Fact: personality-driven churches exist. Whether you like it or not, we cannot escape it. While I have tried to deny its reality, it is inescapable. With every passing tweet, book, podcast, and social share, each of us can become more and more known by the personality of our leader or the DNA of our specific church rather than the person of …
Confession: I check bags in certain drive-thrus and trust other ones. And I listen to preaching the same way.
I searched for a chronological plan that would highlight key passages, and while there are many good ones out there, I chose to develop our own at North Side. While I think it is best to read the entirety of God’s Word, this plan is a good introductory plan for some of you or a good reminder of what you …
What I find is that it is very difficult for me to get into a creative and productive rhythm when I jump from role to role and task to task. I find when I do the same task over and over, I get faster and more effective as the time goes. And that is why I choose to think projects instead of tasks.
When I look at my work week, so much of how I do things came from time spent evaluating how I have done things. I have found so many wiser ways of doing things and that process has allowed me to be a part of more Kingdom-focused projects as a result. Don’t evaluate what you do. Evaluate how you do it.
I mentioned earlier this week that my job has changed. Serving as a Family Pastor has unique challenges. For some people, they may think that I am going to provide specific help in family situations. For others, they think that I will be overseeing all children’s and student ministries at the church. Some people may think I will provide the …
I woke up at my normal time today. I walked into the same office. But I have a very different job. Today, I started my job as Family and Worship Pastor at North Side Baptist Church in Greenwood, SC. We made the announcement yesterday of some major changes in the coming days with our church. One of those was concerning …
If you have ever had someone you look up to fall from grace, you know the accompanying pain with their fall. Whether it was a moral failure or skeletons emerging from a closet, the news is shocking and devastating. It seems all the more regular that I hear of someone’s role model being exposed for living a hidden life. While we …
Around 4:15 PM today, Judy Smith went to glory. My words will never do justice to express how much I love this dear saint and her family, but I will try. Judy is the wife of Scott Smith who has now served Lander University as the BCM Director and Campus Minister for 30 years. The first time I really got …
I’ve had some great followup conversations and messages from Sunday’s sermon. One came in the form of an email regarding something I said concerning PKs (preacher’s kids). In the application section of the message, I stated: Don’t expect pastors to care for your family at such a level that they cannot care for their own family. Scripture is clear that …
Confession: I used to dislike hospital visits. Fresh out of college, I came on staff at North Side and was immersed in a training program. It wasn’t one in a classroom or one that had a syllabus, but it was one that provided a new situation weekly in which I was forced to learn what to do. My first week …
The internet changes everything. In this age of information, we have access to more positive and negative resources than ever before. It definitely changes the Church culture in America. Where we once competed with the church down the street, we now compete with the church across the state or across the globe. Christians get into a public display of affection …
I had some friends fill out an ipersonic personality profile and I was intrigued. It was kinda scary how much it nailed me: Independent Thinkers Independent Thinkers are analytical and witty persons. They are normally self-confident and do not let themselves get worked up by conflicts and criticism. They are very much aware of their own strengths and have no …
I can still remember the specific conversation in seminary. We were discussing the practice of ministry as it relates to a pastor’s schedule. How many hours should one spend in preparing sermons? How many hours should be utilized for pastoral care (hospital visits, counseling, etc.)? It was a rather interesting conversation. Some guys didn’t know what their schedule was or …
I had this crazy idea to write a worship album from 1 Peter. It was going to be difficult to complete it in the timeframe, but the lofty goal was exciting to the crew. When I first mentioned the idea, they were all in and we got to work feverishly on it. We decided that we would introduce the songs …
College football just experienced an intense weekend. So many games were on the verge of an upset and Auburn’s victory over Alabama in the last seconds will be talked about for years to come. With many highlight-worthy moments this weekend, you might not have seen one of my favorite highlights from the previous weekend. It came when Florida lost to …
Churches used to compare and compete with other churches down the road. You would hear about what another congregation was doing and you would try to repeat it, hijack it, improve it, or do the complete opposite to try to attract disgruntled folks down the road. With the rise of social media, you can now compete with any church anywhere …
Mark Driscoll hosted the Resurgence 2013 Conference this week. I was able to stream some of it late in the evening and early in the morning. In his opening address, he spoke out against tribalism. It’s the dangerous trend that we get stuck in the way our group does church and tend to think that everyone else are foolish. Just …
You will have an opinion about the following video. If you haven’t seen it, it’s been quite the topic of conversation.
Baptist Pastor Jim Standridge has made a name for himself after a video of one of his sermons, showing him rebuking some of his members, went viral. Out of all of his messages he might have desired to become famous for, I don’t know if he saw this one coming to the top of the list.
The preacher from Immanuel Baptist Church in Skiatook, Oklahoma, for 24 years, left the platform, stepped down from his pulpit into the seated congregation on May 19 to call out one member for dozing off. But that was just the beginning.
Spotting someone else in the congregation, he then called out a member, Ryan Underwood, who had missed several services, “You are one of the sorriest church members I have. You’re not worth 15 cents.”
