A Return to Pentecost

May 8, 2008 at 10:05 am (Holy Spirit)

           Several years ago, I heard the story of Larry Walters, a 33-year-old man who decided he wanted to see his neighborhood from a new perspective. He went down to the local army surplus store one morning and bought forty-five used weather balloons. That afternoon he strapped himself into a lawn chair, to which several of his friends tied the now helium-filled balloons. He took along a six-pack of beer, a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich, and a BB gun, figuring he could shoot the balloons one at a time when he was ready to land.

 

            Walters, who assumed the balloons would lift him about 100 feet in the air, was caught off guard when the chair soared more than 11,000 feet into the sky–smack into the middle of the air traffic pattern at Los Angeles International Airport. Too frightened to shoot any of the balloons, he stayed airborne for more than two hours, forcing the airport to shut down its runways for much of the afternoon, causing long delays in flights from across the country. Soon after he was safely grounded and cited by the police.

 

            Poor Larry had a goal in mind, but he was ill-prepared to reach it. I find that something similar happening in our churches today. We talk about the need to reach the unchurched and bring them to salvation in Christ, but most of us are not prepared to see that take place.

 

            I imagine most of us are familiar with the historical account of Pentecost Luke recorded for us in Acts 2. We marvel at the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the early disciples. We read Peter’s sermon and can feel the conviction of his words. We consider the results of his message and have to read the passage again to make sure it was really 3,000 people who responded to the invitation and repented and were baptized that day.

 

And we admire the beginnings of the Jerusalem church — how they devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, to prayer, and to a continual emphasis on the Lord’s adding to their number daily those who were being saved.

 

            Perhaps you join with me in a desire to see our churches return to the Day of Pentecost. We want to experience the excitement that the first church experienced. We want to be used by God to impact our world in the way the Jerusalem church was used to impact theirs. We want to be so in touch with the Holy Spirit that our message will bring conviction and repentance to those who are outside of Christ. And we don’t doubt that these things are possible today, but we’re not sure quite where to begin. Before we can see lasting results in our witness and ministry, we must be empowered from on high. We must experience a modern Pentecost in which the Holy Spirit energizes us for bold outreach.

            There must come a point where we as individuals and collectively as churches desire and invite the Holy Spirit to rekindle the flame that has been put out. Now it is time to pray for more boldness, more holiness, more faith, and more results as we place our future in the hands of God. Where to begin? In your own heart! We could go over a 10-point plan, attend another seminar, or watch some more training videos, but that isn’t what is really needed. What is needed most of all in this hour is for you and me to personally surrender ourselves to God’s direction. When you do this, and I do this, it is only a matter of time before others join us. And in time, God will bless us with an outpouring of power like we’ve only dreamed of in the past. Join with me in inviting the fresh breeze of the Holy Spirit into our midst.

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Caring Relationships

May 5, 2008 at 8:33 am (Pastoral)

The Crow Wing Power and Light Company is headquartered in Baxter, Minnesota, serving small towns and rural areas. Inside the front cover of the employee’s handbook is printed, “People Don’t Care How Much You Know; People Care How Much You Care.” Now, this slogan is an overstatement. Obviously people expect their utility company to have the necessary technical knowledge about electricity, power lines, circuits, and monthly statements. But technical information is not enough. Customers want to be treated as people with wants, needs, and feelings. They want to know that they are more than just meters – they want care.

 

In case you haven’t noticed, a revolution has already begun in North American culture and churches making care far more important. An earlier generation asked the churches for knowledge. Local churches were chosen because of denominational labels and the attractiveness of preaching. Once the selection was made, relationships usually followed.

 

Increasingly we find that relationships come first. The world that we live in today has been left hungry for love and care. Tens of millions of Americans have grown up in dysfunctional families, have experienced broken relationships, live far from grandparents, or otherwise feel deprived of love, intimacy, and community. In a word, they just want someone to care. Where should they experience love more than from the church?

 

Please don’t misunderstand what I’m saying here. In no way am I implying that biblical knowledge and solid Christian faith are unimportant or unnecessary. Obviously, they are essentially important. The church is not the church without truth any more than the power company is a power company without electricity. For Christians there is no choice between truth and love – both are essential. But for too long this mix has been completely out of balance.

 

A quick survey of the Gospels will show that Jesus modeled care and truth, usually in that order. It was not until the blind saw, the adulterer was forgiven, or the lame walked that they were ready to see the truth of the Messianic message.

 

In the last few months we have had people attend our church for the first time who were on the verge of divorce, had children that were in detention centers, were contemplating suicide, some addicted to various substances – you name it, they are coming to the church for answers. But more than that, they are coming to church because, for many, this is their last chance to find some people that actually care about them. We can look at them in their pain and argue with them about denominationalism, millennial theories, or the use of musical instruments, or we can wrap our arms around them and show them the love of Jesus Christ.

 

            If we will seize the opportunities that God is placing in our midst, present and future generations will be incorporated into our churches through caring relationships. With those relationships they will become Christians, learn the Bible, and develop as obedient disciples of our Lord. If we do not seize the opportunity, these same people will be lost.

 

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me’ (Matthew 25:34-40, NIV).

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Facing the Cultural Challenge

May 2, 2008 at 9:30 am (evangelism)
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           Anyone who serves in any ministry capacity understands that there is a huge challenge that we are faced with as we reach out to this and coming generations with the gospel of Jesus Christ. What is the challenge? We must minister to our culture without compromising our message. We face the same challenge that missionaries on foreign fields have faced for years – the need to reach people groups that do not speak the same language that we do, do not share our value system, and do not accept God’s Word as the authority for their lives. The foreigners of whom I speak are in reality not foreigners at all, but natives of this and other civilized countries that have not yet been reached with the grace centered message of the Christ. Briefly, let me state four ways that we can answer the challenge before us:

           

            1) We Must Obtain a Biblical Worldview

 

A worldview is quite simply the lenses through which we see our world. Whether you realize it or not, we all have a worldview. What we need to do is make sure that our worldview is in line with the Bible’s.

