church and culture; most of it, however, refers to the culture around a church. Just as important is the culture within a church, the shared attitudes, values, and beliefs that define a church and shape its practices.

Fresh out of seminary, my husband and I began ministry at an established, 850-member church in a large city. During the interview process, we were impressed by the church's forward-thinking mission and values, and we were excited to join such an apparently dynamic ministry. As time passed, however, it became clear that there was far more bark than bite at that church, missionally speaking.

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