Category Commitment

Mar 21 2010

Time for a Sabbatical

Okay, so sabbatical probably isn’t the best choice of words, but let me sum it up like this — I’m taking a break from some things.

Actually, this is a sabbatical to be more productive.  I have found myself checking facebook, emails, goofing off a lot more than I need to be.  I have found myself glued to the television about the Health Care debate.  It has been eating into my personal time with God, time with my family, and time spent working for God.

Don’t get me wrong, none of these things are bad in and of themselves, but when you find yourself turning to your phone to check facebook statuses, check your email, look at a sports score, etc. — it consumes too much of your time.

So this week, if you see an update on facebook from me, it will be for one of three reasons:

1.  Automatic update from this blog
2.  Accountability post for working out (which I always do right before the workout)
3.  Some sort of emergency prayer request

Basically, its a self imposed internet shortage.  I’m in charge of our worship service on Sunday in its totality.  So, I owe it to the people who worship at West University to limit distractions and help them gain their focus in the service on Sunday.

I’m going to focus this week on taking a sabbatical from the world, and spend my time focusing on God and what I can do for Him.  Feel free to join me.

Nov 8 2009

10 Stupid Things That Keep Churches From Growing — Chapter 1 — Trying To Do It All

As we begin this review, we start with the first chapter entitled “Trying To Do It All”.   I think the funny thing about this chapter is the inevitable fact that all ministers in churches that are small understand exactly what this means.  Let’s just look at it from the example of the church I work for now.  My title is Associate and Worship.  However, I am in charge of Life Groups, finding teachers for our Teen group, preparing all the slides for our worship service, running and maintaining the website (www.westuchurch.com), working with our families, occasional bulletin editor, in house technical guru, class teacher, and many other things.

Our minister is the same way.  Not only is he the preaching minister, but he’s the office manager, bulletin editor, class teacher, sounding board for disgruntled members, and many more things as well.  When you work with a small church, you have this dilemma because there are much fewer workers in the church.

The author Geoff Surratt makes 4 points about “How to Give Away Your Job in 4 Simple Steps”.  His ideas are:

1.  Connect the Dots –

“Your people want to be part of a big mission.  Simply teaching a class, sweeping a floor, or printing a bulletin is not a big mission.  people will grudgingly do theses types of menial tasks until they can find a way out.  On the other hand, when they can see theses tasks connected to a bigger vision of changing their family, their community, and their world, they will arrange their lives around making sure the work is done.”

2.  Make the Big Ask –

“Don’t expect the right people to come forward on their own accord.  Often the people who step up initially are the least qualified for the task.”

3.  Show Them the Ropes –

“The biggest mistake we make as pastors in this area is that we don’t had off ministry; we abandon ship.  Once we find a willing volunteer, we hand her the teacher’s guide adn the class roster and run like heck before she changes her mind.”

4.  Quit –

“Realize that you are currently doing some tasks that you should pass on to someone else, while you are doing other tasks that nobody should be doing.  Pastors who are overwhelmed by ministry often pastor churches with too much ministry.”

I think the hardest part of this is the idea of asking, because many ministers have the attitude of “If I want it done right I’ll just have to do it myself”.  Even if we do realize that its okay to give up something, we too often do exactly what is step #3.  We rush it, and then the ministry fails completely because the person we’ve handed it over to has no clue what they’re doing, and it dies a slow death.

I like the last part of the quote in the 4th step of quitting is amazing, and hard to swallow.  “Pastors who are overwhelmed by ministry often pastor church with too much ministry.”  With churches that are smaller, we really do overwhelm ourselves with too much.  Maybe, the idea of this chapter could not just be pointed towards the leadership, but towards the whole church.

We have 150 members at our congregation.  We’re lucky to have about 40-60 for class on Sunday mornings.  Out of those, about 20 are involved with Sunday School for children.  We then have a Ladies Class, an Auditorium Class, and usually one other adult class.  For the fall quarter, we tried to add a fourth Sunday School class, and it was met with tough times.  We’re not ready for a fourth adult class, and we have realized it.  We are going back to only three in the Winter quarter.

What things are you doing at your church that you are overwhelmed by?  Quit trying to do things that only a larger church can do.  Make sure you are not overwhelming your staff, your elders, your ministers, or your members.  When we burn out on something, its hard to regain passion for it again.

Chapter 2 to come tomorrow.

