Zach Zehnder's Blog, page 17

3 Reasons Pastors Don’t Develop Other Pastors

2 Timothy 2:1-2 You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from Me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.

For the month of March we are looking at the future of pastoral ministry. We’ve looked at topics like: There’s a Pastoral Crisis Right Now. Don’t Believe These 5 Lies!, 5 Predictions if Pastors Really Did Quit and 80% of Pastoral Transitions Fail. Here’s 5 Keys to Healthy Pastoral Succession. Many pastors are tired and exhausted, and record-numbers are thinking about quitting. If this is the case, how can we set up the church well in the future?

When I think of someone who is brilliant with raising up and developing pastors and leaders in the church, I think of my good friend (and accountability partner) Rev. Dr. Tim Ahlman. Today, he tackles the topic of why pastors don’t naturally develop other pastors.

As you read, I hope you are stirred to action.

Without further ado, here are his words.

My life’s call is to develop hundreds of vocational and bi-vocational church leaders to multiply the Gospel of Jesus to millions long after I’m dead. I thought that more pastors should have some form of my life call as their own for a while. But, over time, I’ve discovered my life call is a bit unique.

I’m not saying this to shame others. Not everyone should have this life call. All vocations are equal. Nonetheless, I’m surprised and saddened more pastors don’t develop other pastors as a part of their ministry responsibility.

Here are three reasons why.

1. Pastors were never taught that developing other pastors was on their job description. 

I’ve been blessed to serve at two mission-hearted churches. There are so many people who are on fire for the Gospel. Nonetheless, I went back and looked at my initial job description, and neither call specifically named “developing other pastors” as a part of my job. Yet, I am proud to say that both congregations are now deeply invested in discipleship (which is leadership development).

My job description on my call documents is the norm. The vast amount of congregations call pastors to do ministry rather than develop a team of ministers to help them do their work. 

I was called to preach the Word and rightly administer the Sacraments because the body of Christ desperately needs them. Someone has to do it, and I am privileged to do it. Yet, when one man, though rightly called, offers Word and Sacrament day in and day out, the congregation is led to believe that he alone can do this work. It is the primary way we’ve done ministry for some time, especially in smaller churches.

This was not the way of Jesus, who called and sent 12 and 72 disciples to do what He did (Luke 9 and 10). This was also not the way of the apostle Paul. Instead, he identified men of character with teaching gifts, ordained them, and gave these “overseers” the right to start churches and partner in Word and Sacrament ministry.

Churches, please expect new pastors to develop, not just do. Seminary professors, please teach future pastors the same. Pastors cannot develop toward this end if they’ve not been taught.

This next one may pinch a little bit.

2. Pastors love being “the guy.” 

I was speaking to a dear older saint this past week. She told me about her former pastor from the midwest being the “senior pastor” of a large church for a decade. Then, out of nowhere, this pastor had a mental breakdown and left the ministry. She told me he took a job as a pizza delivery guy for a time (no offense to pizza delivery guys).

She looked at me with sadness in her eyes and said, “Can you imagine being the ‘king of the hill’ and then losing your position almost overnight? That must have been hard.”

I nodded and said, “I pray our hill is a humongous plateau that includes hundreds of leaders equally leading Christ’s church.”

Being “king of the hill” sounds like a vulnerable place to be. It’s lonely at the top. Jesus knows the feeling. The cross of Calvary proves it. The humility of the cross leveled the hill into a plateau. All have sinned. All need the grace of Jesus through faith. The curtain has been torn open. All get to use their gifts to elevate the King as the only “King of the hill.”

It is so easy to want to be “the guy.” Satan whispers, “Wow. Look at all the people coming to hear you speak. You’re kind of a big deal.” It is easy to believe this lie. This lie can lead toward the spiritual death of pastors and their people. Humans love elevating humans. Elevate Jesus! Look right through pastors and see Jesus. Listen to pastors and hear Jesus.

Pastor, you are nothing more than a vessel for the Lord. A vessel is nothing but a vessel. What is inside is the true treasure. Proclaim His Word and let Him work.

Finally, if you battle pride, start to develop others who are more gifted than you at some of your ministry tasks. They are there. Trust me. I have so many of them in my congregation.

3. Pastors are lazy. 

Sorry if that one stung. Developing people takes more work than doing ministry tasks. Yet, over time, time spent in the development of others leads to a harvest that no one person could yield.

This is the brilliance of Jesus. He discipled the few to reach the many. So did Paul. So did the early church. So should we. Jesus didn’t delegate tasks. He delegated authority.

Jesus told the 72 disciples in the middle of His earthly ministry, “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.” (Luke 10:19)

Jesus’ authority came from the Father, and He freely gave away His authority to the 72 disciples.

Jesus’ multiplying discipleship of the 12, the 72, and the disciples in Jerusalem at Pentecost led to an evangelism explosion in the Book of Acts.

Jesus taught a fundamental principle. There is no discipleship apart from evangelism. And there is no evangelism without discipleship. 

Too many have believed the lie that “if you want something done right…you have to do it yourself.” Jesus says, “If I want something done right, I do it, then invite My disciples to do the same.” The cross is proof. Pick up your cross, and follow Jesus. Reject laziness.

CLOSING

This may have sounded like a law-filled rant. That was not my intention. I’ve simply experienced the joy of discipling others to do what I do. I’ve experienced the passion of a congregation coming alive watching all the gifts of the body being used to elevate Christ. I stand on a wide plateau filled with an army of Jesus followers linked in arms marching into the world with the light of Christ.

I’d love for you and your church to experience the same.

CALL TO ACTION

Tim Ahlmlan is the leader of Unite Leadership Collective. If you need help developing leaders, they’d love to partner with you. The ULC exists to help you develop leaders. You are not alone. You are not stuck.

We would love to serve you in three ways!

One-day consult to learn the best systems and cultural practices for leadership development congregations.Join a cohort of like-minded congregations for peer-to-peer learning in our one-year Accelerator journey!We would also love to train your leaders to feel inspired and equipped for ministry.

Go to uniteleadership.org and join our email list.

Like us on Facebook and Instagram – Unite Leadership Collective

We are here to serve you.

Tim Ahlman Bio: Pastor Tim Ahlman is one of the pastors at Christ Greenfield Gilbert, AZ. (christgreenfield.church)

Tim has been married to Alexa for 17 years and they have three children – Adalyn (15), Malachi (13) and Nyleah (12). Tim has served at Christ Greenfield for 8 years. Jesus has transformed the CG family of ministries to have a voracious passion for discipleship multiplication. This passion is best displayed on their two campuses (Gilbert and East Mesa), La Mesa Resource Center (lamesaministries.org), school (Pre-K – 8th grade) and through the Unite Leadership Collective (uniteleadership.org).

Tim just completed his doctoral thesis that focused on the traits and characteristics of pastors who collaborate in mission. Tim boldly believes pastors and churches are simply better when they work together.

Develop Other Pastors with Tim Alhaman

The post 3 Reasons Pastors Don’t Develop Other Pastors appeared first on Red Letter Living.

80% of Pastoral Transitions Fail. Here’s 5 Keys to Healthy Pastoral Succession.

For the month of March we are looking at the future of pastoral ministry. Many pastors are tired and exhausted, and record-numbers are thinking about quitting. If this is the case, how can we set up the church well in the future? 

When I think of someone who is excelling in moving the church forward, I think of none other than my dad, Rev. Dr. Mark Zehnder. Today, he gives us the 5 keys to healthy pastoral succession.

Without further ado, here are his words:

 

Some people love history. They love to study and read it. They might even enjoy going to museums and looking at how things were thousands of years ago.

Me? Not so much. While I don’t dislike history, I would much rather be a part of making history. I guess that’s just another way of saying that the way God wired me up, I am someone who looks forward much more than someone who looks back.

In my 40 + years of pastoral ministry, I spent a significant amount of time trying to help people look forward. I wanted to inspire them to a brighter future, a grander vision. Knowing that, I was in for a bit of a surprise when I approached the date of my retirement a couple of years ago. I would have thought this season I was entering would be different, that it would be more about wrapping things up than thinking about the future. But, man, was I wrong. I realized that passing the leadership baton to my successor just may have been the most important thing I’ve ever done when it comes to the future!

Think about it. If we don’t do all we can to get this right, the church suffers, and the future is not as bright as it could be or should be. And as Zach said in the previous blog, the statistics for pastoral leadership transition are not very good. As much as 80% of these transitions do not go well.

Here’s what I’ve seen:

 

Some churches just Stop. They cease to exist. This is the worst case scenario.Other churches Split. Because they didn’t plan, they couldn’t stay united. Power grabs happen and the church divides.Other churches Stall. This isn’t as bad as the first two cases but is still not good. They lose momentum and the Gospel proclamation gets shelved and the mission of Jesus stalls.

So, this begs the question: How can we partner with God and each other to change these numbers?   How can we avoid seeing our churches Stop, Split, or Stall and instead experience SUCCESS!

Having researched this topic extensively, conducted many interviews, read the good books that are out there on this topic, listened to podcasts, and experienced a pastoral transition personally, here are 5 keys to a healthy pastoral succession.

1. Perspective…Get the real picture. 

From the get-go, even before you begin your planning, it is helpful to have a mindset or perspective that will prepare you for what’s ahead. So, what’s ahead? What do you need to see or know even before you start? 

There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all transition plan. Don’t think you can follow what some other pastor or other church did that seemed to work for them. It won’t work for you. Every church, outgoing pastor and incoming pastor, staff, board, and congregation are unique.Successful leadership transition is more of an art than a science. It’s more of a process than an event. It will be unpredictable…it is messy, complex, and complicated.It likely will not take the time you think it will. In my view, 10% will take the time you have allocated. Another 10% will even go more quickly than you anticipated. But 80% take more time than you think. So, it’s probably not too early to start planning.The process is almost always healthier when you bring in a third party. William Vanderbloeman and Warren Bird, authors of the best book on this topic, Next: Pastoral Succession that Works, speak of the helpfulness of having a coach or a consultant.Pastoral transition is not over when the new guy takes the helm. Again, Vanderbloemen and Bird say that the complete process typically takes 2-3 years.

So having this perspective is helpful even before you begin. Now, what’s the first thing you’ll want to do to actually get the ball rolling? 

2. Pray…Get on your knees.

In light of the statistics above, and in the complexity and unpredictability of this process, it can be easy to get discouraged. But you have something huge in your favor as you begin—it is this unique gift of prayer. Actually, it is not a huge something that you have in your corner. It’s a huge Someone! God is certainly not unaware of your situation. He will not be surprised that you are looking for your next pastor. If Jesus said, “I WILL build my church, and the gates of Hades will not come against it,” He certainly is more than capable of blessing you in your succession plan. And He loves it when we recognize and acknowledge our limitations and entrust this to Him in prayer.

Here’s a little snippet of our story at our church. In 2018 we began the process of looking for my successor. Admittedly we felt that we were “making things up” when it came to our plan, and after nearly a year, we were nowhere. So we began 2019 with 21 Days of prayer. I remember that the Holy Spirit revealed to us a shift in our prayer…we HAD BEEN praying that God would show us the pastor. So we started 2019 by adding to that prayer, not just show us, Lord, but show the pastor. So we prayed, “God stir up the heart of the pastor that you want to bring to King of Kings.” A week later, I was attending a conference in Palm Springs (which is a pretty nice place to be in January when you live in Omaha!), and I found myself talking with Greg Griffith, a young pastor that I only sort of knew. 

When I asked Greg how things were going at his church, he said something like, “you know, I could see being where I am for quite a while, but lately, it feels like God is “stirring me up.” Yay God! 

At that moment, I felt the Lord saying to me, “you have found your pastor.” Sure enough, after several months of conversations that followed that meeting in Palm Springs, God brought Greg to be our next Lead Pastor at King of Kings.

The best thing you can do before you start your process—your first move, your second move, your every move along this process is to pray, pray, pray!!

Now for the next key to healthy leadership succession:

3. Plan…Get ready.

I know you’ve undoubtedly heard it, but it is so true…if you fail to plan, you may as well plan to fail. Here’s part of why pastoral leadership transition does not go well (it’s not the only reason, but it certainly contributes to it). According to Vanderbloemen and Bird:

25% of denominational pastors will retire but have no retirement plan.25% of denominational pastors do not ever plan to retire. 

So right there, you have half of churches and congregations that will have to deal with this, and there is no plan. Most pastors and churches simply are NOT READY! So, here’s what I’ve observed. This observation, along with all kinds of collaborating information, has brought me to this conclusion and a diagram…I call it the Readiness Circle.

Here’s my conviction and contention…that more than anyone, the outgoing pastor must be ready (First Circle).

Am I emotionally ready? Am I professionally ready? Am I relationally ready? Am I spiritually ready? Am I physically ready? Am I financially ready?  

