Clare De Graaf's Blog, page 34

13 Important Questions to Ask Before You Say “Yes” to Serving on a Ministry Board

Let’s be honest, it’s flattering to be asked to serve on the Board of Directors of a Christian ministry, especially a large one.

I know how easy it is to be seduced into serving when men or women you respect, call on you to serve. I’ve fallen for it. To my shame, I’ve served on a few boards simply because I didn’t want to disappoint a friend who asked. Sound familiar?

And almost all board members are chosen for one or more of these reasons: Their affluence, their influence, their spiritual maturity or experience.

So, next time, before you say “yes” ask yourself and them these important questions.

Searching for a “Safe Dad” or “Safe Mother”

Last year, I was introduced to a great ministry, The New Canaan Society (http://www.newcanaansociety.org/). While attending their retreat/conference in San Francisco, I met a young, aggressive 30 something guy, also attending the meeting, but not yet a Christian. After one meeting, he and some of his friends and I had a glass of wine overlooking the city.

“I’m curious,” I asked, “Why would you pay $1,500 to come to a three day conference filled with Christians, if you’re not yet one yourself?” His response both inspired and challenged me.

“Ever since I was in college, I’ve been looking for a safe dad.”

He went on to tell me that his own father was a jerk. His parents had divorced, but he always longed for an older man he could trust to help him navigate life. Someone had invited him to a New Canaan weekly meeting and he was shocked! There, he met dozens of mature Christian men who were successful, but also clearly loved God and their families more than they loved themselves. He’d never met men like that before! “Whatever they have, I think I want, but I’m not there yet,” he confessed. So, there he was the proverbial rich young ruler, watching and listening – kicking the tires spiritually looking for a safe dad.

Are you too, looking for a safe, spiritually mature man or women to help you navigate life?

Most “Statements of Faith,” Make Me Nervous

When I say Statements of Faith, I mean those lists of what various churches or ministries believe the Bible teaches about God, humans, Jesus and his gift to us of salvation and the promise of eternal life. You know – those lists of truths you’re asked to affirm in order to join a church, or work for a ministry. It’s not the truthfulness of that information that makes me nervous – it’s actually calling that list of what essentially are doctrinal truths, a “statement of faith.”

It may even be dangerous to say that our church has a “statement of faith.” Because, doctrine we believe only on an intellectual level, even if we have faith in the, still is not faith as God sees it. It leads many to falsely assume that if they agree with those statements of truth, that they then have faith – which they very well may not have. (On Thursday, I’ll post a blog with an actual statement of faith, I think you’ll like!)

Faith is like Fire
Faith – true faith is a lot like fire. Let’s assume I was able to write the definitive book on fire, The Complete Book of Fire. And, let’s also assume it was a thoroughly, accurate description of the chemistry of combustion, with lists of all the elements you need to have a fire, how to start a fire, keep it going, cook on it, put it out – a complete book of fire. You would still not actually have fire. Why?

The Deaf – What you Don’t Know About the Largest Unreachable People Group in the World!

This morning as I finish this blog, I’m in Kenya staring out my hotel window, thinking about the Deaf. They are one of the largest unreached people groups in the world – 30-60 million! The Core Deaf are not hard of hearing, or hearing people who’ve lost their ability to hear, but people who have never heard a sound and whose only language is sign language.

So why am I in Kenya thinking about the Deaf and why should you bother reading the balance of this blog?

To my shame, eighteen years ago, I knew nothing about the Deaf except the guilt I felt living across the street from a Deaf kid when I grew up who I thought was retarded because he spoke funny. I know you’re not supposed to use the word retarded anymore, but God forgive me that’s what I thought of him. And, I’m guessing most of you are as clueless as I was about the Deaf, that’s why this blog.

So, I’m asking you to take ten minutes to get some understanding of this unique people group. My guess is that you know a Deaf person or have a friend who does and they may need you to be their advocate. (Later in this blog, I’ll give you some practical ideas of how you can help a Deaf person.) Here’s what I didn’t know and I doubt you do either:

DOOR International (Deaf Opportunity Out Reach)
For the last eighteen years my primary ministry outside of West Michigan where I live, has been helping the Deaf translate the Bible into sign language. I’m the founding Chairman of DOOR International. Our primary campus is in Nairobi, Kenya with a second in India.

Between the two campuses, over 200 Deaf and hearing staff work 8-12-hour days to bring God’s word to the Deaf of the world. Watch this powerful video to get a better understating for what we do and how. http://www.doorinternational.com/

You may be surprised to know that there isn’t a single Deaf Bible (DVD or video) in any sign language, including American Sign Language anywhere in the world that has been approved by Wycliffe, the largest and oldest Bible translation ministry in the world, except those which have been completed by DOOR. If you’d like to see what a Deaf Bible looks like go to www.deafbibles.com and click on any country flag and follow the prompts.

Passing on the Disciplines of True Worship to your Children?

