Priorities

 

Priorities

My efforts to encourage you to prioritize missions, ministries, and other important activities of the church were ineffective. I am not accustomed to this lack of efficacy on my part. I can see that I had better learn to tap dance before I stand before the Lord.

Not! I can’t even get the motions to the kids’ songs right. I will confess my ineffectiveness, and God’s grace will be enough for me.

But for you, I urge you once again to discuss what’s important going forward.  Without some stated priorities, assumptions are made that others think just as you do, often resulting in:

·         No agreement on purpose

·         Assumptions not validated

·         Mission gives way to busywork

·         No financial compass

·         Emotion rules

·         No filter for budgeting and spending

This takes effort, and nobody signs up for this sort of stuff. It is a duty and a discipline that mainly reveals dividends somewhere in the future. In the RCA model, the root cause is the lack of immediate reward or punishment for not doing this.

Do not be stifled by my lack of efficacy here. You can do this, and I hope you do.

Priorities can be evaluated and changed. Our education, experience, and God speaking to our hearts can say, “Let’s take another look.”

Priorities aligned with purpose are good things, but they don’t just show up without deliberate effort.

Please consider this a part of your leadership calling.

Mission over Money

 

Fixation on Money

 

Something unhealthy is afoot. It is a fixation upon money.  You have reason to keep an eye on the funds entrusted to us.

Money (I hope I’m preaching to the choir here) is neither appropriate as the main session goal nor should it be the driving force. Stewardship is a good quality, but all resources must be focused on the goal, not on accumulating worldly wealth, including money.

You will likely have some savings in the course of your search for a pastor, but the mission of the church remains our God-ordained focus, the goal. The church and those trusted in its local administration must be focused on sharing the gospel and making disciples. Our denomination has placed some restrictions on baptism, but this is hardly prohibitive. Help is available.

For some of the older ones among us, we had an encounter with Albert Dugeon upset that we didn’t have a bankroll stored up from the year we didn’t pay a preacher.

In theory, we should have an extra $40-50K based upon Duawn’s remuneration that was not paid out during the year after he left.

Be careful of such expectations. They must not be the focus.

I wrestled with money as an elder during Duawn’s tenure. We had a declining balance for much of the time, and it included not only funds from offerings but also borrowed money.

I believe that borrowing more than we owed on the building was wise. It’s start-up smarts. You have to have something to prime the pump.

I watched the balance and had a tipping point in my mind where I would address a concern to the rest of the session. I don’t remember the number. We got close but never hit it, eventually turning the tables when offerings picked up enough that we had a little breathing room.

We did have to make some adjustments to things like F4 where we had a major feast for very few people most weeks.  We tracked expenses and trusted God for the increase in giving.

God provided.

I say “we” but can only speak for me. I presumed we all were in this mode and trusted God,

We have avoided the mindset of money being the mission for much of the past 25 years, but not always. What we have, we should leverage like the first two servants in my favorite parable.

We should be much more proactive in addressing our expenses with the provider of goods and services. Simple negotiation can save money as much as arbitrary cuts, but we must not make money central.

Awareness and action as needed for sure, but don’t let money drive you away from your mission.

Choose Mission over Money.

Proactive Thinking

 

A Round Downrange

I know this upsets Phil, but I won’t cheat you out of what I know about concurrent and parallel planning or creativity, or our ability to contend with negotiating the things God and this body have entrusted to you.

When I sent off a missive asking the session to think about a topic or theme, that is exactly what it is—a prompt to thinking.

If we have broached the subject before and did the body remaining at rest thing, I will take a shot at what I believe hits the target. Most first rounds are not direct hits. Neither are second or third rounds for most.

 These rounds downrange should prompt new ideas (The patterns from the periphery always differ from those in the center).

This is designed to provoke thinking that is not yet visible to the mind. A good idea will always appear logical in hindsight. Don’t be afraid to think so far out of the box that you forgot there was a box.  Your minds will find something in between where you have been stuck and the round downrange offering.

This is not designed to manipulate or overly influence thinking, other than to get it out of park and into gear. The fact that I prompt you to think influences the thinking. There is no sanitary model.

I appeased Phil for this final meeting so as not to stir him up and immobilize him for having to think prior to the meeting.

We will pay a price in time spent/invested at the meeting, but hopefully will avoid an advance meltdown. The integrity issue must be resolved now.

Going forward, I hope you don’t throw in the towel on advanced thinking (priming the pump, if you want to leave the military metaphor behind), as well as concurrent and parallel planning.

I have seen you in action, and most of you are very proactive, much more so than me.

While Phil may remain in reactive mode, I pray he does not try to convince you to forsake your proactive nature and practices or discount your efficacy.

