28:19 Church Growth - Biblical and Relevant Church Growth Principles

07/01/2024

Hello friends, Barry here. I had a unique experience over the past week. We had a great Vacation Bible School with 40-50 children in attendance. They were a multicultural group, which I thought was awesome. They resembled the surrounding neighborhoods located near White Bluff.

While that was cool, we had a really cool thing happen twice.

The first time, I was busy preparing for Wednesday night’s games when someone came up to me and shared about a child who had just accepted Christ. She said that he did not have a Bible. So, I felt God’s tugging at my heart to give her a student Bible to share with Him. We went to my office, and I immediately pulled it off the shelf. She returned the next day and said the young man was overjoyed to receive his first Bible. While I never met him, there was plenty of joy to go around!

Sunday, many of the children who attended VBS sang in church. It was awesome, and they did a fantastic job! After church, a young family approached me and shared that they did not have a Bible in the house. The mom said her daughter especially wanted a Bible. Again, I thought about all of the Bibles in my office and how they needed to be put to good use. I asked the family to enjoy some of our WB Krispy Kremes but not leave. And they hung around! When I returned, I had a NIV Essentials Study Bible in my hand along with a Eugene Peterson Message Bible. You would have thought I was handing them bars of gold. To God be the glory for another blessing!

These opportunities reminded me of an important question, “Why are we not doing more regularly to bring people to Jesus… people who really need Jesus?” I know there will always be long-time churchgoers new to the community who need a church, but what about folks who need their first Bible? What are we doing to reach them? Are our Bibles collecting dust on a shelf or being commissioned for life change?

Carey Neiuwhof says there is a difference between “reaching people” and “church growth,” and he’s right! “Church growth” can bring people to faith in Jesus, but churches can also grow by transfer growth from other churches. “Reaching people” is concerned with sharing Jesus with souls who may never have received Christ as Savior or may have fallen away from the Church but are now returning. I understand and believe in the world of Christian Church Growth, but I do like Neiuwhof’s distinction.

I am grateful for God’s blessings this week. The greatest gift we can give is Jesus, and those of us with ample access to God’s Word need to share it freely and openly at every opportunity!

04/26/2024

WE HAVE BEEN SEEN, CHOSEN, AND SENT. LET'S GO!

Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. -Mark 16:15 CSB

Growing up the daughter of first-generation Greek immigrants meant growing up in a very Greek bubble. Because my parents—and all their friends—came to Australia with no one to rely on but one another, they huddled together, firmly entrenched in the idea that there was safety in numbers. So, all my childhood, my parents and aunts and uncles and cousins and friends and neighbors stayed to themselves as much as possible in a tight-knit community, as though they were afraid of what might happen if they ventured out. And it wasn’t because they didn’t speak English. My parents actually spoke five languages: Arabic, Greek, French, Italian and English. They were brilliant people! They knew how to navigate modern society, but they chose to live in a small world of their own making.

Sometimes, I think we as Christians behave similarly. We live in Christian bubbles, inside our Christian communities, inside our collective of Christian friends, and we stay there. Perhaps, we even hide out there, in this Christian subculture of our own making. We design what we think is heaven on earth, and we hunker down in hopes all will go well until we get to leave this planet. When all the while, Jesus has seen us, chosen us and SENT US OUT INTO THE WORLD to make disciples. We can’t make his greatest commandment our first priority if we won’t break out of our bubble.

Jesus didn’t save us to build a Christian subculture. To avoid meeting people who do not look like us, act like us, think like us, or believe like us. He didn’t save us to hide from the world, avoid the world, ignore the world, fear the world, hate the world, condemn the world or judge the world. He literally sent us into the world…to make disciples…for us to love the world that he created and loves so tenderly and so fiercely.

“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”

The most important word in this verse? GO.

Go into all the world.

Go and love the lost.

Go and understand the lost.

Go and have compassion on the lost.

Go and tell the lost about Jesus.

Go and make disciples.

PRAYER
Heavenly Father, thank you that you have seen me, chosen me and sent me. Help me have the strength and courage to go where you tell me to go and do what you’ve called me to do. Amen.

