Pastors / Leadership: A Special Church for Special Needs

Pastors / Leadership www.crosswalk.com

A Special Church for Special Needs Aug 3rd 2011, 04:00   As the mother of a special needs son, I appreciate help from whatever source it comes. Eespecially when it brings positive situations or input into my special son's life. And it is phenomenal if it gives me some relief, too. Raising special treasures is hard. It's do-able. It's rewarding. It's a privilege. But, it's very hard. And the level of disability (or "other ability") often determine how difficult it is. So, when we can find situations to help, we are grateful. And that's where churches come in. At our church there is a ministry to special people – young and old. And I'd like to share some about it, perhaps giving ideas on the background details which need to be thought through, and the blessing it is to so many. The most important, foundational infrastructure is to have support for this ministry from the top down. For a disability ministry to thrive, the support must come from the pulpit to the pews. From accommodations to funding to volunteers – the church must encompass the importance of this ministry, grasp the concept of the vital ministry and outreach that it is, and fully support the vision of the leaders.   To set up a ministry, you need people who can be flexible and adaptable. That's the one concept that's a constant with disabled people – there usually is no consistency in life. What worked yesterday, might not work today. What they understood before, they might not remember now. What appealed to them last week might bore them this week. So, having workers who are flexible and adaptable is of utmost importance. Furthermore, the spiritual needs of the individuals will vary from person to person. Each situation is different. Each background unique. And the levels of understanding won't be duplicated in all of the attendees. So, the ministry can't be rigid in its approach like other ministries in the church might need to be. Each individual who comes into the ministry brings their own personality, unique abilities, and possible challenges to the group and ministry. It is imperative that the leaders be adjustable in their approach to the individuals while being steadfast to the spiritual needs of that person – and to the group, as a whole. Greg McDougall, the one at our church who conceived the vision for a ministry for special needs, has a divine burden for each individual to know Jesus. To be introduced to Him in a way they can understand and accept. So he trains the leaders and helpers to watch the class members for signs of spiritual readiness or awakening and be ready to lead them to Christ or to the next level of understanding. Greg's passion is contagious; his love, evident. One housekeeping thought might be "How many helpers are needed?" The number of teachers in the class depends on the makeup of the group. In our church, we have many volunteers who help with various levels of commitment. Some people drive to a home to pick students up for church. Others are their "buddy," helping them from the car, to the building, and sticking with them the entire time they are at church. Still other volunteers help for the Sunday class hour. Whatever the commitment level, the help is always greatly appreciated. Family members can be involved if they want to. But, sometimes the ministry to the disabled allows other ministry to take place: it gives the caregivers time to be refreshed. To attend church and hear God's word preached. To go to classes and fellowship with others their own age. And to have some much-needed time off – a break from the constancy of care disabled people sometimes require. One elderly couple, who brings their grandson to class each week, began involvement in this ministry with trepidation. The grandfather sat with his grandson throughout the entire first Sunday. Playing. Talking him through everything that was taking place. The young one grew more comfortable, but the older was concerned. The grandfather was still protective.

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Pastors / Leadership: A Special Church for Special Needs

