Revitalize Your Church

At the launching of a brand new year I banish care and doubt from here. The Old we leave without at tear, The New embrace without a fear! Behind us lies our history. Before us lies uncertainty. We must step boldly into the new horizon Unhindered by misgivings Undaunted by anxieties. Certainly, we have plenty to worry about. If we allow it, concern can seep into the soul and corrode the joy. We can worry about the state of the world -- terrorism, war, homeland security. We can worry about the economy -- investments, debt, retirement. We can worry about relationships -- conflicts, misunderstandinds, unresolved issues. We don't have to look far to find cares of every kind. Yet, in the face of it all, God is alive and well! He understands the situation fully, and has it all under control. He is good on his Word, and never fails. As Corrie Ten Boom said, "God has no problems, only plans!"

Cathy and the boys went to northern Minnesota for a Bible Quizzing tournament this weekend, leaving Hannah and me back home to "mind the ranch." Hannah was my little helper. Together, we made a hospice visit and attended the 75th birthday party of Bob, a dear parishoner. We also went out to breakfast together at the Co-op, and to the movies to watch Charlotte's Web. We finished off the evening, by making a suprise visit to our daughter church in Minong. I was pleased to see a church full of people when we arrived five minutes before starting time. It's amazing to realize that we have a healthy, viable congregtion now, that did not even exist a year ago. Driving home in a drizzly snow/sleet mix, we sang praise songs the entire trip. It was fun.

"Say to them, 'As I live!' declares the Lord GOD, 'I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?" -- Ezekiel 33:11

Remember that God has enabled you to become an example of love, forgiveness and brotherly coexistence ... I call on you not to hate because hate does not leave a space for a person to be fair and it makes you blind and closes all doors of thinking and keeps away one from balanced thinking and making the right choice ... -- Saddam Hussein

For any of you blogging Wesleyan pastors -- we're going to have an informal Wesleyan Bloggers Breakfast during the Pastors' Conference in Orlando next week. 8:00 a.m. Thursday, Jan 4 at Augustine's, which is onsite at the Wyndham. It's a bit spendy -- around $14.00 for a buffet breakfast, but hey, the company will be outstanding!

We either just "go" through life or we can GROW through it. The difference between going and growing is the big "R" -- Reflection! Life is not so much about what happens TO us as what happens IN and FROM us. When we take the time to reflect upon our experiences, we learn important lessons from them. Failing to glean truth from circumstances, leads to a long rough journey of difficult consequences. going from bump to bump with a few ditches between. Reflection brings wisdom and understanding. Why just suffer through difficult experiences, when we can gain something from them? Why waste mistakes? "Experience is not what happens to you," said Adlous Huxley, "It is what you do with what happens to you." My good friend, Famous Dave, made the following observation: "Failure is the hallmark of success. It can be the starting point of a new venture such as when a baby learns to walk, it has to fall down a lot to learn the new skill. Failure...

Stephen Shields wrote a great post at Faith Maps on conflict resolution.

A couple of weeks ago, I had a delightful phone conversation with Bob Girard, author of Brethren, Hang Loose , or "how to do church in a 1972 Jesus people hippy style." (I dusted it off and read it again last week. Although somewhat dated, in many ways he was before his time. He sure sounds a lot like Barna, the folks at the Ooze, and the cell church groupies.) Years ago, he was the pastor of Hayward Wesleyan Church -- and that is where he received his "minister's education!" (The REAL education which begins AFTER graduation from seminary!) I was amused by the following incident he relays in the book: "One church I pastored was known for feuding among its members. One of its charter members told me one day, 'I've never liked any pastor we've ever had, and you're no exception!' And she meant it!" (p. 21)

Here's a shot taken before the Christmas Eve Service in Drummond.

Did you know that the USC football team used to be called the "Methodists" or "Wesleyans?"

George Barna has published the 12 Most Significant Religious Findings based on his polls in 2006. I consider it a call to prayerful, intensified action.

In our four Christmas Eve services at Hayward, a total of 1024 people attended. It was a delight to greet many old friends. Some, I've not seen since Easter. We had a sailor from Virginia Beach, a lady who had been stuck in the Denver airport for 57 hours, and several friends from the community who have been on my prayer list. There was a beautiful spirit in all the services as we lit the candles and sang "Silent Night" together. A fun highlight of the day was driving the thirty miles up to Drummond between the Hayward services. My Episcopal buddy, Art Hancock, the Youth for Christ guy, Dave Johnson and I opened up the empty Lutheran church and held a non-denominational Christmas Eve service. It's hard for me to imagine a town in America that doesn't have a single church -- but that's the case with Drummond. Art covered the "closed" sign out front with a Christmas banner. Fifteen minutes before the service began, I wondered if anybody was going to sh...