For more on this visit www.christinecaine.com/2020study
Adapted from 20/20: Seen.Chosen.Sent by Christine Caine. Copyright © 2019 by Christine Caine. Reprinted with permission of Lifeway Women. All rights reserved.

04/25/2024

MAKE JESUS' LAST COMMAND YOUR GREATEST PRIORITY

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. -Matthew 28:19-20 CSB

These verses are often referred to as The Great Commission because God has commissioned us to “go and make disciples.” Matthew recorded that these were the very last words Jesus spoke before he ascended into Heaven.

Don’t the last words someone utters always seem important? If someone is writing a Last Will and Testament, they are penning their final instructions and remembrances. Aren’t those words we never forget?

When my mother passed away, it was on the same day as my 50th birthday party. Nick had thrown this marvelous party for me with so many friends, and on the way home, I found numerous missed calls from my brother, Andrew, and a simple text: “Mum is gone.” I’ll never forget how grateful I felt that my other brother, George, had helped her FaceTime with me earlier in the day. I had told her how I would call her after the party and give her a full report on all the fun. I’ll always treasure the last memory I have of her—looking at her face, seeing her sweet smile and hearing her last words to me, “I love you.”

How could I not cherish her last words?

Has anyone every given you last words? What would you do if those last words contained an instruction? What if those words included a plea like, “Take care of your brother,” or, “Look after your mother for me”? Wouldn’t that request become a mission in your life? Wouldn’t that request become your biggest priority?

Could it be that it’s time to make Jesus’ last words—his last command—our greatest priority?

Imagine what would happen if we offered our lives to God for him to make his compassion, power, presence, truth and love known? What would happen if everywhere we go, every interaction we had, we simply said, “God, I am fully available. Use me, use this time, use this interaction to draw others to you?” Do you think he’d answer that prayer? I am convinced he would.

God has chosen you and me to make him known in this world. There is no plan B. We are God’s plan A. Let’s go and make his last command our greatest priority.

PRAYER
God, everywhere I go today, I am fully available. Use me in every interaction, every encounter, to draw others to you. I am ever ready to go and make disciples, in Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Adapted from 20/20: Seen.Chosen.Sent by Christine Caine. Copyright © 2019 by Christine Caine. Reprinted with permission of Lifeway Women. All rights reserved.

03/22/2024

03/18/2024

Focusing on the Presence of God: Picket Fences

This past weekend, I had a new first. I noticed for some time that a neighbor’s wooden picket fence needed some TLC (pressure washing and maybe a little white paint!). So, I asked the neighbor recently if they minded if I spruced it up, no charge! They said yes.

Over two hours, I pressure-washed the fence but realized that white paint would be important to protect the wood from decay. As I began to think about how to quickly and efficiently apply a fresh coat of white paint, I was reminded of the old saying, “Many hands make light work!” I knew six hands were playing video games and could be diverted to assist me (namely, Maddux, Paxton, and Lennox). As we began the process of painting together, it reminded me of times like helping my dad, helping other family and friends, and serving on many mission opportunities.

As we painted, I enjoyed that I was able to share in the activity with my three boys and they were able to learn what serving someone else was all about. While they were not as excited as I was, with encouragement, they did a pretty good job. It reminded me of how our Heavenly Father must feel when we are in His presence… just spending time with Him in a common activity (prayer, Bible study, and Christian community) where He serves us as we serve Him, He listens to us, and He provides the wisdom that we desperately need.

Brother Lawrence once said, “By living in the presence of God, we have an unclouded vision, and life becomes one unbroken divine practice of God’s presence.” I certainly am not God, just ask Erin! But I do know that as children of God, we all should be more willing to spend time with our Creator doing whatever task He calls us to simply for His enjoyment and glory! I long for all our lives to become one unbroken divine practice of God’s presence!

Zephaniah 3:17 says, “For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”

Lord, so often our attention is focused on other things. May we have gratitude as we can spend time with you, even if the mission may sometimes seem difficult and uncomfortable. May we realize how you delight in us and how our time with you leads you to rejoice with joyful songs over us. We love you, Lord. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.

