The Problem With What We Read

The top two authors United Methodist pastors read are Will Willimon and Henri Nouwen.  That’s a problem.  Willimon has jumped the shark in the UMC’s meltdown, and I suspect that may affect his readership numbers.  Be that as it may, Nouwen and Willimon are not evangelism and discipleship writers.  They are by and large shepherd/teacher writers.

But we are in a discipleship and evangelism crisis.  We won’t get out of this mess following the leaders who got us there.  Our clergy will have to reinvent themselves.  It’s been too easy for too long to be a United Methodist pastor.  We keep getting paid and the institution keeps rolling along in spite of the free-fall of worship, membership, and finances.

“The split” will not fix it.  I have no doubt that the centrist/progressive church will die.  But to be honest, I don’t really care what happens to a centrist/progressive church.  The orthodox Methodists will not thrive, however, just because they split.  Our choices look like “status quo plus gay marriage” and “status quo minus gay marriage.”  Both of those mean death.

So, we need to change what we read.  By all means, keep Henri Nouwen on the bedside table.  But we really need to catch up with some heavy reading to change our ministry habits and equip us to do what Jesus did.

For starters, I think it would be good to spend a year reading and implementing the conclusions of  3 books:

The Master Plan of Evangelism, by Robert Coleman

The Training of the Twelve, by A.B. Bruce

Discipleshift by Jim Putman and Robert Coleman

Evangelism, etc

It has been an interesting few weeks. The highlights:

I mope a lot when people you work with leave the church. I should be happy--and I am-- but I think what if the 30 or so names I pray for in the front of my Bible were all in one place? What a dream team! Or is it that since they are in a whole bunch of places, there is a much greater expansion of the Kingdom than if we all stayed together?

Two evangelists moved away in the past year. But a new guy stepped up...who will be leaving in December...

There is nothing better than working a neighborhood on a crisp Fall day with another guy who loves going door to door. It is great to talk about Jesus to people and to pray with them for their needs. A close friend, whenever I complain, will ask, "have you told anyone about Jesus today?" Because when I tell about what He has done for me, I am blessed to remember and I forget my troubles, or they are put in their proper perspective.

I think it is time to get the band back together with so many people who have gone door to door with me... and to really blitz this town!!

Our worship service Sunday was...hit by the Holy Spirit. When you say that, we often think of something very boisterous or highly charged. The worship music was sublime. We were ready. I was preaching on the power of the Word, using William Tyndale as an example of how we should not take having a bible to read for granted. I went a direction I did not intend, confessing to not heeding the Bible as much as I needed to, not amending my life as I ought, not trusting its promises over my fears and worries. I called people to commit to hearing and doing... and the altar was packed.

I came across something in Neil Cole's excellent book, "Cultivating a Life For God," about Life Transformation Groups, which we use in our church. He says that the accountability questions need to have one "that holds the group members accountable to openly sharing a testimony of Christ's goodness with others. It should be something that goes beyond living as an example but also includes a verbal witness" (66). This leapt out at me because so often church members default to "letting my example speak" rather than imitating Jesus in verbal proclamation and invitation to discipleship.

Jesus has been good to me.

Sharing the Gospel

I want to honor the memory of a fellow, and not make it seem like he an object of evangelism in this post.  Ric Collis was the son of long-time church members, but had not lived in Morehead for decades.  He gave the church the biggest gift I have ever known someone to give.

A few weeks ago I found out he had terminal cancer.  He himself had only found out a few weeks before.  There was nothing to be done, except maybe some palliative care.  I called him and he was remarkably calm about it.  there were some tests to be done, to see what could be done to slow the disease, but he would die from it.

A few days after that call, his best friend and my church member Jim called and said it was progressing very rapidly.  I decided that I could not wait until some business took me to Louisville, it was now.

A lot conspired to keep me back, especially the threat of weather.  People were well-meaning, but I needed to go, and what else is 4 wheel drive for if not nasty weather?  As I drove up, the Lord placed Acts 10 on my heart, Peter at Cornelius' house.  I knew it was because Ric had grown up in a believers' house but had not professed faith in Christ, and was a generous person... much like Cornelius.

