March Ministry Update

Here's a church update I shared last Sunday afternoon during our quarterly business meeting...

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Who can utter the mighty deeds of the LORD, or declare all his praise?” (Psalm 106:2-3).

God is doing mighty deeds and showing us many reasons to give Him praise at First Southern Baptist Church.

Our Sunday worship has taken a giant leap forward with the addition of Ryan H, Chris P, and Annie R. assisting Janet and our choir with music ministry. I’ve heard many comments of how uplifting the music has been recently. If you have a musical gift and would like to join the team, please speak with Janet.

During our Bible Study time, I’ve been preaching on the spiritual gifts and love from 1 Corinthians 12-14. If you would like to exercise your gifts and get more involved in ministry, please let me know so we can help plug you in. Sometime after Easter, we’ll launch into chapter 15 on the resurrection and answer some common questions about heaven, hell, and the afterlife. Thank you for your hunger for God’s Word and your desire to know and obey the Lord.

We’ve been blessed to have three young ladies get baptized, and are now getting ready to start another membership class in the next couple weeks with several people who are interested. Please continue to be welcoming to visitors, and be sure to invite friends to church. These are some of the simplest ways to be a witness to those God has brought into your life. For your convenience, we have church invitation cards on the sound booth. Please take a handful and pass them out throughout the week.

By the grace of God, our Sunday attendance and giving are steadily increasing. You will notice in the stewardship report that we are almost running a balanced budget. Please continue to give generously so we can meet the rest of our financial commitments and continue to expand our ministry. We are also making progress in our capital campaign. A brand new preschool playground set has been donated to the church and will be assembled in the next few weeks. We are also researching a our new front sign and audio equipment.

Our church photo directories finally arrived and look fantastic. Thanks for your patience. If your information is incorrect, please contact the church office so we can update our records. If you have just started attending or do not have a photo, we hope to have another photo shoot sometime in the next twelve months for newcomers. Lifetouch will do another photo shoot and print a directory addendum if we have a minimum number of new families to add.

Lastly, a Membership Review Committee was formed a couple years ago by the congregation to review our membership roll and follow up on inactive members. You’ll notice in our Church Clerk report that our membership is over double our regular attendance. Many of these members have been inactive for years, so we are eager to make contact with them, let them know what has been going on at the church, and to encourage them to return. Please be in prayer for this committee.

Spiritual Gifts

For the last month, our church has been studying Spiritual Gifts on Sunday mornings. Here's a chart I shared today that helps harmonize the gifts between the various Scripture passages where they appear. In total, there seem to be around 18 spiritual gifts listed in the New Testament.

Last week, we studied the Speaking Gifts, and today we introduced the Serving Gifts. If you've missed any of our studies, you can catch them on our sermon podcast. For those who want to go deeper on the subject of spiritual gifts, I would commend these books to you:

• Dynamics of Spiritual Gifts by William McRae. This classic work defines a biblical 'gift,' shows how they are distributed throughout the Body, and provides an insightful look at each individual gift. McRae then gives helpful advice on discovering your own gift and how to cultivate your gift and the gifts of others.
• Understanding Spiritual Gifts by Robert L. Thomas. This is essentially an exegetical commentary on 1 Corinthians 12-14, followed by some very helpful appendices such as the meaning of "the perfect" in 1 Corinthians 13:10; a critique of Wayne Grudem's The Gift of Prophecy in the New Testament and Today; and a detailed description of the Eighteen Spiritual Gifts listed in the NT. Makes a strong case for cessationism.

Updates

It’s overwhelming to consider all our family has been through in the past year, but God has sustained us. In just twelve months, Natalie has endured her third pregnancy, three UTIs, a kidney infection, 15 weeks of early contractions, child birth, severe postpartum bleeding, two DNCs, two blood transfusions, chest pains, emergency gallbladder surgery, internal bleeding, and a second exploratory laparoscopy.

In addition, Dylan was rushed to the ER with a head injury in December, I went to the ER with chest pains in May, and Abigail was diagnosed with hydronephrosis (fluid on her right kidney) while still in the womb. Abby also went in to the hospital for several days this summer for unusual skin color and a possible heart defect which was eventually ruled out. On September 26, Abby will have surgery for her hydronephrosis, which we hope will fix her right kidney and allow it to drain properly. This procedure has a very high success rate, but we know she is ultimately in God’s hands. We have done our best to honor God through all these trials and have certainly learned to depend more fully upon Him. If it pleases Him, we hope this next year will be less eventful. Thanks again for your prayers, your patience, and your support!

