In the early part of 2008 I thought it important to for me to sharpen my focus and help others in the congregation to do the same. To help with this, I printed a series of articles in our bulletin. I figured that these might be of use to others and thought there might be value in putting them all together in one place, so I am posting them here on the website. Some of them may be somewhat related to specific situations that were going on at the time they were printed, but mostly they represent a broad statement of what I would like to CBC becoming. I welcome your thoughts. Write me at covbchm@ntelos.net.
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Vision, Trends, Direction:
I'm trying to get going with a blog again. For those of you who don't know what this is,
don't worry yourself: 1) If you don't
know, then it doesn’t matter to you.
2) Its not illegal, immoral, or
fattening, and 3) I’m going to put the stuff that applies to the CBC family in
this column--at least from time to time.
There is no doubt that we are in a critical time in our
church. I certainly don't want to create
discouragement or pessimism, but we do need to make sure that we are facing in
the direction of reality. One of the big
objective measures of the health of a church is the attendance record. Ours is down.
In January of 08 the average was 158 in morning worship and Sunday
School. It was the lowest average January
attendance since 2000. Though Sunday
School is likewise down the decline has been less severe. In the past 13 months there were only two in
which our average attendance was greater than the year before. Thankfully, at present, our financial
situation continues to be stable. We met
last year's budget and offerings continue to be solid.
So, what do we do?
Since I'm only part--really a pretty small part--of what
goes on here, all I can talk about is my part.
I hope that all of you who are interested enough to read this will ask
the same question--"What do I do?
In future columns I'll talk about my preaching plan, our
emphasis on personal evangelism and some other matters that are really more important
than what I'll talk about today, but since the topic of buildings, etc.
frequently comes up in conversations both within the church family and from
friends in the community, I'll take a moment and speak to that issue.
Again, let me remind you that this is my thinking. It is perfectly OK to challenge me on
this. In fact I need some Proverbs 27:17
conversations.
First as far as my long-term desires and goals for CBC go
nothing has changed in my vision for developing our property to its maximum potential. Our recent parking lot and grounds upgrade
was an important part of that overall vision.
I would still like to preach in a new, larger, and more serviceable
The present reality is not that we need a new building to accommodate
the people. Rather we need new people to
occupy the building we have. It was
obvious when we were periodically having a Sunday morning attendance well in
excess of 200 that larger facilities were needed for continued growth. From where we are now it would take three
years of 10%/year growth to get us to an average attendance over 200. When we are clearly headed that way (Please
notice that I said "when," not "if"--not because I am so
arrogant as to think that I am in charge, but because I want you to know that
that is my intention) I will encourage us to once again focus on larger
facilities, but at the present our focus needs to be filling the facilities
that we have.
Having said that, I would like to knock another way of
thinking in the head. We cannot adopt
the mentality that says, "We are going eventually remodel, enlarge,
replace these facilities, therefore doing anything at the present is foolish
and wasteful." If the bulldozers or
the gutting-crew were in the parking lot, that would be undeniably true, but it
is clear that we are a good ways from that.
So, we have to constantly look around at our facilities and ask
ourselves what can we do make what we have most usable for as long as the Lord
wants us to use them? I think that our
recent upgrades in the sound and projection area were wise investments of
resources. We have to keep in mind that
maintaining attractive, comfortable, well-functioning facilities is part of
what it takes to reach out to people outside of our family. One sure way of making sure that never have
to expand our facilities is to allow our present facilities to go down,
reasoning that, "We are going to eventually replace them, anyhow."
With that in mind, a committee is currently looking into
options to upgrade our Worship Center, our trustees are planning work on our
main entrance and some other maintenance/improvement projects, and all of us
need to have an attitude of making the most of what we have--realizing that
sometimes that will require some carefully planned investment of resources.
Stay tuned. And in
the words of an old favorite Word of Life song, "Let's go
Vision, Trends, Direction, #2:
Who are we anyhow?