 

But there are times when the pastor going out is indeed ready, but nobody else in the church or organization is ready. What’s honestly worst is when the board or staff is ready for the pastor to leave, but the pastor isn’t! 

So, here’s my firmly held belief. The outgoing pastor’s responsibility is to get ready and help everyone else get ready. This starts with the new pastor coming in (Second circle). The “no one size fits all” comment earlier comes in here. Sometimes the outgoing pastor has someone on staff that they believe is the right successor. Sometimes, they might think this, but the staff or board might think differently. Or maybe the board and staff feel they have the right successor, but the outgoing pastor doesn’t think so. Or perhaps, no one on the staff is a possible candidate.

All this said I think in the best and most healthy of situations, the pastor going out can get the pastor coming in the readiest. What worked for us at King of Kings was the 5 months that Greg and I spent basically joined at the hip. During this time, I poured into him every possible bit of information I could…the history, culture, personality, valleys and mountaintops, my personal hopes, fears, etc. I’m sure that Greg would agree that this 5-month period was beneficial and necessary. There is some debate about how long the transition should be…for us, this was just right.

As I was becoming secure in my own readiness and then seeing that Greg was prepared and ready, I knew the next step was getting the Board ready (Third circle). In our case, this was happening simultaneously with getting the staff ready (Fourth circle). Critical in both of these groups of people were open, frank, and honest conversations. 

We wanted to be honest and open about these issues…

Grief: I have heard from many pastors and churches that this grief area is often overlooked. Especially in long pastorates, there can be a lot of sadness connected with seeing the lead pastor moving on. Don’t disregard or ignore this. Make room for it.Allegiance: Especially with the staff, I consistently reminded them that I needed and wanted them to get 100% behind Greg and that doing so was not removing their allegiance to me. I reiterated how the best thing they could do for me was not to hold on to me but put all their support behind Greg.      Funeral/Wedding: One of the podcasts that Greg and I listened to talked about the metaphor of the funeral and marriage…that this new relationship could have feelings of both. Like a funeral, I honestly did feel some loss along the way, and there was some sadness associated with stepping aside and no longer leading. At the same time, like a wedding, I felt that this new relationship was the best for King of Kings and that our future looked marvelous and was very exciting. Finances/Budget/Salary: This topic is probably worthy of a separate blog. There are complexities galore with this one, but bottom line, this is NOT a time for the church to be stingy or anxious about finances. I can say this without a doubt…churches that don’t get this pastoral leadership transition right will end up “paying for it” in the end. 

 

In chronological order, the final and fifth circle is last, but so extremely important…getting the congregation ready! One of the things I had as a personal goal was quite simple: make my friends Greg’s friends. If I could get my best and personal friends in the church, along with as many other church members, to become friends with Greg as they had been with me, everybody would win. To do this, we held:

Cocktail, hors d’oeuvres parties in members’ homes where Greg and I had little joint vision talks so that people could see that we were on the same page.Pizza lunches after church where people met Greg and his family.Public, corporate worship services where people saw Greg and me together nearly every week during those five months. At the very beginning of the services, we actually incorporated little comedy sketches and other fun things so that people could see Greg and me laughing and having fun together. 

 

Baton pass Sunday…this was the day that I officially passed the baton of leadership to Greg. I preached on Moses and Joshua and what God told each of them about their succession plan. If you’d like, you can watch the baton-passing message here. I consider this one of THE most important days we had in this transition.

As more open and honest discussions ensued, we agreed that after the “Baton Pass Sunday,” it would be mutually beneficial to all parties if I would leave on a 9-month sabbatical. The sabbatical was to give me a much-needed rest from more than 27 years of ministry and allow Greg to instill his new vision at the church without me being there. In addition, it was an obvious indicator to the church that we were entering a new season.

 

Another huge part of our success had to do with this 4th key…

4. Communicate…Get the word out.

Using the “Readiness Circle” again…

First circle…my constant communication with God and my wife…how is this going, how am I feeling, where are my concerns?

The second circle…it was absolutely essential that Greg and I kept the lines of our communication open. Even after two years, we still meet twice a month to ensure that we are keeping in step with each other.

Third Circle…the Board…I think this is another “no one size fits all” area…and honestly, I am not sure I have an excellent answer for this. Still, I know of situations where the pastor going out had the attitude that “I will not have ANYTHING to do with this process,” and others that were somewhat involved and still others that were VERY involved. My choice, I think, was indicative of how I had operated with the Board all along, which was VERY INVOLVED. Having said that, it’s kind of interesting that since I have been back on staff (October 2020), I don’t believe I have attended a single Board meeting.

4th circle… my most significant concern/decision was how the staff would VIEW me after my Sabbatical…we certainly didn’t want to bring confusion back into the mix…Okay, Mark is back. Is he going to try to take over? So, we did several things… First, I moved out of my office, and Greg moved into it when he came. Then, when I came back, I did so with a percentage of my time devoted outside of King of Kings.

5th circle…we decided that if anything, we would over-communicate to the congregation about this transition. So we sent out frequent emails and newsletters and made many public comments in the middle of the transition.

 

Finally, the 5th key to a healthy pastoral succession:

5. Humility and Honor…Get over yourself.

This last key especially applies to the relationship between the outgoing and incoming pastors. I’m convinced that the relationship between these two is one of the most essential factors in finding success. Greg and I, especially in the beginning, but even now, two years later, are frequently honoring one another and promoting one another every chance we get.

I heard of one church interviewing a candidate to succeed a long-tenured Senior Pastor. When the committee asked this candidate how he felt about “filling the shoes” of this much loved and esteemed pastor, his comment was, “I’ll bring my own shoes.” While there is definitely the need for the “new guy” to be comfortable in his own skin, my understanding from those there was that this comment came off as one with arrogance and cockiness. Man, that’s the last thing you need!

So, when Greg was asked this question at King of Kings (which he was!), his comment was something like, “I could never step into the shoes of Mark Zehnder. I just hope to stand on his shoulders and build on what God has done through Mark and his leadership.” Greg was demonstrating both humility and honor in this comment. 

 

At the end of the day, pastors are simply God’s servants. Therefore, we trust that God will continue to build His church. This leaves me with enough humility to know that no matter who is leading King of Kings or any particular church, it is in good hands. Because it is in God’s hands. Just like your church.

May God bless you abundantly in the adventure in front of you! If there is any way that I can help you, please email me at mark@alwaysforwardministries. Or visit my website: www.alwaysforwardministries.com.

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5 Predictions If Pastors Really Did Quit

We are in the middle of a pastoral crisis right now. Barna’s latest study shows that 38% of pastors have considered quitting full-time ministry in the past year. 46% of those are under the age of 45. 51% of mainline denomination pastors have considered leaving in the last year. Additionally, their research shows that only 35% of America’s pastors rated themselves healthy in their overall well-being.

As a result of this research, I’m organizing a 4-part blog series addressing this pastoral crisis. You can read Part One here, “There’s a Pastoral Crisis Right Now. Don’t Believe These 5 Lies.” 

2021 was known as the Great Resignation or the Big Quit. More employees voluntarily resigned from their jobs than ever before. Unfortunately, this is making its way into our churches as well. Today, I want to explore what would happen to the church if there were a mass exodus of pastors.

When you combine the thoughts of quitting, the unhealth in pastor’s overall well-being, the aging of America’s pastors, and the natural pull to society that we are feeling in the Great Resignation, it’s fair to assume that more pastors will quit, retire, or move on from ministry now than ever before.

And if they did, what would happen to the church?

I want to give five predictions. And, for what it’s worth, I think the percentage of pastors who quit, retire, or move on from ministry will be higher than ever these next couple of years. So, it is entirely appropriate to start strategizing and planning for the future now.

Here are my five predictions. Would you add any to the list? Feel free to add your prediction or comment below.

 

1. The church will carry on, albeit differently.

In the significant disruption that has occurred the past couple of years, here’s another statistic:

God, and His promises, have changed 0%!

Hebrews 13:8 tells us that “Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever.” 

God is:

Just as lovingJust as kindJust as merciful.Just as much in controlJust as powerful.

God is not nervous in heaven right now as He watches the news on CNN or Fox News. He’s not pacing back and forth, wondering how we will get out of this mess. And He’s not biting his fingernails as He sees the alarming statistics brought on by two years of leading through the pandemic.

The church has changed, needs to change, and will look very different than it has in the past. Take comfort in that this is God’s church and not yours. Fast-forward to the end. After all the crazy ups and downs that have come since the beginning of time, God wins. His church wins. The gates of Hell will not prevail against Him. Just as He predicted in Matthew 16:8.

This all-powerful, all-knowing, fully-in-control God is still the same. And yet, how this expression of God, through the church looks, can and should change. For multiple decades in a row, the collective church had failed to change, innovate, and be relevant. As a result, we’ve been losing our influence and being pushed more and more to the fringes.

Major disruption brings about the opportunity to ask challenging but essential questions. In my eBook Reopening Christianity, I tackle what I believe are the top 5 questions we can be asking right now as individuals and as churches. If you’d like a free copy of the eBook, you can order it here and enter the code “Matthew16:8” at checkout. Valid until 3/31/22. Insert appropriate links … coupon has already been created.

 

2. Church mergers will skyrocket. 

Before the pandemic, many churches struggled due to decreased membership, declining revenue, an aging pastoral staff, etc. According to UnSeminary, 94% of churches were losing ground against the communities they serve. When you add on top of those statistics now 20-40% fewer people attending in-person church, and a higher percentage of pastors considering leaving the pastoral ministry, more churches will look to merge than ever before.

Church mergers are very involved and very detailed, but according to a 2016 Barna Study, 89% of churches that had undergone a merger reported a positive result.

Church mergers represent a beautiful picture of God’s restoration.

All throughout the Bible, we see the incredible power of God’s restoration. Restoration is about bringing something back to its original state. However, God is a master restorer. He doesn’t just put things back to their original condition. He brings them back to something even more beautiful, compelling, and glorious.

Jesus was far more interested in renewing, recreating, and restoring this world, not in blowing it up and destroying it. We see this in the overall scope of what Jesus said. Evidence is found in the Lord’s Prayer and in the revelation of John in the final two chapters of our Bible. From beginning to end, the Bible is about God’s complete restoration of the world, of which humanity is an integral piece of the entire puzzle.

Someone once asked the great reformer, Martin Luther, what he would do if he knew that Jesus was coming back today. Luther responded that he would plant a tree. Why? Because if God is about complete restoration, then the little things we do in this world matter. His belief is that somehow in the new, fully restored kingdom of God, the tree that he planted would be utilized, loved, and give even more glory to God.

More rapidly declining churches will choose not to die but rather to partner and merge with another leading church. And in doing this, they’ll give a beautiful picture of God’s restorative work. Considering a church merger? I found these articles from Church Law and Tax to be very helpful.

 

3. A few churches will move from megachurches to ultra-mega churches in the next decade.

What’s an ultra-mega church? It’s a new term that I invented to signify a single church that regularly reaches more than 100,000 people. As of right now, there is not a single church in the USA that reaches more than 100,000 people in-person for a weekend experience.

If there is a “Great Resignation” of pastors, then there will also be a “Great Re-sorting” of those who currently attend, belong, and participate in those churches. While the pastor isn’t the only factor in someone choosing to belong to a church, it is arguably the most critical factor. Pew Research did a study in 2016 and noted the top 7 reasons people choose to attend a church. The chief reason, chosen by 83% of the respondents as necessary, was the quality of sermons.

If someone’s pastor quits or retires, they very well could be looking to find quality sermons elsewhere. The quality of preaching has never been better than it is today. Where will they find these quality sermons? They will start online. And being able to “attend” an online church and check out the preaching quality and style of the pastor is something that nearly everyone does before physically attending a church. Online church is an excellent front door to the in-person church.

Several churches in our nation are well-positioned for an incredible online church experience, complete with not only great preaching but incredible attention to detail with hosting and worship as well. Additionally, with more and more people comfortable doing hybrid church, some online and some in-person, people have realized how easy it is to “check out” or “attend” multiple churches.  

These churches’ online reach will not only continue to soar, but eventually, their online reach will result in insane growth in their in-person attendance as well. Several churches are already positioned to multiply their campuses across cities, states, and even internationally. With those extensions happening more frequently, I envision 3-5 churches crossing the 100,000 mark in physical attendance by 2032.

 

4. More people will curate their own version of church.

What is “church?” It has always been hard to define. Some define church as the assembly or the gathering. Some define the church by the building. Others say it’s not the building but the people. The denomination I’m a part of says that church is where the Word and Sacraments are rightly administered. Some believe that online church is a “real” church, while others vehemently disagree. While all of these conversations to define church are essential and still happening, a higher number of people today are choosing to just curate and come up with their own version of church.

Decentralization is a buzzword we hear a lot about, especially in the Web3 that is coming to our doorsteps sooner than later. It represents the transfer of control of a single activity or organization to several offices or authorities. This is already happening in the church and will be even more common in the future. As a result, the church will become even more complex and complicated when defining it and measuring its success.

