Musings on Spiritual Matters

Posted By Matthew on January 27, 2012

I have not updated the blog list on the side of this site for some time now.  Some of the links are old, and need to update anyway.  But I have been thinking about updating it with some new blogs.  There are some guys that are doing some good work in this area and I need to include them in the blog list.  I do not like having a ton of stuff on the list, but having stuff that I personally like.  Also, if you are a friend, I try include you.  There are some new guys that I want to draw attention to in the brotherhood as well.  Shocking, because of people reading this blog, or just spam, it is highly ranked for church of Christ blogs.  So I want to use it to highlight good works in the church.  So here is what I want, if you want your blog noted, do not be shy, and just send me a note, I want to include you.  Also, I want blogs that are updated a lot, once a month does not do it for a good blog, it must be weekly, and if there are months between posts, I am not going to include it on my site.  Just because I want it to be a good refreshed list.  Too many people start blogs, and stop using them.  I want people who are dedicated to the work.  It is hard for me to keep the site updated, but it is something that I committed too, so I want people on the blog list that are too.  Adam Faughn is a good example of what a great blog looks like and operates like.  He updates it often, it is positive and helpful, it is sound, in fact, it is one of the best blogs out there and one of the best run ones too.  He includes stuff I like, for an example, book reviews, he stays away from issues just to have them, but looks at the positive, and really praises people and builds them up.  He has themes somethings, and it is plain to see that he is serious about this area of his ministry.  I highly like his blog, so this is an example of what I am looking for in including a blog on the list.  I have a few blogs in mind, but please send me a note about yours, I do not want to forget some of the good blogs out there.  For an example of a good blog that is not on the list is Neal Pollard’s blog.  I have been watching his for a while, and it is excellent.  Really good stuff.  I also like Tim Spivey’s blog because of his knowledge on leadership, he talks about church issues well.  He is a little more prophetic, but as a blog, it is always a worth while read.  I love his as well, and his needs to be updated on my site.  So guys, help me too if you have recommendations.

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Posted By Matthew on January 25, 2012

There is nothing fancy about this book on preaching.  But this does not mean it is not an excellent text on preaching.  As the book notes, it is serious about preaching the text, but realizes the need to bridge the times to create a relevant message for the church today.  It provides a good model for preaching with three words, happened, happens, and happening.  This process helps the preacher to move from the text to the testimony of the gospel.  One of the best aspects of the book is the practical advice that it provides.  It talks about how to set up the text reading.  It talks about the need to move shifts of paragraphs, and not focus on the details as much.  It is probably one of the most practical preaching books out there.  Another strong element is the section on application.  It talks a lot about how to do this properly.  In one section, it mentions dealing with people rejecting the message because of various reasons.  One is not buying the solution, so the minister has to make a case for why the gospel will work in whatever case the minister is teaching on.  There is also excellent advice on introductions for sermons.  This book is really a “huge how to manual” on preaching.  It mostly deals with all of the elements of a sermon.  Mostly it will help the preacher to expand his tool box.  Too often ministers are not trained in a variety of methods, and only have one or two ways to illustrate, apply, conclude, or open a sermon.  After reading this book, you will have a lot more tools at your disposal.  This is one of the best, and detailed texts I have read on preaching for a while, and I would recommend this to students in school, and young and old preachers.

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Posted By Matthew on January 24, 2012

My friend Greg Tidwell posted this quote from Martin Luther.  It reads “They do not believe they are God’s words. For if they believed they were God’s words, . . . they would tremble before them as before God himself .” This is a powerful quote, but one that is not believed by some.  Maybe you have heard of the church of Christ joke of somebody reading love letters from a husband in bed, it goes that he has returned home from perhaps war, and the wife wants little to do with him because she has his letters instead.  He mentions to her to stop reading the letters and spent time with him.  I believe this is how this joke goes.  Of course it is not told well, and proves the fact that I rarely tell canned jokes because this is definitely not a skill I have.  Of course church members are to laugh at this joke because of the accusation that those in the church are more in love with the Bible than with Jesus Christ.  People have been accused of loving the word of God over Jesus.  But really this is a false dichotomy.  There is no “either/or” situation.  There is no you love the word of God over love for Jesus Christ.  It is really one and the same.  This is evident in the Gospel of John.  The apostle John is writing to a generation that has not experienced Jesus in the flesh.  There is no personal experience that these disciples have had with the risen Lord while he was on earth.  So John is writing to present a case that testifies that belief in the words of God are just as valid as belief with one’s eyes.  Essentially, if you have read the account of Jesus, this knowledge is as good as knowing the bodily Jesus himself.  The words of God testify of Jesus.  In reality, today this, like John’s audience is all we have of Jesus.  And the word of God is sufficient to witnessing Jesus on earth.  So when we read of the word of God we are experiencing God himself through the text.  So Luther’s quote is powerful, because he hit on an eternal truth.  Reading the word of God is like standing before the Lord himself.  So when the word is read, listen, God is speaking to you.