Pastors / Leadership www.crosswalk.com

A Special Church for Special Needs Aug 3rd 2011, 04:00   As the mother of a special needs son, I appreciate help from whatever source it comes. Eespecially when it brings positive situations or input into my special son's life. And it is phenomenal if it gives me some relief, too. Raising special treasures is hard. It's do-able. It's rewarding. It's a privilege. But, it's very hard. And the level of disability (or "other ability") often determine how difficult it is. So, when we can find situations to help, we are grateful. And that's where churches come in. At our church there is a ministry to special people – young and old. And I'd like to share some about it, perhaps giving ideas on the background details which need to be thought through, and the blessing it is to so many. The most important, foundational infrastructure is to have support for this ministry from the top down. For a disability ministry to thrive, the support must come from the pulpit to the pews. From accommodations to funding to volunteers – the church must encompass the importance of this ministry, grasp the concept of the vital ministry and outreach that it is, and fully support the vision of the leaders.   To set up a ministry, you need people who can be flexible and adaptable. That's the one concept that's a constant with disabled people – there usually is no consistency in life. What worked yesterday, might not work today. What they understood before, they might not remember now. What appealed to them last week might bore them this week. So, having workers who are flexible and adaptable is of utmost importance. Furthermore, the spiritual needs of the individuals will vary from person to person. Each situation is different. Each background unique. And the levels of understanding won't be duplicated in all of the attendees. So, the ministry can't be rigid in its approach like other ministries in the church might need to be. Each individual who comes into the ministry brings their own personality, unique abilities, and possible challenges to the group and ministry. It is imperative that the leaders be adjustable in their approach to the individuals while being steadfast to the spiritual needs of that person – and to the group, as a whole. Greg McDougall, the one at our church who conceived the vision for a ministry for special needs, has a divine burden for each individual to know Jesus. To be introduced to Him in a way they can understand and accept. So he trains the leaders and helpers to watch the class members for signs of spiritual readiness or awakening and be ready to lead them to Christ or to the next level of understanding. Greg's passion is contagious; his love, evident. One housekeeping thought might be "How many helpers are needed?" The number of teachers in the class depends on the makeup of the group. In our church, we have many volunteers who help with various levels of commitment. Some people drive to a home to pick students up for church. Others are their "buddy," helping them from the car, to the building, and sticking with them the entire time they are at church. Still other volunteers help for the Sunday class hour. Whatever the commitment level, the help is always greatly appreciated. Family members can be involved if they want to. But, sometimes the ministry to the disabled allows other ministry to take place: it gives the caregivers time to be refreshed. To attend church and hear God's word preached. To go to classes and fellowship with others their own age. And to have some much-needed time off – a break from the constancy of care disabled people sometimes require. One elderly couple, who brings their grandson to class each week, began involvement in this ministry with trepidation. The grandfather sat with his grandson throughout the entire first Sunday. Playing. Talking him through everything that was taking place. The young one grew more comfortable, but the older was concerned. The grandfather was still protective.

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Pastors / Leadership: Don’t Assume the Gospel, Preach the Gospel

Pastors / Leadership www.crosswalk.com

Don't Assume the Gospel, Preach the Gospel Aug 2nd 2011, 04:00 The other day I was reading through a book that Mike Horton gave me last time I was in San Diego–a relatively new book that he edited and contributed to entitled Justified: Modern Reformation Essays on the Doctrine of Justification. At the end of the book Mike outlines six-core beliefs that define the mission of Modern Reformation and the White Horse Inn (his weekly radio broadcast). While all six of the core-beliefs are foundational, I was struck by the gripping clarity of belief number two on the importance of Gospel-centered preaching. Everything he writes here not only defines my theology of preaching but is, in my opinion, the only type of preaching that will rescue the church from Christless Christianity. He writes: Scripture is of no use to us if we read it merely as a handbook for daily living without recognizing that its principle purpose is to reveal Jesus Christ and his gospel for the salvation of sinners. All Scripture coalesces in Christ, anticipated in the OT and appearing in the flesh in the NT. In Scripture, God issues commands and threatens judgment for transgressors as well as direction for the lives of his people. Yet the greatest treasure buried in the Scriptures is the good news of the promised Messiah. Everything in the Bible that tells us what to do is "law", and everything in the Bible that tells us what God has done in Christ to save us is "gospel." Much like medieval piety, the emphasis in much Christian teaching today is on what we are to do without adequate grounding in the good news of what God has done for us in Christ. "What would Jesus do?" becomes more important than "What has Jesus done?" The gospel, however, is not just something we needed at conversion so we can spend the rest of our Christian life obsessed with performance; it is something we need every day–the only source of our sanctification as well as our justification. The law guides, but only the gospel gives. We are declared righteous–justified–not by anything that happens within us or done by us, but solely by God's act of crediting us with Christ's perfect righteousness through faith alone. Preachers, read that paragraph over and over. As I've said here before, don't make the mistake of assuming that people understand the radical nature of what Jesus has done so that your preaching ministry is focused primarily on what people need to do. The "what we need to do" portions of the Bible are good, perfect, and true–but apart from the "what Jesus has already done" portions of the Bible, we lack the power to do what we're called to do. The good commands of God, in other words, do not have the power to engender what they command. They show us what a sanctified life looks like but they have no sanctifying power. Only the gospel has the power to move us forward. This is why the Bible never tells us what to do before first soaking our hearts and minds in what God in Christ has already done. The fact is, that any obedience not grounded in or motivated by the gospel is unsustainable. No matter how hard you try, how radical you get, any engine smaller than the gospel that you're depending on for power to obey will conk out in due time. So, preach the gospel!

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Pastors / Leadership: Training Camp For Churches?