In the hospital, we spent some time reminiscing... and then we had to get down to business, sharing Christ.  Jim and I emphasized that salvation is about faith in Jesus.  Because of grace God does not hold our sins against us if we repent and believe in Jesus.  But that is hard to believe!  The lawyer in Ric wondered how God could leave all our sins on the table like that. I told Ric that I felt God wanted me to share from Acts 10.  By verse 4, the tears were flowing.  And yes I read almost the whole chapter!  At verse 43, salvation came.  Ric clasped our hands and we prayed for him to receive Christ, to have peace in his final days.

He died 5 days later.  He is home.

Don't Wait to Share the Gospel

This is how it happened… or maybe I should go back just a bit…

I cringe, I hate it, makes me puke whenever someone says you should wait before you share the Gospel with someone.  Inevitably, they say “it’s all about relationship.” Or if they want to double down, they say, “St Francis said you should preach the Gospel, use words only if necessary.” First, don’t slander Francis by suggesting he would ever say that, beause he didn’t.  And second, hardly anyone TALKED about Jesus more than Francis!

So yesterday was one of those days where I was very distracted by a lot of things that had to get done but were not hugely important.  The urgent was crowding out the important.  On top of that, it was a hard day to be a pastor and a dad—a lot of pain going around.  About 11:30 I said to myself I better spend some real time in the Word and in prayer, or this day will get out of control.

About 3 o’clock, same thing.  So I cut thru the hospital on the way to church.  I felt like I wanted to sit at a bench outside the hospital.  I have never sat there before or thought about it, so why today?  I opened the Bible, was reading Psalm 34.  I was struck by the title, “When David pretended to be insane before Abimelech.”  A few minutes later out comes a guy pushing an IV pole.  There are many other places to sit, but he made a bee-line for me.  He asked, “are you a pastor?”

He proceeded to ask for prayer.  I asked him if he was a believer in Jesus.  No, but he needed prayer.  I told him more than prayer he needed salvation in Jesus’ name.  He proceeded to tell me a lot of stuff that you wouldn’t just confess to people.  Under 5 minutes after the conversation started, I had shared with him the wonderful love, forgiveness and sacrifice of Jesus for him, and he believed in Jesus as his Lord and Savior. “I haven’t felt peace like this before,” he said.

So there you go.  God gives everyone divine appointments like this.  You need to be ready because people are waiting for you to tell them the Good News!!

VBS is almost over.  Maybe I should wait until tomorrow to write about it.  But I can’t.  It has been an amazing 4 days.  I don’t really want it to end tomorrow.  I know, I know, the volunteers will be spent.  They have really poured it out… working on decorations, crafts, writing and performing, music, singing, dancing, telling the story, playing games, cooking and preparing snacks, registering, being in the classes with the kids, being a listening ear… what haven’t they done?

I simply do not think there is an adequate way to thank them.  What could we say or do?  The amount of time, effort, and love has blown me away.

The crazy thing is, I get to run around and be crazy and soak it all in and sing and shout and answer serious questions about Jesus.  I put in the least but I get to have the most.  What a gift.  What a church to be a part of! You give us a place.  Money. You let your pastor take about 2 weeks helping and hanging out at VBS.  And then you pour out such creative energy!  I realized this VBS that I talk a lot about how cool it is that we write our own VBS, but there is no way it can happen without so many people who are so talented and dedicated.  Jessie has done an amazing job cultivating volunteers and casting a vision with energy that WE CAN DO THIS!

Tomorrow, I get to share Jesus plainly with kids who have been immersed in the Word all week long.  Will you pray with me that hearts are ready to respond?

After VBS today, my son John, Mike Adams and Michael Crouch went out and did some door to door evangelism before it rained.  Mike caught a huge bass when he was done visiting houses, while he waited for me and Michael.  We had a divine appointment… I’ll write about it later… but can you imagine? VBS and door to door evangelism in one day?

Rollin With The Syndicate

I’d like to tell you about a great time we had today.  A few weeks ago, my evangelism study group decided to get out of the books and hit the streets.  We were looking to do some evangelism in ways that could really benefit our ministries, help hold each other accountable, and just make sure that we were really getting after it.