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Posted By Matthew on January 23, 2012

Down the road there is this house with the best light display in the town.  It is amazing, lights everywhere.  The house is the first stop in the Christmas lights tour for the children.  The house is requested by the kids.  The display is beautiful to look at and surely the owners of the house have received numerous praises for the hard work that is evident in the presentation.  The problem is that the lights are still on and it is January 23.  Everyone else in the town have turned the Holiday lights off for the season, but this one house is still showcasing the lights.  One cannot blame them in a way, most people spent an afternoon or one day putting up their lights, while this house must have spent a week.  It would seem reasonable for them to showcase the work a little longer.  But the problem is that we are over the season now.  Instead of rejoicing over the lights, I am annoyed with them.  Turn off  your lights, you Christmas braggers.  It was beautiful while it lasted, but you are killing the displaying by showcasing it too long.  You are ruining a good thing.  It seems that churches do this too.  They take something that is good, and drive it into the ground.  By the end, you are done with it.  It was a good ministry, a good program, a good work, but it was taken too far.  People are sick of it.  Yes, there was a ton of praise, a ton of excitement, a ton of good produced, but it is too much.  The people should have quit long ago, and if someone wanted to start it up again, it would fly, but not now.  They lit the ministry up too long.

So what to do?  Here are some helpful hints.

1. Start Small.  Churches and church members are addicted to the big start.  The church has a great idea for a ministry, and spends a ton of time promoting it, and it starts with a bang, and the only place it has to go is downhill.  It is so much better to start small and allow it to grow.  This way it will have a longer life in the church, and if it grows, this is good, but if it does not, there is a good reason.

2. Establish a time frame.  Not all ministries are developed to last forever.  Or even all year round.  So make a time frame at the beginning, like this is going to go for one year, we have objective goals to reach, if we do not meet these we are going to stop, reorganize, or something else, like a change in leadership.

3. A Program is a Program.  Sometimes people become too attached to a program.  Remember these are tools to accomplish the work of the Lord, not the gospel.  One must remember that fruitfulness is part of faithfulness.  Just because one is being faithful to a program does not mean that it is wise to keep it.

Effective congregations are those that have effective ministries.  One must always remember that “movements” are meant to “move.”

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Posted By Matthew on January 19, 2012

For my readers that are preachers, do you remember those days in school, and especially in undergraduate school in which the teacher would make you quote one of these strange works.  The professor would always require to quotations from to scholarly journals.  You were probably a better student than me, so maybe you read the whole journal, not me, these journals never made sense.  It was like reading German or worst.  So mostly I looked for a line that seemed to make sense and quoted it.  Well done, I got my two articles in there for the mark.  Now graduate school happened, and at these places you had to read them and report on them.  At first this was hard, but with time, and yes 6 years of graduate work, two graduate degrees do that to you, the journal made sense and yes, were interesting.  The journals really honed in on the verses that we were studying.  Mostly, if there was a class without journal articles, I would wonder about the level of it.  But on to the Doctorate level, at this point, funny but you can argue with the articles, yes, they make sense enough that you can actually think through what the guy is saying and disagree.  You can interact with the guy.  So why have I told this little story about scholarly articles, why to help people use them.

1. As ministers, scholarly articles can go to the way side like Greek.  You read them in school, and now you are done.  Most times the level of the article is too much for the average church member.  But do not give up on them, use some of the insight of the articles into your teaching on the text.  The members will love some awesome insights that you can bring from the articles.  Now do not quote them, but explain what the guy is saying in normal talk.  It will add a lot to your preaching and teaching.