 

There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28).

 

If we are going to see people through Jesus’ eyes, if we are to have His worldview, we will not base our feelings and attitudes on a person’s skin color, their nationality, their language, or their social status. We are not concerned initially with their acceptance or non-acceptance of God’s Word as truth. We cannot attempt to categorize people into areas of personal preference and only focus on them, but set our sights on reaching all kinds of people, including those who despise us as Christians. We will love everyone as God’s special creation.

 

Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth–to every nation, tribe, language and people. (Revelation 14:6)

 

            The gospel is for all people at all times. Not only do we love these people as God’s children, we embrace them as equals. Whether they look like us, sound like us, or even repudiate our message, it does not change the fact that they have the same need that all of us have – that of a relationship with Jesus Christ.

 

            2) We Must Embrace New Methodologies

 

            The Pharisees approached Jesus and wondered why His disciples weren’t fasting (why they weren’t keeping the Law). Jesus responded in Mark 2:21-22:

 

“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins.”

 

            These two brief parables of the old garment and old wineskins illustrate the incompatibility of the old system of Jewish law and tradition with the new cloth and new wine of the gospel of Christ. Jesus was always being questioned about the different methods He used. Jesus embraced what was new and effective for ministry. Jesus was the Master of presenting truth in the language of His culture. He used objects, seeds, soil, situational parables, coins, camels, fig trees – all things that his audiences could readily identify with. And much of the methodology we must employ will do the same thing – whether it be drama, video, art, music, or stories, they need to be used to present the gospel in ways that our culture can identify with.

 

              3) We Must Be Creative in Worship

 

Praise the LORD. Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints. (Psalms 149:1)

 

And they sang a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. (Rev. 5:9)

 

God wants His church to sing a “new song” – He wants us to creatively worship Him in our assemblies. This in no way means that we cannot continue praising God with the grand old hymns, but neither does it mean we can shut out the new songs God is calling His people to sing. This is not an either/or situation, it is a both/and situation. God can and should be praised with any musical style that can be used to reach people with the gospel message. The use of instruments of praise (Psalms 150) that our culture can relate to must be employed in the ministry of the gospel. Music in and of itself is amoral. But we can take any genre and transform it into music that is offered in praise to God.

 

              4) We Must Practice the Art of Becoming

 

Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. – 1 Corinthians 9:19-23

 

To follow Paul’s example is not easy – in fact, it does not come naturally, it only comes supernaturally. We can only adapt to, and minister to our culture, when we make an absolute commitment to it as did Paul. I am not talking about compromising biblical truth, but being flexible in our approach to both evangelism and ministry.

 

            In 1865 an editorial in the Boston Post read, “Well-informed people know it is impossible to transmit their voices over wires, and even if it were possible, the thing would not have practical value.” In 1897 Lord Kelvin said, “Radio has no future.” Thomas Watson, Chairman of IBM in 1943 said, “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” Ken Olson, President of Digital Equipment Corporation stated in 1977, “There is no reason why anyone would want a computer in their home.”

 

            While I’m sure these were all fine men, they were not visionaries and they did not understand the changes that were to come to their world. As the church and individual Christians, let us not make the same mistake that they did. Our culture is radically changing before our very eyes, let’s be ready for it, with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

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Your Own Sermon Research Team

May 1, 2008 at 2:43 am (Sermon Helps)
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Have you ever wished you had an assistant to help you to do research for your sermons, Bible studies, and other talks that you prepare? Have you ever thought to yourself, “If I was pastoring a megachurch, I’d have a full-time assistant to help me find illustrations, statistics, and other helpful material…then I wouldn’t get so overwhelmed with all this work I have to do”?

The good news is, that whether you are pastoring a church of 10 or 10,000, you can get the help that you need. If you are willing to lay a little groundwork, and plan your preaching and teaching ahead of time, all the assistance you need is sitting out in your auditorium on Sunday morning.

Here’s what you need to do:

1) Announce that you are looking for three or four people who are interested in doing research (especially online). Or you can handpick people who you think would do a good  job.

2) Meet with this group of people once every couple of months and give them the topics you will be preaching and teaching on for the next eight weeks or so, along with the Biblical references you will base those talks on. Of course, give them at least a two-week lead.

3) Ask them to search for any material that would help you to illustrate the upcoming messages that you have provided topics/texts for. Ask them to search for interesting stories, fresh statistics, jokes, etc… and to e-mail those to you at least a week prior to your message.

You will be absolutely amazed at the amount of material that you will have at your disposal if you choose the right people to help you with this. And they will be very, very glad to know that they were able to assist you. The first time they hear you use a story that they sent you, you will be able to see the satisfaction on their face.

A couple of things you must remember:

1) You need to remind your research team that you will not be able to use all the material they send you. Let them know that you are going to file any material you can’t use and hopefully be able to use it at a later time.

2) Constantly thank them and let them know how much you appreciate the great work they are doing for you. And believe me, once you put this system in place, you will be truly grateful!

Oh, one more thing…once you’ve tried this out for awhile, drop me a line and let me know how it’s going. Or better yet, post a comment on this blog to let everyone else know how helpful this practical suggestion has been to your work of ministry.

In Christ,

Barry

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