In our Sunday morning worship service, we’re taking a break from our exposition of 1 Corinthians to get better equipped in evangelism. The series is based loosely on the “Share Jesus Without Fear” material by William Fay & Ralph Hodge (Lifeway Publishing). I pray the Lord will use this study to help every member be trained, confident, and actively sharing their faith.

During 9:15 Life Groups, I often lead training sessions with our newer attenders. I just concluded a Baptism Class and will be starting another Membership class on Sunday, Oct. 2. It was a thrill to have three new members join us Sunday, and several more on the way.

On Wednesday nights, we’re continuing our series on Spiritual Warfare and have had some great participation. Our new Bible Study & Prayer format is really working well. Come check it out. If you don’t live in town, try getting involved in one of the other home-based Bible studies we offer across the Basin like our Morongo Valley Bible Study or 29 Palms Bible Study (details TBD).

The past few months, after heeding some good advice from a friend, I’ve begun to focus more on discipleship and training men for ministry. I continue to teach servant leadership training (SaLT) once a month, plus am now meeting each week with different men for one-on-one mentoring. Please pray that God will raise up future leaders in our church, and that we will give them opportunities to grow and serve.

Lastly, please pray for me as I teach on Tuesdays down at California Baptist University in Riverside. I’ve been asked to teach the junior and senior Applied Theology students about pastoral ministry, and to help organize their church internship program. Because of this new commitment, I’ve discontinued my Tuesday Greek class and my weekly involvement in the Copper Mtn. Christian Club. It’s an honor to serve as Adjunct Faculty at the university and to help mentor the next generation of pastors. But you can rest assured that serving as pastor at First Southern Baptist is still my primary calling and delight.

5-month enhancement campaign underway

Over the past 25 years, God has blessed First Southern Baptist Church of Yucca Valley with a very comfortable and adequate facility. But the time has come to make some repairs and improvements. In 2011, we hope to enhance our facility in four key areas.

First, we need to replace stolen equipment and expand our preschool playground to be more kid- and family-friendly. Second (and the most urgent), we need to repair our leaking sanctuary roof with a new Fibertite roofing system and skylights. Third, we need to upgrade our sound system with new microphones, speakers, and wiring to better broadcast God’s Word. Finally, we need a new front sign to help invite our neighbors. These four components will not only get us back up to standard, but will improve our ability to minister to people in the 21st century.

This project represents the fruit of many hours of prayer and research by our church leaders. As I recently noted from 2 Chronicles 24, “how we care for God’s house reflects how much we care about God.” This is a great opportunity to love God and support His work here in the Morongo Basin.

This Friday and Saturday, we're encouraging families to take time to pray and assess what the Lord is leading them to give. Then on Sunday, during the worship service, we’ll pray together for this project, humbly ask for God’s blessing, and quietly make our pledges before the Lord. The pledges are just a tool for each family’s benefit to take a step of faith and set a bold, yet attainable, goal. They will also help our stewardship committee in planning the timeline and extent of our repairs. The commitment cards will look like this:

We pledge, by God’ grace, to give above our regular offering...

$ ________ a Week for 21 Weeks (or)
$ ________ a Month for 5 Months (or)
$ ________ Total Amount
[  ] We cannot currently make a commitment, but pledge to pray for this campaign.

All names and individual amounts will be kept confidential. We realize that someone's amount may even need to be revised or cancelled should circumstances make it necessary. But I think we will find our pledges to be a helpful benchmark as the year unfolds.

This is an exciting moment at First Southern as we unite together, give joyfully, and watch the Lord provide!

Please pray with us for this important campaign, and if the Lord lays it on your heart, consider making a donation of any amount to support our church ministry.

Passing the ministry baton

In 2008, both the U.S. men's and women's 400m Olympic relay teams were disqualified for dropping the baton. But how many pastors are guilty of failing to pass on the ministry baton to the next generation? In the Pastoral Epistles, we see Paul's effort to make a clean pass to younger men who will minister long after Paul has finished his leg of the race.

Perhaps most significant is 2 Timothy 2:2, where we see the transmission of truth between four generations: "The things which you [Timothy] have heard from me [Paul] in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men [Timothy's disciples] who will be able to teach others also [their disciples]."

How should this be applied in the local church? As I once heard and often tell others, one of the main roles of a pastor is to work himself out of a job. That is, over the years, and as I disciple my congregation, there should be an increasing number of trained and godly men who are able to receive the baton from me and carry it on for a new generation.