I recently met with a frustrated father of teenagers. Most Sundays, it was like pulling teeth to get their kids to go to church. So, I asked him if he’d ever sat down and taught his children how to worship?

“Oh sure! I’ve told them how important it is that we worship God, that’s why we go to church,” he answered. “That’s not exactly what I meant,” I said. “Have you taught them how to worship, when they go to church?” Two things were obvious to me; he hadn’t taught his children and he himself was unsure what it meant to truly worship when in church.

So, here are some practical ideas you can pass on to children, grandchildren or those you spiritually mentor.

The Dangers of Getting “Good Advice”

When you have an important decision to make, to whom do you go for wise, godly counsel?

Years ago, a pastor I knew called me to ask my advice about what kind of car he should drive. I was immediately curious about why he would call me, because although I drive very nice cars, I’m not a “car guy.” I know nothing about engine sizes, suspensions and performance – nothing!

So here was his question; “I’m thinking about buying a Volvo. But I’m concerned about how that might look to the people in my church that their pastor is driving a relatively expensive car. What do you think?

Well, here’s what I was thinking: This guy knows full well I drive a much better car than a Volvo, so of course I’m not going to lecture him about driving pricey cars. He called me because I was safe.

That’s one of the dangers of getting advice from others. We tend to seek out the people who are likely to give us the answers we want.

Making your Teaching Memorable

For years, I’ve made a study of some of the most effective ways to teach the Bible and a biblical worldview. I’m still a student myself but I’ve come to this conclusion: My job isn’t really to teach. It’s to help others understand. So these “teaching tips” are really practical ideas for making what you teach, understood and memorable.

To begin with, I have these criteria for my teaching:

• Be true to the Bible
Teach the Bible. Don’t try to make it say something it doesn’t clearly teach, or soften it’s teaching when God seems hard or uncompromising. Let the Bible speak for itself.

• Be intellectually honest
Be honest about when the Bible or God “appears” to make no sense to you. Don’t try to put the best spin on hard truths and admit it when you don’t know the answer to every Bible question.

• Be gracious
Admit that there are Christians who love God deeply and have a high view of scripture who disagree with you. But, be kind in your critique of them and their ideas. Also, be gracious with non-Christians. They simply don’t know better.

1. Give those you teach a simple, memorable framework for remembering the most important ideas.
Remember the three-point sermon? Do the same with your teaching. Recently, I taught on “Why bad things happen to good people” I gave the group, in writing, the five reasons I’ve found, then challenged the group to think of a sixth. When they couldn’t, we went back over all five in detail with illustrations for each. My list and the illustrations became a visual template for remembering and framing the discussion.

Unaccompanied, Illegal Child Immigrants: What Would Jesus Do?

I was recently asked by a small group I was teaching, if the Bible had anything to say that would be helpful to understand how Christians should respond to the mass immigration of illegal children along our southern border.

Just in case you’ve been out of the loop, or are not a U.S. citizen here’s the issue; Tens of thousands of unaccompanied children (under 18 and as young as 6) are making their way to the U.S. from a number of Central American countries, specifically Honduras and Guatemala. These are violent countries where parents fear for their children’s lives. San Pedro Sula, Honduras has the highest murder rate of any city in the world. So, parents are sending their children north, all alone, with the hope of living safely in the U.S. with relatives already here. The trip is so dangerous, it’s estimated that only 60% ever arrive at the U.S. border, the rest give up, die, are kidnapped, sold into slavery into or the sex trade.

Technically, the majority of children entering the U.S. are not orphans – they have parents. But, from the time they leave their parents, they are some of the most vulnerable children on the planet. It also needs to be said that both the parents and their children know what they are doing is illegal. But parents are so desperate for the safety of their children; they’re willing to risk everything! Still, without their parent’s protection, I believe the Bible requires us to treat these children as both orphans and aliens.

So, how should Christians respond and are there practical, biblical ways to address this issue?

The New and Extra-Biblical “We Will Serve the Lord!”

Joshua once said, what many of us have declared for our families, “But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15b But Joshua had something completely different in mind than most Christians do when they use the phrase “serve the Lord.”

Have you ever thought what Joshua and the average Israelite actually did in the course of their week to serve the Lord? In Joshua’s day there was no synagogue worship on the Sabbath, so no Sunday school classes to teach, no parking lot attendance, or choir practice or missions committee meeting to attend. There were no para-church ministries to volunteer for, or give money to and yet they served the Lord.

How did they do that and what are we missing?

Why Should Christians Care What Others Do “Behind Closed Doors?”

Last fall I attended a conference on human sexuality at a local Christian college. I spent several hours after the lectures meeting with several gay Christians or those who were in support of same sex relationships and marriage. Some of the heterosexual newcomers to this subject kept coming back to this question:

Why should Christians care what gays do behind closed doors? If it’s a sin – it’s their sin. In any case, doesn’t affect you!

If you’ve heard that argument yourself, here’s why gay marriage and a gay lifestyle does matter to the rest of us!