So we are making a circuit of our towns—Frenchburg, Salyersville, Morehead, and Camargo.  7 of us hit Salyersville—me, my son John, Mike Adams, Taylor Wilson, Jacob Wilson, Matt Ellis, and Andrew Donner, the pastor of Salyersville.

We met for breakfast and then we hit a neighborhood behind the parsonage.  With 7 of us, we really made short work.  Matt Ellis and I worked a section, and it was a good day, on a bunch of levels.  What ends up happening on a weekday is that you find a lot of people not home, and that’s ok… because part of what you are doing is getting the word out about your church and its services.  You can come back later of an evening or weekend and catch them at home, and they have already had some contact.

But you also find some people at home.  Three visits stick out.  We met a woman from the Church of Christ.  She was very happy that we were out talking to people about Jesus.  I find that happens quite a bit—Christians are happy to bless you in the work.  And I hope they are inspired to give it a try, to get out there and witness!

We walked up to a guy reading on a porch.  We saw pretty quick he had a Bible and a commentary out.  He is a Baptist Sunday School teacher, very committed to building up a small church in the country.  We had a good laugh because he thought we were Mormons. “Never been so glad to see some Methodists,” he said.  He offered us some cold water bottles.  It was getting hot.  He had a horse in his front yard.  It grazes a little in his yard then goes up to a cousin’s house and then to another house before it goes to the barn to sleep.  Ah, life in a country town.

I have to talk up Matt Ellis a little bit.  He took most of the visits and did a great job.  He wasn’t done when we left Salyersville.  He was still witnessing at a gas station when we stopped for drinks in West Liberty!  I have to say that some good ministry happened there with Matt, too.  I was able to tell him one of the secrets of evangelism.  One of my best buds Steve McKinney, if he hears me whining or complaining asks, “have you told anyone about Jesus today?”  It’s good advice, because as soon as my feet hit the street I’m a brand new man, telling people how good Jesus is to forgive us.  I get to pray for people who have it worse than me and at any rate I realize the Lord has been pretty good to me.  There will be a lot of hard fighting, but I’ve read the back of the book and we win. Pretty soon, my grievances and resentments are gone, and even my real sorrows fade away.

The visit that was the most important: we met a guy who told us that he had been hurt badly on  the job, showed us some wicked scars from surgery, and told us he lived in constant pain.  I was immediately transported to India, where I saw so many worn out bodies and heard so many stories of healings.  Why don’t we see it?  Probably because we don’t believe it, don’t know how badly we need it.  So we prayed right there for him fervently.  I am still praying that Andrew may get to visit him and hear a marvelous testimony of healing and the power of the presence of the Lord in our suffering.

The other two teams have their own stories to tell.  I think we are going to see a lot of fruit from this thing we’re doing.  I’m calling us “The Syndicate.”  If I am dreaming, we will expand this to a big team of other pastors and lay people and we will go out and hit the streets and country roads and byways.  How cool would it be if we prayed each other up and got together with our teams in each others’ towns and just blitzed it?! If 15 or 20 people handed out 100 flyers, tracts and door hangers, praying for the needs of people and sharing the Good News of Jesus?  I might be getting close to showing a critical mass of people that door-to-door evangelism is not weird or useless.

First, I want to thank the folks who come across this blog and email me about evangelism.  It is always good to talk to you.

Two Sundays ago, a young man came to the church for the first time.  At the end of the service, he came forward to give his life to Christ.

The simple reason: I asked.  I suppose altar calls are out of favor.  If you are wondering how to help people know Jesus, present the Gospel clearly and ask them if they want to receive the free gift of salvation offered in Jesus.

But there is always more to it, especially that the Holy Spirit works to bring people to the point where they can hear the Word.

In this particular case, the young man was not intending to come to church.  But he woke up with the real sense that he needed to go to church.  He came to our Methodist Church because during a difficult time in his childhood, he spent some time at the Methodist Home for Children.

If you go back and look at this post you can see a little bit about the importance of many ways the Gospel was at work in people's lives before they accept Christ.  In this case, one of them was a mission agency of our church.