Colin Hansen has a must-read article for all pastors today on Gospel Integrity and Pastoral Succession. It frames the issue in a historical perspective, giving both some healthy and unhealthy examples of succession. Sadly, he points out that often,

Senior leaders don’t want to let go. They realize too late that they’re slowing down, a process that begins in many cases around age 60. Various aspects of the church’s vision become neglected, and the church stagnates. The senior leader’s gifting and experience mask underlying structural weaknesses, as in the case of Spurgeon. Meanwhile, younger leaders don’t want to wait around to take charge. Many capable young leaders know the long odds of a successful succession. So they prefer to plant their own churches or invest in smaller ones they can grow by God’s grace.

Curtis Thomas, in his excellent book Practical Wisdom for Pastors, gives a tragic example of one pastor:

Everything seemed just right, and it was expected that when he turned the reins over to a successor an ongoing, dynamic ministry would continue.

But he would not step down. His age advanced well beyond normal retirement. His health began to fade. His sermons began to lose their appeal. His influence began to wane. The members and even some of the leadership began to move elsewhere. Young couples began moving their memberships to other churches. Only his close, personal friends stayed with him, many of whom were quite old and less mobile, hence not very energetic when it came to the work of the Gospel.

As he saw his ministry begin to fade, he became bitter and very caustic. Squabbles erupted within the remaining members. Eventually the church voted to vacate the pulpit. Things became very acrimonious. The pastor left the ministry as a tired, pitiful, bitter old man.

I am a mere 32 years old. If the Lord tarries, and blesses me with good health, I have perhaps another 30-40 years of vibrant ministry ahead. Compared to the age of some in my congregation, I'm still a "kid." But ironically, the time to start planning my succession -- and to be training up the next generation -- is right now.

Photo credit: psychbird

No Greater Love movie - July 30

First Southern Baptist invites the public to a free showing of the movie No Greater Love at 7 PM on Friday, July 30. Free concessions will be served, and free child care will be provided for preschool children. It would make a great date night or family night out.

No Greater Love is the dramatic story of faith, forgiveness, and the sovereignty of God. Jeff and Heather were the "lucky ones." Best friends from childhood, high school sweethearts, and married by 22. After the birth of their only child, however, Heather fell into an uncontrollable depression. Hopelessly lost, she did the unthinkable...she abandoned her husband and infant son – and vanished. Now, ten years later, Jeff’s world is dramatically rocked when Heather shockingly reappears in the most unusual place.

Dennis Rainey, host of Family Life Today, calls this movie “a compelling story that powerfully reminds us that love is always the right choice.” The message of the gospel is clearly presented as well. We look forward to showing it and pray it will be a blessing to families in our community.

Please spread the word, and we hope to see you July 30! For directions to the church, please click here.

Click here to watch the original trailer:

2010 Vacation Bible School

Here's a summary of last week's Vacation Bible School. This article and photo appeared in today's edition of the Hi-Desert Star.

Children entering First Southern Baptist last week were greeted by a 12-foot barn, pine trees, western murals, and a life-size ranch fence. The words “Saddle Ridge Ranch” were emblazoned across the large archway, welcoming kids into the 2010 Vacation Bible School.

On June 21-25, the church hosted games, crafts, music, and a Bible story each morning for local children. Families were invited back Friday night at 6 pm for Family Fun Night. Over 120 people attended the free BBQ followed by a closing concert and awards ceremony.

“This was a very special year for us,” said Pastor Stephen Jones. “We had record-breaking attendance and were able to make many new friends in the community. Both the kids and their parents were so enthusiastic. We give all the glory to God.”

Throughout the week, boys and girls competed to see who could bring the most missions offering. The boys barely edged out the girls on Friday, together raising over $240 for the Haiti Response Fund to provide food, water, medical supplies, and shelter for earthquake victims in Haiti.

Planning for next year’s VBS is already underway. The theme will be “The Big Apple Adventure,” featuring the sights and sounds of New York City.

First Southern Baptist Church is located at 56374 Onaga Trail in Yucca Valley. For more information about their regular services and kids programs, please call (760) 365-5771 or visit www.fsbcyv.org.

Theology to a beat

The 9Marks ministry announced this morning that they have teamed up with Lampmode Records to produce a new hip hop album called The Church: Called & Collected. This looks great. Here's a description from Lampmode:

We understand both the seemingly controversial nature of "the Church" (especially among the Hip hop contingent), and well as the biblical imperatives concerning the Church's importance. We are simply offering our contribution to the conversation fueled a 9 Marks' book, "What is a healthy church?", written by Mark Dever. 9 Marks is an organization that helps pastors think more biblically about the church through emphasizing key values that the bible ascribes to a healthy church. So along with the Lamp Mode family, we teamed up with Trip Lee, Tedashii, Flame, Evangel, and more, to bring the contents of "What is a healthy church" to the hip-hop community. This is our attempt at communicating that valuable information to, and through, the hip-hop culture.