One
of the frustrations of ministry at this end of my life is that I’m not nearly
as sure about things as I thought I would be.
The world around us is changing.
I know it is still made up of the big three from 1 John 2:15-17, and it still
opposes our Lord and His work, but the way the world presents itself to us is different. So our task is to present a changeless
message to a changing world. (Anyone
remember a saying about old dogs and new tricks?)
About
8 months ago, I went through a period of soul-searching.
“How
do I want to spend the remainder of my years at CBC?”
“What
do I want to mark the end of my ministry?
I decided that
what I want to do is preach the Bible.
I
know that sounds strange. “What have you
been preaching?” you might ask.
In
an oversimplified way here is what I mean.
One method of preaching is to ask, what
do I think people need to hear? After
deciding what people need to hear, then one must find a passage, or passages,
of scripture that deal with that subject, and so forth. When I say that I decided to preach the
Bible, what I mean is that I renewed a commitment to preach through substantial
sections of scripture, seeking to accurately make known what those portions of
the Bible say—right now we are going through Ephesians—allowing God to set the
agenda. We didn’t consider the grandeur
of God’s eternal plan and the wonder that it involves the likes of us, because
I decided that we needed to hear that.
That decision was made 2,000 years ago when God led Paul in writing
Ephesians 1:3-14.
I
humbly admit that I’m not smart enough to know what you need to hear. I’m going to let God lead us—or rather follow
the leading that He has put down in His word.
B.T.W. It came back to me some time ago that I was
planning to leave soon. I wish people
would give me the details on such matters so that I would know where to
head. In reply let me simply say this: Back when I did that Q&A with myself, I
set up a five year preaching plan.
Obviously, I’m not as young as I used to be, but I don’t have the movers
in my speed-dial, either. I can’t say
how long I will be at CBC, but know this:
While I am here, my goal is to
preach the Word of God. And to help
others do the same in the various ministries that make up CBC.
Know anyone
who needs to hear God’s word? Bring ‘em
on.
Vision, Trends, Direction #3:
What kind of a church is CBC?
I would like to think that
the answer to that question is found in the middle of our name. We are a ministry that strives to be
Biblical. Most of us have an initial reaction to that statement something like,
"Well, of course." Or, "What else would we be." One of the
ways that we are trying to be distinctively Biblical is to avoid the
"Bible-and" mentality. As
pastor of CBC I try to avoid presenting extra-Biblical sets of rules and
standards as if they were "Thus saith the Lord." That is hard to do. I often wish I could say, "This is the
way it is!" when what I really mean is, "This is the way I like
it."
It is not a new issue. Passages in the Bible, like Romans 14,
indicate that the strain was a part of the First-Century church. With Jews and Gentiles, free-men and slaves,
Greeks and barbarians all in the same church (Just examine the names of the
leaders at the Church of Antioch, Acts 13, for an example.) it is no wonder
that they had to work to get along.
Are we a contemporary
church? I certainly hope so. Why would we want to be anachronistic? We don't have a mandate to share the Good
News with yesterday's world, or tomorrow's.
Are we a traditional
church? Without a doubt, we at Covington
Bible have the privilege of standing on the shoulders of giants. There is no need to reinvent the theological
wheel. Where traditions are a mechanism
to help us be Biblical they are useful.
When they are the kind of traditions that Jesus condemned, we join our
Lord in condemning them.
Are we an evangelical church? Yes, we proclaim that no one can get to
heaven without trusting the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. That is what Paul calls the evangel--the Good
News--in 1 Cor. 15. Though our
proclamation of the Good News to the needy masses is less than it should be, we
could even be described as evangelistic.
Are we Fundamental? Yes.
We believe in the inspiration of scripture, the virgin birth, the
substitutionary atonement, the bodily resurrection, and the literal return of
Christ. Those are the fundamentals from
which the name came. We reject the
excess baggage that is often hung on the Fundamentalist name--KJV only,
extra-Biblical dress codes, and the extreme separatism that marks many who call
themselves Fundamentalists.
