Revitalize Your Church

" Lord, Thou knowest better than I know myself that I am growing older, and will someday be old. "Keep me from getting talkative, and particularly from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every occasion. "Release me from craving to try to straighten out everybody's affairs. "Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details-give me wings to get to the point. "I ask for grace enough to listen to the tales of others' pains. Help me to endure them with patience. "But seal my lips on my own aches and pains-they are increasing, and my love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by. "Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally it is possible that I may be mistaken. "Keep me reasonably sweet; I do not want to be a saint-some of them are so hard to live with-but a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil. "Make me thoughtful, but not moody; helpful, but not bossy. W...

Dear Lord and Father of mankind, forgive our foolish ways; reclothe us in our rightful mind, in purer lives thy service find, in deeper reverence, praise.  In simple trust like theirs who heard beside the Syrian sea the gracious calling of the Lord, let us, like them, without a word rise up and follow thee. O Sabbath rest by Galilee, O calm of hills above, where Jesus knelt to share with thee the silence of eternity, interpreted by love! Drop thy still dews of quietness, till all our strivings cease; take from our souls the strain and stress, and let our ordered lives confess the beauty of thy peace. Breathe through the heats of our desire thy coolness and thy balm; let sense be dumb, let flesh retire; speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire, O still, small voice of calm! --  John Greenleaf Whittier

"You cannot effectively lead  from a heart of insecurity. Security encourages debate; insecurity fears debate. Security encourages criticism; insecurity fears criticism. Security welcomes diversity; insecurity builds walls. Beautiful challenge of self-awareness today." -- L. D. Buckingham in Zoom conversation with my Launching Your Ministry Class.   Notes from Paige Rouse.

"Satan is not necessarily opposed to all Christian work. He cares little how zealously we busy ourselves at good things so long as we do not work in the power of the Holy Spirit. He is often pleased if we work so hard and so long that we begin to fret and worry. He is happy if we undertake more work than we can saturate with prayer. He would not seriously oppose if every Christian were a tireless worker -- so long as he worked only in his human energy and was not empowered and anointed by the Spirit of God." -- Wesley L. Duewel

Thanksgiving is not a holiday -- it's an attitude! If it's just a holiday for us, then we let ourselves off the hook. "I'll celebrate Thanksgiving one day a year, and be a grouch the other 364!" Actually, Thanksgiving Day is simply a reminder of how we should live every moment.  It is a special day to celebrate what we are called to be all year long! Thanksgiving is "Thanks-living!" Did you know that thankfulness and mental health go together? Counting your blessings brings healing, inner strength and emotional well-being. Everything goes downhill with negativism and self pity. How does a person cultivate a thankful heart? 1. Go hunting for small blessings. Your life is packed with millions of small treasures! Sometimes, petty annoyances distract us from the abundance of joy. 2. Focus on what you have rather than what you wish you had. Perhaps you don't have everything you'd like -- Is this really the end of the worl...

“The first service that one owes to others in the fellowship consists in listening to them. Just as love to God begins with listening to His Word, so the beginning of love for others is learning to listen to them. It is God’s love for us that He not only gives us His Word but also lends us His ear. So it is His work that we do for others when we learn to listen to them. Christians, especially ministers, so often think they must always contribute something when they are in the company of others, that this is the one service they have to render. They forget that listening can be a greater service than speaking. Many people are looking for an ear that will listen. They do not find it among Christians, because these Christians are talking where they should be listening. But those who can no longer listen to others will soon be no longer listening to God either; they will be doing nothing but prattle in the presence of God too. This is the beginning of the death of the spiritual lif...

  A man went to the doctor, worried about his wife’s temper.   The doctor asked, “What’s the problem?”   The man said, “Doctor, I don’t know what to do. Every day my wife seems to lose her temper for no reason. It scares me.”   The doctor said, “I have a cure for that. When it seems that your wife is getting angry, just take a glass of water and start swishing it in your mouth. Just swish and swish but don’t swallow it until she either leaves the room or calms down.”   Two weeks later, the man came back to the doctor looking fresh and reborn.   The man said, “Doctor, that was a brilliant idea! Every time my wife started losing it, I swished with water. I swished and swished, and she calmed right down! How does a glass of water do that?”   The doctor said, “The water itself does nothing. It’s keeping your mouth shut that does the trick.”   (Thanks to my brother, Steve, who shared this funny joke with me.)