Here's the list of songs:

1. Take 'em to Church - God's Servant feat. Azriel
2. Expository Preaching - shai linne
3. Conversion - Trip Lee
4. The Good News - Hazakim
5. Membership - Stephen the Levite
6. Words from Mark...
7. Biblical Theology - shai linne
8. Evangelism - Hazakim
9. Leadership - FLAME
10. Words from Thabiti...
11. Church Discipline - Stephen the Levite
12. Discipleship - Tedashii
13. Beautiful Church - Evangel

You can purchase the album here, or click below to see a promo video.



The Church // Promo 1 from The Lamp Lounge on Vimeo.

What the GCR means for California

Leading up to the final days before the Southern Baptist Convention in Orlando, the Pray4GCR team has been releasing a number of articles supporting the final Great Commission Resurgence Report.

These articles are now streaming in via blog and email on a daily basis, from authors all across the country. They remind me of the federalist papers written by Madison, Hamilton, and Jay circulated over two hundred years earlier, which supported the ratification of our U.S. Constitution. Like our Constitution, the GCR is a significant break from the status quo, but one that is urgently necessary. Unlike our Constitution, the stakes are eternal.

Yesterday, California Southern Baptists were privileged to have our viewpoint represented by Walter Price, current president of the California Southern Baptist Convention. Here is his article in full, which gives one of the best endorsements of the GCR Recommendations I have heard yet. Thank you, Walter, for your thoughtful analysis.

Last June I sat in the hall of the Southern Baptist Convention and joyfully joined what appeared to be 99+% of the messengers in affirming the motion to ask President Johnny Hunt to appoint a Task Force to study the work of our great Convention and bring recommendations for a better way to move forward in fulfilling the Great Commission. Many said it was a watershed moment in the life of the SBC. I agree. I pray that moment will overflow into this year’s Convention in Orlando as we give strong approval to those recommendations.

One might wonder how we in the West could be supportive of recommendations that will so directly affect us. In fact, some would argue that we in California have seemingly the most to lose monetarily from these potential changes. So, how could we applaud the report of the Task Force? Let me explain. We can applaud the GCR recommendations because, from our view out West, we have noticed some things.

We have noticed that the greatest need in our churches and in our nation and world is a mighty move of the Spirit of God in bringing true revival and spiritual awakening to our planet. How could we possibly do anything but join arm in arm with the GCR Task Force in praying: “Let the Holy Spirit come and take control and send a great revival in my soul?” We know that we each should ask God for a fresh kindling of holy fire in our hearts as we cry with the publican, “Lord, be merciful to me a sinner!”

We have noticed that in California we have over 30 million lost people. 30 million! That is roughly the combined populations of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas and Tennessee. Clearly we can see the need to focus our energies in North America in the most populous areas with the least Gospel penetration. In California we live on the eastern edge of the Pacific Rim. The nations have come to us. Southern Baptists in our state worship in 70 different languages. Again, we easily identify the benefit of allowing those who are trained by the IMB to do people group missions wherever those groups are. We’ve noticed this job is too big for us. We need the help of all Southern Baptists.

We’ve noticed that our global witness is diminishing even while there are still so many who have never heard the Gospel. We Southern Baptists always maintain that we have a heart for the nations. The younger generation of Southern Baptists’ hearts are truly broken for the nations. We simply must do what is necessary to increase our involvement to the ends of the earth.

And, speaking of the younger generation, we have noticed that change must come or this Convention will die a natural death. The generation coming behind us is not enthused about the status quo of the SBC, they are not motivated by denominational branding. Theirs is a Kingdom passion to see the Gospel penetrate a lost world. They are interested in the most efficient and effective ways to accomplish the task of being real followers of Christ in a global generation. If we continue with things as they are we will find there is no one to whom we may pass the baton in this relay of redemption.

So how can we applaud the GCR Report? The recommendations address each of the issues that we have noticed with positive steps. In fact, I believe the recommendations will result in even more resources funneling into California as Southern Baptists commit themselves to penetrating the lostness in this very unreached and underserved region. And we in California are committed to joining all Southern Baptists in channeling more of our lives and our resources into taking the Gospel to the unreached peoples of the world.

