MIM Ezine, October 22, 2008

-- Running A.M.O.K. Creative Arts Ministry: Motivations...More or Less?, by DC Weiss.

-- Book Review: "Simple Little Words: What You Say Can Change a Life", written by Michelle Cox & John Perrodin, reviewed by Teena Stewart.

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I’ve been writing and reviewing non Christian books for some time and I also read both secular and Christian fiction on occasion. Books are an important part of me. Many of the books I read I pass on to others simply because I don’t have room to store them. However, I have a special bookshelf for special books that are keepers. These are the ones I deem classics, or that strike a special chord in my heart. These are the books I love to read over and over again.

Not long ago when I put out the word that we were looking for additional books to review in MIM ezine, several fiction writers asked if I would consider reviewing fiction as well. With DreamBuilder’s Ministry in Motion’s focus on equipping church leaders, how would fiction fit in?

I wrestled with that question and then decided to discuss it with Dennis Mohler and Tom Hanover my two DBMIM business partners. We all agreed that if fiction tied into our purpose, we would be open to giving fiction reviews a try. So, don’t be surprised if in future ezine issues you see a fiction review or two.

I realize that not every likes to read fiction. It’s not my husband’s favorite. But I have found it important to include fiction in my reading for several reasons. The first and most obvious reason is that it’s entertaining. Every leader needs the opportunity to kick back and relax, especially after the tough things we sometimes face in ministry. Fiction certainly provides that escape opportunity. I enjoy crawling into my special reading chair in my bedroom with a hot cup of tea and perusing a book at my leisure in the early morning or late evening.

Fiction can also challenge us to think about deeper issues. For instance, I recently read a fiction book by Francine Rivers set in the days of the early Roman Empire. The lead character was a Jewish slave who was a believer. The book made me ask, “If I knew that admitting I was a Christian would almost certainly lead to my death, would I take that risk?” It made me squirm.

Other fiction books have caused me to consider ethical situations. For instance, is deliberately deceiving people to keep yourself or someone else safe really sin? Or, is it a sin to do nothing when you really don’t have to get involved if your lack of action causes evil to flourish? Fiction often causes me to see my own strengths and weaknesses through a character’s eyes. I’ve known people who have come to faith or strengthened their faith because of a work of fiction

At one church where I served, the library space was tight and the mix of books included fiction and non-fiction. Both sexes used the library, but women were predominant by far. When our senior pastor decided to ax the fiction section because he personally didn’t see the value of fiction, the outcry among those who read those books was great. By eliminating this resource he unwittingly cut out an excellent mentoring tool.

If you are one who believes that the only good Christian book is nonfiction, my hope is that you might reconsider after reading this article. Fiction and leader equipping--do they really go hand in hand? You bet!

Now, excuse me while I retrieve that book I just set aside. Let’s see…where was I?...”

Teena Stewart is married to an ordained minister and is a published author, ministry consultant and coach. Her book, Successful Small Groups from Concept to Practice is available through Beacon Hill, November 2007 or on her small groups page (http://www.ministryinmotion.net/group_bibles_studies.html.) The Stewarts are in the process of starting a coffee shop ministry in North Carolina. (http://www.javajourney.org). Email comments and questions to Teena at Smartwords@embarqmail.com

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Got a bee in your bonnet? Need help in a ministry area? Found a great resource or website? Got a goofy video or link to share. Want to share about your ministry or book? Email us atsmartwords@embarqmail.com. As long as it's ministry-related, we're open. If we like it we might post it on our blog. Visit our blog at http://ministryinmotionnet.blogspot.com/

What motivates you to do what you do? Fame? Power? Money? Maybe something more altruistic, like making the world a better place? In my conversations with artists, I usually hear things like glorifying God and pointing people to Jesus. That is awesome, but sometimes as I dig in with artists, I find there are other things conflicting with those noble purposes. My confession is as I search my own heart, I find the same thing. This article is not pointing fingers, but rather asking us to look at the example of a great man of God from the Bible and allow the Word of God to convict us and change our motivations.

In the Bible we read about John the Baptist. John’s whole purpose in life was to prepare the way for Jesus and point people to Him when He came into their midst. In the process, John had amassed a large group of followers. Then Jesus came and the people started leaving John’s ministry and started following Jesus. (You can read the whole story for yourself in John 3) Well, some of John’s followers saw the people leaving John for Jesus and started to get pretty upset. However, John did not let this bother him. On the contrary, he saw that the purpose of his life’s work was fulfilled.

He said, "A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.' The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.” (John 3:27-30)

My fellow artists and Christ Followers, the point of John’s life is also the point of all who call themselves followers of Christ. We are in this world to point people to Jesus and prepare them for His return. Remember He is coming back. Since this is the point of our lives, it’s not about us and it’s not about our art, it’s about submitting our wills to the Father and pointing to Jesus. And so each day, He must become greater and we must become less until when people look at us they see Him.