Pastors / Leadership www.crosswalk.com

Training Camp For Churches? Jul 29th 2011, 04:00 I love football season. The start of NFL camps got me fired up and ready for some football. I wrote a tongue-in-cheek reference to football in my book When Bad Christians Happen to Good People. I looked at how we assemble our church "team" using football imagery. You start with a couple of All-Conference performers and a few other pretty good players. But you also have several who just started playing and don't even know the rules or terminology of the game. Add some dreadfully out-of-shape, middle-aged players who have been around for years, who never work out or train, but who expect to get playing time nonetheless. You have a few who just don't care anymore and don't want to practice, learn the plays or listen to the coach. But you can't cut them from the team or even bench them without causing big problems. There are some who try hard but are too weak or injury prone to be effective. A few regularly miss games and practices without notice and then reappear expecting to play and even start. Toss in some ... umm… "mature" players who remember the way the game was played back when it was really good. You also have some players who think the coaches and assistant coaches are total idiots. Some passionately believe that the offensive game plan is totally wrong and that all the other players need to change to comply with their personal team philosophy... now! And then you have some who try to run their own plays when they go into the game. Many of the players meet regularly at Denny's after each game to disparage the coach and staff after saying grace over a Grand Slam breakfast. How do you think this team would perform? If they ever won a game, it would be a miracle.  Yet that is a rather common blueprint for a church. A team that is all over the map in maturity, knowledge, experience, passion and ability. Is it a surprise that our church team sputters at times? Maybe we should function more like a football team. Hold spiritual tryouts before you let anyone join the church. Cut the most of the rookie believers or send them to another church to gain experience. Waive all of the Christians with bad attitudes or poor work ethic. Fine any church members who are late to meetings or services. Make the deacons run laps when they miss a row while passing the offering basket. Fifty pushups for the pastor if he goes too long (poor clock management). With that kind of discipline you could shape up the church and it would cease to be the body of Christ. The church will always be a little (or a lot) dysfunctional because people like me and you are on the team. So don't be surprised when a committee member fumbles, an elder misses a block or a staff member tosses an interception. Part of our assignment on our church team is learning how to love those we would like to trade or waive. So we might as well keep our eye on the Coach and look for the fun in our dysfunction. Jesus established this team (church) and I am just glad to be on the roster. Paul wrote this to the church at Galatia: Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day's out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ's law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived.  Gal 6 Msg Our training camp paraphrase of Paul's words: Be a good teammate. When someone makes a mistake, get over it, encourage them and be a leader. You might need some encouragement too before the game is over. Help them up and reach out to a teammate that is down. Play as a team according to the Coach's playbook. If you think you are better than your teammates you will hurt the team and yourself. Have a great season! Dave Burchett is an Emmy Award winning television sports director, author, and Christian speaker. He is the author of When Bad Christians Happen to Good People and Bring'em Back Alive: A Healing Plan for those Wounded by the Church. You can reply by linking through daveburchett.com Please Click Here to view Dave's Crosswalk.com blog

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Pastors / Leadership: Wanted: a Few Good Shepherds (Must Know How to Wash Feet)