What will happen in California? Well, there is one more thing we have noticed. We have noticed that our great and glorious God is in control. He is our Source; He is our Provider. He will give us wisdom in how to go forward. Whatever we might “lose” for the greater good of our partnership in the gospel we will “win” in our absolute dependence on the grace of God. Our prayer is that He will be glorified as all Southern Baptists come together for the taking of the gospel to a lost and dying world.

Related articles:

• An historic moment in the SBC
• Initial thoughts on the GCR Progress Report

The riches of God's grace

After a wonderful time of music and testimony last Sunday morning by Robert Barley, our church continued our study in the book of 1 Corinthians. In chapter 1:4-9, Paul continues his greeting to the church with a prayer of thanksgiving.
This may seem odd for a church with so many problems, yet Paul sees great reason to give praise to God.

Not one to dish out cheap compliments, Paul is genuinely thankful for this church. Why? Because in spite of their many faults, God's grace is shining through them. His grace manifested itself in three ways:

1. Past Grace (1 Cor. 1:4, 6). Paul's testimony of the death and resurrection of Jesus were confirmed by the impact and change that occurred in their lives. We have been privileged to see this recently in the life of some of our church attenders as well.
2. Present Grace (1 Cor. 1:5, 7). At the very moment of salvation, they were endowed and enriched with spiritual gifts. But sometimes those strengths can turn into weaknesses. The church had a tendency to abuse these gifts (chs. 12-14), but Paul was still thankful they were "not lacking in any gift."
3. Future Grace (1 Cor. 1:7-8). Paul ends his prayer by looking ahead at the great future that the Corinthians and each of us can have in Jesus Christ. He will return! We will be with Him! He will defeat sin and death! And we will be changed into His image!

Questions for thought and discussion:

• When we meet someone with 'glaring faults' like Corinth, what is our usual reaction?
• How did Paul respond in this letter?
• What gift(s) has the Lord given you to use in His church?
• How could those strengths turn into weaknesses?
• Who is someone that bothers, disappoints, or offends you? Write down their name.
• List five ways God has shown His grace in and through them.
• Pray for them, and that you will be an instrument of grace in their life

Sunday's sermon is available for free download from our podcast site.

Photo credit: bhermans

Spring concert - May 14

On Friday, May 14, First Southern Baptist will host a spring concert featuring the band Page CXVI ("one-sixteen"). The night will include free food, music, prizes, chalk art, and a bounce house. It's an outdoor event for the whole family.

Page CXVI is a project to make the great hymns of the faith more accessible and known again. You can listen and download their first Hymns album here. A second album is just about to be released, and I expect some of their new songs will be played at our concert.

Help us spread the word by sharing this post with others, or forwarding it to a friend. We also have a big stack of postcard invitations at the church that you are welcome to take from. Help us reach as many people in our community as possible, and then join us Friday, May 14 for a night to remember.

You can now RSVP on our Facebook event page.

Here's one sample song by Page CXVI:

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Hospital visits

Some pastors loathe the hospital. I have come to find it one of the most precious places on earth to shepherd God's people. No one is there by choice. Yet those who end up there need the tender touch and compassionate words of a shepherd. This is one of those golden opportunities to live out 1 Thessalonians 2:7-8:

"But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children. Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us."

Hospital visits are deeply humbling moments when we love and treat our flock with dignity, supply the medicine of God's Word, and try to keep our wits and a good sense of humor. Just last week, as I visited a church member in a continuing care facility, the patient next to her kept interjecting into our conversation. She seemed a bit eccentric and kept asking me how to operate her cell phone. Finally, I checked her minutes and discovered she had used them all up. But as I ended the visit, I was able to include the roommate in our prayer time.

I often try to put the patient at ease by talking about the weather, about life, about my family, and about recent church events. I ask how their family is doing, about some of their fond memories, and pleasant conversation points with the outside world. What I avoid is excessive talk about their health or discussing current political events (they're probably hearing about those things all day on their TV anyway).

Toward the end of the visit, before I pray, I often like to ask if I can read a passage of Scripture as an encouragement to them. Brian Croft in his blog today gives four categories and samples of Scriptures which are very helpful:

• Passages of comfort (Ps. 23, 28, 34, 46, 62, 145; Heb. 4:14–16)

• Succinct gospel passages (John 11:25–26, Rom. 5:6–11, Eph. 2:1–10, 2 Cor. 5:17–21)

• Passages dealing with the purpose of suffering for the believer (2 Cor. 12:7–9, James 1:2–4, 1 Pet. 1:6–7, 1 Pet. 4:12–19)

• Passages related to the reality and hope of eternity with Christ (John 10:27–30, John 14:1–3, Phil. 1:21–23, 1 Pet. 1:3–5)

Finding time for hospital visits and house calls to shut-ins is a challenge in an already busy schedule, but we dare not forget our sheep who are quietly suffering. And I find it is all worth it when I hear those words, "Thank you, pastor, for coming by today."