I did a video this week which can be seen on the amokarts youtube channel that illustrates this point. In it, I don’t say a word. I simply paint a picture of Jesus. In my videos you rarely see my face, just my arm and my brush. This video is different. I am doing a kind of art called Reverse Glass Painting. Instead of a canvas, I am using an old window. In the beginning all you see is me, but as the image of Jesus becomes more and more complete I become less and less visible until I can’t be seen at all. That’s how our lives as Christ following artists should be. If we love Jesus, every aspect of our lives should show His image to the world. Our lives should be worship to the Lord and ministry to the world. I’m not all the way there yet either, but that’s what I want to grow into.

If you’re a Christ follower, you follow Jesus and that was Jesus’ life. In your relationship with Jesus, who is really greater? Do you need to become less? Give it all to Jesus, serve Him faithfully and trust Him. He is faithful, he wants to use you in this world and He has an awesome plan for your life. He loves you and He will use you, but He must become greater and you (and I) must become less.

DC (David) Weiss is pastor of New Creation Fellowship in Reading, PA and has been a professional in the graphic communications/visual arts field for over 20 years. A few years ago, he felt led by the Spirit to combine his love for art and ministry and A.M.O.K. (Arts Ministry Outreach for the Kingdom) was born. A.M.O.K. is a ministry dedicated to helping people of all creative disciplines and ability levels to use their God given gifts to serve the Lord in preaching, teaching and reaching. More information on A.M.O.K. including free and low cost resources for preaching teaching and reaching can be found at http://radicallyreal.truepath.com/amok.

My earliest Halloween memory is of attending a Halloween party at a friend’s house. One of the first activities we engaged in was a strange practice called bobbing for apples. This was a weird ritual where we kids were encouraged to dunk our heads in a tub of water in a quest for food. What kind of place was I in where they made kids stick their heads in tubs of water just for a bite to eat? What did they do when kids were thirsty? “Oh you want something to drink? Here’s a straw and a sandbox.”

But Halloween was always a scary time for me when I was growing up. Not because of all the ghosts and goblins and such, but because my mom made all my costumes. Every kid knows that an acceptable Halloween costume must either be scary or cool, and Mom’s costumes fell short on both counts. I was that kid walking around the neighborhood wearing the nasty old worn-out sheet. It’s hard to look like a ghost if your sheet has three years of slobber stains on it.

After a while, Mom just quit trying. She would send me out the door on Halloween night in my normal clothes and say, “Tell the neighbors you’re dressed up like a kid who can’t afford a costume.” Even worse than Mom’s costumes, though, were the hand-me-down costumes from my older siblings. This wouldn’t have been so bad if my older siblings hadn’t all been girls. It was humiliating and there was no talking my way out of it either. I tried convincing my friends that I was wearing Superman’s summer costume but they knew a Wonder Woman costume when they saw it.

So, thus outfitted, we kids would forage for goodies in our neighborhood. When we got home with the spoils of our evening, my parents made us dump our candy on the table for inspection. One solid rule of inspection was that we kids could not eat anything that was not professionally wrapped for fear that someone might have poisoned it, which was just fine with me. What kind of nut gives a kid an apple or popcorn ball for Halloween anyway?
All I wanted was chocolate. That’s it. Just chocolate! Sure, I was willing to wade through a few Smarties and Sweet Tarts, but making me trudge around the neighborhood dressed up like Wonder Woman for an apple just seemed wrong. How tough is it to stock up on a few bags of Snickers or Milky Ways anyway, for crying out loud?
The candy my parents were offering wasn’t much better though. The kids visiting my house got a handful of that peanut butter taffy wrapped in the black and orange wrappers. This was (and I believe still is) the nastiest and cheapest candy known to man. Back then, you could go out and buy a dump-truck load of the stuff for about a buck seventy-nine, and it’s even cheaper today. They still use this candy in hospitals in some parts the country to induce vomiting if a patient has swallowed a poisonous popcorn ball.

Today, I believe that my heavenly father is looking out for me in the exact same way. I think that sometimes we think faith is having enough spiritual muscle to keep all the “candy” that we can in our lives. But could it be that sometimes faith is trusting God to remove the things in our lives that he doesn’t deem fit for us? It really just comes down to who is in control of our lives, doesn’t it?

So once again, here comes Halloween. But don’t look for me to ever don the Wonder Woman costume again. Not that I don’t still have the legs for it, though.

© 2008 Charles Marshall. Charles Marshall is a nationally known Christian comedian and author. Visit his Web site at www.charlesmarshallcomedy.com or contact him via e-mail at charles@charlesmarshallcomedy.com.

In this MIM issue Chad Pollard continues his discussion of principles for reaching younger generations for Christ.

Whatever the strategy, your church must prayerfully consider offering a worship format that targets the younger generations, and at the same time does not isolate your existing members.

Because we attract people with whom we have a lot in common, members of aging churches often do not have a network of relationships among the younger generations. If a church has any hopes of reaching younger generations, the members must be intentional about establishing relationships with them. As a practical exercise, encourage church members to make a list of all their younger or unchurched friends and acquaintances. After compiling this list, have them prayerfully and specifically target one or two younger individuals with whom they can better build a relationship. Building these relationships makes it much easier to invite them to a worship service or another ministry of your church.