Stop and pray for someone you want to share the Gospel with. Then be amazed at how quickly God opens that door!

Not Technically Evangelism, but Good Stuff

So,  dove headlong into an amazing rabbit hole two days ago.  Yesterday morning I still had not come out of it... not exactly sure where it is going to end up.  It started with reading Numbers.  Sometimes you need to read big chunks of Scripture, to get familiar with it before you drill down.  That's what I was doing, but I noticed something that I had not noticed before.  Numbers 13, the spies that the Israelites send out into the promised land.  They send 12 men, one from each tribe.  They come back and 10 of them give a false, bad report saying they can not take the land.  Caleb and Joshua, however, say that with faith in God they can surely take it.

In verses 6 and 8, Numbers tells us that Caleb was from the tribe of Judah and Joshua from the tribe of Ephraim.  Lights went off.  That can't be an incidental piece of information--as if there were such a thing in Scripture.  Long story short (and not the point of this post), Judah is the tribe of David and Jesus.  Ephraim, the younger son of Joseph who receives the birthright that belonged to Reuben.  Ephraim "stands in" in Scripture for the ten northern tribes and Judah, well, Judah stands in for Judah and Benjamin. [Thanks to Theo Hagg and Wes Holland for diving down the rabbit hole with me]

ANYWAY. I thought, "I need to look up what Adam Clarke as to say about this..." Sadly, he passes it by, at least in Numbers.  Maybe he picks it up in comments on Hosea or Chronicles.  I'll see.  But when I got to the end of his Numbers commentary, he has this to say:
 "Canaan was a type of the kingdom of God; the wilderness through which the Israelites passed, of the difficulties and the trials to be met with in the present world. The promise of the Kingdom of God is given to every believer; but how many are discouraged by the difficulties in the way! A slothful heart sees dangers, lions and giants everywhere; and therefore refuses to proceed in the heavenly path.  Many spies contribute to this by the bad report they bring of the heavenly country,  Certain preachers allow that the land is good, that it flows with milk and honey," and go so far as to show some of its fruits; but they discourage people by stating the impossibility of overcoming their enemies.  'Sin,' they say, 'cannot be destroyed in this life--it will always dwell in you....'  Here and there, a Joshua and a Caleb , trusting alone in the power of God, armed with faith in the infinite efficacy of that blood which cleanses from all unrighteousness, boldly stand forth and say, 'Their defence is departed, and the Lord is with us. Let us go up and possess the land, for we are well able to overcome.' We can do all things through Christ strengthening us: he will purify us unto Himself, and give us that rest from sin here which his death has procured and His word has promised. Reader, canst thou not take God at His word? He has never yet failed thee. Surely, then, thou hast no reason to doubt. Thou hast never yet tried Him to the uttermost. Thou knowest not how far and how fully he can save."

The Importance of Visitation

I want to follow up on that letter Tom Ditto wrote.  He was pastor in the church I serve 50 years ago.  Perhaps you remember that I could point to two couples that I know, and their kids and grandkids, who came to this church because of the visitation Rev. Ditto and members of the congregation did.  I asked Sue Wells, a member who knows a lot about this town and this church.  She took the names and addresses and made a report for me.

From that report, in addition to the two couples I know, Sue noted that at least 8 people became active members.  She had additional information about a number of people who became active to some degree and then others who while they never joined were a strong part of the ministry.  And how about this… there are a number of families who the parents did not come, but the kids did.  And one of those “kids” now has two kids in our youth ministry.

What a great legacy—new members, people exploring the faith, maybe the parents did not come, but some grandkids are here.  Think long-term.  Yes, it is awesome when someone comes to Christ.  But for that to happen on your watch, many others went before you, preparing the ground.  I look at the two grandkids (not using their names because I have not asked permission yet) and I think how important they are in my kids’ lives… to think that an important piece in their accepting Christ last year was something they probably have no clue about: some people from the church visited their grandparents.

I am also humbled by my spiritual fathers.  I have Howard Willen’s robe, Harold Hunter’s stole, and Harold Dorsey’s service book.  And now Tom Ditto’s letter.