The latest Gallup Report says, “The U.S. remains a religious nation, with more than seven in 10 affiliating with some type of organized religion. However, far fewer, now less than half, have a formal membership with a specific house of worship. While it is possible that part of the decline seen in 2020 was temporary and related to the coronavirus pandemic, continued decline in future decades seems inevitable, given the much lower levels of religiosity and church membership among younger versus older generations of adults.”

According to that study, 70% still consider themselves religious. However, only 47% “belong” to a church. So, roughly one in every three people who would consider themselves religious aren’t technically affiliated with a church anymore.

Tara Isabella Burton, author of Strange Rites: New Religions for a Godless World, says there is a significant trend in how people mix and match various religious traditions to create their own. She says, “Many people who don’t identify with a particular religious institution still say they believe in God, pray or do things that tend to be associated with faith.” She goes on to say that a trend in American religious life is that more and more people today “have ownership over curating their own experience.”

People in your church today consider you their pastor. But, it’s also possible that they would consider Steven Furtick their pastor, Maverick City their worship team, Francis Chan their small group leader, Beth Moore their Bible Study teacher, and YouVersion Bible App their accountability partner. On top of this, online communities and movements will continue to rise. In other words, they can curate, pick and choose what they like, want, or need, and be encouraged, transformed, and renewed by a host of people, ministries, and churches.

I’m not saying this is all bad. There is so much “gold” to be had by some of these incredible leaders, churches, and platforms. What I am saying is that it’s going to get more confusing. Rather than being against this trend, we will have to have good discussions and figure out how to cooperate, support, and play nicely with other churches, ministries, and organizations. Some of these people, leaders, and churches we may never meet in person, but they are already impacting the lives of those in our churches.

 

5. Succession planning will speed up.

The church does not do leadership transition or succession well. Through extensive research and personal experience, Mark Zehnder, Director of Always Forward Ministries, says that about 80% of church leadership transitions do not go well. Much more will be expressed on this in next week’s blog.

Not only are more pastors thinking of quitting, but pastors are just simply getting older. In the last 25 years, pastors 65 and older have tripled, while the age of 40 and under has been cut by more than half. Today, the actual number of pastors 65 and older is higher than those 40 and under. 50% of pastors today are 56 and older.

As a 38-year old pastor, can I ask something of the older generation? Will you help set us up to lead well into the future, please?!? Can you stay engaged?

There is so much wisdom we need from you. In 2018, The New England Journal of Medicine, after conducting an extensive study, reported that the most productive stage in human life is between 60-70 years. The second most productive stage is from 70 to 80 years of age. Also, notably, they found that the average age of pastors of the 100 largest churches is 71.

Collectively, the best thing the older generation can do for the church is to set up the younger generation to lead the church into the future.

One of the primary reasons for leadership transition not going well in the church is the lack of planning, strategizing, and discussion. So what can you do? First, identify younger people to pour your leadership and wisdom into. Engage in discussions. Begin to think about your church without you at the helm. Finally, use however many years you have left to help the church carry on well beyond your tenure.

At some point, every one of our ministries will be over. We will have all quit, retired, moved on, or been moved on from our positions. Is your church set up to move forward without you?

 

Conclusion

When I think about the changes we have undergone and the more that will continue, I feel helpless. Doubt and confusion creep in. But then I remember, the church isn’t built on my strength, wisdom, or power. It’s built on God’s. And God has a history of growing His church in extraordinary times. Perhaps we are on the cusp of God bringing revival into our nation. So, even though I’m uncertain, I’m also excited. God still reigns. And I’m excited to see Him bring new mercies every day.

To serve the church as a pastor is a critical position. It’s one I know I’m unqualified for. Every day I wake up grateful, knowing it is the opportunity of a lifetime for me. I want to steward this opportunity as well as I can in response to His grace in my life. I know you do, too.

So, even though we may not have all the answers, my practical next step is not to ignore what’s happening. Engage. Talk about your struggles. Open up and tell someone your feelings right now. Discuss your opinions on where the church is headed and how you can better position the church in the future. Continue to learn. But, at the end of the day, after you’ve been faithful in serving God, place your complete trust in God.

The post 5 Predictions If Pastors Really Did Quit appeared first on Red Letter Living.

There’s a Pastoral Crisis Right Now. Don’t Believe These 5 Lies!

If you are in a ministry role, you don’t need anyone to tell you that the past two years have been more challenging than ever. Quite frankly, it’s taken a toll on the church, especially those in leadership. Based on new research, there’s is a pastoral crisis right now. Don’t believe these 5 lives!

Barna’s latest study shows that 38% of pastors have considered quitting full-time ministry in the past year. 46% of those are under the age of 45. 51% of mainline denomination pastors have considered leaving in the last year. Additionally, their research shows that only 35% of America’s pastors rated themselves healthy in their overall well-being.

Pastors lead churches, and if pastors are collectively exhausted, burnt out, tired, and ready to throw in the towel, we need to take a good, hard, and deep look into what this means for the church. So for March, I’ll be organizing a 4-part blog series addressed to help us understand the pastoral crisis we are in right now. Here’s what you can expect:

March 3: Today, in this crisis, I want to expose five lies that the enemy is shouting at pastors.March 10: I’ll share five predictions on the church’s future if a high percentage of pastors truly did quit.March 17: Guest blogger, Rev. Dr. Mark Zehnder, director of Always Forward Ministries, will share with us five keys to healthy pastoral succession.March 24: Guest blogger, Rev. Dr. Tim Ahlman, director of Unite Leadership Collective, will give us three reasons why pastors don’t naturally develop other pastors.

I hope that these blogs are helpful through this pastoral crisis.

Contrary to what some in our churches may believe, the devil works overtime on those in church leadership. He is the father of lies, and he’s had a busy couple of years. I believe much of the problems exist in this world because people listen far more to the enemy’s lies than the truth of the Gospel. Unfortunately, pastors are not immune to this.

It’s easy to hear the lies because the enemy is shouting at us. Sometimes it’s hard to hear the truth because God often whispers to us. God can shout, but He chooses to whisper to remind us that He’s close. The enemy shouts because he’s not interested in a relationship. He wants to destroy you quickly and move on to the next person.

Pastor, the truth is, God has never left you. He is with you right now. Lean into His voice.

Here is my attempt to combat five lies that I know I’ve experienced personally or that I’ve heard from other pastors.

Lie Number 1: This isn’t what I signed up for.

Yes, it is!

Those who follow after God are not invited into an easy, convenient, and comfortable life throughout Scripture. Instead, they are invited into a life filled with burdens, hardship, and high cost. Don’t believe me? Read through Paul’s incredibly long, painful, brutal, and impressive list of sufferings because He followed after Jesus well.

Why are we surprised that the disruption in this world has disrupted our churches and our profession? Ministry is changing and has been changing since the church began. While God’s truth never changes, the way we “do” church can and should change. Just because today’s church is operating differently from when you began your ministry doesn’t mean that God is done with you. It can be exhausting to try new things, innovate, and change plans often.

Being a church leader or pastor requires sacrifice. Yet, you have been called into it by the grace of God. It’s not an easy calling, but it’s a fulfilling life. It isn’t easy, but it is so rewarding. And what you do matters.

And the church needs you, pastor.

Lie Number 2: I don’t have what it takes.

Maybe you don’t believe you have what it takes to lead in a time like this. But you do. Just because the world has changed and methods may need adjustment, large or small, does not mean that you are not the person to do it. I get it. With the push to online church, and video content, you may not consider yourself a movie star, and technology may not be your strong suit, but your people need you to be strong. They are sheep, and they need a shepherd.

And while the methods may have changed and are still being figured out, gifts you have inside of you like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are gifts needed now more than ever.

If you are concerned about your own gifts and how they can be utilized in such a time, do yourself a favor and double down on the gifts God has put inside of you. Those gifts will never go out of style.

Remember, God has chosen to spread His kingdom through ordinary, unqualified, imperfect people. You are one of those people. When we are weak, then our God is strong. So many times, in the Bible, God often chooses not the most talented and successful but instead the weaker vessels to ultimately bring about His glory.

If you feel overwhelmed, unqualified, and uncertain of what to do and how to lead, you could be in the perfect place for God to break through! Learn to trust more in His power and less in your talent.

Which leads me to this lie:

Lie Number 3: My church depends on my success.

I know you wouldn’t say this out loud, but many pastors think this, or we act this out in the way we work. I know this because I’ve thought it, and I’ve believed it.

As much as pastors have preached to others about not finding their identity in their work and career, we need this message for ourselves. So many of us find our identity in our job. And when church attendance is a shadow of what it was, when finances are moving in the wrong direction, and when more and more of our “devoted” families are choosing sports, restaurants, and vacations over the church, it makes us feel like we are not good pastors. And if your primary identity is in being a pastor, these past couple of years would have crushed you.

But before you are a pastor, you are a child of God. Before you are a shepherd, you are a sheep. Your identity hasn’t changed.

Pastor, don’t put too much pressure on yourself to lead and run God’s church.

Remember the promise of Jesus: “I will build my church.”

You are so important to God and His church, but remember, it is not your church. It is God’s church. He has a history of using broken, messy, unqualified people and turning them into something beautiful.

You are one of those broken, messy, unqualified people.

When I begin to feel myself getting too proud or stressed about my performance as a pastor, I remember an axiom that I’ve gone back to so many times: “God can do more in one second than I can do with an entire lifetime of my best efforts.” That axiom helps give me perspective.

In the end, the church will prevail. How it accomplishes victory and what exactly it looks like is continually changing, but we trust in God’s church.

Lie Number 4: My church will go back to the way it was.

No, it won’t. And that’s okay.

Collectively, what the church in America had become was a broken-down, mediocre, shadow-at-best representation of Jesus. Statistically speaking, despite what you have heard, we are not a post-Christian nation. 65% of Americans self-identify as Christian. And yet, as high as that number is, our numbers, relevance, and influence have been on the decline for decades now.

I, for one, am happy that we are not going back to what was.

To be fair, there have been some great individual and collective witnesses of Jesus in the past. But our overall collective actions are driven by what we have decided. And what American Christians have chosen in the past, no matter what pastoral leadership has taught, is they want to follow both Jesus and the American Dream. But unfortunately, these two ideas lead to different places, which has led to a very flawed and confusing representation of Jesus.

Collectively, we’ve done a poor job of showing how Jesus is relevant to our everyday lives. Since crisis is an accelerator, we are now seeing the results from resting on the status quo or accepting a slow death for the church.

Depending on which study you read, most churches are hovering between 30-70% of their 2019 attendance.

Thinking that everyone will just come back and the church will return to what it was is not helpful or correct thinking. But the great news we see throughout the Bible is that God does great work when the odds are stacked against Him: 

He can move a mountain with a mustard seed.He can turn five loaves and two fish into food for thousands.He can save the world through a little baby boy born in a manger in a stable in a little unknown town like Bethlehem.

Though we may be smaller, through the power of God, we can be mightier!

As we move forward, I urge you to do your best ministry now and not delay any longer. The days of hoping to get to _ _ _ date or waiting for things to return to normalcy are a lie from the enemy. The devil wants to keep you delayed and down. So pray, strategize, and talk about how to bring Christ in the middle of a crisis to a community, nation, and world that so desperately needs Jesus.

To use the old preacher slogan: “What if all we’ve experienced is the setback we needed to set up our comeback?”

Lie Number 5: Nobody knows what I’m going through.

The devil will attempt to isolate you and make it feel like you are alone in this fight. But you are not.

If anything is encouraging in these statistics, what you are experiencing right now is SO incredibly normal. What you are feeling is not strange. And don’t believe that because you’ve had thoughts of quitting that you a spiritual wimp, a quitter, or possess a weak faith.

Not only can you talk to God about what you are experiencing, but there are pastors worldwide and even in your community that understand what you are going through. So perhaps the best thing you could do would be to open up, confess your heart, and hear God’s words of absolution and restoration over your soul.

My favorite story of restoration happens in John 21. After failing Jesus, the apostle Peter goes back fishing. And yet, as he’s fishing, Jesus shows up on the shore. He cooks breakfast. He has a charcoal fire conversation. He forgives Peter. And three times, He points Peter forward, reminding him that his position as the early church leader is still intact. Even more encouragement comes when we get to see a transformed and restored Peter lead the early church in incredible ways.

God loves you so much. God is so proud of you. God still chooses you. God still calls you. God understands how tough this season of ministry has been for you.

This isn’t the time to keep plowing forward on your own strength. This is the time to lean into Christ and lean into a brother or sister in Christ and talk about all that you are experiencing. It is hard for pastors to admit weakness because we live in a world that expects perfection out of the pastoral office. But you are not perfect. And you need help. Help comes through God and community.

Talk to God. Talk to another pastor. Open up.

I’m cheering for you. You are so valuable and so loved.