This weekend is a pretty special one for me. On Sunday, I celebrate two events:
First, I am turning 32. Just seeing that number is kinda crazy to me. It’s not a depressing thing, but it just represents a lot of life that God has allowed me to live. I am very grateful.
Second, I am celebrating 1 decade of being a pastor at North Side Baptist Church. In a time when some stats say that ministers stay at a church for an average of 2 years, it seems hard to imagine staying somewhere for 10.
10 years ago on my birthday, I began moving my books into an office in the Family Life Center to serve as a full-time yet part-time College and Missions Pastor. I had just finished up a summer serving M-Fuge in St. Louis, I was engaged to the best girl in the entire world, and I had a hopeful disposition to what was awaiting at North Side.
Things have changed in the last 10 years just a little bit:
As of 2008, Billy Graham’s estimated lifetime audience, including radio and television broadcasts, topped 2.2 billion. That means that approximately 2.2 billion people have heard the gospel from Billy Graham’s mouth. That’s hard to wrap your mind around. Billy Graham has shared the gospel with more people than anyone else in history, but do you know who shared the gospel …
Being on a church staff is not exactly what you think it would be. Unless you have been a part of one, you can’t really appreciate the randomness that can happen in a week.
Sure there are the tasks that you might expect, but then there are the things they don’t train you for in seminary. In my first 10 years of ministry on a church staff, I wish I would had been trained how to subdue a violent person, unload a handgun, helping someone who is confident their house is haunted, confront someone siphoning gas from the church parking lot, minister to someone in Jesus name who thinks he is Jesus, bats swooping down on people in worship, how to keep a straight face when people high on medication try to explain why they are in the hospital, and the regular weekly stuff like that.
So, I had this idea. It’s a great idea even though it will never work. Wouldn’t you love to see a church staff reality TV show?
Below is a great snippet from Jeff’s message on church membership:
Sunday, we are starting a series at North Side entitled “Church Matters.” During the summer, we are going to look at what the New Testament says about what a church is and is not.
Much confusion exists today on what a church is and what a church should be doing. We hope to clarify that. Not with our opinions or thoughts, but the Word of God.
We recently got some church members together to talk about how being a part of North Side has changed their lives. It was incredible to listen to their stories:
Time is one of those things that you can never get back. We all have an appointed time to live, and we will not see another second of it. Everyone has a certain purpose to live for on this earth, and when that purpose is accomplished, our time is done (Acts 13:36). No magic wand will ever be able …
On Sunday, I heard my pastor say something that I’ve heard him say many times before. It doesn’t matter how many people are within earshot, he still says it. It doesn’t matter the size of our church or the busyness of his schedule. He had just preached this incredible message on the assurance of salvation. As he made a plea …
I am thrilled that NSU is starting up this Sunday, Feb. 10th!
North Side University is a 2-year intensive training for those interested in growing as a disciple-maker. The training is comprised of course information, practicum experiences, and intentional mentorship. At the end of the 2 years, a completion of this program would equip a disciple-maker to effectively carry out the Great Commission within his or her specific context.
THE 2-YEAR PLAN consists of:
I am the Fantasy Football champion. Well, at least for my league. The guys in my community group created a league for the 2nd year, and after being blown out in the 1st round of the playoffs last year, I was able to withstand some serious close calls to pull out for a championship victory.
I have so arrived.
What’s interesting about fantasy football is your attention becomes solely on the players instead of the teams. I didn’t care if the Vikings or the Panthers won, I just wanted Adrian Peterson and Cam Newton to rack up points. I was more concerned with the success of one than the victory of the team.
And the majority of the Church in America is operating out of the same perspective.
My children are different. I love them equally, but I father them differently. Mario is definitely different from Luigi. They are both very different from Princess Toadstool (sorry, don’t have that costume just yet). I discipline differently. While certain techniques I use might be the same, each one has to be corrected differently to get their attention. They each are …
It’s been a little hot lately. Greenwood has been cooking. With these early summer temperatures sky-rocketing for the area, most people are letting their yards go. Deal with the yard when it cools down. After all, it can’t grow that much in this type of heat!
That’s the way some people feel.
Not me. I love it. I love yard work. I love to get out there and work and sweat and get cut up and bleed. I look forward to it.
And, for a very interesting reason, I know many other ministers who love yard work as well. Even among the scorching heat, the hard work accomplished, and for all the things that still need to be done, many ministers love to get out and do yard work and here’s why:
Years ago, our pastoral staff took a retreat. I can remember we really didn’t talk a bunch on the van ride up. We were all very tired, and honestly, we were very drained with our jobs.
I remember spending a long time on our face before God. These weren’t bold prayers concerning the health of our church. These were pastors who were exhausted and tired and pleading to God for help.
What we talked about those few days was how we were overwhelmed with the pace of ministry. The programs and events of the church were booming, yet we were exhausted and unsure if our efforts were actually assisting any real life change. From that week, a lot of things at the church changed for the better. Our entire staff got fired and rehired. We changed jobs and really started focusing on people over programs.