Studies conducted by Whitesel and Hunter have shown that as many as 8 out of 10 people join a church as a result of a personal invitation from a friend or family member Personal invitations are the best way to connect younger generations to your church.

Many times pastors and church leaders don’t like to get feedback because they are afraid of what it might reveal, but it is essential if a church is going to effectively reach younger generations. Evaluation should be a vehicle through which churches can obtain valuable information from both members and guests. If you are embarking upon a new vision and strategy to reach younger generations, their feedback regarding your success or failure in reaching them will help you make appropriate adjustments as you continue to move forward.

Feedback can be obtained formally through written evaluations of worship services and ministries, and it can be obtained informally through conversations with existing members, guests, and community residents. Whitesel suggests asking questions such as (1) “What can we as a church do better?” (2) “What are the needs of people your age that we should address?” and (3) “Could you tell me some improvements that we could make at (church name)?” Through both formal and informal means, it will be important to allow a forum for feedback from the younger generations you are attempting to reach.

Many times the prevailing thought among leaders in an aging church is that the younger generations are “the church of tomorrow.” This mindset will hinder a church’s ability to experience growth among a younger demographic. Younger leaders are needed in the church to provide energy, enthusiasm, and innovative ideas to reach their own generation. Whitesel and Hunter suggest that committees and leadership teams should reflect the generational ratios of the community, or at the very least, your congregation.

When combined with the experience and wisdom of older leaders within the church, this multi-generational leadership structure can be springboard for reaching the younger generations within your community. Another option is for a church to hire a young pastor when an opening becomes available. The reasoning is simple: younger pastors tend to attract younger people. The pastor and church leadership working together, could then formulate a strategy for reaching them.

It has often been said, “Save the best for last.” It cannot be overstated how important prayer is to your success in reaching younger generations. Church leaders should not make decisions based upon the latest fad or newest strategy. Instead, they should sift through all of the information and diligently seek the direction of the Holy Spirit through prayer. Every step of the way should be bathed in prayer.

Churches hoping to reach the younger generations should spend a considerable amount of time praying for them and with them. Prayer should focus equally on the needs of the churched as well as the needs of the unchurched. Whitesel calls this 50/50 prayer. Pray that God (1) would open doors of opportunity to reach the younger generations with the gospel, (2) would give your church members a vision for reaching them, and (3) would give your church leadership direction in developing a specific strategy to reach them.

In addition to praying for them, develop multi-generational prayer opportunities within your church such as prayer triplets, prayer chains, prayer partners, neighborhood prayer groups, or concerts of prayer. Whatever the method, prayer will be the most important component in your ability to reach and effectively minister to younger generations.

If you find yourself leading or attending an aging congregation, there is hope for the future of your church! But it will take an intentional approach that is inclusive of multiple generations. Your church doesn’t have to be another headline!

Ø Which of these principles can we implement immediately? When and how will we implement this principle?

Ø Is our church willing to bring young people into leadership, knowing that they will have new methods and ideas that may make us uncomfortable at times?

Ø Can you identify the three major needs of the people within your community? How will you intentionally address those needs?

Arn, C. (1997). How to start a new service: your church can reach new people. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books

Malpurs, A. (1998). Planting growing churches in the 21^st century. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books

McIntosh, G. (2002). One church four generations: understanding and reaching all ages in your church. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.

Whitesel, B. (2004). Growth by accident, death by planning: how not to kill a growing

Whitesel, B. & Hunter, K. (2000). A house divided: bridging the generation gaps in your church. Nashville: Abingdon Press.

U.S. Census Bureau. (2000). “Profiles of General Demographic Characteristics.”

Chad Pollard is on staff at the Church of God (Holiness) in El Dorado
Springs, Missouri where he has served for over two years as the Director of
Ministries and is a graduate ministry student at Indiana Wesleyan
University. He has a passion for connecting people to the body of Christ through small groups, seeing dying churches come back to life and health, and seeing
God's Kingdom move forward through new church plants. He is currently
developing a church planting strategy for his denomination.

Michelle Cox & John Perrodin, Honor Books, 2008, ISBN-13 978-1-4347-9997-5, 232 pages

What you say to someone else, whether as words of encouragement or disparagement can profoundly affect his/her life for years to come. Cox and Perrodin share some of their own positive and negative experiences and have gathered together an impressive array of authors, speakers, celebrities and everyday people who share stories of how other people’s words have impacted them.

The compilation covers many different themes: self-esteem, ability, divorce, step-parenting and many more. Some of the tales reveal heart-wrenching wounds inflicted by vicious or callous attitudes of others, or amazing thoughtfulness through comments sometimes made by strangers.

The list of contributors includes many notables: Best selling novelist Karen Kingsbury, Jim Daly (President and CEO of Focus on the Family), Brandon Heath (a Dove-nominated songwriter), Pat Gelsinger (Senior Vice President of Intel Corporation), S. Truett Cathy (Founder of Chick-fil-A), McNair Wilson, (Disney Imagineer), and many others.

Simple Little Words will make an excellent gift for a friend or someone you know who needs encouragement. Once you have read it, you’ll be much more aware of the weight your words carry, for good or ill on the people subjected to them.

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