The post There’s a Pastoral Crisis Right Now. Don’t Believe These 5 Lies! appeared first on Red Letter Living.

4 Tips To Help You Start Something New

Can you believe the year is already two months down?! Unfortunately, almost all of the New Year’s resolutions that we created have already failed. In fact, according to Jon Acuff’s book Finish, 92% of New Year’s resolutions fail.

Wouldn’t it be great if we had a second chance? 

Welcome, Lenten season! 

For centuries now, the church has taught us to “give up something” for Lent. Of course, it’s important to sacrifice, or fast, from something of value so that we can focus on Jesus in this season. But, I genuinely believe that what’s more important is not “giving up” something but “picking up” something new.

For years now, I have given up soda for Lent. I love a good soda. And, it’s hard for me to go that long without it. But, typically, on Easter, I’ll have a Coca-Cola Classic and won’t look back for the next 325 days. I wonder if there isn’t something more than just abstaining from something that God is trying to teach us in the Lenten season. What if, rather than just eliminating something, what if we introduced something new into our lives that we could carry forward?

There’s even research that shows us why most New Year’s resolutions fail. Here’s what a good number of resolutions look like: 

Stop eating junk food.

Quit smoking.

Drink less alcohol.

Shop less.

Quit job.

We all know what we want to stop doing, but we must use tremendous effort and willpower to stop our bad habits. Unfortunately, research finds this doesn’t work in the long run. Charles Duhigg, in his New York Times bestselling book The Power of Habit, says, “The Golden Rule of Habit Change: You can’t extinguish a bad habit, you can only change it.”

In other words, it is not just enough to stop doing a bad habit; it’s way too complicated, and many of us end up failing. So we have to change it or replace it with something new. 

I want to give you four crucial steps to doing something new in your life.

 

1.Replace something old with something new.

Sometimes, the best place to do something new is to identify what you should stop or quit.

Duhigg says, “…to change a habit, you must keep the old cue, and deliver the old reward, but insert a new routine.” So recognize the cue that triggers the craving, and instead of putting your old habit in there, establish a new routine that will end with a similar reward or sense of satisfaction.

If you don’t like a specific part of how you are living, perhaps it’s best to set a new habit to replace that bad habit. Most of us probably have something we should stop or quit.

I see way too many people that quit doing something for a while, but if it’s not replaced with something else, they’ll just go right back to it. People even do this with the sin they are trying to overcome. They fight it for a season, but if it’s not replaced, they’ll just go right back to it. 

Some even pray to God and ask, “God, take away this passion for pornography, alcohol, shopping.” God doesn’t want to take away your passion! Instead, he wants to move the desire used for habits against His will and use that same passion to start habits that will grow His Kingdom.  

Rather than settling on stopping or quitting as your goal, what if you added or changed one bad habit, and in place of that, you started a good habit? What would you add or change? What would this look like?

 

2.Start with the “who” in mind rather than the “what.”

Who do you want to be? Before we talk about “what,” let’s start with “who .”So many people start with “do” or “don’t” goals or resolutions, but what’s most important is to look at who you want to be because that will inform what you “do” or “don’t” do. Based on who you want to become, what habit do you need to incorporate into your life?

Let me give you a few examples. You might decide:

I want to be more appreciative. So you might decide to write a hand-written note each week to someone in your life.I want to be more focused. So you might decide to wake up every day and prioritize your top 3 things of the day.I want to be a better spouse. So you might decide to do a weekly date with your spouse.I want to be healthier. So you might decide to work out three times a week for 20 minutes a day.I want to be more connected to God. So you might decide to read through the Bible in a year, which takes 10-15 minutes a day.

Your identity determines your biography. 

 

3.Do something small, and do it very well.  

These small disciplines, or habits, may grow over time. For example, this year, you might write one hand-written note a week, but in 5 years, you might do one each day. Likewise, you might work out three times a week this year, but in a few years, you might work out every single day.

I heard Craig Groeschel once say, “Small steps over a long period of time equals major impact.”

Here at Red Letter Living, we exist to help you become the most effective follower of Jesus that you can be. Jesus calls us to be both hearers and doers of His Word. That’s why in all of our 40-day challenges, we have a “being” and a “doing” aspect. It’s not enough for us to just stop our unhealthy habits. To truly see a change in our lives, we must integrate new practices and get into a new routine. The routine we hope people pick up every day is the small step of “being” and “doing” with Jesus. 

It may seem relatively small at first, but those small steps will add up to thousands over the years. And, because God is at work in us, we trust that every step will bear fruit!

 

4.Invite God and others into your new thing.

If you keep your goal or habit to yourself, you have much less of a chance of finishing it. When you invite others into your new thing, you have a much better chance to succeed. I’ve had lots of ideas and new things I’ve started in life. The ones that work out best are where I bring others into it.

But just inviting other people into it isn’t enough.

Invite God into it.

He is the master of creating all things new.

Revelation 21:5 describes this very scene; “And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” This Bible passage is in the present tense. Jesus doesn’t say, “I WILL make all things new,” or “Sometime in the future, everything will be fixed.” Instead, Revelation says that this process is ongoing and currently happening in all of us. We can be a part of the Holy Spirit’s work of transformation today.

Many of us struggle to finish what we start. If we have a problem finishing, why not bring the “Finisher” onto your team. Jesus is the Alpha and Omega. He starts things. And He finishes things. Even when it looked like He was finished, He rose from the dead! God has the resurrecting, finishing power that you need. And the most fantastic news is: you can have it for FREE. Just ask God into your life.

Rather than giving up something, do something new this Lent!

The post 4 Tips To Help You Start Something New appeared first on Red Letter Living.

Why I am OK Dying with Unfulfilled Dreams

Let me start this off by saying, I don’t have any plans to die soon. At least none that I know of. It’s easy to pretend like death is some far-off experience, or even live in denial of it,  but it’s a reality for all of us. So while I have no control over my last days, I do have control over the regret I could experience as a result of the choices I make now. 

In her book, The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, Bronnie Ware records her experience as a nurse caring for patients in the last twelve weeks of their lives. She wrote,

“The most common regret of all was unfulfilled dreams. When people realize that their life is almost over and look back clearly, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honored even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made.”

Since then, various groups and individuals have used this statistic as motivation: encouraging people to chase after that dream, reach for the stars, and not be a statistic.

The Bible is full of people who died with their dreams unfulfilled. What if the problem isn’t that we didn’t fulfill our dreams, but that we have a limited view of what our hopes and dreams even are? Below are four truths about your dreams that will give you peace regarding unfulfilled dreams.

 

1) Maybe your dream won’t be about you.  

American painter Norman Rockwell’s grandfather was an immigrant and a painter. After bringing his family to the United States, he dreamt of opening a studio for portraits. Instead, he resorted to painting still life to make ends meet and never opened a studio. Two generations later, his grandson would become one of the most famous painters in the world, illustrating everyday life for the Saturday Evening Post magazine for nearly five decades.

Could his grandpa’s unfulfilled dream have paved the way for Norman Rockwell to become one of the most famous American painters? We don’t know for sure, but we do know that our hopes and dreams influence the people around us. So if you believe that God does not waste good things like hard work, an honest dream, or worthy ambition, trust him with the timing.

An unfulfilled dream here on earth is hope in the resurrection and restoration work of Jesus in the future. 

Your unfulfilled dreams could be setting up future generations’ success. You might be casting visions for others to run with, goals you’ll never see accomplished in your lifetime. In our individualistic, self-glorifying, immediate gratification society, it’s safe to acknowledge that most people don’t want to miss the reward from their work. Is the regret simply that they didn’t go for it, or that they didn’t get to reap all the rewards?

King David got a vision from God about building a grand temple, a place where God and man could be together in right relationship again. A new Garden of Eden! (Even the columns would have specific flowers, vines, and trees to remind the people of the garden.)

But David would not be the one to build it; he simply got the vision. God told him that his son Solomon would be king one day and be the one to oversee the work.

In response, David offered a prayer of praise:

“You, Lord, are God! You have promised these good things to your servant. Now you have been pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, Lord, have blessed it, and it will be blessed forever” 1 Chronicles 17:26-27

Since God forbid David from building the temple himself, he helped gather materials and prepare the plans for the temple’s construction. David said to Solomon, 

“I have taken great pains to provide for the temple of the Lord a hundred thousand talents of gold, a million talents of silver, quantities of bronze and iron too great to be weighed, and wood and stone. And you may add to them. You have many workers: stonecutters, masons, and carpenters, as well as those skilled in every kind of work in gold and silver, bronze and iron—craftsmen beyond number. Now begin the work, and the Lord be with you” 1 Chronicles 22:14-16.

Maybe your unfulfilled dream is a setup for someone else’s dream to come along.

 

2) Our dreams aren’t always the best for us. 

When I was 15, there were unfulfilled dreams I look back on when I was 5 that I was grateful never came true. I’m glad the whole world didn’t  turn into a giant Candyland board game, and I would have looked ridiculous wearing Princess Jasmine’s outfit to school. As a near 40-year old, I can look back at 25 and admit I am thankful that my 15-year-old dreams also did not come true. I prefer my husband to Tom Cruise, and as a stay-at-home mom with a 1-year-old, I was happy that I didn’t live in that RV at the beach that my friends and I dreamed of.

With each decade, I realize that I know more with each passing decade, and the things I dreamed about just wouldn’t have been best for me.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11

Jeremiah wrote this promise from God to the Israelite people when they were in a pretty awful situation. Their land had been taken, and they were in captivity. Even though they were miserable, God used captivity to save them from their own complete self-destruction through sin.

When I decide what is best for me instead of God, I will be miserable whether my dreams come true or not. 

When we are not accomplishing our dreams, we can have faith that God has things under His control. Remember, the dreams you are hoping now for may not even be what you want in ten years. 

 

3) A dream could have been an idol in your life. 

St. Augustine, the famous Christian preacher in the 4th century, said idols are just disordered loves. They don’t start out bad, but we get into trouble when we make good things into our ultimate thing. This can happen with our hopes and dreams too.

When what we accomplish becomes more important than what Jesus accomplished for us, then we lose sight of why we are dreaming in the first place. 

King Saul started well as a humble man with a dream to lead God’s people and protect them. However, he degenerated later to become a tyrant and a vicious manhunter. His sense of insecurity and his jealous streak drove him to commit severe atrocities against innocent people. Somewhere along the way, Saul’s dream of leading the people became distorted into a quest for power and grasping for control. He made the kingdom and his position into an idol.

Then Saul became very angry, for this saying displeased him, and he said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, but to me they have ascribed [only] thousands. Now, what more can he have but the kingdom?”  Saul looked at David with suspicion [and jealously] from that day forward. 1 Samuel 18:8-9 AMP (emphasis added)

In the Old Testament, whenever a good king comes into power or is struck with the greatness of God, the first thing they will do is get rid of idolatry. Why? Because that is the root of our problems before God.

We take good dreams and aspirations, and suddenly without realizing it, those things become of most importance in our lives.

Our dreams and hopes may be entirely reasonable and God-pleasing, but perhaps something didn’t happen to protect you from an even worse situation.

 

4) Death is not the end. 

“Let my people go. Bring them to a land I have promised for them.”

This vision from God guided Moses since he was a young man, as he freed the enslaved people from Egypt, led the Israelites through seas, over deserts, and to the edge of the Promised Land. But on the way, things got extremely rocky (no pun intended!), and Moses lost his temper and took matters into his own hands. By striking a rock with his staff instead of speaking words, Moses disobeyed God’s command and lost sight of the dream God had given him. The consequence was harsh: Moses would never enter the Promised Land.

When we take matters into our own hands, and things become our doing, we thwart our ability ever fully to enjoy them when we get them. Moses took matters into his own hands and derailed the whole project. He died never going into the Promised Land, ending with an unfulfilled dream.

That is, unless you understand the significance of the Promised Land in the Bible. The Promised Land wasn’t just the physical land God promised as a heritage to his people, even though that was included. God’s Promised Land is the heaven and eternal life that is the heritage of all who come to him through his Son.

After death, Moses experienced the Promised Land in the perfect way that Jesus had intended for him. Not with the millstone of the Israelite people around his neck, but with Jesus beside him. His entering the promised land would not include aching feet, swords, blood, or barriers—only glorious perfect communion with Jesus and an ideal kingdom in complete peace and harmony.

If left with a choice, there’s no way Moses would ever have wanted to go into the Promised Land in his former life!

An unfulfilled dream will become a perfect blessing someday when we have an eternity mindset.  

Trust that God is working out the absolute best for you. Everything that is wrong and should never have happened to you will be fixed, erased, repaired, and restored brand new! He will take all the good that you have done and make a tapestry out of it. Nothing will be forgotten. Matthew 7:7 says,

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 

Every single thing you dream of that’s remotely good will come to pass. 