The blasts of chill December sound the farewell of the year, And night's swift shadows gath'ring round O'er cloud the soul with fear; But rest you well, good Christian friends, Nor be of heart forlorn; December's darkness begins again The Light of Christmas morn. -- Norval Clyne (1817-1888)

The Memorial Service for Bethany Hilgendorf will be 2:00 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 28 at Hayward Wesleyan Church. There will be a visitation an hour before the service at the church, as well as Wednesday evening, 5 to 8 p.m. at the Anderson Nathan Funeral Home. Please pray for this beautiful family as they walk through the dark valley of grief.

Tomorrow, at Hayward, we will have four identical Christmas Eve Services: 8:20 a.m., 9:40 a.m., 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. I expect that the morning attendance will be rather light -- and we'll be packed in the evening. I've had one complaint about all the services being the same -- but a lot of positive feedback. I'll focus on the positive. I think it's ok if our people are expected to attend only one time on Christmas Eve, and the time spread takes away the excuses. Our daughter church in Minong will hold three services -- one tonight at 7:00 p.m., and tomorrow at 4:00 and 7:00 p.m. It was last year on Christmas Eve when we held our first service there. I think it's pretty cool that they've come this far in such a short time! A highlight of the day for me will be our 2:00 p.m. Christmas Eve Service in Drummond, which is a logging town a half hour to the north. That little village has only one church building, and it is closed. Can you imagine a community in Ameri...

Tom Shrum, a student in my Evangelism Class, recently shared this story. I am reminded of the old adage, "Preach Christ at all times; when necessary, use words." For the past few months, our youth group has been planning an outreach to a woman and her child in our community. Today, we finished it. We started with a dresser that was donated from a local furniture store that we stained. We wanted to fill the dresser with baby clothes and give it away to a needy family for Christmas. I made some contacts about finding a family who would really be blessed by the gift. After we found the family, I had the teens go to each of the adult Sunday school classes in the church and tell them about our outreach. I equipped them with a script of dialogue and a list of items that the family needed. We wanted to make this a whole church outreach, instead of just our youth group. We then set a date that the clothes had to be in by and we got the dresser filled. We had so many gifts that we cou...

This afternoon, I received word that a young friend, Bethany Hilgendorf, died this morning in her Indianapolis apartment. She was so young -- so full of life and boundless enthusiasm. It's hard to grasp that she is gone. They believe she slipped into a diabetic coma. Her folks, Gary and Michelle, are dear friends, and very much a part of our church family, and over the past few months, Gary has been pastoring the Spider Lake Church, a non-denominational congregation a few miles south of Hayward. We work closely together, and Bethany has been my friend since she was a little girl. I went to their home and cried with them. This is such a difficult thing for the Hilgendorf's to endure -- especially right before Christmas. My heart is heavy. Please pray for them, as well as Bethany's sister, Rachel, and her brother, Curtis. Also, I really messed up this afternoon. I forgot to show up for a Memorial Service I was supposed to officiate. I've done a couple hundred funerals -- ...

From the troubled waters at Calvary Chapel Albuquerque, Pastor Skip Heitzig shares three important lessons he's learned from his experience: 1. Communicating expectations is crucial in any transition. 2. Choices must be owned by those who made them. 3. By nature, people make judgments based on incomplete information.

I'm wondering if you would do me a favor? Would you head over to Rev Unplugged (I serve on their blogging team), and read my post entitled, "Jesus Was a Small Town Preacher?" I also welcome your comments on that site. Thanks!

I received word yesterday, that one of our Hayward hometown boys, and champion logroller, J. R. Salzman , lost his right arm in Iraq. What a tragedy. Please pray for J. R. and his family.

The Holy Spirit convicted me about my last post. I was trying to be funny, and ended up being unkind. That's been a blind spot for me, and God is helping to develop me in that area. So, please forgive me. Upon further reflection, this is the most "kid-friendly" Ministers' Conference I've ever seen.