Nov 5 2009

My Gym and the Church Part 2: The Chuch Connection

God's GymYesterday I talked to you about an observation I have made over the past few months in the gym.  As I work out, daily there are different types of folks who join me in my effort to stay healthy.  We looked at several different “types” of gym-goers.  Today, we’re going to look at the connection from those gym members to church members.

1.  Casual Members: At church, we have casual members as well.  There are quite a few members who come to a gathering of the members just to say they’ve gone “to church”, just like one would say about the gym.  These members typically come in to the auditorium or class and find a seat.  They may open up their Bible, but they don’t really pay attention.  They flip through their Bible to find old notes, or maybe they take this opportunity to read through that wonderful weekly production we call the bulletin.  When they start their worship, its done with lip-service and a smile.  They may partake of the sacred communion, but in heart they’re thinking elsewhere.

After service is over, they may talk to a few people, but their goal is to make lunch plans instead of discuss spiritual matters.  With God left behind on the pew they sat in for an hour, they leave, expecting to see Him in the same spot last week.

2.  Social Members:  Just like the gym goers, there are the same two categories of Social Members.

Beneficial Social:  These are the members who come to church for the benefit of encouraging one another.  Perhaps there is a particular person they connect with strongly, and they have a mutually edify each other.  These members are seen together often in church, but they’re always doing something for the Lord or the congregation.  When they’re together, they’re talking about how they can make each other stronger, and others as well.

Hindering Social:  These are the members who might as well just go to Starbucks on Sunday morning  instead of to the worship service.  They are there for the benefit of each other, and not for the spiritual uplifting of others, or even for God.  They spend a lot of time gossiping, talking about how they hate certain things that are going on at the church, how poorly the song service or sermon was done, how little the sermon applied to them, how cold or hot the building is, how the punctuation in the bulletin is wrong….need I go on?  These people gain strength from each other by tearing other things down.

3.  Status quo Members:  Remembering what we said yesterday,  Status quo is defined as a commonly used form of the original Latin “statu quo” – literally “the state in which” – is a Latin term meaning the current or existing state of affairs. To maintain the status quo is to keep the things the way they presently are. The related phrase status quo ante, literally “the state in which before”, means “the state of affairs that existed previously”.

I think most members fall into this category.  They come to “church” with one purpose, because they need to do so.  This isn’t a bad thing.  They need the relationships, they need the worship, they need the study, they need it all.  However, these members are totally happy not doing anything new.  They are okay with having a similar sermon or sermon style every week.  They are okay with the same order of worship.  They are okay with the occasional stomping on of toes, but not too much.  They want a sermon on baptism every 6 -8 weeks or so.

Status quo members tend to be okay with missing an occasional service for things that pop up.  Their commitment is less to the church they are members of, and more to just being at a church somewhere.

4.  Hardcore Members:  These are the ones I like.  They come to church each week with a mission, just like a hard core gym goer.  They want to stretch, grow, and have their hearts broken and restored.  They don’t care if others see them raising their hands in worship or physically kneeling in prayer, because its not about what others see in them, but its about what God sees in them.  Their goal is to give it all to God, and give what’s left to the church.

These members are excited by new worship songs, new people getting involved, and different speakers.  These members understand that if they do the exact same thing every Sunday and Wednesday, that they nor the church will experience growth of any kind.  They leave with nothing but God in their hearts, because they moved everything else out of the way before they came so God could fill it up.  They can’t wait till the next opportunity to be with everyone else, but in the meantime will be preparing by doing a plethora of Christian-like actions all week.  They will actually pray during the week for the ministers, the members, and for the elders and deacons.  They will spend time during the week with God, instead of leaving Him on the pew till the next week.

Connection

I love the Lord’s church, and I really enjoy going to the gym.  At this moment in my life, however, I don’t exactly know which category I fall into when it comes to the church.  I’m definitely in the Hardcore Membership for the gym.  I love to go.  I spend time during the week planning out nutritious snacks and meals as best I can.  I plan my day around when I go to the gym on the days I work out.

The sad part is I’m not sure which category I fall into when it comes to the church.  I know what I want to be.  I think most Christians who read this will say “Oh, I’m definitely a hardcore member”, but are we?  There are days when I can’t wait to get away and just be by myself and my family.  There are days when I complain about the sermon or the classes.  There are days when I would rather go home than stay for a fellowship meal, but I end up doing these things out of obligation instead of desire or want.