This isn’t about a prosperity gospel, “You’ll get what you have coming to you,” type of mentality. I am talking of a deep trust in God’s providence no matter what happens. God is working mightily in you, faithful servant. Your work will not go to waste. 

For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. Colossians 1:29

Does this mean we just give up on dreaming? Not at all! Keep toiling! Keep dreaming and planning! But do so without regret. Here are three ways to check your dreams: 

        Are you telling others your dreams?         Is it beyond your ability?         What will be better if your dream is fulfilled? (does your dream go beyond yourself?)

 

Trust that God knows your heart, and desires to bring about goodness and mercy in your life. Share some of your dreams and hopes you have for the future below in the comments.

The post Why I am OK Dying with Unfulfilled Dreams appeared first on Red Letter Living.

The #1 Reason the Church is Declining and 4 Things Pastors Can Do About It

I talk with pastors who still long to go back to what was. I’m not one of them.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m saddened by how many have left the church in the past two years. It breaks my heart for them. And I love a filled building as much as anyone else.

But, have you looked at the trends of what had been happening in the church in America before the pandemic? If so, I’d be shocked to hear anyone say that we should want to go back to the way things were. The church has been a broken-down, shadow-at-best version of representing Christ that has been losing its influence in droves for the past two decades.

We’ve heard a million times that what has happened during this pandemic has only accelerated a trend that we’d already been experiencing. But, I think we can lose sight of the fact that the movement before the pandemic was already declining at breakneck speed. For example, a survey by FACT shows that average worship attendance had dropped in churches from 137 in 2000 to just 65 in 2020.

I understand that worship attendance is not the only determining factor in the health of a church, but you have to admit that it is a determining factor.

Furthermore, generationally, the numbers are lower and lower with those who identify with a church. In 2021, Gallup shared that church membership dropped below 50% nationally for the first time. Among Millennials, only 36% identify with a church.

So, we have to go back to asking a difficult question, “What is the reasoning behind the decline of those no longer attending or wanting to identify with a church?”

One of the works that have inspired my writings more than any other is UnChristian, written by Barna’s current President, David Kinnamon. This groundbreaking work came out while I was in Seminary and has helped so many church leaders see the problem: The unchurched, especially the younger generation, do not perceive present-day Christianity well. If you are a church leader, you’ve seen the words before. Present-day Christians are perceived as judgmental, boring, hypocritical, out-of-touch, anti-gay, old-fashioned, and too political. A pathetic set of words that fall so very far short of who Jesus is. We must change that.

But, I noticed something new in the book that I’d never seen before. Not only did Barna offer some unfavorable images to describe present-day Christianity, but they presented some favorable images as well. And, do you know what the lowest-rated favorable image was? Here it is: present-day Christianity is not seen as relevant to their lives. Only 10% said it was “very relevant,” and another 30% said it was “somewhat to very relevant.” So, as the unchurched look into the lives of those who follow Jesus, they simply aren’t seeing how Jesus is relevant to our lives.

Churches, filled with Christians, are doing a poor job, individually and collectively, helping others see how Jesus is relevant in our lives today. Unfortunately, the church that we offer is perceived to be irrelevant. Its irrelevance has only been growing in its numbers the past couple of decades. This is the number one reason we have been on the decline. Until we fix this, we will continue to lose numbers, influence, and significance in this world. People won’t do, join, buy, or commit to something unless it is relevant to their lives.

We are fighting against irrelevance.

So, what can we do as pastors? Here are four things to help.

 

1) Do Something Different

Einstein once said insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. So why would we continue down that path if what we were doing wasn’t working?

The collective church has been behind the curve with innovation and creation for far too long. God created us to be creators in this world. As the world is rapidly changing, we must adapt as well. While things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and so on will never go out of style, the methods we extend this fruit into the world can and should change.

If we continue to operate like Blockbuster in a Netflix world, our decline to death will be sooner than you think. Gross negligence of being online really caught up with the church. It was truly inspirational to see so many churches pivot and get out of their comfort zone to jump online at the pandemic’s start. But, the question remains, “Why were so many churches not already online?” How many more clues did the church need that being online in a visible way was important?

I’m not saying the church will die. Far be it. It is God’s church, and it will prevail.

But a pastor that continues to stay married to old methods that weren’t working could very soon be divorced from having a church.

Right now, virtual and augmented reality, Web3, and the metaverse are all knocking on our doorstep. Sometime in the next 5-20 years, these realities will be another significant disruption to our lives. I hope we’ve learned that it’s a foolish strategy not to be where the people are. What does all of this mean? We are still figuring it out. But, entering into these conversations on the front end rather than 20 years later seems like a wise strategy.

Let’s be proactive, not reactive.

What could churches do differently this year? Share in the comments below. Point 3 may offer a few solutions as well.

Challenge: Implement one new different idea or ministry in 2022.

 

2) Understand the Times

One of the things I have to fight most in this life is to get out of my Christian bubble. A Christian bubble will automatically start surrounding me without intention and a plan. And I know I’m not alone. To understand the times, we have to personally get involved in genuine relationships with those in our communities who don’t go to church.

There’s a sneaky verse in 1 Chronicles 12:32. As they were listing men who were fighting with King David, it says that they chose men “from Issachar, men who understood the times and knew what Israel should do…”

When we understand the times, we know what to do.

No matter your opinion, and I certainly disagree that the church isn’t relevant, we must understand the culture. Jesus calls us to be in the world, but not of the world. Even Jesus Himself came down in the human form. He did this so that we could understand Him.

But also, He did everything He could to understand the times as well. During His ministry, Jesus asked way more questions than He did give answers. I recently wrote a blog on the 305 questions Jesus asked. One of the takeaways from looking at all that Jesus asked was the number of curiosity questions He asked. A significant number of those questions started with “How” or “Why.”

Not all churches have declined in this time. One that has grown tremendously is Saddleback Church, under the leadership of Pastor Rick Warren. As the church began to meet for worship, he sent out a community-wide survey about what music people listened to. He wanted to ensure that their style of music was relevant to the community. It may seem like a little thing, but the more we understand the community, the greater chances we have to be relevant.

Challenge: Commit to making a new relationship with someone who doesn’t go to your church this year.

 

3) Solve Real Problems

The more you understand the times, the more you see what problems people face. While Jesus is the ultimate answer to any problem, how we present the Gospel could vary based on the people’s needs. How much time do you spend thinking, talking, or strategizing about effectively solving real problems that people in your church and community are facing?

One of the things I truly appreciated about the early days of the pandemic is it truly felt like pastors were answering real questions that people in their community had. Services and sermons were changed to be relevant to the times we were facing.

While every community is different, here is a non-exhaustive list of significant problems that I see getting out of control today: 

Identity ConfusionUnhappinessInsignificanceUnresolved GriefUnforgivenessStress and Fear

 

I find it hard to believe we could be irrelevant because Jesus is the answer to all of those things. There is no one more relevant to humanity than Jesus.

We receive our identity in His family by grace, through faith. He invites us into an abundant life of significance to follow Him as disciples. And as we are in a relationship with Him, we are filled with joy that never ceases. So how is He not relevant?

Challenge: Look at your upcoming preaching calendar and assess if your messages or series address real problems that people face today.

 

4) Market Better

Did you know that the average person sees up to 10000 ads every single day?

We live in a world with excellent marketing. The best marketers understand their audience. They know what problems their audience is facing and can articulate how their particular product will solve that problem.

If we genuinely believe that Jesus is the answer to life’s biggest problems, let’s tell a better story. After all, the Apostle Paul does tell us that we are Christ’s ambassadors in this world. We are His marketing plan. Let’s acknowledge that we have failed if we have become irrelevant in the past. But by doing something different, understanding our times, and solving real problems, we will be better marketers of the Gospel.

How do we stand out with the Gospel of Jesus when 10000 ads are seen every day?

It’s simple. Jesus gives and does things for us that no product, food, travel destination, or anything in this world can. Talk about those things.

If someone were to ask you, “Why is Jesus relevant to you?” how would you respond? Similarly, if you were to ask people in your church that same question, how would they respond? Teaching and giving people a chance to share their testimony is a great opportunity to share how Jesus is relevant to our lives.

As much as we should do our best to change the narrative on words like judgmental, hypocritical, boring, etc., I also believe we can and should be marketing the positive, relevant things that Jesus brings into our lives. The more we live with and tell others about the happiness, fulfillment, significance, and purpose that Jesus gives, the more the world will see Him as relevant again. 

Challenge: Look through your website, including your mission, vision, and values, and see how many positive characteristics like happiness, fulfillment, joy, meaning, purpose, and significance are present.

 

Jesus is the hope of the world. And Jesus is best seen through the church. So I hope and pray that this article didn’t discourage you but instead spur you on to be the greatest and fullest expression of Jesus that you can be.

What other ideas do you have to help the church be more relevant?

The post The #1 Reason the Church is Declining and 4 Things Pastors Can Do About It appeared first on Red Letter Living.

4 Early Pandemic Practices that the Church Should Never Stop Doing

This pandemic has gone on way too long. The world is frustrated. Medical professionals are tired. Pastors are disappointed. Leaders are exhausted. Many are longing for the way things were.

Even before coronavirus, it’s evident that leading today is just more challenging and more complex than ever before. Add a global pandemic that won’t go away to the mix, and it’s no wonder many leaders are quitting, or at least wondering if they were made to do something else.

Consider this. According to Tim Elmore in his book The Eight Paradoxes of Great Leadership, in 2020, the CEO’s of Disney, Hulu, IBM, LinkedIn, UberEats, MGM, Lockheed Martin, Nestle, Volkswagen, Mastercard, T-Mobile, Harley-Davidson, Victoria’s Secret, and Bed Bath and Beyond) stepped down. And that was just the first quarter of 2020!

Momentum has only picked up since then. The year 2021 is now known as the year of the Great Resignation, or the Big Quit, as more employees voluntarily resigned from their jobs statistically than ever before.

Will 2022 be any different? Doubtful.

In terms of the church, statistics are at alarming all-time extreme rates. Barna’s latest study shows that 38% of pastors have considered quitting full-time ministry in the past year. Additionally, their research shows that only 35% of America’s pastors rated themselves healthy in their overall well-being. Considering that we typically rank ourselves higher than the actual truth, it’s likely that number could be even lower.

When you see all that has happened in the wake of this now 2-year struggle, it’s easy to dismiss that anything good can come from any of this. But, God often brings good out of unique and unfamiliar places. Remember, Jesus grew up in Nazareth. Nobody from Nazareth had ever done anything notable, which is why Nathanael questioned, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” So, can anything good in the church come out of the pandemic?”  

I believe there are four helpful practices that many churches employed in the early days of the pandemic that I don’t think we should ever stop! So, here they are. What practices would you add to this list? Is there something your church did that you found effective? Please contribute to the conversation by adding it to the comments below.

 

Making Phone Calls to Everyone in the Church

When the nation went into quarantine, and we couldn’t see one another, how do you know how to lead your church? Many churches jumped to something that might be considered old-fashioned: phone calls. While some pastors made it a point to connect with everyone in their church database, other churches split up the duties between staff and leadership. Personally, I remember making a series of phone calls to connect with those in our church.

You might be saying, “Well, I thought people don’t pick up the phone anymore.” And you are right. Not many did. But those that didn’t, I was able to leave a one-minute voicemail praying for them and acknowledging that we were here for them if needs arose.

Those I did connect with led to very worthwhile check-ins:

Several powerful prayer moments ensuedA few physical needs were identified that we could attempt to meetEncouragement was given not only from us to them but them to us as wellGratitude was expressed that someone in church leadership thought about them and prayed for them.

 

From a practical standpoint, this practice helped church leadership understand how our people were feeling and doing. It allowed us to understand some legitimate concerns or fears that they were experiencing, which in turn, allowed us to be able to shepherd our people to what was relevant in their lives.

What would it look like in your church for phone calls to happen regularly to those in your church?

 

Acquiring Real-Time Data

The personal one-on-one touch with the phone calls proved a big winner. One other practice that many churches employed, including ours, was a regular survey of those in our church. Thanks to Barna’s Church Pulse Weekly, we quickly sent out surveys to gather objective data about how our collective church was doing.

In times of significant disruption or when leading change, it’s imperative to let the objective data do your talking. Indeed, in our ministries, we need to leave room for God to give us each a fresh understanding of how to lead, but I have found it is tough to argue with data.

When people’s opinions are so different regarding divisive topics, the people in our church need to see that their opinions are not the only ones. By sharing accurate data and differing views on some key points, it allowed the people in our church to have unity despite the complexity.

Also, by understanding the pulse of our collective church, we could separate what we were hearing on the national news with our data of what was truly happening in our church. Sometimes it matched almost to the number, but it was very different at other times. By seeing the data, it allowed church leadership to pick specific sermon topics or ideas that were far more relevant to our situation.

What would it look like for your church to acquire real-time data regularly from those in the church?