Really, all these questions
are superfluous. What is important, and
really covers it all is, "Are we Biblical?" By God's grace I am laboring to make sure the
answer is yes.
Vision, Trends, Direction #4:
A
friend of mine recently preached a message on the sanctity of human life;
several people got up and walked out—not just because the service was over.
Another
friend of mine from a different country recently wrote that political division
between various congregations in his country was a hindrance to missionary
activity.
There
are obviously some issues to which the Bible speaks that impact on the
political scene. An obvious one is the
teaching in the Bible about telling the truth.
Other issues to which the Bible speaks that have historically been and
are currently being debated in the political realm include: slavery, the consumption of alcohol, the
proper relationship between men and women, homosexuality, euthanasia, abortion,
the virtue of work, the evil of racism, stealing, charity, and the importance
of praying for our leaders. To teach and
preach what the Bible says about these issues is not to be political. (Of course the timing of messages and the
amount of time a preacher chooses to spend on a subject can cause him to cross
the line.) Chuck Colson in some of his
writings challenges the church to be the conscience of our society. I am glad that some of us here at CBC have
entered into public service. (CBC members/attenders
have served on local governing bodies, school boards, as political party
chairmen, and on appointed boards, as well as running for national
office.) My hope is that when those of us
who are in positions of public responsibility have to make choices where the
truth of scripture impacts on the decision being made that we will make decisions
based on the application of Biblical principles. Since we live in a nation where we have the
privilege and responsibility of voting, that means that this matter of making
decisions based on a Biblically informed conscience applies to all of us.
At
this point, a clear line I draw is a refusal to, as a pastor, endorse a
political candidate or party. (I say “at
this point,” because I’m not prepared to say that this would always be
wrong. Should the German pastors have
publicly opposed Hitler?) At the same
time if a political contest is going on in which one candidate takes a position
on a matter more closely aligned with scripture than the other, I am not going
to refrain from sharing what the Bible says about that matter.
I
would like to think that the
If
evangelical Christianity were identical to any political movement, something
would be badly wrong. It is supposed to look toward a kingdom not of this
world, one without borders, flags or end. And by this standard, homelessness is
a natural state.” (Washingtonpost.com)
Vision, Trends, Direction #5
This article has less to do with who we are, than with who we ought to be--who I very much want us to be.
We need to be a group of people with a passion for communicating the Good News about Jesus Christ.
I think some people equate that with holding services that are like a continual Billy Graham rally, complete with many verses of Just As I Am at the end. I have no problem with public invitations, though my experience indicates, and my observation, and contact with other Christian leaders tell me that they are probably not the most effective means of drawing folk to Christ.
Most evangelism needs to take place someplace other than
With that in mind we are prepared to help you reach out to your friends and family where they are.
In the near future Doug Williams will begin sharing with you ideas for outreach.
He is seeking a team of people interested in seeing people come to know the Lord who can meet with, strategize, and pray with him about our outreach.
He is willing to get with you, to reach out to your friend.
I fear that at this point we may be in the "Somebody ought to do something mode." It could be that unless you take a step forward, nobody will. Meet Doug after the service today, or call him this week.
CBC ought to be a group of people communicating the Good News.
Vision, Trends, Direction #6
Just “Us,” or “We, They?”
Ownership: One of the great developments that I see in
people’s lives, as they begin to get involved in a greater way in CBC, is when
they begin to say things like, “We should . . .” or “The Lord sure
has been good to Us.” The more people
speak in those terms, as opposed to, “Somebody should . . .” or “You did
a good job.” The healthier CBC is.
When I talk about people who
are good for nothing, many of you rightly recognize it as a joke. It is that, but it is a joke with a totally
serious point. It is a point that Paul
makes in Ephesians 4:16. "He makes
the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work,
it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing
and full of love." (Eph 4:16, NLT)
When we do what we ought to
be doing in ministry, not only do we accomplish what we do directly; there is a
bonus. We make it easier for other
members of the BODY, the church, to do their task. Faithful nursery workers help those who minister
to adults. Those who clean and mow,
provide a good environment for other ministry.