03/12/2024

Focusing on the Presence of God: The Difference Between Obedience and Holy Fire

Recently, I walked into a KFC to eat a quick lunch before heading to the hospital to pray with someone who was having a procedure. As I stood at the counter to order, the lady at the counter said, “I see on your shirt that it says White Bluff Methodist. I love that church.” A little taken aback, I said, “Yes, it is a beautiful church. We are blessed to have such a beautiful facility.” And then I felt like the Lord had opened a door for me to share faith with her. I said, “Thank you for what you are doing here. I pray God’s blessings on you and your friends as y’all work here.” We talked a bit more and then I let her return to her work. After sitting down the Spirit said to me, “Barry, why didn’t you invite her to church?!” I finished my meal and walked back up to the counter. I said, “I would love to invite you to come to my church for one of our 9:30 am services on Sunday.” She said, “I will!” I almost missed an opportunity simply because it was easier to quietly eat my meal and go about my business. Thank goodness I had my shirt on because God had other plans.

God’s holy fire that burns deep within the human heart is attractive to others; they may not know what it is, but they know that they want to be close to it… to be warmed by its presence, to receive the light from its blaze, and to find haven as they draw near.

I am grateful that I feel a holy fire deep within my soul to commune with God, not just daily, but as much as possible. This fire makes me want to dive deeper into Jesus because I feel a strong, continual connection to Him that at times in my life has been missing. It makes me want to pray for my marriage and my children daily. It makes me want to read the Word. It also makes me want to repent. Lord knows I’m not perfect! But he also knows that we should make amends and move forward, not living with regret.

Brother Lawrence said back in the 1600’s, “The soul that is kindled cannot live but in the presence of God.” Hebrews 12:29 says, “Our God is a consuming fire.”

Years ago my grandfather, Francis Allen, and my uncle, Henry Davis, would go over the generational family farm called “Wood Hull.” Wood Hull started as a sawmill community. There were about 200 acres at Wood Hull that my family still owned (they had to sell some of it during the Great Depression to put food on the table). My grandfather and my uncle would do many things out there. Mowing grass was code for “playing golf,” and they loved to play golf! From time to time they would do a controlled burn on the property. The purpose of the controlled burn was to burn away the dead leaves and underbrush so that the trees could grow more freely and the woods became a natural barrier to further fire episodes in the future. The leftovers from the fire acted as fertilizer for the ground so that the pine trees could experience even greater growth.

Oh that God’s holy fire would burn deep within us! We need God’s holy fire to burn away the junk so that we can bloom into the being that He has created us to be. We also need God’s holy fire to create a barrier in us against the wrong kind of fires that can crop up, either of our own doing or because of circumstances that we may encounter in this world.

I have always tried to live in obedience to God. There’s nothing wrong with that as God does command our obedience in Scripture. But here’s the cool part… when we have God’s holy fire raging deep within us, we want to live in constant contact with God, and even that is not enough!

Dear Lord, do with me what you will. I am sorry for the times that I have gone astray and not fully surrendered to you. I pray that your holy fire would be a raging forest fire within the depths of my soul and heart so that people no longer see me, but they see the light of your fire. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.

03/07/2024

Focusing on the Presence of God

Just this week, I have been reading a 17th-century resource called The Practice and Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. His conversations and leadership notes were originally written in the 1600’s and would later be combined to make the book. John Wesley can be counted among Lawrence’s readers, deeply influenced by what he read. One of my favorite quotes from the book is this, “Everything happening on the outside should not concern the soul. It is like a brush fire, flaring up quickly, and quickly burning out.” There is so much that is temporal… here today and gone tomorrow. According to Ecclesiastes, that’s the story of our earthly lives. He believed so admittedly in the smokescreens of this world (things that look good now but have no lasting value) that He said “Everything is meaningless.” Of course, we know that everything is not meaningless or temporal. And that which is ultimately not meaningless or temporal is God, Yahweh, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

I must confess that I am as guilty as anybody over the years of engaging in the distractions of this world rather than seeking only the presence of God. The distractions of this world can be anything that keeps us from the continual connection that God desires with us. Consider the temporary fires in your life that flame out as quickly as they start. Or even worse, the fires you allow to spring up because of neglect, oversight, or even intentionally may become raging forest fires, destructively consuming everything in their path.