 

Asking Better Questions about How to Lead our Church

Proverbs 16:9 says that man plans, but ultimately God directs our steps.

As leaders, we all felt this in the early days of the pandemic. Then, we have been reminded of it repeatedly in the past two years. On Monday, there were times when our team would come up with a plan that we felt was rock-solid. By Tuesday, the world changed, and the plan was longer good. It felt like a significant waste of time. So, then, we’d go back to the drawing board.

Again and again and again.

I genuinely believe in honoring, valuing, and respecting team members, which is why planning ahead is imperative. Having our plans laid out in advance creates more flexibility for our teams. But one of the unintended negative consequences I have found is that when you work and plan so far ahead, it can actually make your team less flexible for the spur-of-the-moment things God calls your church to do.

One of the benefits of this major disruption is that it allowed us to see that God is in charge. While each week was exhausting, it also strangely felt right. There was a continual reliance not on our plans but God and His plans. As a result, we were asking better questions frequently:

God, what do your people need from us this week?God, how can we serve our people this week?God, what message do the people need to hear?

 

We weren’t asking each other these questions. But, instead, we were seeking God because we had no clue. We weren’t, and we still aren’t, in control, by the way.

I’ll admit it. It’s scary to operate like this every week, but the more we did it, the more trust and reliance we had on the God who promised to lead our church. A second benefit of operating in this fashion is we could be highly relevant to what was going on in the lives of those in our church.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t plan your annual calendar. Please do it. It’s wise. But ensure that you regularly ask God the right questions, and don’t be afraid to go off-script.

 

Innovating Like Crazy

Even though many churches were not ready for an ongoing season like this, churches quickly learned to pivot. I was so impressed by the plethora of churches that had jumped online to offer church within days or weeks. So many churches also learned how to engage with social media like never before and run virtual meetings and even a small group ministry through Zoom.

After all was said and done, some of our innovations worked well. Others didn’t.

The collective church needed a time like this to speed up the current reality that we live in today. The world had changed dramatically way before 2020 with the rise of the Internet, social media, and overall online presence. But, sadly, the church as a whole was way behind.

Now that we are two years into it, there are still many opinions on what the church should be doing online. I get it. No matter how much you try to make the online church the same as the in-person church experience, it isn’t. It can’t be. It’s different. And that’s okay.

But, if I have one thought to offer in the realm of church online, it’s this: I am convinced what we need from the church online is more and not less. People are “living” today with more than 7 hours of digital content consumed each day. We cannot remove ourselves from where people are. So, what will it look like? What should it look like?

I have no idea. But let’s keep exploring. Let’s keep innovating and trying new stuff and seeing what works. And let’s do it now.

Because while we are trying to catch up, there’s this whole new thing called the Metaverse coming. And pretty soon, the church will need to be there too.

What new practices has your church learned in the pandemic that you will carry on into the future?

The post 4 Early Pandemic Practices that the Church Should Never Stop Doing appeared first on Red Letter Living.

All 305 Questions Jesus Asked with 4 Fascinating Discoveries

I’m not the best listener. A couple of years ago, my extended family, for some odd reason, voted on who the worst listener in our family was. Somehow, I won the crown. Jokingly, when they told me this, I said, “What did you say? I wasn’t really listening.” And while it was done in an informal, casual, funny way, I haven’t forgotten that moment. And, even if it’s just a little bit true (which I’m sure it is), I don’t like that about me.

As we are at the forefront of a new year, I’m on a journey to see if I can become a better listener. Unlike some other goals or resolutions, it feels harder to measure. But one thing I’ve learned on this new journey is that a good listener asks good questions. So, if I want to be a better listener, I need to learn to ask better questions.

How do we grow in the art of asking better questions? 

As a disciple of Jesus, there is no one I try to pattern after more than Jesus. So, I did what I knew was best: I literally found and recorded all the questions Jesus ever asked. There were 305 of them, and for your sake, you can find them all listed at the bottom of this blog. As I reviewed all 305 questions, I discovered 4 fascinating truths about Jesus’s questions.

As you read through my quick insights, feel free to comment below on what insights you would add about Jesus’s questions. After all, I’m listening! And your insight might just help me on my journey to be a better listener, which I’m sure my family would love! 

 

1. Jesus asked curiosity questions.

Carey Nieuwhof has interviewed more than 500 people on his podcast. From my estimation, he has crafted the art behind asking great questions. He says, “Curiosity is your best friend as a leader. So when you’re interviewing, act more like a 6-year-old than a 36-year-old.”

The two best questions to ask if you are curious:

“How…”

“Why…”

Altogether, about 80 of the questions that Jesus asked are “how” and “why” questions. He asked questions like “Why do you doubt?” and “Why are you thinking these things?”

Great leaders remain curious. They want to know how and why things work, understand how and why people are the way they are, etc. What stands out to me even more, though, is that Jesus was not only fully man but also fully God. Jesus was omniscient, all-knowing. So, in one sense, Jesus didn’t have to ask curiosity questions. He already knew everything! And yet, He still did!

Why did he do this?

To help us grow in our faith. Some would argue that questions are opposed to faith, but I think it’s fairer to say that our faith and questions together form a powerful pair. Our faith grows more in uncertainty, doubt, and trying times than it does when everything is in perfect order. Jesus asking questions of curiosity allowed His listeners to wrestle with their faith.

 

2. Jesus asked open-ended questions.

As you scroll through the questions that Jesus asked, there aren’t many that could have a “Yes” or “No” answer. They go beyond the superficial “How are you doing” and “What do you do” questions that we typically start with.

On numerous occasions, Jesus would ask questions like “What do you want?” and “Why do you call me good?” These are questions that require the person to honestly think before responding. They likely can’t be answered quickly.

One of the things that prevent so many of us from asking good questions is that it feels like we are too hurried. If we ask open-ended questions and are genuinely interested in their answers, this means we need to have time for people.

Jesus, who had the most critical responsibility and task of anyone to ever walk this planet, was able to spend time going deep with family, friends, and sometimes even strangers. Do you have the time to do this?

 

3. Jesus asked challenging questions.

The heart of the Gospel is an invitation to be in a life-giving real relationship with God. This relationship includes the opportunity to follow Him daily, right here and now. As Jesus was announcing the Good News through preaching, teaching, and healing, He was unafraid to issue challenging questions to His followers and those listening.

Questions like “Will you really lay down your life for me?” and “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world but forfeit his soul?”

The invitation to follow after Jesus is the most incredible opportunity any of us will ever have. It is a life filled with significance, meaning, and purpose. But, to truly live out the faith that Jesus is inviting us into will require a substantial cost. To do anything of significance comes with significant challenges, and following Jesus is no exception.

As a pastor, I often wonder how much growth the church loses out on simply because we don’t ask or challenge our people enough. I think most pastors are skilled at proclaiming the justification of Jesus, but far fewer are skilled at challenging their people towards a life of holiness. It’s good to ask someone to believe in Jesus, but it’s deeper and more challenging to ask someone to follow Jesus.

Amazingly, only once in Matthew, Mark, and Luke does Jesus ask a question with the word “believe” in it. Of course, we should never abandon the invitation to believe in Jesus, but we certainly should frequently be challenging our people to truly follow Jesus.

 

4. Jesus didn’t ask when questions…ever.

We ask a lot of “when” questions.

“When will I find a spouse?”

“When will we have a child?”

“When will I get my dream job?” 

“When will the pandemic be over?”

“When will the Cleveland Browns win a Super Bowl?”

“When will Jesus come back?”

I think that Jesus will be back before the Browns ever win!

Amazingly, not once, in all the 305 questions that Jesus asked, does Jesus ask a “when” question. So think about that, in everything we know that Jesus said, He never asks “when.”

While you will find the word “when” in 11 of His questions, never was “when” the question’s emphasis. For instance, Mark 22:35 says, “When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?” Though the word “when” is in the question, the question’s emphasis is “did you lack anything?”

What could all of this mean?

Maybe “when” you live with an eternal framework as Jesus did, the “when” questions just aren’t as important. The more you have certainty and confidence in who Jesus is and the promises He declared, the less critical our “when” questions are. All of the “when” questions we ask may feel important at the time, and I don’t mean to trivialize what we go through in this life, but “when” you already know the outcome, you don’t need to live with worry. God is in control. More important to Jesus than when things happen is who we are following and how we are growing.

I hope that helps. Without further ado, here are the 305 questions that Jesus asks. Which one sticks out to you, and why?

Matthew:

1.   5:13 But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?

2.   5:46: If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?

3.   5:46: Are not even the tax collectors doing that?

4.   5:47: And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others?

5.   5:47: Do not even pagans do that?

6.   6:25: Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?

7.   6:26: Are you not much more valuable than they?

8.   6:27: Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

9.   6:28: Why do you worry about clothes?

10.   6:30: If this is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

11.   7:3: Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?

12.   7:4: How can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?

13.   7:9: Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?

14.   7:10: Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?

15.   7:16: Do people pick grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?

16.   8:26: You of little faith, why are you so afraid?

17.   9:4: Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts?

18.   9:5: Which is easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven,” or to say, “Get up and walk”?

19.   9:15: How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them?

20.   9:28: Do you believe that I am able to do this?

21.   10:29: Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?

22.   11:7: What did you go out into the desert to see?

23.   11:7: A reed swayed by the wind?

24.   11:8: If not, what did you go out to see?

25.   11:8: A man dressed in fine clothes?

26.   11:9: Then what did you go out to see?

27.   11:10: A prophet?

28.   11:16: To what can I compare this generation?

29.   11:23: And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies?

30.   12:3: Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?

31.   12:5: Or haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent?

32.   12:11: If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out?

33.   12:26: If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?

34.   12:27: And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out?

35.   12:29: Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man?

36.   12:34: You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good?

37.   12:48: Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?

38.   13:51: Have you understood all these things?

39.   14:31: You of little faith, why did you doubt?

40.   15:3: And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?

41.   15:16: Are you still so dull?

42.   15:17: Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body?

43.   15:34: How many loaves do you have?

44.   16:8: You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread?

45.   16:9: Do you still not understand?

46.   16:9: Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered?

47.   16:10: Of the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered?

48.   16:11: How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread?

49.   16:13: Who do people say the Son of Man is?

50.   16:15: But what about you?

51.   16:15: Who do you say I am?

52.   16:26: What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?

53.   16:26: Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

54.   17;17: O unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I stay with you?

55.   17:17: How long shall I put up with you?

56.   17:25: What do you think, Simon?

57.   17:25: From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own sons or from others?

58.   18:12: What do you think?

59.   18:13: If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go look for the one that wandered off?

60.   19:4: Haven’t you read that at the beginning the Creator made them male and female, and said, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh”?

61.   19:17: Why do you ask me about what is good?

62.   20:21: What is it you want?

63.   20:22: Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?

64.   20:32: What do you want me to do for you?

65.   21:16: Have you never read, “From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise”?

66.   21:25: John’s baptism—where did it come from?

67.   21:25: Was it from heaven, or from men?

68.   21:28: What do you think?

69.   21:31: Which of the two did what his father wanted?

70.   21:40: When the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?

71.   21:42: Have you never read in the Scriptures: “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes”?

72.   22:18: You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me?

73.   22:20: Whose portrait is this?

74.   22:20: And whose inscription?

75.   22:31-32: Have you not read what God said to you, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”?

76.   22:42: What do you think about the Christ?

77.   22:42: Whose son is he?

78.   22:43: How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him “Lord”?

79.   22:45: If then David calls him, “Lord,” how can he be his son?

80.   23:17: Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred?

81.   23:19: Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred?

82.   23:33: How will you escape being condemned to hell?

83.   24:2: Do you see all these things?

84.   24:45: Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time?

85.   26:10: Why are you bothering this woman?

86.   26:40: Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?

87.   26:45: Are you still sleeping and resting?

88.   26:53: Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?

89.   26:54: But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way?

90.   26:55: Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me?

91.   27:46: Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Mark

92.  2:8: Why are you thinking these things?

93.  2:9: Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven,” or to say, “Get up, take your mat and walk?”

94.  2:19: How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them?

95.  2:25: Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need?

96.  3:4: Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?

97.  3:23: How can Satan drive out Satan?

98.  4:13: Don’t you understand this parable?

99.  4:13: How then will you understand any parable?

100. 4:21: Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed?

101. 4:21: Instead, don’t you put it on its stand?

102. 4:30: What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it?

103. 4:40: Why are you so afraid?

104. 4:40: Do you still have no faith?

105. 5:9: What is your name?

106. 5:30: Who touched my clothes?

107. 5:39: Why all this commotion and wailing?

108. 6:38: How many loaves do you have?

109. 7:18: Are you so dull?

110. 7:18: Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them?

111. 8:5: How many loaves do you have?

112. 8:12: Why does this generation ask for a miraculous sign?

113. 8:17: Why are you talking about having no bread?

114. 8:17: Do you still not see or understand?

115. 8:17: Are your hearts hardened?