While perusing the info concerning the Wesleyan Pastors Gathering in Orlando in a couple of weeks, I was amused by the following statement: Bring your family —The site of the conference is very family friendly. We are sorry, but we have sold out of the family suites. Nursery/child care will NOT be provided during the conference. . . Hmmm -- tell me how family friendly is that?? I recall getting ready to go to Family Camp one year. My son, Wes, protested, "Dad, this isn't Family Camp! It's Pastor Camp and the families are just going along.

If your name is to live at all, it is so much more to have it live in people's hearts than only in their brains. -- Oliver Wendell Holmes

Life is a mirror which reflects your attitude. If you wonder why people are giving you the "cold shoulder" it might just be that you're dishing out ice, yourself. If a rotten, foul mood, pervades your home, perhaps it's the overflow of your own negativity. If it seems like nobody is grateful for all you do, maybe you should measure your own motives. If you want people to be nicer to you, you need to sow a few kindness seeds. If the folks you meet are unfriendly, it's time to check your own FQ (friendliness quotient.) If all you hear is "complain, complain, complain", you might just be the biggest complainer. If your friends are finding fault, turn it aroud and find some good. If the situaiton seems dark, you can light a candle! If people are always dumping their garbage on you, remember, misery loves company. It is not a compliment to be on the receiving end of a gossipy garbage-load. If everybody around you is frowning, give 'em a good smile! Never ...

Today, Brett Favre passed Dan Marino as the NFL's leader in passing completions. If he keeps going, he might beat Blanda's record too -- most interceptions!

We have a "Giving Tree" set up in our church foyer, to help needy children. The people in the church select a tag hanging from the tree that contains information about a child (age -- boy or girl -- what kind of things they like.) Then, we go buy a present for the child. This week, just when I thought we had distributed all the tags, a respresentative from the Mission Committee came in with 50 more! As the new tags were being hung on the tree, and realizing the time contstraint, I wondered out loud to Pastor Ben, "We don't have the time to get rid of all those!! How are we ever going to do it???" He just grinned, and replied, "Faith." This morning, by the time church was over, all the tags were gone! Over 200 kids are going to be blessed through the Giving Tree.

This morning, the 20,000th visitor came to my blog! This traffic has come, pretty much, within the past twelve months. That's pretty amazing. Thanks to all my regular visitors who helped me reach this milestone. Blessings!

Every pastor could use a couple of these!

A reasonable amount of fleas is good for a dog; they keep him from broodin' on bein' a dog. -- E. M. Westcott in David Harum

I felt like Pastor Bozo Bop Bag at our board meeting last night. Took a few hits, and kept coming back up grinning. At least I can say they're passionate bunch and not a school of dead fish rubber stampers.

J.R. Woodward defined ministry success this way: Success is… Not simply how many people come to our church services, but how many people our church serves. Not simply how many people attend our ministry, but how many people have we equipped for ministry. Not simply how many people minister inside the church, but how many minister outside the church. Not simply helping people become more whole themselves, but helping people bring more wholeness to their world. (ie. justice, healing, relief) Not simply how many ministries we start, but how many ministries we help. Not simply how many unbelievers we bring into the community of faith, but how many ‘believers’ we help experience healthy community. Not simply working through our past hurts, but working alongside the Spirit toward wholeness. Not simply counting the resources that God gives us to steward, but counting how many good stewards are we developing for the sake of the world. Not simply how we are connecting with our culture but how w...

"All bend in the same wind." -- Mr. Wendell Berry of Kentucky

I'm not sure if the goof up was with Cyber Hymnal or the Yahoo Search Engine, but I don't think this is what they meant to say . (Number # 2 on the list)

According to the Anglican Journal, a majority of Ontario clergy in six major Protestant denominations, including Anglicans, are lonely and unfulfilled, exhausted from working long hours and are suffering a “critical crisis of identity,” with most feeling like a chief executive officer rather than a pastor, a recent study shows. (from Monday Morning Insight ) Gosh, I'm sure glad I don't live in Ontario!