2. Some journals are just “up there.”  It is really too much and too technical.  So I recommend “Interpretation”.  This is an excellent semi-scholarly journal that has good articles and a section of sermons and numerous book reviews.  If you want just one, this is the one to have.

3. Continue to think theological.  There is an art to this, and if you do not use it you lose it.  Continue to challenge yourself with this journals.  It might just be you reading for yourself, but you are developing your mind.  This is a wise practice.

Well, hope everyone enjoyed a little walk down journal lane.  This is one of the reasons that I have stayed in school for so long.  It continues to challenge me to grow.  Journals do this, so try to keep this a part of your working for the Lord.

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Posted By Matthew on January 18, 2012

I continue to stay informed concerning the missional dialogue in Christian culture.  This is one of the newer books that has been produced with a missional agenda.  It was written by Michael Frost who is at the forefront of this conversation.  What is interesting about this work is that it is a defense of the missional agenda.  Shocking, after about ten years of missional material being produced, it is starting to be outdated.  People are becoming tired of the missional conversation already.  So the author provides a apologetic of the theology.  He really needs to because lately everything is missional.  Missional is such a buzzword that all ministry in the church is missional.  Sadly, this should be the case and at the some time is not the case.  All ministry should have a missional dynamic, but mostly everything is given a missional name without a missional ministry.  For an example, small groups materials are being produced with a missional perspective, the problem is that those who have studied the dynamics of small groups realizes that these forms of ministry do not produce outreach into the community, there can be serve but typically are not that welcoming to newcomers.  The ministry is good for spiritual formation, but not good for accepting new people into the fold.  Of course this is not to say it cannot happen, it is just that it rarely happens.  Bruce Bates wrote an excellent dissertation on this process some years ago.  But back to the book.  The book is good, and seems to restore some of the purity within the missional movement.  The author is disturbed that missional has become so big that it essentially means nothing today.  It finds it odd that he was at the forefront of this wave of thought but his now considered outdated.  He does a good job of restoring the concept of the missio dei which is the foundation of missional action.  He moves in the correct direction of focusing on spiritual formation to influence the culture around Christians.  And he deals with ministry to the downtrodden well.  The book is not a fresh treatment of the material, but is a good reminder of the foundation thought of the theology.  The author seeks to pull back the reigns on some of the recent material that is being produced under the term missional.  He states correctly that missional is a way of living not an activity that is produced.  He also wants to deliver missional from the product mindset that is developing.  Overall the book attempts to research missional from another church growth program.

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Posted By Matthew on January 17, 2012

Often a minister will turn to John Maxwell for his first information on leadership.  These books are full of helpful suggestions on leading an organization.  The rules or principles are simple, and are motivational.  But with time these books become too simplistic for a complex organization like a church.  One realizes that a “character or charisma” foundation of leadership does not work effectively in a church.  So a minister will turn to other sources.  But sometimes a minister does not know about other existing models.  So here is a quick overview of some of the styles of leadership that I have researched and have used throughout the years.

1. Charisma.  ”If they like you, they will follow you.”  Over the years I have spend some time on this model.  The basis of this approach is to learn good people skills.  In a congregation, it is wise to have a likable personality.  You need to understand conflict resolution, basic principles of human relationships, and a little salesmanship.  A lot of the business material provides a good foundation for this approach.  A book on sales will help you with mirroring and listening skills.  But with all models, there are weaknesses.  No minister, no matter how good, can create change and forward movement with just likableness, because once you introduce change this will create resistance, and you will no longer be liked.  The model is too dependent on the people.  It develops the pipe dream of creating consensus in a church.

2. Character.  ”If they respect you, they will follow you.”  This is certainly a better model because the foundation in on a Christ-like character.  You are to demonstrate certain traits to the people.  If you have the right character, you will have people who will listen and follow you.  A lot of the material out there will draw lessons from other great leaders, and there are always books about the leadership style of Christ.  If you model character people will respect you.  The problem is that all character is weak in some way.  We all of strengths and weaknesses.  This model creates the illusion that if you can perfect your character than all will be good in the church.  The problem, no one is perfect in all areas.  This is not an excuse to develop character, but a realization that the model creates an unrealistic goal.  Also, it is a myth dream because Jesus was perfect and people still rejected him and his leadership.