Pastors / Leadership www.crosswalk.com

Wanted: a Few Good Shepherds (Must Know How to Wash Feet) Aug 1st 2011, 04:00 Some modern church leaders fancy themselves businessmen, media figures, entertainers, psychologists, philosophers, or lawyers. Those notions contrast sharply with the way Scripture portrays spiritual leaders. In 2 Timothy 2, for example, Paul uses seven different metaphors to describe the rigors of leadership. He pictures the minister as a teacher (v. 2), a soldier (v. 3), an athlete (v. 5), a farmer (v. 6), a workman (v. 15), a vessel (vv. 20 21), and a slave (v. 24). All those images evoke ideas of sacrifice, labor, service, and hardship. They speak eloquently of the complex and varied responsibilities of spiritual leadership. Not one of them makes leadership out to be glamorous. That's because it is not supposed to be glamorous. Leadership in the church - and I'm speaking of every facet of spiritual leadership, not just the pastor's role - is not a mantle of status to be conferred on the church's aristocracy. It isn't earned by seniority, purchased with money, or inherited through family ties. It doesn't necessarily fall to those who are successful in business or finance. It isn't doled out on the basis of intelligence or talent. Its requirements are blameless character, spiritual maturity, and above all, a willingness to serve humbly. Our Lord's favorite metaphor for spiritual leadership, a figure He often used to describe Himself, was that of a shepherd - one who tends God's flock. Every church leader is a shepherd. The word pastor itself means "shepherd." It is appropriate imagery. A shepherd leads, feeds, nurtures, comforts, corrects, and protects. Those are responsibilities of every churchman. Shepherds are without status. In most cultures, shepherds occupy the lower rungs of society's ladder. That is fitting, for our Lord said, "Let him who is the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as the servant" (Luke 22:26). Under the plan God has ordained for the church, leadership is a position of humble, loving service. Church leadership is ministry, not management. Those whom God designates as leaders are called not to be governing monarchs, but humble slaves; not slick celebrities, but laboring servants. Those who would lead God's people must above all exemplify sacrifice, devotion, submission, and lowliness. Jesus Himself gave us the pattern when He stooped to wash His disciples' feet, a task that was customarily done by the lowest of slaves (John 13). If the Lord of the universe would do that, no church leader has a right to think of himself as a bigwig. Shepherding animals is semi skilled labor. There are no colleges that offer graduate degrees in shepherding. It isn't that difficult a job. Even a dog can be trained to guard a flock of sheep. In biblical times, young boys - David, for example - herded sheep while the older men did tasks that required more skill and maturity. Shepherding a spiritual flock is not so simple. It takes more than an unskilled laborer to be a spiritual shepherd. The standards are high, the requirements hard to satisfy (1 Timothy 3:1 7). Not everyone can meet the qualifications, and of those who do, few seem to excel at the task. Spiritual shepherdology demands a godly, gifted, multi skilled man of integrity. Yet he must maintain the humble perspective and demeanor of a boy shepherd. With the tremendous responsibility of leading God's flock comes the potential for either great blessing or great judgment. Good leaders are doubly blessed (1 Timothy 5:17), and poor leaders are doubly chastened (v. 20), for "from everyone who has been given much, much will be required" (Luke 12:48). James 3:1 says, "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment." People often ask me what I think is the secret to Grace Community Church's phenomenal development over the past decades. I always point out first of all that God sovereignly determines the membership of a church, and numbers alone are no gauge of spiritual success. In the midst of tremendous numerical growth, however, the spiritual vitality of our church has been remarkable. I'm convinced God's blessing has been on us primarily because our people have shown a strong commitment to biblical leadership. By affirming and emulating the godly example of our elders, the church has opened the door to extraordinary blessings from the hand of God.

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Pastors / Leadership: Wanted: a Few Good Shepherds (Must Know How to Wash Feet)

Pastors / Leadership www.crosswalk.com

Wanted: a Few Good Shepherds (Must Know How to Wash Feet) Aug 1st 2011, 04:00 Some modern church leaders fancy themselves businessmen, media figures, entertainers, psychologists, philosophers, or lawyers. Those notions contrast sharply with the way Scripture portrays spiritual leaders. In 2 Timothy 2, for example, Paul uses seven different metaphors to describe the rigors of leadership. He pictures the minister as a teacher (v. 2), a soldier (v. 3), an athlete (v. 5), a farmer (v. 6), a workman (v. 15), a vessel (vv. 20 21), and a slave (v. 24). All those images evoke ideas of sacrifice, labor, service, and hardship. They speak eloquently of the complex and varied responsibilities of spiritual leadership. Not one of them makes leadership out to be glamorous. That's because it is not supposed to be glamorous. Leadership in the church - and I'm speaking of every facet of spiritual leadership, not just the pastor's role - is not a mantle of status to be conferred on the church's aristocracy. It isn't earned by seniority, purchased with money, or inherited through family ties. It doesn't necessarily fall to those who are successful in business or finance. It isn't doled out on the basis of intelligence or talent. Its requirements are blameless character, spiritual maturity, and above all, a willingness to serve humbly. Our Lord's favorite metaphor for spiritual leadership, a figure He often used to describe Himself, was that of a shepherd - one who tends God's flock. Every church leader is a shepherd. The word pastor itself means "shepherd." It is appropriate imagery. A shepherd leads, feeds, nurtures, comforts, corrects, and protects. Those are responsibilities of every churchman. Shepherds are without status. In most cultures, shepherds occupy the lower rungs of society's ladder. That is fitting, for our Lord said, "Let him who is the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as the servant" (Luke 22:26). Under the plan God has ordained for the church, leadership is a position of humble, loving service. Church leadership is ministry, not management. Those whom God designates as leaders are called not to be governing monarchs, but humble slaves; not slick celebrities, but laboring servants. Those who would lead God's people must above all exemplify sacrifice, devotion, submission, and lowliness. Jesus Himself gave us the pattern when He stooped to wash His disciples' feet, a task that was customarily done by the lowest of slaves (John 13). If the Lord of the universe would do that, no church leader has a right to think of himself as a bigwig. Shepherding animals is semi skilled labor. There are no colleges that offer graduate degrees in shepherding. It isn't that difficult a job. Even a dog can be trained to guard a flock of sheep. In biblical times, young boys - David, for example - herded sheep while the older men did tasks that required more skill and maturity. Shepherding a spiritual flock is not so simple. It takes more than an unskilled laborer to be a spiritual shepherd. The standards are high, the requirements hard to satisfy (1 Timothy 3:1 7). Not everyone can meet the qualifications, and of those who do, few seem to excel at the task. Spiritual shepherdology demands a godly, gifted, multi skilled man of integrity. Yet he must maintain the humble perspective and demeanor of a boy shepherd. With the tremendous responsibility of leading God's flock comes the potential for either great blessing or great judgment. Good leaders are doubly blessed (1 Timothy 5:17), and poor leaders are doubly chastened (v. 20), for "from everyone who has been given much, much will be required" (Luke 12:48). James 3:1 says, "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment." People often ask me what I think is the secret to Grace Community Church's phenomenal development over the past decades. I always point out first of all that God sovereignly determines the membership of a church, and numbers alone are no gauge of spiritual success. In the midst of tremendous numerical growth, however, the spiritual vitality of our church has been remarkable. I'm convinced God's blessing has been on us primarily because our people have shown a strong commitment to biblical leadership. By affirming and emulating the godly example of our elders, the church has opened the door to extraordinary blessings from the hand of God.