Sharon Rhodes Wickett, her powerful sermon, "Collapsing the Distance" shares the following story: I attended the Annual Conference of the Methodist Church in Sierra Leone, West Africa. The meetings were held in the large sanctuary in the capital city, Freetown. Each day as we entered the large doors into the sanctuary there was a young girl, maybe about the age of 8, who begged at the door. She looked ragged, dirty, her hair was matted and knotty, and she had on tattered clothes. No one seemed to know her, and people brushed her aside upon entering. Some of the pastors tried to tell her to go away. We were busy doing the work of the church. She was a bother. This went on for several days. As I sat in the pew observing the Conference one day, my peripheral vision caught some motion outside. I looked out the window, and there on the patio, outside the sanctuary was a woman, a lay member of the conference. She found a bucket and some soap. Although dressed in a beautiful tradit...

Yesterday, during the sermon, I shared this poem by David Whyte.

O.K., let me get this straight. There's a prohibition on stuff fried in Crisco , but they can still serve Jack Daniels? Watch out for those black market cheese curds!

Thanks, to Todd at Monday Morning Insight, for passing along this funny story: T he Christmas Bird.

F antastic A dventures I n T rusting H im Today at church, I shared the fantastic adventures from my Evangelism Class in North Carolina. You can find the Peaches and Shears story here .

Yesterday, Chip Chipman called me, "Say Pastor, could you use 300 Sara Lee Dutch Apple pies? My nephew's a truck driver for a company that wants to donate them." "Sure!" I replied, not quite sure how we would find freezer space for that many pies -- but not wanting to turn down such a fantastic offer. "O.K.!" Chip replied enthusiastically, "I'll bring 'em to church early tomorrow morning!" Now, the dilemma -- what to do with 300 apple pies. "Hey!" I thought, " We could sell them, and put the money in our general fund. After all, we've been trying to figure out ways do improve our financial situation." Then, the Lord spoke to my heart, "That's NOT what I want you to do with them. They're not General Fund pies! They're Blessing Pies!" So -- I told everybody at church this morning to take a pie, bake it, and then bless someone with it and invite 'em to our Christmas Eve Services! It will...

My friend, Wendy Sanders, recently relayed the following story she heard from our mutual friend, Roberto Barrantes, a Wesleyan pastor from Costa Rica: One night, he awoke in the early hours of the morning. He knelt to speak with God. He felt closer to God than ever before; The guidance he received was clearer and richer than ever before. With boldness, he prayed, “God, I feel so close to you, could you possibly give me a hug?” Roberto felt no response. He prayed again. “God, I feel so close to you, is it asking too much to touch your feet?” God responded: He gave Roberto the image of a Nicaraguan child’s face. God spoke, “If you touch the feet of this Nicaraguan child, you touch my feet. If you hug this Nicaraguan child, you will hug me.”

I avoided the little trip across town as long as I could. Goodbyes are difficult for me -- especially, when it comes to dear friends like Father Bill. Nevertheless, with only five minutes left before the retirement reception ended, I reluctantly climbed into my car and made my way over to 5th and Dakota. It was hard to find a parking space. The lot at St. Joe's was full, and cars lined the streets for several blocks. The only other times it's been this crowded were the Birkie, the Fat Tire Race, and the Community Christmas Cantata. I worked my way through the crowd towards Father Bill, who was sitting on a stool at the front of the hall. A parishoner strummed his guitar, singing a ballad he wrote for the occasion. One by one, the beloved priest tenderly blessed his parishoners. When Father Bill saw me, his face lit up, and he motioned for me to come near. Suddenly, I realized I couldn't speak. I just stood there, with eyes brimming, and a big lump stuck in my throat. All my...

Here's something you could get your pastor for Christmas. I'm sure he would just love it. Either that, or another set of praying hands.

One of my articles, "The Power of a Compelling Vision", recently made it all the way to Derby, England. It is a small world after all.

Yesterday was an aniversary celebration for me. 16 years ago, on December 6, 1990, I had a spiritual experience that changed my life. I knelt in the front of an empty church sanctuary, emptied myself and asked the Lord to take over my whole life. Praise God, He did! That day, He filled me with his Holy Spirit. He overflowed me with His love. He settled my soul with peace. He lifted all my heavy burdens. He washed away all my interior cobwebs. He fired me up! That day, He gave me the gift of Evangelism -- and I have been helping folks come to faith ever since. I came to Hayward Wesleyan Church a few months later, as a direct result of this experience. It was, indeed, a defining moment in my life and ministry. Yesterday, to celebrate, I had of day of joyful, prayerful, soulful, Scriptural, poetic solitude. I spent it in Ashland so I would be free from interruption. First, I prayed at the Black Cat Coffee Shop, then I had a powerful time at Northland College's Dexter Library w...

