Church

Major in the Minors: Micah

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We had another great week in our study, “Major in the Minors” as we got to the prophet Micah.  Micah prophesied to a people who believed to have a covenant but did not have the conduct to prove it.  In his book, he shows what mature spiritual living really looks like.

Today, we worshiped to:

Since we had a big choir concert this evening at church, we had the stage set for an orchestra, and I couldn’t let those wonderful instruments go to waste!  So, we had a mini-orchestral feel for this morning’s worship.  It was wonderful hearing our people sing out to our God.

In addition to a wonderful message, our church also worshiped through a church vote.  

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Revival Through Repentance

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We had an awesome Revival service last night.  The picture above is of 2 of our former church members and 2 former members of my community group.  Jordan Wilson (left) and Brian Rackley (right) didn’t leave North Side because they were disgruntled members.  They left because they obeyed God’s call.  Both of them are on staff at Bethany Baptist Church in McCormick, SC and God is at work in their lives!

Brian, pastor of Bethany, came and shared his testimony last night to remind us all of God’s grace.  When he pointed up to a seat in our worship auditorium and said only a few years ago, he was running from God and now he is pastoring a church, I rejoiced in the gospel yet again!  He shared about leading an 85-year-old war veteran to Christ the other week in his church.  He shared about God using him and Jordan to unite churches together and hold a rally downtown this weekend.  It was amazing to watch God at work from transforming Brian with his grace and then allowing him to be used to change others by the grace of God as well!

Brian and Jordan, thank you for your obedience to Christ!  Your sending church loves you very much!

And that was only one part!  We worshiped to:

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Definition of “Church”

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Honestly, it is one of the most confusing terms in American culture.  Most people have an answer.  Most people are convinced of their answer.  And most answers are very different from each other. So I want to hear from you. What is the definition of “church?”

Robert’s Rules of Order vs. the Holy Bible (Which Guides Your Church’s Meetings?)

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I’m still in awe of a meeting we had at church last night.  A group of 100 leaders from our church have been gathering together to pray and to plan in this One Initiative our church has been going through.  Last night, we discussed some possible changes that would affect everyone.  From the report that I get from friends, if those type of changes were being discussed in some congregations, it would have gotten ugly.

Let me give you an example.

A friend called me a couple of years ago after a church business meeting.  In tears, he retold of the ungodly things stated among the people of God.  He told me concerning personal attacks that took place.  He told me of the name-calling, the cursing, and the selfishness that pervaded the entire meeting.

He asked me what I thought went wrong.

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Derailed by Disunity

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Each week, I start out my post from Sunday talking about how great a morning it was.  This week was no different.  The services were a great outpouring of God’s goodness, but I must admit the entire day was amazing of watching the church in action.  In addition to wonderful services, I watched a volunteer team give it their all amidst great setbacks, a Spirit-led business meeting, and a group of guys pushing each other on to selflessness.

In short, I love our church!

Today, we started a new series entitled “Derailed,” where we began our study of 1 Corinthians.  While we looked at Ephesians as a church who got it, this church is the exact opposite.   In 1 Corinthians 1-2, the Corinthian church found themselves way off track from where Paul had planted them.  One particular way they had become derailed was in the area of disunity.  Their preferences of different styles of ministry kept them from unifying around Jesus.  We would be wise not to follow their example.

Today, we worshiped to:

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Confessions of a Narrow-Focused Church Member

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I have a confession to make: I am a narrow-focused church member.  I look at all the possible changes at our church at how it would affect me and mine.  I judge the worth of programs based upon how they benefit me and my family.  If it can make me feel better, I’m all in.

Why God Might Be Out to Get Your Church

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Your church bears the name of Christ.  Most likely, your church was founded for his glory, was organized the way it is for his glory, but churches can get off track.

Our assumption is that God is for every church.  The very fact that it is called a church automatically receives God’s blessing, right?

What if I told you that God was actually against certain churches?  What if I told you that the most powerful being in the world actively opposed certain bodies?

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Platform Ministry Can Never Replace Relational Ministry

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Platform ministry can never replace relational ministry.

This week’s worship training consists of the worship value: availability – leading with presence.

When people are gifted in the arts, oftentimes, they are put on stage to perform ministry.  While time on the stage may be an outlet for ministry, oftentimes, the time off the stage validates the ministry.

Someone can get up in your church and raise the rafters with their vocal pipes.  It will provide emotion, goosebumps, and a positive experience, but it cannot compare with a talented worship leader who is involved in the lives of the people in the church.

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Your Church’s Best Days Are Not Behind You

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I was talking with a friend the other day concerning the future of his church.  As a pastor in another state, he is working with a congregation that has seen some incredible moments in their history.  The problem is – that’s all they think about.

“Remember when pastor so-and-so did this…remember that revival years ago…remember when all those young families started coming…”

His dilemma was that they had seen God move in the past, and all they wanted to do was to tell of the glory days.

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Overcompensation with My Ankle (And Your Church)

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I am still in crippled status.  After 2 weeks in a hard cast, my ankle is still broken from the infamous basketball game.  I am in the boot for 4 weeks gradually applying some pressure on it.  Still on crutches.  Obie said this morning, “Daddy, your crunches go squeak, squeak like a mouse.”

They sure do.

As you look at this picture above, I will ask you, by the look of it, which ankle is hurt?  Of course you would say, the ankle on the left of the picture is the one hurting.

And you would be wrong.

The ankle in the boot feels fine.  No pain, no real discomfort, it’s just annoying to have it confined to a boot.  The ankle that is hurting more is the ankle on the right side of the picture.  I have experienced a real pain deep inside that ankle not confined to the boot.  When talking to my buddy who is a doctor, he said what I’m experiencing is called overcompensation.  Having to put more weight and pressure on the uninjured ankle oftentimes causes more long term damage than the injured ankle.

I firmly believe the principle of overcompensation is happening in your church right now.  You’ve heard of the 80/20 rule.  20% of the people do 80% of the work.  You look at the other 80% of people as if they are broke and so you start putting more pressure on the 20% that isn’t broke.  The problem?  Overtime, you can cause more damage on the 20% if you burn them out.  From the outside, you still can identify those that are not working in the Body of Christ.  Spotting them is as easy as spotting a broken ankle in a cast.

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