Dan Reiland on Ministry in the Past, Present, and Future

Ministry: Past, Present, Future By Dan Reiland

Blaise Pascal. A unusual name to start the first article of 2005, but one of Pascal's writings stirred some thoughts during a morning devotional time last week.

Pascal was born in 1623 in France. He was famous as a scientist and a brilliant mathematician. Today his scientific work is largely forgotten, except for a few of his more famous ideas, such as "Pascal's Triangle." Pascal's theological writings, however, have sustained strongly with substantial impact over the centuries. Even though he was a Catholic, Protestants have warmly embraced his reflections, particularly after John Wesley commended his essay on conversion.

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Rick Warren on Evangelism

How much does evangelism cost? by Rick Warren

I believe one of the reasons so few churches engage in outreach is because they ask the wrong question. Too often, the first question asked is, “How much will it cost?” The right question is, “Who will it reach?” How much is a soul worth? If you spend $500 on a newspaper ad that reaches one unbeliever for Christ, is it worth it?

If
your church gets serious about developing a comprehensive evangelism
strategy, it will cost money! With this in mind, let me share some
insights about financing your strategy, based upon my experiences as
Saddleback grew from four members to over 20,000.

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The Gospel According to ?

Link: The Gospel According to ? – Books & Culture.

Are you looking to connect your favorite cultural vice to Jesus? Or better yet, isn’t the truth of the old, old story buried in many other stories? Andy Crouch leads us through the current preoccupation in the Christian publishing universe for "Gospels according to …."

The Gospel According to … … Charlie Brown, Tony Soprano, and other unlikely spiritual guides. by Andy Crouch

The early church was awash in gospels. Yet early bishops managed to winnow the field, and for well over a millennium, Christendom knew of just four "evangelists." In the gothic chapel of the seminary I attended, they stare down imposingly from niches above the altar, four carved figures with enigmatic expressions, sometimes looking a bit alarmed at the content of the sermons.

Do you suppose we could fit Tony Soprano in there somewhere?

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Good to Great

Link: Fast Company | Good to Great.

Jim Collins, "Good to Great," Fast Company, 51 (October 2001) p. 90. Illustations by Greg Clarke.

Start with 1,435 good companies. Examine their performance over 40 years. Find the 11 companies that became great. Now, here’s how you can do it too.

I want to give you a lobotomy about change. I want you to forget everything you’ve ever learned about what it takes to create great results. I want you to realize that nearly all operating prescriptions for creating large-scale corporate change are nothing but myths.

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The Accidental Guru

Link: Fast Company | The Accidental Guru.

I discovered Malcolm Gladwell by accident … somebody suggested I read his book, The Tipping Point. Well I did, and I was impressed with his ability to tell a story that connected one to truth.

The Accidental Guru Malcolm Gladwell, says one fan, is "just a thinker." But what a thinker. His provocative ideas are taking the business world by storm. So who is this guy, and what can he teach you about business?

Danielle Sacks, "The Accidental Guru," Fast Company, 90 (January 2005), p. 64. Photographs by: Ofer Wolberger

"I really like that term ‘momentary autism,’ " a woman says softly into the mike. She is in the back of the Times Square Studios speaking to a room of some 200 people, and more important, Malcolm Gladwell, who’s standing solo onstage. It’s the second day of the fifth annual New Yorker Festival, and Gladwell has just finished a detailed reprise of the seven seconds that led to the infamous 1999 fatal shooting of Amadou Diallo. Minutes before, every eye in the room was locked on him as he unspooled the nanodecisions that misled four New York cops into thinking the innocent Guinean immigrant was an armed criminal, resulting in 41 shots, 19 to the chest.

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The 6 Myths Of Creativity

Link: Fast Company | The 6 Myths Of Creativity.

A report of a study challenging these myths about workplace creativity:

Creativity Comes From Creative Types

Money Is a Creativity Motivator

Time Pressure Fuels Creativity

Fear Forces Breakthroughs

Competition Beats Collaboration

A Streamlined Organization Is a Creative Organization

Bill Breen, "The Six Myths of Creativity," Fast Company, 89 (December 2004), p. 75.

Creativity.

These days, there’s hardly a mission statement that doesn’t herald it, or a CEO who doesn’t laud it. And yet despite all of the attention that business creativity has won over the past few years, maddeningly little is known about day-to-day innovation in the workplace. Where do breakthrough ideas come from? What kind of work environment allows them to flourish? What can leaders do to sustain the stimulants to creativity — and break through the barriers?

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Rick Warren on Facing the Crisis

Five biblical principles when facing a devastating crisis by Rick Warren

We were all stunned to hear the news about the massive earthquake and tsunami in southern Asia. The images we see in the newspaper and on TV are heartbreaking. It's hard to fathom the horror and grief that literally millions of people are enduring minute-by-minute.

There are many Purpose Driven church leaders in India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia, Maldives and Malaysia, and we're helping congregations like yours to connect directly with churches in this devastated region. Several of the articles in this edition of the Ministry ToolBox explain what is being done and how you can help.

This disaster gives us all an opportunity to minister God's love in the lives of people in Asia who need to hear about abundant, eternal life in Christ Jesus. While each day's headlines are filled with news about this tragedy, we also have an opportunity to teach our congregations about facing crisis.

Whether you're planning to help in South Asia, or whether it's the next time a wildfire, flood, earthquake, tornado, or hurricane devastates your own community, sooner or later, your congregation will be called to minister in a time of unparalleled grief. When that happens, here are five biblical principles you can teach your members about helping spiritually in the midst of massive crisis:

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The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience

Link: The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience – Books & Culture.