Two weeks ago, our pastoral staff took another retreat. We were all very tired yet again, yet this time we were overwhelmed for another reason.
I lost 2 of my heroes in the recent week. It’s rare that 2 leading evangelicals over significant ministries would pass in one week, but it’s true. One of those leaders was Chuck Colson. The headlines have read “Nixon’s Hatchet Man Dies” or “Watergate’s Culprit Passes Away.” Chuck Colson was deep in the scandal of President Nixon’s scandal years ago. Before being sentenced to prison, Colson claimed he was converted to Christianity.
While many saw this as an attempt to lower his sentence, his time in jail, and his time after jail displayed remarkable fruit and he never backed down from his Christian commitment. He started an international prison ministry that has impacted countless men and women for Christ. He has written some amazing books filled with great intellect concerning a Christian worldview and a humble disposition concerning his previous way of life. While he started very poorly, he finished strong.
The other man won’t make as many headlines, but he was still a strong ambassador in the Kingdom, but his death is more tragic.
In my life, I’ve learned that God often does the most with the least expected.
We often think we’ve got it all figured out. In our estimation, we have enough knowledge to map out God’s plan for our lives.
But that rarely happens. Oftentimes, God uses things in our lives that we never ever saw coming.
I said “yes” to the ministry when I was a teenager. I really didn’t know what area I wanted to serve, I liked doing so many different things.
And yet, if you look at what God is using me the most in right now, I never would have seen this coming.
There are 2 Travis Agnew’s. No, for real. There are 2 of us. I’m not doing some type of preacher illustration, there are two of us out there.
So, let me explain. Years ago, when I decided to start blogging, I tried to get a domain name and realized that travisagnew.com was taken. By whom, I wondered. I went ahead with the .org and continued upon my trek through life’s uncharted waters. Then I was talking with a college student one day who said he heard me speak somewhere.
He then tried to find me on the world wide web. He said I had changed my appearance a lot. He then asked me when I lived in Wisconsin. I was perplexed. I was pretty confident that my looks have not changed that much and that I had remained in South Carolina in recent years. Curious, I began to do research and I was shocked at what I found.
Here’s what I discovered:
dI’ve been asked by a few people lately: “So what do you think about Newspring coming to Greenwood?” Normally, it’s also been followed by other phrases to express their thinking. I’ve heard: “Do you think ya’ll will lose members?” “What kind of church do you think it will hurt the most?” “I heard they take your bank routing number when …
Saturday morning, leaders from North Side gathered together to continue on this journey God is leading us. We talked about discipleship. We celebrated the lives that are being changed, and yet we also focused upon those people who are still struggling to follow Christ.
We laid out a strategy that is a little different for a church our size. In fact, North Side would fail Church Growth 101 class if we were taking it. Let me explain:
Church growth these days is all about the large groups. Get more people in the seats and that means that you are winning. What we are finding is that it is easy to fill seats, it is hard to disciple people. And in our current church culture in America, people are church hopping, filling out commitment cards, getting baptized, and then dropping off the face of the earth! The parable of the Seed and the Sower should scare us enough to realize that we might be giving people false assurance of their salvation that way – they need to be discipled!
Here’s some things I took away from Saturday:
Recently, I was made aware of a situation involving fellow ministers of the gospel. Someone told me a piece of a conversation, and before I jumped to any conclusions, I decided to go to the source directly. Sure there had to be a reasonable explanation or a miscommunication, I assumed all would be cleared up with one simple phone call.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t cleared up. Justifying his thought process, he explained to me what went down between them. I thought that a brother confronting him would be enough to show some type of remorse, but that’s not what happened.
Actually, he informed me that God told him to do what he did.
As Courageous has been making headlines around the country for the success in the box office, I have been rejoicing at all that God is doing through it. I’ve kinda been surprised that my small role in the ministry aspect of it has caused me to be interviewed by a few different sources. The Bible Study book that I worked on is available now, but the whole kit with the DVD and extras won’t be available until Feb. 2012.
In a phone interview last week, someone had already picked up the book and asked me this question: “Why isn’t your name on the cover?”
As you can see by the picture, the leaders for Sherwood Baptist Church and Sherwood Pictures names are on the cover, and this inquiring mind on the other side of the phone wanted to know where mine was.
Well…
Our culture has a stereotype of pastor’s children that is the complete opposite of this biblical expectation. When people mention a “preacher kid,” they are normally referencing some rebellious hellion bent on tarnishing his father’s reputation in the community. This stereotype reveals more than an unfortunate circumstance, it shows unbiblical perspectives and qualifications present in the church today.
Repeatedly, many preacher kids reveal a father who took care of the needs of everyone else except for those living in his own house. In attempts to appease this member or that family, he neglected his own wife and children. As the years went by, not only does the minister’s family resent the man of the house, but they also resent the church and many never return once they leave home.
Your pastors need to care for their own children more than they care for your children.
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