Related posts:

• Ministering to the homebound and elderly
• The Blessings of nursing home ministry

New blog for pastors

I picked up with great excitement two little ministry books by Brian Croft at Shepherds Conference last month. One is Visit the Sick: Ministering God's Grace in Times of Illness. The other is Test, Train, Affirm, and Send Into Ministry: Recovering the Local Church's Responsibility in the External Call.

And today, I just realized Brian also has a blog called Practical Shepherding. There is some great, practical stuff here for pastors. Here's an excerpt from Brian's opening post back in January...

Why another blog?  For the same reason I write the books I write: To address issues of pastoral ministry that are largely neglected in the younger generations of pastors being raised up today.   The problem isn’t a lack of opportunity to be taught and develop biblical and theological convictions, but applying those convictions to the daily grind of pastoral ministry and many of the “outside the box” scenarios that local church pastors face on a daily basis.  Lord willing, this blog will act as a voice to serve to that end.   I pray it will serve both pastors in the “trenches” of this glorious work as well as those aspiring to this call to shepherd the redeemed.

Welcome to the blogosphere, Brian. May God bless this new endeavor and your desire to equip pastors for ministry.

IMB to give more emphasis to theological training

The International Mission Board is setting up an advisory team of four men to help oversees church plants with theological training. This is an excellent direction to move in. Churches are so often planted overseas without adequate follow-up, discipleship, and equipping of leaders. More emphasis on sound doctrine is always a good thing.

Here's an excerpt from the news release:

What happens all too often is that we come in and we blow the Gospel out there … and pop the question really quickly, ‘Will you trust Jesus?’ And the person may respond, but that DNA from the beginning is unhealthy. … We don’t want to see that believer or church fall away.”

Arnett has witnessed firsthand how dangerous a lack of theological training can be. While teaching at a seminary in Togo, West Africa, he started a church with a national Baptist partner. But Arnett didn’t realize this man, who was leading the new church, was mixing the Gospel with elements of African traditional religion — the worship of spirits in nature and of ancestors.

 You can read the whole IMB article here.

Preparing for worship

Several folks have suggested we take the final few minutes before our Sunday service to quietly prepare our hearts for worship. I really like this idea, and here’s why.

Bob Kauflin, in his book Worship Matters, says,

In the Bible, when various people encountered God’s presence, they were never flippant or casual. At Mount Sinai the Israelites ‘were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off’ (Ex. 20:18). Seeing God’s throne, Isaiah cried out, ‘Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!’ (Is. 6:5). When John encountered the risen Christ in his vision of heaven, he ‘fell at his feet as though dead’ (Rev. 1:17).

Reverence is essential to worship. Because ‘our God is a consuming fire,’ we are to ‘offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe’ (Heb. 12:28-29).

It’s not natural on Sunday morning to approach the Lord with reverence and awe. We won't do it if we slip in late or let our minds are passive. Sleeping in, rushing about, scarfing down breakfast, getting ourselves and the kids ready, finalizing ministry plans, driving to church. All of these can distract us from approaching the Lord with reverence and awe. I’m convinced that Satan doubles his efforts on Sunday mornings to get us anxious and flustered – anything to keep our minds off Christ.

So, to better prepare our hearts before the Lord, we encourage you starting this Sunday to take the final minutes before our service to focus and quietly prepare yourself for worship. You may find it helpful to open your Bible, bow your head, and use the A-C-T-S method of prayer: A – adoration and praise to God through Christ. C – confession of your sin before Him. T – thanksgiving for who God is, His past acts, and His future promises. S – supplication for the Spirit to bless our worship leaders, our order of service, and all attenders this morning.

So join us this Sunday in the sanctuary. Anticipate the great privilege we have of encountering God’s presence. Please do enjoy great fellowship with your church family before and after the service. But at 10:25, let’s all do our best to be in our seats, preparing our hearts to encounter a holy God.

Life Groups

"I like the discussion, the fellowship, working together to think through a passage of the Bible." 

"I like the give and take...pushing the study in a direction."

"Life Groups teach us to watch what we say - to be more compassionate to others - Christian or other people."