116. 8:18: Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear?

117. 8:18: And don’t you remember?

118. 8:19: When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?

119. 8:20: And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?

120. 8:21: Do you still not understand?

121. 8:23: Do you see anything?

122. 8:27: Who do people say I am?

123. 8:29: But what about you?

124. 8:29: Who do you say I am?

125. 8:36: What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?

126. 8:37: Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

127. 9:12: Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected?

128: 9:16: What are you arguing with them about?

129: 9:19: How long shall I stay with you?

130: 9:19: How long shall I put up with you?

131: 9:21: How long has he been like this?

132. 9:23: If you can?

133. 9:33: What were you arguing about on the road?

134. 9:50: Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again?

135. 10:3: What did Moses command you?

136. 10:18: Why do you call me good?

137: 10:36: What do you want me to do for you?

138: 10:38: Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?

139: 10:51: What do you want me to do for you?

140. 11:17: Is it not written: “My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations?”

141. 11:30: John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or from men?

142. 12:9: What then will the owner of the vineyard do?

143. 12:10-11: Haven’t you read this scripture: “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes?”

144. 12:15: Why are you trying to trap me?

145. 12:16: Whose portrait is this?

146. 12:16: And whose inscription?

147. 12:24: Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures of the power of God?

148. 12:26: Now about the dead rising—have you not read in the book of Moses, in the account of the bush, how God said to him, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?”

149. 12:35: How is it that the teachers of the law say that the Christ is the son of David?

150. 12:37: How then can be his son?

151. 13:2: Do you see all these great buildings?

152. 14:6: Why are you bothering her?

153. 14:14: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?

154. 14:37: Simon, are you asleep?

155. 14:37: Could you not keep watch for one hour?

156. 14:41: Are you still sleeping and resting?

157. 14:48: Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me?

158. 15:35: Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani–which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Luke

159. 2:49: Why were you searching for me?

160. 2:49: Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?

161. 5:22: Why are you thinking these things in your heart?

162. 5:23: Which is easier: to say, “Your sins are forgiven,” or to say, “Get up and walk?”

163. 5:34: Can you make the bridegroom fast while he is with them?

164. 6:3: Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?

165. 6:9: I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?

166. 6:32: If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?

167. 6:33: And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you?

168. 6:34: And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you?

169. 6:39: Can a blind man lead a blind man?

170. 6:39: Will they not both fall into a pit?

171. 6:41: Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?

172. 6:42: How can you say to your brother, “Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,” when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye?

173. 6:46: Why do you call me “Lord, Lord,” and not do what I say?

174. 7:24: What did you go out into the desert to see?

175. 7:24: A reed swayed by the wind?

176. 7:25: If not, what did you go out to see?

177. 7:25: A man dressed in fine clothes?

178. 7:26: But what did you go out to see?

179. 7:26: A prophet?

180. 7:31: To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation?

181. 7:31: What are they like?

182. 7:42: Now, which of them will love him more?

183. 7:44: Do you see this woman?

184. 8:25: Where is your faith?

185. 8:30: What is your name?

186. 8:45: Who touched me?

187. 9:18: Who do the crowds say I am?

188. 9:20: But what about you?

189. 9:20: Who do you say I am?

190. 9:25: What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?

191. 9:41: How long shall I stay with you and put up with you?

192. 10:15: And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies?

193. 10:26: What is written in the Law?

194. 10:26: How do you read it?

195. 10:36: Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?

196. 11:11: Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?

197. 11:12: Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?

198. 11:18: If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand?

199. 11:19: Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your followers drive them out?

200. 11:40: Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also?

201. 12:6: Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?

202. 12:14: Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?

203. 12:20: Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?

204. 12:25: Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?

205. 12:26: Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

206. 12:42: Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time?

207. 12:51: Do you think I came to bring peace on earth?

208. 12:56: How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?

209. 12:57: Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right?

210. 13:2: Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way?

211. 13:4: Do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem?

212. 13:7: Why should it use up the soil?

213. 13:15: Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water?

214. 13:16: Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?

215. 13:18: What is the kingdom of God like?

216. 13:18: What shall I compare it to?

217. 13:20: What shall I compare the kingdom of God to?

218. 14:3: Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?

219. 14:5: If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out?

220. 14:28: Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?

221. 14:31: Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand?

222. 14:34: Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?

223. 15:4: Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?

224. 15:8: Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?

225. 16:11: If you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?

226. 16:12: If you have not been trustworthy in with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?

227. 17:7: Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, “Come along now and sit down to eat?”

228. 17:8: Would he not rather say, “Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me, while I eat and drink?

229. 17:9: Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do?

230. 17:17: Were not all ten cleansed?

231. 17:17: Where are the other nine?

232. 17:18: Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?

233. 18:7: And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night?

234: 18:7: Will he keep putting them off?

235: 18:8: Will he find faith on the earth?

236: 18:19: Why do you call me good?

237: 18:41: What do you want me to do for you?

238: 20:4: John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or from men?

239: 20:15: What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?

240. 20:17: Then what is the meaning of that which is written: “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone?”

241. 20:24: Whose portrait and inscription are on it?

242. 20:41: How is it that they say the Christ is the Son of David?

243. 20:44: How then can he be his son?

244. 22:11: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?

245. 22:27: For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves?

246. 22:27: Is it not the one who is at the table?

247. 22:35: When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?

248. 22:46: Why are you sleeping?

249. 22:48: Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?

250. 22:52: Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs?

251. 23:31: For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?

252. 24:17: What are you discussing together as you walk along?

253. 24:19: What things?

254. 24:38: Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your minds?

255. 24:41: Do you have anything here to eat?

John

256. 1:38: What do you want?

257. 2:4: Dear woman, why do you involve me?

258. 3:10: Do you not understand these things?

259. 3:12: How then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?

260. 4:7: Will you give me a drink?

261. 4:35: Do you not say, “Four months more and then the harvest?”

262. 5:6: Do you want to get well?

263. 5:44: How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?

264. 5:47: How are you going to believe what I say?

265. 6:5: Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?

266. 6:61: Does this offend you?

267. 6:67: You do not want to leave too, do you?

268. 6:70: Have I not chosen you, the Twelve?

269. 7:19: Has not Moses given you the law?

270. 7:19: Why are you trying to kill me?

271. 7:23: Why are you angry with me for healing the whole man on the Sabbath?

272. 8:10: Women, where are they?

273. 8:43: Why is my language not clear to you?

274. 8:46: Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?

275. 8:46: If I am telling you the truth, why don’t you believe me?

276. 9:35: Do you believe in the Son of Man?

277. 10:32: For which of these do you stone me?

278. 10:34: Is it not written in your Law, “I have said you are gods?”

279. 10:36: What about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world?

280. 10:36: Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, “I am God’s Son?”

281. 11:9: Are there not twelve hours of daylight?

282. 11:26: Do you believe this?

283. 11:34: Where have you laid him?

284. 11:40: Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?

285. 12:27: Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say?

286. 12:27: Father, save me from this hour?

287. 13:12: Do you understand what I have done for you?

288. 13:38: Will you really lay down your life for me?

289. 14:9: Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time?

290. 14:10: Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?

291. 16:5: Where are you going?

292. 16:19: Are you asking another what I meant when I said, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me?”

293. 18:4: Who is it you want?

294. 18:7: Who is it you want?

295. 18:11: Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?

296. 18:21: Why question me?

297. 18:23: But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?

298. 18:34: Is that your own idea or did others talk to you about me?

299. 20:15: Woman, why are you crying?

300: 20:15: Who is it you are looking for?

301. 21:5: Friends, haven’t you any fish?

302. 21:15: Do you truly love me more than these?

303: 21:16: Do you truly love me?

304. 21:17: Do you love me?

305. 21:22: If I want him to remain alive until l return, what is that to you?

The following are questions that Jesus speaks, but He quotes from others. Therefore, I have not included them in His original questions.

Matthew 6:30, 7:22, 13:27, 18:33, 20:6, 20:13, 20:15, 22:12, 25;26, 25:37, 25:38, 25:39, 25;44

Mark 11:3

Luke 12:17, 16:2, 16:3, 16:5, 16:7, 19:22, 19:23, 19:31, 20:13,

Scripture is taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.

The post All 305 Questions Jesus Asked with 4 Fascinating Discoveries appeared first on Red Letter Living.

End Racism – 6 Biblical Steps to Pursue Racial Reconciliation

On August 28, 1963, ten speakers took the stage to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. The last speaker, Martin Luther King, Jr., had prepared an 11-minute speech to close the day. The crowd of 250,000 people had been there for hours already. Even though the last time slot is, in many respects, the worst one to have, King Jr., delivered a speech that would forever change the world. 

Upon taking the stage, King Jr. realized that the crowd hadn’t experienced an “aha” moment yet. While progress in race relations over the previous 100 years presented a reason to celebrate, the reality is that the fight for equality amongst races was nowhere near completed.

As King Jr. took the stage, he slid his prepared speech to the left side of the lectern and delivered a 17-minute speech that is arguably the GSOAT: Greatest Speech of All Time.

He spoke of a dream that all men and women would be equals and that racism would no longer exist. Ultimately, he hoped that as all people would come together as one, the glory of the Lord would shine brighter than ever. To read the entire “I Have a Dream Speech,” go here.

Almost 60 years later, as we celebrate and honor the life of this extraordinary disciple and leader, we still stand at a crossroads. Things are not as they ought to be. Racism still exists. All are not treated equally.

In 2022, it’s time for all of God’s children, white, black, brown, red, and yellow, to make peace and pursue reconciliation. To stop this injustice and put an end to racism. At the heart of the Gospel is the fact that Jesus reconciled us broken, sinful people back into a right relationship with God the Father. We who have received the peace of God now must give it away to others and give it away in droves.

How many more people do we need to lose? How much longer will we wait? When will we fight against the injustice of racism? How do we even do this?

Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” Matthew 5:9

He also said these words in His most famous sermon, and it’s time we put these words into action. Remember, Jesus didn’t just say this phrase and expect it to fall on deaf ears. No, he closed this famous sermon with these words: “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” Matthew 7:24

The words of Jesus are to be heard and followed.

Therefore, the children of God are called not just to keep the peace but to make peace with one another.

Many of us want to help, but we’re unsure what to do. When we are uncertain of what to do, it’s essential to gain wisdom from God. The great news is that when we ask Him for wisdom, He gives it to us. 

The central place to gain wisdom is in God’s Word.

Thankfully, God’s Word isn’t silent on this topic. There are six critical steps that we can take to pursue racial reconciliation, and I believe the order of these 6 are essential and intentional.

 

Pray

The first step we can take is to pray.

Some people say that you should do more than pray. You should speak. You should act. And they are correct. But, true reconciliation has to start with prayer. Prayer matters.

2 Chronicles 7:14 says this: “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

The reason why this step is first is because we need help from heaven. We need God to show up. If we try to make peace with others without personally being changed on the inside and hearing from God, our efforts will be futile. We cannot do this alone.

So how can you start to pursue racial reconciliation?

You can pray. 

Pray for those who are hurting.Pray for those in leadership to make wise decisions. Pray for compassion. Pray for justice. Pray for those who suffer unjustly and for those who protect us bravely. Pray for the victims and for those who serve. Pray for opportunities to use your voice and to act. Pray for unity in the body of Christ. Pray that God would reveal to you how you can help make peace.

 

Every injustice in this world, including racism, is a spiritual problem. Racism is not primarily a political issue. It is a spiritual issue. We battle not against flesh and blood but against powers and principalities of this dark world. Prayer is not our last line of defense; it is our first line of offense. It ought not to be a last resort but a first response.

A lot of us want to make a difference in this world. Typically, we will talk about all of the things we can do. But the truth of the matter is that God is far more powerful than you. God can do more in one second than you can do in your entire lifetime. In light of that, what you should be praying for, and focusing on, is allowing God to move mightily and making room for the Holy Spirit to move powerfully.

And because of this reality, biblically speaking, the biggest difference you can make in this world is not by things that you do but by prayers that you pray. 

After you pray and invite God into the situation, here’s a second step.

 

Listen

When injustice is seen, it creates emotions in us. And we want to do something. And we want to say something. But before we move to those steps, it’s essential to listen.

Solomon, the wisest man in the world in the Old Testament, said this in Proverbs 18:13:

“To answer before listening— that is folly and shame.”

If I were to hold a Coca-Cola bottle up and show it to you, we would see different things.

If you see “Coca-Cola,” on your side, then on my side I would see all the nutrition facts showing me all the reasons I shouldn’t be drinking this stuff!

This simple illustration tells us that two people can be looking at the same thing but seeing it completely differently. And until everyone walks to the other side to see how the other sees it, we will continue to be at odds with one another.

When someone is hurting and crying out, it is our responsibility to understand why they are hurting and crying. When Mary Magdalene couldn’t find the body of Jesus, she was crying, and before doing anything, Jesus came beside her and said these four words, “Why are you crying?”