The continual connection that God desires with us is like a high-speed wifi signal that floats through the air. The funny thing about the wifi signal is that I do not notice it when it is working. If the wifi signal goes off at home, even for a moment, my kids and wife come find me and say, “What happened to the internet?!” Oh that we would set up markers in our lives that could highlight the moment our connection to God has interference or is disconnected!

We reinforce the connection through Bible study, prayer, wise counsel, and equally yoked friendships. In addition, we should limit anything that might interfere with God’s signal coming through loud and clear, including the vices of our desires, what others may do, and the forces of darkness in this world. Remember, God has already won the victory, and it is time for us to claim that victory through the cross of Christ as we die to ourselves and strive for an ever-increasing faith that can move mountains.

Blessings to you. Barry.

03/01/2024

Hello all, I arrived back from the New Room Leaders Gathering around 5 pm Thursday. It was an awesome experience! I humbly want to share with you my notes from the leadership gathering in the hopes that maybe God may awaken something in you as you read it.

If something is not immediately awakened in you, enjoy and pray over it– that God might speak. He certainly spoke to me! This will be a needed but major paradigm shift in the church, especially as we seek to make disciples. Matthew 28:19.

As you read this, you’ll also see areas where maybe you and I have work to do, and that’s okay too! Because we are all works in progress. As they said about Ruth Graham’s headstone during the leader’s gathering, “End of Construction; thank you for your patience!”

Resources:

AwakeningLibrary.com (including in-depth discussions of the Asbury Revival in February 2023)

Inner Room app
‘
Wesley’s Veterans by John Telford (Google Book is available online for free)

Notes:

Our churches need an encounter with Jesus, not a kingdom with a King…like when the people clamored for Saul in the old days. God gave them Saul, and it didn’t work out so well.

Our titles (education, ministry office, etc.) do not determine our integrity.

Never lead from a title; lead from your testimony!

In Jesus, we should find confidence, humility, joy, and everything else!

Live in the fullness of life God has for you or walk around like a dead man walking.

It’s not about any of us; it’s about how He wants to use us for His glory.

Make space for God. Two ways to do this is by allowing Him to 1) interrupt the ordinary (don’t feel like you have to be so structured that it pushes God out of the experience) and 2) lingering (we are programmed for a certain length of a meeting, but sometimes God wants us to linger and allow Him to move).

Jesus is the leader. Jesus holds the room. Jesus becomes the pastor. It’s about total surrender for both clergy and laity. What is it that Jesus wants us to do?

We need to communicate the love of Jesus in all things.

Gen Z (born 2000-2020) is looking for consistency, authenticity in relationships, to build able to trust, and for others to understand that they want Jesus as much as their leaders.

Presence of Jesus
-How do we move toward it and recognize it?
-We ask Him what He’s doing.
-It is not our job to create it.
-Our job is to minister to His heart.

Involve the younger generations in the leadership of the church, both in decision-making and on stage (especially the under 40 ages). If we want our churches to become younger, we must become generational in all things… with the younger generations holding genuine leadership and real authority to make decisions.

We need to pray specifically for young people.

How to develop a prayer culture:
-prayer must be repetitive and not sporadic
-the leadership of the church cannot delegate prayer (clergy, staff, and laity)
-we need to teach people how to pray
-realize that God wants to commune with us.
-the enemy wants to keep people from praying
-prayer creates a furnace that burns underneath our church

God pours out His Spirit in places that really want Him.

The stone the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.

God is a whole-hearted lover that doesn’t want to share us. He wants our whole heart.

Lack of corporate revival is no excuse for personal revival.

We need have an in-breaking of the presence of God in our homes through prayers that we pray for and with one another.

Zeal without holiness is not enough.

Before doing a lot of stuff, do one good prayer meeting first!

God will begin to show up when we seek Him through prayer.