3. Conviction.  ”If they cannot change  you, they will follow.”  This approach to leadership is from the thought of “self-differentiation.”  You must be convicted on your path of leadership or you will be sidetracked by people and resistance.  Material from Edwin Friedman is the key resource for this approach.  The approach takes into account a systems perspective on the church.  This model is aware of the level of resistance and the amount of  sabotage in a church.  If a person is to lead an organization he must be convicted on the direction one is taking or the people will pull in so many directions that ultimately burn out and depression will take over.  The leader can be so far ahead of the people that the people never understand what is taking place and ultimately reject his influence.

4. Coaching.  ”If they learn of you, they will follow.”  The coaching method would be in line with the equipping thought.  You are working with the people to take the people where they ultimately want to go.  You might have more tools to use, and more training, but instead of you dominating the organization, you are coaching people to better effectiveness.  This is a wise process because you are partnering with people.  The problem is that people must be motivated to move forward.  It assumes motivation on the part of the learner.

These are just a few of the models that I have used and have studied.  With all leadership models there are strengths and weaknesses.  But with a complexity paradigm, you are able to use which model with the correct situation.  Hope these little pieces of information helps you to continue to move forward to be the best servant possible for the Lord.

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Posted By Matthew on January 16, 2012

The way you deal with the eldership within your ministry will bring blessings or cursing on the church.  The most important relationship that a minister will have will be with the elders.  If the relationship goes sour, there will be a split or you will be fired.  But whatever happens, typically it will not be a blessing.  So what to do:

As a minister, your role within the eldership and within a congregation will be different from church to church.  Usually, it is almost impossible to change the role of the minister that an eldership has of his work.  There are typically four roles that a minister will play within an eldership (I am not making Biblical roles here, but noting cultural roles).

1. Hired Hand.  In this approach, the eldership mostly keeps the minister outside the loop in meetings and in the flow of information.  The minister is not allowed into the meetings of the eldership, but must be invited in or must request a hearing.  Rarely does an eldership ask for the input of the minister.  Though, the minister is expected to perform, with little empower to do much.
2. Trusted Advisor.  The minister is invited into the majority of the meetings among the eldership.  He is not given a “vote” or has a definitive say, but is trusted to provide feedback on congregational situations, and is allowed to know confidential information.  He is seen as a partner in the work, but there is a clear hierarchy in decision power.  He is not empowered to make changes without the approval of the eldership.
3. CEO.  The minister runs the church.  He is directly responsible for the health and success of the congregation.  He is given a high level of empowerment, and can make small changes to “day to day” functioning, but must seek approval from the eldership for larger changes.  The eldership will submit to his lead, because he is seen as the most trained and experienced within the leadership team.
4. President. The eldership works for the minister.  Rarely does this level exist in the church, but in cases in which the minister has been a long term servant, or the minister planted a church, the eldership’s role is one given to shepherding solely without empowerment to make changes without the approval of the minister.  The eldership’s role is to support the vision and direction of the lead minister.

Typically the minister functions between the “hired hand” and “trusted advisor” roles.  In this position the minister must balance leadership with submission.  An eldership will be insecure with a minister that seems to seek too much empowerment.  So what can a minister do to guard against gaining control, but still influencing the congregation for good?  Here are four tactics:

1. Be a Pulse Taker.  You are in the know on congregational thoughts and feelings.  You are to communicate this information to the eldership.
2. Be a Vision Amplifier.  You are mostly the mouth for the eldership.  If there is a direction the eldership wants to lead the congregation, you voice this as much as possible.  You are to support the vision with sermons and conversations.
3. Be a Leader Multiplier.  You are spending time with people a lot, so look to recruit people to the mission that the eldership has set forth for the church.  Bring people to the work, to support the work of the eldership.
4. Be a Gap Filler.  There are going to be times in which you must function as the leader in a certain charge or role.  Step up when it is appropriate.  Help bridge the gap between the elder’s desires and the congregation’s perceptions.