God is love—love lived out through the power of the Holy Spirit in a community of gifted individuals playing one musical piece in different parts, a holy symphony.   Holiness is life lived by people in the fullness of the Holy Spirit who are empowered to offer a drastic alternative to the world around them. Love is the melody running through the community, underneath the community, and all around the community.   The Christian community is not a place of jarring instruments singing different songs, or a place of gossip, conflict, rejection, pain, strife, and hatred. It is a place where the Spirit’s fruit is present in abundance, so much so that the world around the Christian community can’t help but join the melody. It is a community that is so unified, so melodious, so beautiful that it stops others in their tracks. Those on the outside can’t help but peer in, and watch with awe and wonder, and notice the unity of the symphony.   Instead of...

Occasionally, all of us find ourselves overloaded. Sometimes, it’s the result of circumstances beyond our control. Often, however, it’s because of poor energy/time management on our part. As Momma said, “You’ve bitten off more than you can chew!” This is particularly true for “can do” people with a bias for “yes.” They get a lot accomplished, and occasionally find themselves swamped in the process.   As one of those “can do – bias for yes” people, I’ve found myself in that condition numerous times along the way. I’ve gleaned a few insights from those experiences, and offer a few suggestions to consider when you’ve bitten off more than you can chew. 1)   Ask yourself – “Why am I doing this?” We assume unnecessary responsibilities because we don’t want to disappoint someone, or because we haven’t mastered the art of gracious refusal. If you don’t have a good reason why you’re carrying the load, that’s a good clue that you shouldn’t have picked it up in th...

A man was bitten by a rabid dog and ended up in bed seriously ill.  He  mustered up enough strength to request a pen and a pad of paper.   Then, he began to write furiously -- page after page.  "Honey, are you  writing your last will and testament?" his wife asked.  "No," he  replied, "I'm making a list of people I'm going to bite!"  "His bark is worse than his bite" has been said both of dogs and  grumps.  Unfortunately, there are some people who can pack a pretty  vicious bite.  Perhaps, you have been "bitten" by someone.  Maybe you felt the sting  of gossip or the barbs of unjust criticism.  Such encounters leave us  wounded and in need of emotional first aid.  How do you handle "attack dog people"  -- the ones who snarl and snap  at you, and will take a hunk out of your behind if you turn your back?  1.  Remember, hurting people hurt people.   When they lash out, ...

 One day, after making a hospital visit in Duluth, Minnesota, I was drawn by the spire of the old First Presbyterian Church. A kind secretary opened up the sanctuary for me to sit and pray for a while.  Gazing around, my eyes fell upon a beautiful stained glass window. It was the picture of a gravestone with dark purple and black hues overshadowing it. But at the top of the window, squarely in the center of a black night, shone a bright golden star -- which seemed to exude hope and light. The star was the focal point of the window.  At the bottom, the following words were inscribed: In memory of Sarah Agnes Graff  1853-1889  Build a little fence of trust around today.  Fill the space with loving work and therein stay.  Look not through the sheltering bars upon tomorrow.  God will help thee bear whatever comes, of joy or sorrow. I wondered what the story was behind Sarah Agnes Graff -- who passed into eternity at the ten...

Image from https://www.xpastor.org 1.  Intelligent boards don't mind making complex decisions and they don't want the decision made for them ahead of time. 2.  The higher the engagement and leadership horsepower, the less likely rubber-stamping will be satisfactory.  They will not settle for the first, simple solution.  They need to think it through. 3.  Intelligent boards need good information in order to make good decisions.  This requires a good amount of homework on someone's part, and a clear presentation of options at the meeting. 4.  The best way to frustrate (and lose) intelligent board members is to clog the agenda with trivial non-essentials.  Every meeting should be built around the highest priorities. 5.  Hearty, constructive, debate, expressing differences of opinion is a good way to discover the best answer.  This requires at least some measure of emotional health on the part of all the participants. 6...

If you are given the task to lead the congregation in prayer on Sunday morning, I encourage you to consider the following: 1) You are the representative of the people  -- bringing their prayers and the concerns of their hearts before the Father. It is not just your own personal prayer -- so instead if saying, "God, I love you so much" say, "God, we are here to tell you how much we love you." 2) Be sure you don't pray the same phrases every time.  Change it up. If you don't prepare and think about the prayer, you will automatically resort to old familiar cliches -- which wear out quickly in public usage. 3) Say "thank you" to God early in the prayer.  "O Lord, we thank you today for providing strength, peace, and contentment for each moment. . ." 4) Don't preach at the congregation through the prayer.  Don't yell. God is not hard of hearing.  5) If you use an ancient or other written prayer -- let it stand alone.  ...