Of course, anybody in their right mind knows Granny needs a gun!

"Negative, critical people have never come up with a positive solution to anything." -- Perry Noble Well then, these folks certainly must not be negative and critical. I think they have some good ideas -- and hope the president listens.

Leadership, particularly that of a pastor, is really not tied to one's ability to do great things but to mobilize people, in the context of community, to do more than they could have done alone--more than they ever could have dreamed possible. -- a quote from Bob Roberts at Glocal Trekker

Todd, at Monday Morning Insight, recently shared a George Barna report concerning "name recognition" of the Christian Celebrity Preachers. Americans who have never heard of. . . Rick Warren: 72% James Dobson: 57% T.D. James: 68% Tim LaHaye: 73% Joel Osteen: 67% In comparison, those who have never heard of. . . Denzell Washington: 7% Mel Gibson: 4% Rosie O'Donnell: 5%

Congratulations to my friend, Jo Anne Lyon , on the west wing meeting with President and Mrs. Bush last Friday -- and the $7.7 million she landed for AIDS prevention in Haiti. I was thinking: I know Jo Anne Lyon She knows George Bush He knows Vladimir Putin I'm just three steps from Vladimir!

Just dodge the bullets , Rick, and remember you're in good company. Jesus was also criticized for associating with publicans.

(My brother, Sam, shared this funny little story with me. . .) A man feared his wife was not hearing as well as she used to, and he thought she might need a hearing aid. Not quite sure how to approach her, he called the family doctor to discuss the problem. The doctor told him there is a simple informal test the husband could perform to give the doctor a better idea about her hearing loss. "Here's what you do," said the doctor "Stand about 40 feet away from her and in a normal conversational speaking tone see if she hears you. If not, go to 30 feet, then 20 feet, and so on until you get a response."That evening, the wife is in the kitchen cooking dinner, and he was in the den. He says to himself, "I'm about 40 feet away. Let's see what happens." In a normal tone he asks, "Honey, what's for dinner?" No response. So the husband moves to closer to the kitchen, about 30 feet from his wife, and repeats, "Honey, what's for dinn...

I don't know what to say," Favre said. "We're losing 31-to-nothing at halftime. `Pick it up, guys?' I mean, that's embarrassing."

Today, the children of the congregation performed a heart-warming musical at our 11:00 service: Celebrate the Celebration (Based on Lisa Welchel's book, The ADVENTure of Christmas .) What a blessing to see the children singing praises to God, and bringing the gift of joy to the grown-ups. Holly Luedke did a fantastic job directing, and we had a full house. Our theme for the first two services was "Pure, Unbounded Love." I preached on 1 Corinthians 13 -- just going verse by verse through the chapter, and expounding on it in practical, everyday terms. (Love is not just something that you feel -- it's something that you DO!) My son, Ryan, and the youth group praise team led the worship music this morning. It was really good. Ryan's developing into a fine worship leader. I think he will be a worship pastor somewhere someday. I'm glad I bought him the Ovation! We sang, "Blessed Be Your Name", "You Love is Amazing", "I Could Sing of Your Lo...

O Lord, grant us grace to desire You with our whole heart; that so desiring, we may seek and find You; and so finding You, may love You; and loving You, may hate those sins from which You have redeemed us. -- Anselm (1033-1109 AD)

In an attempt to find the origin of the term, "conservative" -- I discovered the following definition of the word "conserve." Conserve: a jam made of fruits, stewed in sugar. Hmmmm.

It is our determination to be independent by being in control that makes us unavailable to God. -- Richard Neuhaus

Here's what I've been reading lately.

December is upon us -- bringing the dreaded question everybody hates: "Are you ready for Christmas?" Whenever that question is asked, the response is always a groan -- "Are you kidding? Don't remind me!" The assumption here is that "Are you ready for Christmas?" means "Are your decorations all up, your cookies all baked, and your gifts all purchased? Are you finished with all of your Christmas preparations?" Of course, the answer to that question will most likely be a resounding "NO!" (Unless you are one of those rare breeds who plans way ahead and finishes your Christmas shopping sometime around Halloween.) Many of us are "adrenaline shoppers. We wait until the last minute, and then scurry off in a shopping frenzy. I wonder what would happen if we moved being ready for Christmas from the "finished" side of the holidays, to the "beginning". Instead of thinking we have to be done with everything before we...