DreamBuilders Ministry in Motion (DBMIM) Ezine, December 7, 2007

-- The Reconstruction of A Youth Worker: Confessions of a Comic Book Geek by Scott Miller.

-- Book Review: "Grand Weaver: How God Shapes Us Through the Events of Our Lives," by Ravi Zacharias, reviewed by Teena Stewart.

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Continuous and discontinuous change was the theme of my last article. Many ministry leaders find themselves in periods of discontinuous change in their ministry organization, and soon discover that incremental tweaking of their current ministry approaches is no longer adequate. What is required is a different style of leadership than what they might have learned during more stable and predictable times.

Jerry’s experience is a good example of this situation. When he first started as a pastor of the Pleasant Valley Church 20 years ago, he spent most of his time visiting the sick and the bereaved. He worked hard on his sermons. And he attended what meetings were necessary to keep the bills paid. However, those days are gone.

Now Jerry is the pastor at First Main Street Church. Preaching the Word and loving the people no longer seemed adequate for this once strong regional beacon of ministry to serve the community effectively. People in Jerry’s congregation were working harder and harder with less and less to show for it. Now Jerry felt he was spending most of his time attending meetings, all of which had a similar theme. There was never enough money, volunteers, or time available. As the resources seemed to be running out, the challenges continued to grow.

And to make matters worse, the town was changing. More and more people of color were moving into the community, and with them they brought a rich diversity of language, worship styles, and cultural preferences. First Main Street was barely hanging on to what they had, how could they adapt to the new opportunities for ministry just outside their walls?

I am going to share with you my true geekness this month. My buddy, who in my stories and sermons I refer to as Toothless Mark, and I decided to do a guys weekend away. It was not going to be just any weekend away. We had planned for months, booked a hotel, and bought tickets to attend a Comic Book Convention.

This convention we were going to wasn’t one of the big ones you would find in San Diego, New York, or Philadelphia. This is one that is held after Thanksgiving every year in Columbus, Ohio at a convention center next to a really nice hotel.

We were really excited! Since I am the comic book collector and Mark is the student of Pop Culture, there was going to be plenty for each of us. There were venders selling lots of comic books, artists, writers, and the puppets from Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. Moreover, there were even stars like Doug Jones who played the Silver Surfer and Noel Neill who was the original Lois Lane. We were ready! We had a room at the convention hotel. We had our bags ready to shop. Nothing could stop us.

While I was checking into the hotel, Mark wandered around the hotel. We met up after I had taken care of things and I heard him snickering at two guys walking by wearing spandex costumes looking like super heroes. On the elevator with us were a couple of guys dressed like Yoda. On our way out of the hotel that afternoon we walked by the bar and there were more people wearing masks and costumes. I was laughing and Mark was wondering what I had dragged him into.

Seeing all these people dressed up got me thinking. We all wear costumes and masks of sorts. I will admit that at my first full time church in New Jersey I wore a sport coat and tie almost every Sunday. I HATED IT!!!!! But I felt like I had to. I felt that if I didn’t have a tie on, I would be out of place. I was wearing a mask hoping that the people in the congregation would respect my position more if I dressed the part wearing the minister’s uniform.

Ministry in Motion has launched a new blog for readers just like you at http://ministryinmotionnet.blogspot.com/. It is a place to ask questions, exchange ideas, and encourage other ministry leaders in our growing network.

This month Tom Hanover will check the blog posts regularly to respond to questions and share ideas on strategic leadership. Stop by and let us know how ministry is going for you!

International apologist Ravi Zacharias mingles beautiful and unique inspirational stories with reflections on God’s working in our daily lives. Ravi believes there is purpose in even the seemingly mundane events and hardships as our lives are all the handiwork of a Master Weaver.

Zacharias, a nationally recognized speaker, has spoken at locations such as Princeton, Harvard and Oxford. Though one might expect someone with Zacharias’ credentials and accomplishments to be academic in his approach, the book is a refreshing mixture of biblical teaching, apologetics, and a down-to-earth style. The book’s lessons are easy to grasp.

Some of the most delightful aspects of the book are the stories Zacharias’ uses to from his native India to paint a visual image to illustrate his point. In addition, Zacharias looks at how God leaves his divine artist’s mark on our lives through DNA, life disappointments, calling, morality issues, spirituality, our will, worship, and our destiny. After completing this book readers should feel assured that they really do matter and that God carefully weaves the threads of life to make them unique individuals for a unique purpose.

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Be sure to visit Ministry in Motion's Bookshop. Every resource is developed from hands-on church experience. Help members discover their spiritual gifts, how to connect them in ministry and more. Visit MIM's Bookshop.

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Ministry in Motion is looking for columnists & writers in the following areas: women's ministry, men's ministry, single's ministry, youth ministry, worship ministry, small group/bible study ministry, and general ministry. We are also open to general church ministry related freelance articles. If you have an idea for a column or would like to share ministry insight or even short ministry tips, we'd love to hear from you. Present payment is promotion only -- no pay but great exposure for you, your ministry, book, or website. Please read our writer's guidelines here.

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DBMIM Ezine December 7, 2007