Those who pray, unleash God’s power.
Even the simple act of singing from the heart on Sunday morning has a
profound effect.
Instead of looking for someone to do something, ask what we can do. You’ll find some ideas in this bulletin.
#7
Usually in
conversation, when referring to CBC, I try to avoid statements like, "My
church." I don't do this because I
lack attachment to CBC. On the contrary,
I have been a part of this church almost twice as long as I lived in my
parents' home, and only about ten months less than I have been married. There are a great many ways that I can
justify calling this my church. It is,
at least in part, because of my long association, and identity, with CBC that I
avoid the term. Some people think I own
the building, or that every decision and ministry is matter of my personal
choice. That is not the case, shouldn't
be the case, nor do I want it to be.
And, I don't want to give others the wrong impression.
It's a little
awkward, but I will use statements like, "The church where I am privileged
to preach." or, "Our
church."
For the very
same reason that I try to avoid saying, "My church." I encourage you to use the words. We need to communicate to our community that
this is an assembly of believers where each of us belongs, serves, and has an
integral function. This morning's
message will speak to that end. When
speaking of
Speaking as I
am proposing implies that you actually are vitally involved in CBC. Look at last week's vision statement.
Are you a
member of CBC? If not, why not? Why not talk to Doug, or me, or one of the
deacons today?
Are you
serving at CBC? Again if not, why
not? Remedies to lack of service abound.
Are you
praying for, and living consistently with a desire for, CBC to grow?
Are you a regular
sacrificial supporter of our church?
My vision is
for it to be evident that CBC is a church that belongs to Christ and has a
multitude of stewards who are carrying on the ministry until He returns. I long for that to be so evident, that I'll
have to go around calling it "my church," just so people will know
where I belong.
I just opened the door and let two ladies in the church building. I’d love to let in a thousand more, just like them. (If you two recognize yourselves, don’t let on. I won’t tell.) These two represent an incredibly healthy concept--one person reaching out to another to help, while the other with gratitude to God and her benefactor receives that help as a divine gift.
I see a several factors at work here, all of which are part of my vision for CBC.
·
An admission of need.
How often we limp along, not only suffering ourselves, but hindering the Lord’s
work and burdening others when we could be healthy, vital, equipped to do God’s
work, if we would just say, “Could you, would you, help me?”
· A willingness to be the answer to someone’s prayer. A couple of Wednesdays ago in our Bible Study and Prayer Meeting (We interrupt this vision statement for this important word from the sponsor. Every Wednesday evening from 7:00-8:00 a group of us get together, study God’s word, and pray for our needs and those of others. Whenever I let people know that we are praying for them, they are always glad, and it is certainly pleasing to God for us to make our needs known to him [Rev. 5:8 & 8:3-4]. I encourage you to join us.) We were going through the story of Absalom’s rebellion. David had just uttered a prayer when the answer to his prayer showed up in the person of Hushai. (Read the end of 2 Samuel 15.)
· A plan to get the two together. When I opened the door the other day, there was a lady with a need and another with a willingness and ability to meet that need, headed to an appointment to bring the two together.
These two hadn’t responded to an article in the bulletin or an appeal from the pulpit. They just got together. I’ll bet that you have potential attachment-points running in both directions.
I see a church where resources flow to needs as surely as water flows to the sea.
Let me make a few pump-priming suggestions:
· Young Christians who need to be discipled by the more mature,
· Single moms who need a hand—just about anybody’s hand.
· Young fathers, who don’t have a clue, could sure use a caring father, or grandfather figure.
· Those struggling to be a free of a habit are more likely to achieve victory with the encouragement of someone who has “been there, done that.”
· People need the Lord. We have the Good News.
OK, figure how to make a vital connection this week.