Our churches need to consider a regional prayer movement, uniting with other churches so that the community is bathed in prayer in multiple locations.

Do not be program-driven; instead, BE PRESENCE DRIVEN!

Don’t get the people in the prayer room; get the prayer culture in the people.

Chase the ordinary because God is in the ordinary.

It’s about God’s timing and it is not our meeting!

As you plan, move from a spreadsheet to a whiteboard.
-70% planned with an openness to the movement of the Holy Spirit
-pray, “Lord, have your way!”
-multiple perspectives
-solo perspective can always impede the movement of God
-need perspectives in the room from women, the young, those of varying ethnicities, those working jobs beyond the church, those new to the churches, those without formal education, and those who are growing in their faith (not an exhaustive list)
-multiple perspectives can provide 100’s of years of wisdom
-be willing to step up or step aside
-crush your ego (an acronym for ego is “Edging God Out!”
-LIES= Living In Ego Strength
-Young leaders are attracted to the whiteboard concept
-give up control
-give up people-pleasing
-trust a team to carry it

The church is God’s to build.
Amos 9:11

Presence Metric: Is there more of God in the room than there was last week?
-while we focus on the numbers often, we should more focused on the presence of God being present

Pleasure Metric: Would He be pleased with what we did this week?

Change your heart first!

Sanctification is the end game, not the awakening or the outpouring. The awakening and outpouring may be for a season, but sanctification should be a lifelong process of becoming more like Jesus.

Commitment to consecration
-Change your heart (John 1:4)
The Gospel is a Gospel of Repentence
Stop leading vicariously thru the spiritual experiences of others.
Learn to linger.
Presence of Jesus before programs.
Be an encourager.
-Commit this season to contend for the faith.
The whole point of Jesus’ ministry was to point people to Jesus.
Build a boiler room under your church through prayer.
-Commit to praying for an awakening.
-Commit to communion with God and each other.
Delight in God and one another because God first delights in us!

Focus on more participatory worship.
-for instance, at the beginning of the service, could you ask “How is it with your soul?” and let people share with one another
-during the sermon, offer a periodic time for discussion, focusing on digesting the received message.
-larger prayer groups (4-5) are sometimes advantageous because 2 can be awkward.

How to turn a church around
-Prayer
Deep, hour or two prayer sessions at a time, crying out to God.
Every day of the week.
-Perseverance
-The pastor and church take the mindset that the pastor is planted and rooted to stay.
-Depend on the Holy Spirit
The church needs to focus on the gifts and the fruits of the Spirit.

A turnaround church should know:
-The history of the community.
-Current reality: A church and pastor should understand the current realities of the community (you can ask the police, “What are the biggest problems facing this community?”... they’ll be happy to tell you!)
-What are the trends in the surrounding community?
-Where is God giving you favor?
-Contend for what God has promised you!

A culture of prayer requires:

A burning theological conviction. It is a one-time conviction that will be enforced a thousand times!

Promoting Prayer:
Get in the community.
Go to the prayer room.
Make prayer an adventure.
No one wants to live a lukewarm faith or to be around lukewarm people. Vibrancy attracts! We must show others how to burn!
Pastors, the church will not seek God until you seek God!

If you are 45-50, you are an elder in the church. Embrace it!
-become a spiritual father or mother to someone younger, immediately!
-we should have the same parental love for the younger generations that we have for our own children and grandchildren

Value Consecration over Preparation
-pray, prepare, pray, preach

Observe and Respond to what God is doing in your church.
-pray for discernment.

Cultivate a prudent urgency.

Fasting in the sacrament of desperation.
-choose desperation in your relationship with Jesus.

Avoid both the ditch of despair and the spirit of excess.

Friendships are the condition for the presence of Jesus.

Anticipate pushback.
-we must become more rugid, able to take blows.

Pastors and churches should come to terms with careerism, for that day is over. We need to repent and take the long view of ministry in our churches.

Transformation occurs when we follow the Bread of Life. Jesus:
Took Bread
Blessed the Bread
Broke the Bread
Gave the Bread to others.