The truth of the matter is, I strive to be a hardcore church member, but often times I’m sucked in by the others.  Let’s face it, these other types have a tremendous impact on us, especially those who may be “status quo” members.  We all have those times when we just come because we need to come.  Guess what?  That’s okay.  Sometimes, we come and gossip or we sit and complain.  While that may not be the best thing for us to do, as long as we’re trying our hardest to be a part of our church family, that’s what is important.

I’ve learned to appreciate the “Beneficial Social” member.  I think God puts the right person in our paths when we need them the most, and sometimes that person may be that sweet lady at church who always asks how you’re doing.  It may be that kind man who always shakes your hand and pats you on the back and assures you that you’re doing a good job.

But, I think we should all strive to be a hardcore member, if for no other reason, for the flexibility in which they enter into worship.  They have the attitude of “whatever happens, its for God, not for me”.  Just like those hardcore gym members say “If its beneficial, no matter how much I hate them, I’m going to squats” or “lunges”.  Sometimes the things we don”t like to do help us the most.  And, when we have that flexibility, I think we would be surprised as to how much God will help us each grow.

Nov 4 2009

My Gym and the Church: The Gym Connection Part 1

gym churchI noticed something this morning as I was working out at the gym — there’s not that much of a difference between those at the gym and the church.  Let me break this down for you:

1.  Casual Members: At the gym, I have labeled the casual goers as the ones who go just to go.  These are the people who sit down at a machine, maybe they know how to use, maybe they don’t.  They will typically sit down on a machine, get it all set, and then play with their music player or send a text message before they begin.  When they finally do a set of exercises, they will put it on the lowest possible weight, and half-heartedly do the exercise, and usually, they do it incorrectly.  I really should video some of the people who are like this, because its often comical.  After one set, they fiddle with their music player again, drink a lot of water, look around, and then maybe they will do another set.

After they are done with one machine, they will get up, while fiddling with their music player, look around for a different machine, and they will do this for about 30 minutes or so, repeating the process each and every time.  Finally, without so much as one bead of sweat on their brow, they head for the locker room.

2.  Social Members: There are two different types of Social Members — Beneficial Social and Hindering Social.  Let’s explore the two.

Beneficial Social — These are the members who come together, or meet each other at the gym on a regular basis.  They work out together, doing the same sets, same exercises, and encourage each other.  They will talk in between sets, usually about how they can do the exercise better.  These people usually get a real solid workout, and leave encouraged about the next time they will work out together.  They leave worn out, but in a good way.

Hindering Social — These are the members who hurt themselves at the gym.  They meet together at the gym, and do a whole lot of the same things that the casual member does, but they do it together.  Instead of fiddling with their music player or sending text messages, they gossip in between sets, and they have full conversations with each other while they exercise.  In order to talk while exercising, they use low weights and don’t even get their heart rates up enough to matter.  They leave, encouraged about the next time they will get together, because this is just a social thing they do together.

3.  Status quo Members —  Status quo, a commonly used form of the original Latin “statu quo” – literally “the state in which” – is a Latin term meaning the current or existing state of affairs. To maintain the status quo is to keep the things the way they presently are. The related phrase status quo ante, literally “the state in which before”, means “the state of affairs that existed previously”

These members come to they gym with one purpose, and that is not to lose muscle, not to gain weight, but to maintain.  These people are happy doing the same routine every single time they step into the gym.  They use the same weights, jog for the same amount of time with the same amount of intensity every day, and are totally okay with it.  While not losing anything from their health benefits, they certainly aren’t gaining much either.

Status quo members also are okay with missing the occasional workout, because hey, life is busy.

4.  Hardcore Members — These are a different breed of gym-goer.  They often come in to the gym with a mission in their eyes.  They have a big gym bag full of protein powder and energy supplements.  They are wearing proper gym clothing.  They may or may not have a music player, but if they do, it has a set amount of songs on it that are meant to pump them up.  They have a goal and a plan when they step into the exercise area.

These members go through a routine, but it changes a lot.  They are continually doing different things to make them grow in different ways.  They understand that if they do the exact same routine every time they come in, that they will plateau and cease to grow.  These people want to grow, either by gaining mass, gaining muscle, gaining extra speed…whatever it is, its in the plus category instead of the negative.  They leave looking better than before they came in, and they can’t wait for their next opportunity.

Connection

Obviously the connections are uncanny.  Part 2 will discuss the Church Connection.