There is always discussion over the role of the minister within an eldership.  Trusted partners, same empowerment, just different roles, employee, lead minister, pulpit minister with long term tenure, whatever the role or the debate, often the minister must function with a paradigm of subordination.  Ultimately, the eldership is going to direct the congregation according to how they feel the church should go.  Therefore, being a minister within the churches of Christ means you are subordinate to the eldership.  There is an art in being in this role, here is how:

1. Never Publicly Disagree with the Eldership.  Yes, you will believe they are wrong on various occasions, but if it is not a spiritual matter, submit and advocate for the eldership.  You will create division faster than oil and water in not practicing this rule.
2. Develop Friendships of conversation, and partnerships of trust.  Develop a true friendship with all of your individual elders, and disagree in those times over coffee and food, but prove yourself trustworthy that at the end of the day, you will support them no matter what.  An elder that can see that you disagree but can still encourage one of their ideas will stay receptive to your thoughts for long-term.
3. Praise Them From the Pulpit.  Your feelings about the eldership will spread throughout the church.  If the church hates the eldership, take some responsibility.  Your hidden feelings will resonant with or without you.

The best way to maintain a positive working relationship with the eldership is to maintain a positive friendship.  The most important relationships you will have in the church are with the elders.  If you neglect this, you are neglecting the future of the church you are serving with.  Here is how to do this:

1. Call. Never allow all of your communication with an elder be in meetings.  In meetings there are group dynamics taking place, and the true self will not always be exposed, so make calls to your elders to connect with them.
2. Invite into the Home.  On a yearly basis, you should have a meal for all of your elders.  Make sure each elder is in your home once a year at a minimum.
3. Show some Appreciation.  It is a thankless job being an elder, so give them gifts, write them notes, do something to show that you care.

Finally, it would not be a proper lesson for the minister from me without a reading list:

1. How to Make Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.
2. Leading from the Second Chair by Mike Bonem and Roger Patterson.
3. The Work of the Preacher is Working by Tom Holland.
4. All in the Family: An Elder and His Preacher Sons on Elder/Minister Relationships by Gene Newton, Glenn Newton, and Mark Newton.

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Posted By Matthew on January 12, 2012

Well, Bama won another National Championship.  Even writing these words is painful.  Well, my beloved Vols did not even make a bowl game.  How painful?  I must admit I envy Bama fans these days.  Every week is a big game, all the big recruits want to play for your program, you can hire the best coaches, and everything is just going your way, well not that big Auburn game, needed to say that.  It must be great to be a Alabama fan these days.  I wish the Vols were doing better.  We are losing recruits, we are losing coaches, and we are losing games.  It looks bad, and there does not seem to be light too quickly.  Now I did not grow up in Tennessee, I did not go to the University, so why be a Vols fan, I was a complete free agent, but some how I became a huge Vols fan.  Maybe I should switch.  Red might even look better on me according to my wife who hates the Vols orange.  BUT I CANNOT!  Vol for life.  I believe ministers feel the same way about churches sometimes.  You hear about this awesome church that is growing, you hear about this great place that can do no wrong, and about the great elders and members and this and that.  And you wish, maybe envy that church, and hope that you could just be the minister there.  Or maybe if your church was more like that church, than everything would be better.  You wonder, why are they so successful, and you cannot be invited to a small church for a gospel meeting.  And there are ministers that move to bigger churches, and you never get a call from anyone.  And you wonder, why does it seem everyone else is growing and going.  I believe ministers feel this a lot, feel down on themselves.  It is normal and natural.  But I remember the words of Paul Rogers, from the Centerville congregation in Tennessee.  He was getting calls to leave, he was helping a church grow, and he stayed for years and years, why?  Because loyalty still counts.  Trust me, a church would rather have a minister who is loyalty than some hot shot preacher.  A church would rather have a loving minister than one using the church as a stepping stone.  So what, that you do not speak on the big programs, your members do not care, and only preachers care.  Love the people that God has given you, and be loyal to them.  Stay committed to the church, and the people will stay committed to you.

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Posted By Matthew on January 9, 2012

Over the last little while, it seems my blog has been given to issues.  Not doctrinal issues, but internet issues.  Not sure what is taking place, but fortunately, my brother who is an expert in these matters will help to get it fixed.  Sorry for the problems, and maybe the majority of people will not know this is even happening because the blog is stuck on November 15th.  This is very sad, because I do enjoy writing the blog and allow people a little look into the life of Matthew and my work.  A lot of good has been happening over the last month or so.  So anyway, I hope to get this all fixed up soon, and hopefully I have not lost too many readers.  There is also another issue on the comment section.  It seems that people cannot comment because the code is not showing up.  Sorry about this.  Well, here is to fixing the blog and continuing to do the Lord’s work.

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