"Rotating teachers give a different perspective each week. Sitting around a table was good."

These are some of the comments people are making about our Sunday Morning Life Groups. We encourage you to join us this Sunday at 9:15 to get into the Word and build deeper relationships with others in the church. You're already coming for the worship service. Why not arrive just one hour earlier and get some great life-on-life discipleship?

Here's a new promo video on why you should be attending one of our Life Groups at First Southern. Hope to see you Sunday!

Taking care of the pastors wife

This post isn't an attempt to be self-serving. But as a pastor, I can testify how valuable my wife is in my ministry. She may not stand behind the pulpit on Sundays, but my ministry, my sanity, our family, and our church would simply not be what they are without her constant help, counsel, and comfort. Whatever church you belong to, and whoever your pastor's wife is, consider doing something special this month to say "thank you" for her important behind-the-scenes role in your church.

Here's a list by Becky Badry of 18 ways church members can care for their pastor's wife...

The ministers' wives in your church are special ladies in your women's ministry with a set of needs unique to ministers' families. Make special efforts to take care of a minister's wife and family by trying a few practical ministry ideas:

1. First and foremost, pray for her. Ask for her prayer requests, and check back for answered prayers. If she shares with you, confidentiality is a must.

2. Ask her to give her testimony at a women's event.

3. Recognize her during pastor appreciation month (October) as part of the pastoral family.

4. Take up a love offering just for her.

5. Get to know her. Ask her questions about her favorite people, places, and things.
6. Send her cards and notes of encouragement.
7. Remember birthdays and anniversaries with cards and or gifts.
8. Be sensitive to ministers' family time.
9. Be responsive in times of illness or needs.
10. Give her a prepaid phone card so she can call family and friends.
11. Offer free childcare so that she can have a break from the kids.
12. Give her a gift certificate to her favorite restaurant.
13. Go shopping with her, and buy her a new dress or outfit (Don’t just give her the money - she’s like every other woman and will probably spend it on the kids or something for the home!).
14. Invite her to have lunch with the girls.
15. Pay for her to have a manicure, pedicure, or a day at the spa.
16. Pay for the minister's family to have a night out (ballgame, movie, or dinner)
17. Pay expenses so that she may attend women's ministry or ministers' wives events.
18. Give her a gift of thank-you cards, and include a book of stamps.

Use these simple ideas to encourage the ministers' wives in your church and show your support from one church leader to another.

Redeeming the time in ministry

The end of the year is always a great time to pause, reflect, and consider how you are using the time, talents, and treasure God has given you.

For us pastors, there are endless demands, and if we're not careful, we can become driven by the tyranny of the urgent. The "best" can be sacrificed on the altar of the "good." Here's a list of questions I'm asking as I take time to audit my schedule and ministry duties:

• What does the Bible dictate as my main priorities?
• What does the Bible say about stewardship of time?
• What tools can help me to be more productive?
• What are my strengths?
• How can I sharpen and develop these for maximum use?
• What are my weaknesses?
• Are these things I need to delegate to others, or take time to improve?
• What are the necessities in life? The absolute non-negotiables?
• What activities are moderately beneficial?
• Which activities have the lowest cost-benefit ratio?
• What are the greatest time-wasters in my life – the time and energy ‘vampires’ in my life?
• What buffers do I need to put in place to avoid the tyranny of the urgent?
• Which activities have the highest cost-benefit ratio?
• If God gave me 50 more years on this earth, what would be my life goals and dreams?
• What are practical steps to achieve these goals?
• What do I want to learn about?
• What do I want to read?
• What is a realistic schedule to keep to attain these goals – daily, weekly, monthly, annually?
• Where can I cut corners, better multitask, and become more efficient?
• Where do I need to slow down, use greater attention and precision?
• What is my plan?
• What people serve as an example of effective use of time?
• What kind of accountability do I need to put in place to do these things?

All of these need to be answered with humility, in the spirit of James 4:13-17.

Last week I read through an old paperback called How to Save Time in the Ministry, by Leslie B. Flynn. Quoting one Christian executive, Flynn writes, "Pruning away unnecessary and unprofitable activities, like canceling subscriptions to some popular magazines and resigning positions in some organizations, seems advisable action to take once a year, and should be ruthless" (p. 44). That is exactly what I'm in the process of doing right now.

How to Save Time is a helpful book on time management, particularly for pastors like myself. His chapters address issues like the value of time, the importance of delegation, planning ahead, short and long-term scheduling, developing efficiency, starting earlier, punctuality and the need for rest. If I could suggest one improvement, it would be for the author to expand his biblical theology of time. It's obvious Flynn has done his homework on the subject. The book is brimming with rich anecdotes on time management, but he devotes very little attention to explain what the Bible actually has to say about time (pp. 10-14).