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Pastors / Leadership: Training Camp For Churches?

Pastors / Leadership www.crosswalk.com

Training Camp For Churches? Jul 29th 2011, 04:00 I love football season. The start of NFL camps got me fired up and ready for some football. I wrote a tongue-in-cheek reference to football in my book When Bad Christians Happen to Good People. I looked at how we assemble our church "team" using football imagery. You start with a couple of All-Conference performers and a few other pretty good players. But you also have several who just started playing and don't even know the rules or terminology of the game. Add some dreadfully out-of-shape, middle-aged players who have been around for years, who never work out or train, but who expect to get playing time nonetheless. You have a few who just don't care anymore and don't want to practice, learn the plays or listen to the coach. But you can't cut them from the team or even bench them without causing big problems. There are some who try hard but are too weak or injury prone to be effective. A few regularly miss games and practices without notice and then reappear expecting to play and even start. Toss in some ... umm… "mature" players who remember the way the game was played back when it was really good. You also have some players who think the coaches and assistant coaches are total idiots. Some passionately believe that the offensive game plan is totally wrong and that all the other players need to change to comply with their personal team philosophy... now! And then you have some who try to run their own plays when they go into the game. Many of the players meet regularly at Denny's after each game to disparage the coach and staff after saying grace over a Grand Slam breakfast. How do you think this team would perform? If they ever won a game, it would be a miracle.  Yet that is a rather common blueprint for a church. A team that is all over the map in maturity, knowledge, experience, passion and ability. Is it a surprise that our church team sputters at times? Maybe we should function more like a football team. Hold spiritual tryouts before you let anyone join the church. Cut the most of the rookie believers or send them to another church to gain experience. Waive all of the Christians with bad attitudes or poor work ethic. Fine any church members who are late to meetings or services. Make the deacons run laps when they miss a row while passing the offering basket. Fifty pushups for the pastor if he goes too long (poor clock management). With that kind of discipline you could shape up the church and it would cease to be the body of Christ. The church will always be a little (or a lot) dysfunctional because people like me and you are on the team. So don't be surprised when a committee member fumbles, an elder misses a block or a staff member tosses an interception. Part of our assignment on our church team is learning how to love those we would like to trade or waive. So we might as well keep our eye on the Coach and look for the fun in our dysfunction. Jesus established this team (church) and I am just glad to be on the roster. Paul wrote this to the church at Galatia: Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day's out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ's law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived.  Gal 6 Msg Our training camp paraphrase of Paul's words: Be a good teammate. When someone makes a mistake, get over it, encourage them and be a leader. You might need some encouragement too before the game is over. Help them up and reach out to a teammate that is down. Play as a team according to the Coach's playbook. If you think you are better than your teammates you will hurt the team and yourself. Have a great season! Dave Burchett is an Emmy Award winning television sports director, author, and Christian speaker. He is the author of When Bad Christians Happen to Good People and Bring'em Back Alive: A Healing Plan for those Wounded by the Church. You can reply by linking through daveburchett.com Please Click Here to view Dave's Crosswalk.com blog

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