I think that he might be more receptive to your approach than he was towards mine. If I have been the stumbling block here, ignore this brief counsel.

I know that I rub him the wrong way. I think he will be more receptive to your forward-looking efforts. There is a place for the gifts and talents of all whom God has called to this leadership, even very cautious ones, but God did not call you to be placeholders.

There must not be any room for fear-based or hate-based decisions. Start the conversation earlier than you think you need to. Give yourself and others time to accept new ideas.

Give your minds some acceptance time.

Don't Just Fill the Pulpit

 

Fill the pulpit.

Saving money or proclaiming the word of God?

 

Monetary savings might be (and likely will be) realized in the absence of a pastor but must not become the objective. Based on previous shared experience, it won’t be quite what you might anticipate. (Albert Dudgeon thought we should have had a big bankroll from the year we didn’t pay a pastor, but expenses gave no deference to the pastoral situation or his thoughts).

I hope that you put exhorting the word of God above all other considerations. This is important, so I am repeating some of what you received earlier. The target, focus, and intent matter. Savings are great, but proclaiming good news and prompting discipleship (we mostly preach to the Saints on Sunday morning) remain the homiletic target.

Don’t just fill the pulpit. Preach the word.

OK, I said that I would preach: Now What?

 

You prayed and searched the scriptures.

You have your scripture.

You have prayed and listened to what message to draw from it.

Your thoughts are coming, and you put them in writing.

Now keep thinking, praying, writing, rewriting, and see where that leads you. For most, it will lead to other scriptures and pericopes. Keep the main scripture, the main scripture, but don’t be surprised at the connections you make to the full biblical witness.

Now you are ready for delivery. Don’t start here. Let the message drive the delivery.

God is a God of order not disorder. Those who exhort his word are well advised to have some basic order (structure) to their messages. The Spirit will move where the Spirit moves, but most of us need some structure before we share what God has placed on our hearts.

There is not one way. You should have a grasp of your gifts and talents, but be unafraid to explore various means of preparation and delivery.

I found this online. It’s a simple but effective graphic that might be useful once you move to structure. Eventually, you will have some structure.

 

Once you are confident in what you are led to preach, challenge yourself with hard questions. Ask about the stuff that doesn’t seem to fit. This is called holy fun. Those who receive your message may never ever think of the hard questions, but you should.

Ask what nobody will ask you, then see where God sends you for answers. Not a single thought might enter your message, but you will have answered the questions for yourself. There is a fullness that comes with this. You are unafraid to see where God’s word leads you.

In the long run, ask if your message is true and faithful to God’s word.

Does it contain the good news? Yes, you are preaching to the saints, but your message, most likely focused on discipleship, needs to be connected to the gospel.

Is it connected to the current situation (world that we navigate as believers)?

Repeat the key points. Yes, repetition still has value.

Remember to balance challenge and support. The goal is growing in God’s grace (sanctification) not feeling good or feeling hopeless.

We are saved. We are to live for Christ. Your message usually resides within those boundaries.

Now preach it!

Farewell

 

My sincere thanks to everyone who has been a part of this congregation and shared the ministry of the gospel with me in the first quarter of this century. I appreciate the send-off for Sharman and me. It was great and you were generous.

More than those few moments, I cherish those where you stepped out in faith, not knowing all the facts—not satisfying your own understanding--you stepped out.

On the very first Walk a Block for Jesus (yes, I know you walked more than a block) I wasn’t sure if I would be walking the town myself or with the body of Christ. We had about 40 walkers.

I remember that in 2012 we reached out to every school-aged child in our community with a God loves you, and more of that story for those who were old enough to understand more.

That same year, we held our annual Walk a Block for Jesus, then another Walk a Block of sorts in Mangum, Oklahoma. It was something of a rescue effort for a congregation that had atrophied to next to nothing. Their shepherd had been retired on active duty for a few years and the congregation drifted into a shrinking comfort zone. It happened unnoticed to them.

I remember a time from before I was ordained, that after the session and other elders attending the Elder Retreat said unanimously, we need to put VBS back on the roadmap of the lives of children in this community, we also said that we didn’t have a clue what to do next.

VBS had atrophied to little, then nothing. How do you restart that?

A couple of weeks later, some young ladies asked me if I would mind if they put together a Vacation Bible School. Would I mind? In those words, I saw the movement of the Spirit in this small body.

We have also been through some stuff together. Yes, Tom used the word stuff, but some of it was serious stuff.

We have had the difficult but necessary talks, and you didn’t run out of my office.

We have had the preparation for marriage talks, and in the fact that you were willing, ready, and receptive to this, much was profitable.

We have had the patience and wait upon the Lord talks, and of course not worrying or being anxious on the journey.