Ron Sider is at it again. He so wants USAmerican evangelical Christians to be Christian, yet the overwhelming evidence is that evangelicals are succombing to the dominant USAmerican culture. Think Ron has it wrong … read his discussion below about evangelicals and divorce, materialism and its implications for caring for the least, the last, and the lost, sexual disobedience (!), and racism. Fortunately, we can learn from the church at Laodicea (see Revelation 3:14-20) about being transformed from lukewarm christianity into signs of God’s hope for the world.

Ronald J. Sider, "The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience: Why don’t Christians live what they preach?" Books & Culture, 11.1 (January/February 2005), p. 8.

Once upon a time there was a great religion that over the centuries had spread all over the world. But in those lands where it had existed for the longest time, its adherents slowly grew complacent, lukewarm, and skeptical. Indeed, many of the leaders of its oldest groups even publicly rejected some of the religion’s most basic beliefs.
In response, a renewal movement emerged, passionately championing the historic claims of the old religion and eagerly inviting unbelievers everywhere to embrace the ancient faith. Rejecting the skepticism of leaders who no longer believed in a God who works miracles, members of the renewal movement vigorously argued that their God not only had performed miraculous deeds in the past but still miraculously transforms all who believe. Indeed, a radical, miraculous "new birth" that began a lifetime of sweeping moral renewal and transformation was at the center of their preaching. Over time, the renewal movement flourished to the point of becoming one of the most influential wings of the whole religion.

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John Maxwell is Wired (7.24)

GET CONNECTED By Dr. John C. Maxwell

When I was growing up, I was pretty good at getting into trouble.

I wasn't a bad kid. But I did have a high energy level and a creative mind, which, as you can imagine, often led me into all kinds of mischief.

Once, when my fourth-grade teacher was playing the piano with her back to the class, I talked all my classmates into sneaking out of the room and into the hallway. Mrs. Tacy didn't even know we were gone until she finished her song and turned around.

That kind of behavior might have caused some teachers to write me off as a troublemaker, but not Mrs. Tacy. Despite all the orneriness I displayed in her class, she saw my potential. And she loved me in spite of my conduct.

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Pastor’s Report for Pinehurst UMC (2004)

dorean elabote, dorean dote. Given Gifts – Give Gifts. (Matthew 10:8b).

I continue to offer this phrase, the motto of the Theological School of Drew University, as my personal mission statement. I am privileged to employ my gifts among the Methodists of Pinehurst, North Carolina.

Our transitional journey from small to larger membership church, from store-front to permanent facility, from predominantly retired persons to a diverse cross-section of ages, from charter visionaries to emerging leaders continues. This journey is marked by transitions that are both transparent and murky. At times we have clarity and at other moments we seem to be grasping in the dark. The gift of this church is that we continue to see these possibilities as an opportunity to enjoy God’s blessings.

So far this year we have welcomed over 60 persons into membership in the church (current membership is 427 persons). Our worship attendance has jumped to 330 since Labor Day and we anticipate welcoming another 10-15 persons into membership on our Celebration Sunday (October 24, 2004). This Sunday will mark the ninth anniversary of our worshipping together in Pinehurst. In January and February of this year we read, taught, prayed and worshipped our way through Rick Warren’s book The Purpose-Driven Life. From Ash Wednesday through Pentecost we studied Luke’s Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. Most recently we have been paying attention to the transforming power of God’s Holy Spirit to help us learn the fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
This year Roger and Jean Hicks arrived to provide leadership to our music ministry. They have embraced our love for traditional music and led us to deeper appreciation of contemporary music forms. They have also introduced us to gifted musicians in our midst: Robey Howard – saxophone, a trombone quartet featuring our high school students, a mixed instrumental ensemble, and choirs of pre- and elementary schoolers. Most recently they have invited us to journey in our appreciation of handbells through a special purchase made possible by the gifts of two families in the church.

Our ministry with children and youth is experiencing the pangs of growth as we move from crawling to walking. A special thank you is due Beth VonCannon and Susan Windley for leading us in our children’s church. Mary Kilkka provided invaluable leadership to our church school program and proved a strong proponent for enhancing our children’s spaces. Keith and Kerry Millikan joined Susan Brazaski in working with our youth and our kids are becoming vitally engaged in our church and community.

In our community we are making a mark of Jesus Christ. We support Friend to Friend, the Sandhills Interfaith Hospitality Network, the Coalition for Human Care, Habitat for Humanity, and Moore Housing. With our hands we have mowed lawns, weeded and planted flower beds, replaced roofs, built a house with Southern Pines UMC, served meals to the homeless with Community Presbyterian Church, and served countless hours in thrift stores. We have raised in excess of $15,000 for missions’ projects close at hand and at a distance. Surely we are living into God’s promise to Abraham that we are blessed to be blessing.

I continue to challenge our church to remember with Paul that the work of a pastor is “to equip the saints for the work of ministry” (see Ephesians 4:11). I remain committed to setting each of us free for ministry in this place. I give thanks for Lucy Achuff and Ellen Hertlein who provided valuable assistance to the administrative life of our church. Their able handling of the details enables me to spend more time witht eh members of our church and in prayer with Jesus. I am also blessed to work with my colleagues Lovell Aills, Jean Arthur, Bruce Carlson, Betsy Kugel, and Ronda Torres. May we find strength in the willingness “to become all things to all people so that by all means some might be saved” (1 Corinthians 9:22).