Most amusing was Flynn's description of the "cutting edge" technology available during the 1960s: "[The preacher] should investigate new methods in office equipment, including dictating machines, intercom devices, and copying machines...addressograph, folding machine, electric typewriters, Thermo-Fax copy machine, paper cutter, automatic sealing and stamping meter, tape recorder, adding machine, Kardex files, and for the larger church an electric bookkeeping machine" (pp. 52-54).

My, how computers, cell phones, and the internet have changed our lives! I feel rather spoiled and convicted, that to whom more has been given, more is going to be required! Entering 2010, we have unprecedented technology at our fingertips. Are we maximizing these tools for God's glory, or are we frittering away the precious time we supposedly save through new gadgets?

This has been a very helpful and thought-provoking little book. I picked up 5-10 tips that may really improve my use of time. Next, I'm going to tackle David Allen's book Getting Things Done.

A technology revolution

Travin Wax has an interesting article today on technology and how it has changed our world. His examples show how the internet and social media have affected pop culture, politics, business, and religion.

His closing remarks:

We are living in the midst of a communications revolution. The only comparison that can be made is the invention of the printing press. Last time there was a communications revolution, a Reformation of the church took place. Will we see the new technology harnessed for the glory of God this time around?

I believe pastors and churches must strike a balance between embracing new technology while not putting our faith in it. We would be foolish to bury our heads in the sand and miss out on the opportunities technology provides, but we shouldn't become mesmerized by it.

Technology has connected our world in unimaginable ways, but on a spiritual level there's really nothing new under the sun. The deepest aspects of this world have remained constant: the nature of God, the depravity of man, the power of the Gospel, the role of the Spirit in conversion, the value of preaching, the need for prayer, the glory of the church, and the ruthless opposition of our Enemy. Our technology revolution has not changed these things in the slightest.

Related post:

• Why you should join Facebook

Pastoring a small church

Urban, suburban, and rural. These are the three basic categories of communities in America.

Mega-churches tend to focus on and thrive in the middle category. Tim Keller has often emphasized the strategic importance of the first category. But earlier this week, he lit up the blogosphere with a post endorsing the last category - the rural community.

Keller says one of the best experiences for young pastors to seek is to pastor a small church:

Young pastors or seminarians often ask me for advice on what kind of early ministry experience to seek in order to best grow in skill and wisdom as a pastor. They often are surprised when I tell them to consider being a 'country parson' -- namely, the solo pastor of a small church, many or most of which are in non-urban settings...

...Young pastors should not turn up their noses at such places, where they may learn the full spectrum of ministry tasks and skills as they will not in a large church.

Then he adds this very important clarification:

Nor should they go to small communities looking at them merely as stepping stones in a career.

Our town of Yucca Valley has a population of around 25,000. If you add all those in a 30-mile radius, which is about the extent of our reach, we have about 100,000 people. I don't know if this qualifies as a rural community or not, but we are definitely on the smaller scale of things when compared to the Coachella Valley, the Inland Empire, and greater Los Angeles.

That being said, I strongly agree with Keller's advice. In my opinion, pastoring a church of our size, in a community of our size, has been the ideal "first pastorate." We are currently averaging about 60 on Sunday mornings and have close to 140 on our active rolls (which includes members, attenders, homebound, children, etc.). There's plenty to keep me and our deacon team busy, and we certainly get to experience the whole gamet of ministry.

Yet, during college and seminary, I did serve in a mid-size church (500-750) for ten years. During that time, my wife and I had the opportunity to sit under and work alongside wise, godly men and women. We got wide exposure and helped in a variety of ministries including Sunday School teacher, janitor, outreach, deacon, planning social events, AWANA leader, and a pastoral intern. Serving at Placerita Baptist gave us a valuable snapshot of a healthy ministry and helped us avoid many of the common mistakes of first-time pastors (not to say I haven't made my fair share!).

So maybe my advice would be this: invest yourself heavily in the local church during high school, college, and seminary. Then consider the adventure of pastoring a small church in a more rural setting.

We are very thankful for the church and community where the Lord has brought us. And I'm not making any plans to move on. As I think Spurgeon once said, preaching to 100 people is plenty to be accountable to God for. And with today's technology, it's not hard to get involved and have a broader level of influence.

Heed Keller's advice. Consider the urban setting. But don't rule out the rural churches.