That powerful question gives a person the opportunity to speak about what is going on in their story. I have found this practice to be so helpful. To have someone else share their story with me has helped me see the waters I swim in that much more clearly.

Walking to the other side is vital for everyone, but it’s God’s children, the ones who have received God’s grace, that must take the first step. God took the first step in reconciling us back to Him.

Thank God that Jesus took the first step and walked to your side, and came into your life. Where would you be without Him taking those steps in your life?

In our day, we have the option to listen to just about anything or anyone. Of course, we ought to listen to a wide variety of people, but the best form of listening we can do is with an actual real person who is different from us. With all of the injustice in the world right now, you can become easily overwhelmed or desensitized. But when you have a real relationship with someone different than you, you gain a much greater understanding. Problems become real when on the other side of the problem is a person you know.

In our effort to “walk to the other side,” another critical step is to continue to educate ourselves.

 

Educate

I have found that with the topic of racism, many people will give opinions. It’s great to hear what others share but if we are going to really understand, it requires work on our part. It requires a level of intentionality.

Again, the wise man Solomon said in Proverbs 18:2: “Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions.”

When it comes to educating ourselves in this matter, you must receive your education from more than one place. Even though we can learn and educate ourselves from more sources than ever, most people listen to the same echo chambers repeatedly. And it’s only making us more divisive as a whole. Quit listening to the same echo chambers, or simply, one talking head, especially if that talking head looks and sounds like you already. But, instead, listen, read, and watch a diverse mix to be clear-eyed about the situation. I hope you consider this blog, but it shouldn’t be the only thing you read.

Here’s what I would say is one of the critical things I have learned regarding this issue of black and white. I’m speaking for me. Some of my learning over the past few years deals with the fact that as a white person, I think it’s easy for me to look back at our history in our nation and say, “Well, as bad as things were, at least things are moving in the right direction now.”

It’s easy to point to a list of things going in the right direction.

In 1865, the 13th amendment abolished slavery.In 1870, the 15th amendment gave blacks the right to vote.In 1954 and 1955, Brown vs. the Board of Education and Rosa Parks helped give further rights back to the black community.In 1964, the Constitution officially ended segregation and discrimination based on race.In 2008, the first black president Barack Obama was elected.

Despite those steps in the right direction, what we have seen in the past couple of years, has clearly shown us we haven’t arrived at the finish line. There is more work to do. Systemic oppression and persecution for centuries doesn’t just end with a law or two or a milestone or two or a figurehead or two change everything overnight and make things an even playing field.

Several years ago, I was convicted that I needed to be a part of the solution for racial reconciliation. But, unfortunately, I had a long way to go to educate myself properly. I felt like I had a very limited, sheltered experience growing up.

I enrolled in an initiative that brought together about 16 men and women of different races, genders, and professions to learn what it’s like to be a person of different skin color. As part of this initiative, we experienced three full-day field trips. One of those trips was to the local courthouse in Orlando, Florida.

What I experienced that day forever changed my perspective. I can’t un-see what my eyes saw. I’ll remember many things, but what stuck out to me the most was the pretrial hearings. Each defendant received about one minute in front of the judge in that room before they entered their plea. Every defendant, about 25 people in total, was either black or brown skin. Not one white person. Not one.

I know every story is different and unique. I understand that some white people have grown up in oppression, and some black people have grown up in riches. But overall, historically, it has been easier to succeed in America having white skin than black skin. And there are still differences that exist today. It’s why our black brothers and sisters have been crying out so passionately for decades.

Continue to educate yourself. Perhaps, on this MLK Jr. holiday, you will do as I’m doing and read his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” 

After putting it in God’s hands through prayer and listening, and educating ourselves, we are ready for our fourth step. 

 

Act

Some of you might be thinking this isn’t my problem. I’m not a racist. Helping end racism is for someone else.

I think that most children of God don’t believe that they live with racism or bias in their life.

But, statistically, Christians are more likely to be considered racist than those who are not Christian. Unfortunately, hatred and bigotry are words people associate with Christians too often. And the church hour of the week is one of the most segregated hours of the week.

Barna Research, one of the top Christian research groups, did a study in 2016 in the wake of the beginning of the Black Lives Matter movement that started and this was their conclusion:

“Our research confirms the fear that the church (or the people in it) may be part of the problem in the hard work of racial reconciliation. If you’re a white, evangelical, Republican, you are less likely to think race is a problem, but more likely to think you are a victim of reverse racism. You are also less convinced that people of color are socially disadvantaged. Yet these same groups believe the church plays an important role in reconciliation. This dilemma demonstrates that those supposedly most equipped for reconciliation do not see the need for it. 

More than any other segment of the population, white evangelical Christians demonstrate a blindness to the struggle of their African American brothers and sisters. This is a dangerous reality for the modern church. Jesus and his disciples actively sought to affirm and restore the marginalized and obliterate divisions between groups of people. Yet, our churches and ministries are still some of the most ethnically segregated institutions in the country.”

I think a more common problem for children of God in the pursuit of racial reconciliation is not sins of commission (a sin we commit) but rather sins of omission (something we omit or don’t do). A convicting thought I’ve had in my life regarding this issue, and I think it could be said of the church as well, is this, “Might it be that our greatest sin in this area is what we haven’t done and said?”

The closer I get to Jesus, the more I see how far away from Him I genuinely am.

I certainly have my list of sins that I have to confess to of things I have done, but I think my list of sins of omission would be far more damning and numerous than my sins of commission.

In the Letter from Birmingham Jail referenced above, King Jr. echoes similar thoughts to the above research. We are still struggling decades later with the same issue. Here are his sentiments: 

First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action”; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a “more convenient season.” Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.

I come before you today knowing that I need to repent. I haven’t acted as much as I could have in some areas. But I know I’m not alone. Apathy and indifference are not the answer. The church is called to reject apathy and embrace action.

Our first action step is repentance. Repentance, though, does not mean that we return to life as it was. To repent means to turn. It leads to acting in a new way. Sadly, too many churches, pastors, and Christians got together to repent after the George Floyd tragedy, but then just went back to what they were doing. No, after repenting, we must act in a way that brings reconciliation. It’s up to the children of God to continue the work of Jesus in bringing peace to this world. Paul says it so clearly to us in these words of 2 Corinthians 5:17-21:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

God has given us the ministry of reconciliation. Yes, everyone needs to walk to the other side, whites to blacks, blacks to whites, police officers to blacks, blacks to police officers. Yes, yes, and yes. But those who have been reconciled, children of God, are called to take the first step.

We have a God who was proactive and not reactive for us.

Romans 5:8: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

He did not wait for us to have it all together. He came down into our broken, messy stories. We have a God who crosses lines to love people in, not draws lines to keep people out. If you are a child of God and are any part of the church of God, you have the ministry of reconciliation.

So what do you do? Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step.” Your step might be different than mine, but take the first step today. Pray, Listen, Educate, Act. 

Then we move to the fifth step, which, sadly, is most people’s first step. 

 

Speak

Your first step doesn’t have to be posting something on social media to make it seem like you care. I’ve seen so many posts go awry due to ignorance or speaking in the heat of the moment.

Prayer, Listening, Education, and Action should all come before speaking. Please don’t hear me wrong, though. At some point, we are called to speak up. And it’s best done after action. Why?

Actions before words make your words more powerful.

We have been called, the Bible says, out of darkness and into His marvelous light so that we would declare His praises. There is a time to declare, speak, and proclaim God’s truth. The ministry of reconciliation requires the Gospel of Jesus. Faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ.

Pastor and Dr. Charlie Dates says, “Believers of color want their brothers and sisters to call out the injustice around them. They want to stand in unity in rebuking a wayward culture.”

The word unity is essential. The world doesn’t need your voice right now to bring division. I’ve seen so many posts lead to more division, political arguments, blame, and hatred. D.L Moody once said: “You may find hundreds of faultfinders among professed Christians, but all of their criticism will never lead one solitary soul to Christ.”

Rather than accusing blame, let’s encourage peaceful protests and voices that unify.

Here’s something you can say right now:

“Racism is real.” 

You can wholeheartedly be against racism and injustice and wholeheartedly for honorable police officers. You don’t have to choose sides. But you do need to speak the truth. Racism is real. And it’s wrong. Even if you haven’t seen it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Until we acknowledge the problem, we can’t be part of the solution. So we have to recognize it.

We are called to speak about this in our home, not just in public. So if we talk more about this in public or on social media than in our very homes, we have to ask what our motivation is.

And here’s another thing you can say: 

“Racism is wrong.” 

No one should ever be mistreated, hurt, or oppressed simply because of the color of their skin.

There is a great debate right now with the three words “Black Lives Matter.” 

I understand the debate. It’s hard because, as a statement, those three words are entirely true. But, as a movement, it’s tough to stand for some of the things this movement is promoting. 

But rejecting the truth that comes from this statement, or trying to alter it, is not helpful.

So many people will push back and say, “All Lives Matter, Blue Lives Matter, Unborn Lives Matter” Yes, Yes, Yes, and Amen. But sometimes, you have to be very specific and personal.

I have two kids. If one of my kids is left alone, abused, and hurting, I won’t go up to him and say your life matters as much as your brother’s. No, I would look at him and say, “You Matter” because I love the individual as well as the whole. When someone is hurting, they don’t need to hear the politically correct phrase; they need to hear your voice say “Your Life Matters.”

I have asked my black friends if my white voice really does matter regarding this topic.

Not everyone who is black may share their opinion, but they told me resoundingly, “Yes, we need your voice. You have a platform. And sometimes, white people will hear things differently from a white person than a black person. We are asking you to speak out on our behalf. We’ve been crying out for a while against this injustice, and we need your help. Please.”

So as a white pastor in the pursuit to let our black brothers and sisters know that their lives do matter, I would go so far as to say that white voices do matter in the pursuit of racial reconciliation. You cannot have reconciliation if only one party wants it. Therefore, the children of God of all colors must all use their unique voices and actions to bring the peace of God into this situation.

Another truth that must be shared when it comes to speaking. Too many Christians can be known for what they are against but not what they are for. So, yes, let’s speak up against racism, but let’s also speak up for diversity, equity, inclusion, loving our neighbors, etc.

After these five steps, I truly believe the 6th step is where we will start seeing some significant movement in this pursuit of racial reconciliation.

 

Expect

While we can take steps to help, only God can move mountains, part seas and walk on water. When you invite God’s power and presence into injustice and then use your unique calling and gifts that He has given to you, this is when God moves mightily. 

You might feel like this will never get better. But our God has a history of coming down and making a way when it seems like there is no way.

For four centuries, there has been an injustice to the black community in our nation. How can we make a change now? You can’t, but God can.

Let us not forget that it was for four centuries that God’s people, the Israelites, were enslaved to the Egyptian superpower under the rule of King Pharaoh. Things were progressively worsening for the Israelite people, and now they had escalated. Innocent lives were being murdered as Hebrew baby boys were killed for no good reason.

At this time, God came down in a burning bush and said, “I have seen the misery of my people. I’m coming down to rescue them.”

 

When God turns an eye toward injustice, it will be defeated. 

Injustice will bow down to the power of our mighty God. It will not prevail in the presence of God. Darkness doesn’t stand a chance in the light of God.

So what happened? God came down powerfully, working through human beings like Moses and Aaron, to bring deliverance to an entire race of people. He brought them out of four centuries of oppression and into a good life with His presence.

God right now is looking down at our nation. He sees those who have been hurting and oppressed for four centuries. He sees those who have been hurting for just a little while. 

If you are trying to find where God is in all of this, He always positions Himself to be on the side of the oppressed and the mistreated. So, no matter who you are, if you are hurting, oppressed, and mistreated because of your skin color, or if you are continuing to serve faithfully as a police officer, God sees you.

When we bring God into racial reconciliation, we can expect God to move. You and I cannot change people’s hearts. But, through our prayers, our relationships, and what we say and do, we can give the Holy Spirit room to change people’s hearts. God is the one that changes hearts, but He invites you and me, the children of God, who have been reconciled by the grace of Jesus, to continue the ministry of reconciliation.

Please be a part of the solution.

 

PLEASE

Pray

Listen

Educate

Act

Speak

Expect

God will make this right. And until He comes back and we glorify and worship Him in His full glory, with every nation, every tongue, and every tribe, let’s do our part, knowing that Christ has already done His.

Today is not the first time that a great division has existed. In the New Testament, the Jews and Gentiles had a turbulent history and past and didn’t always get along. And these were words written by Paul to the two tribes. So as you read these words from Ephesians 2:13-20, may it help you grow in your expectation that God can and will bring reconciliation.

“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility…His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.”

The world needs the peace that only Jesus can bring. You have that peace inside of you. Will you PLEASE help?

I’ll end with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s closing to the speech. These words summarized what would happen, if and when, this dream of equality was finally accomplished. 

“When this happens, and when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the Negro spiritual: Free at last. Free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last.”

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