For some of you, we talked of possibilities and opportunities, and you gave me my actualization fix for the month.

Some of you joined me as we picked up, sorted, boxed, or otherwise prepared for distribution, food that would be the first half of an equation that led to introducing people to the Lord.

Sometimes it was just food to get a family who already believed and was trying through a tough time.

Sometimes this was a training ground for missions and evangelism. Sometimes it was work—NOT! Work in the service of the Lord is never really work. You might be tired when you are done, but you are also filled with the Spirit of God.

 My heart explodes with joy at the genuineness that I see in our youth seeking God. Let’s keep fanning the flames of that fire and make sure we don’t put a stumbling block in their way.

It's that Marine thing: Lead, follow, or get out of the way. These young believers have good leadership, so we might just have to get out of the way.

We still have plenty to work on. Some of those are tough conversations and decisions. Take on these things with courage, not fear. We fear only the Lord.

God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.

Whatever you do, do it in love.

We are charged, directed, and perhaps even commanded to pick up our cross daily and follow Jesus. This isn’t just a Sunday thing. This is an in everything you do sort of thing.

Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus.

Put on love.

Seek the truth.

Know that the Lord is God. Proclaim and claim him as your Lord. Live as if he is your Lord, for he is.

Study his word so you can know his message well enough to put his words into practice. OK, rightly divide the word of truth for you old timers like me.

I have enjoyed my time as your pastor. I hope that in my absence and the absence of my weekly challenges, you will challenge yourself to:

Put his words into practice.

Never stop praying.

Never stop gathering with other believers.

Don’t look for peace only in the passive moments. God’s peace prevails when you are doing his work, even when you are hated or persecuted for it. He does prepare a table before you in the presence of the enemy.

Bench your own understanding until he quits the team.

Go all in on trusting God. Remember the heart can be deceptive. Trust God.

Understand that faith without works is dead.

Understand that God desires mercy more than sacrifice, expertly following the rules, or any man-made rationale that fits into our comfort zones.

Obey God’s commands and those of the Spirit that lives within you.

Be known as a disciple of our Lord by your love.

Be salt and light in this world that is confused.

Be the church!

When in doubt, trust and love.

I will be around in the days and years to come, though I will travel a lot. My next mission is what I call Matthew’s House. I’m going into homes and talking to people about anything they want, and I will do it on their home court.

I will talk about what God has to say on a subject, and we will explore without pressure as we seek the truth.

It’s what Jesus did. Some of those folks may end up in a pew near you. Others won’t but for those who do come, seize the opportunity.  Welcome them. Receive them. Disciple them. Love them. Treat them as your brothers and sisters in Christ.

Let them see God’s love in action at work in you so much that they want to be his love as well.

Some of the ones I visit may start a home church or Bible Study. Others won’t.

Some may absolutely be liberated from the chains of this world.

Some may come to know God and his Son, Christ Jesus.

Know what’s ahead. In the last days, the love of many will grow cold.

In these last days, the deception will be so great that even the elect may be deceived.

Know that to endure to the end, we must know God’s word, love God’s word, obey God’s word, and put those words into practice.

It’s not about getting the sequence right in Revelation. It’s about living out what God has given us in the other 65 books.

So much is happening right now that it feels like we might be really close to the end of he age. Is that a couple of years or a couple of centuries?

I don’t know, and it doesn’t matter. Just be doing what God told us to do when Jesus comes back for us. Keep plenty of oil handy and your lamps burning.

OK, you made it this far and deserve a bonus. I am going to reveal to you when Jesus will return.  That’s right, you are getting that information right now. Jesus is coming…

SOON!

Be ready. I know that you want to hear that Well done, good and faithful servant. Be ready.

Blessings.

Simple Fix

 

Simple Problems.

Simple Solutions

 

This infidelity issue with our financial report could have been fixed in 10 minutes about 15 years ago. It wasn’t. Integrity suffered. Now it is the source of recurring meltdowns for our treasurer.

Three times I gently approached Phil and three times I was sharply rebuked with the words, “You want to do it?”

I don’t have firsthand knowledge of church funds and did not answer the call to be treasurer, but I will offer a simple solution for whomever wants to begin to restore integrity to the process.

Our people must trust that our reports are faithful to the actual offering and expense reported.

l have attached a Monthly Financial Report that allows the preparer to conduct all previous functions, plus effect a charge and credit and a transfer of funds without falsely representing these as offerings. Standard formulas for recurring calculations are included as well.

The values are known as Backyard Values. Most of the names are familiar. The values are used to show functionality only so as not to be confused with actual expenses until the preparer is versed in the updates.

Digital File upon request.

This is not the industry standard, but fully functional for integrity in reporting.