I really hope that we are encouraged to reach out to our neighbors. To be serious about visitation! Over and over you hear that it doesn’t work.  Even now, someone is saying, “well, it worked then, but that was the 60s. Times are different. It doesn’t work now.”  Have you tried it?  Consistently? Not one-and-done, but regularly going out with some people, inviting new folks to the church? Inviting people who have been here forever… to come to church?

I have a favor to ask.  A friend of mine, John Wesley Leek, will be leading some visitation work with his church in rural Mississippi.  He has been serious about going out and getting to know the neighbors, helping them to get to know the church.  Will you pray for him and his church?  I bet if we get some prayer power on it, his little church will see great results!

Don't Get Dressed First

Here is an example of the principle of life transference, which was the key to the Methodist Class meeting, the key to life change.

I bring it up to show that the work of evangelism is not about adding more stuff to a busy to-do list.  It’s not adding more meetings or another Bible study.  Church is not an event you come to on Sunday, it is lived out in daily life with your family, friends and co-workers.  Seeing church as a set of events or meetings to go to is why we aren’t disciples making disciples, but I need to stop there or I won’t get on with the point of this!

So…it’s not another class or another meeting, it’s doing what you already do with Gospel intentions.  It’s what Peter said, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who ask to give the reason for the hope you have” (1 Peter 3:15).  Anyone can do this because every believer has many stories to tell about how God worked in them.

So, how can I live my life on mission?  How can do what I am already doing and put some Gospel purpose into it?

I like to fish.  I am not good at it.  There is a difference.  But it is one of many things I like to do.  So one of the best things I can do is take someone who doesn’t know Jesus.  Think of the many things you already do with other people.  Ok, now take someone with you who doesn’t know Jesus.  And sit back and be amazed at the doors God opens.

So, fishing with a friend, we get to talking about stuff.  Nothing too heavy, just things like being frustrated with our kids.  It’s hard work, raising kids.  So I told him the story of something amazing Jesus did in my life as a dad.

Soon after John and Joe’s mom, Melissa, died, we moved into a house in Lexington.  Getting ready for school was awful.  9 days out of 10, one or both of the boys were melting down, crying.  It was just awful.  I hated it.  I hate it when days start off bad.  I didn’t want them going thru all that, I didn’t like that I was yelling and impatient with them.  I knew what was up… We moved into a new place and it was painfully obvious at every moment that Melissa was not with us, never would be again.  It was grief, and we were wrecks.

I hit my knees in prayer, “God, help me!  Fix our mornings,” I cried out.

And Jesus spoke.  Plain as day: “Don’t get dressed first.”

That was it!  I had had it!  Seriously, God? I am on my knees, ruined, and all you’ve got is don’t get dressed first?  What does that even mean?

But I knew it was from God so it was more than worth a try… I had to do it.

In 2 or 3 days I figured it out.  I knew exactly why Jesus had said what He said.  When I am dressed and ready, I think everybody should be dressed and ready.  I get impatient to say the least.  And add that to the thick grief in the air… man.  Not good.

When I stayed in my pjs, got the boys moving, got breakfast ready, things went smoothly.  No more meltdowns… probably because I had the time and the mindset to care for them rather than hustle them out the door.  The boys got to chill for 10 minutes or so while I got dressed.

I told this story to my friend, knowing he is not a believer, but also knowing he would get a clear picture of what Jesus can do in our lives.  I told him, “Jesus fired me from being the boss of the family and made me the chief servant.”  And because there is more to say, I added, “and He’s done the same in my marriage.  My goal is to outdo Jessie in showing her honor.”

You have plenty of ways that Jesus has done something awesome in your life.  And you will have plenty of opportunities to tell people if you are willing to do so when they ask.  My friend brought up stuff with raising kids because we are friends.  Your friends will have issues they want to talk about, and if Jesus has worked on you about something, just tell them!

We Had It, Then We Lost It

A few days ago I was at the Conference Office for a meeting. I was in Paul Brunstetter's office, looking at his and bookshelf. He had a Book of Discipline of the Northern Methodist Church from 1900. I am fascinated by the old Disciplines. They were short and the Bishops wrote compelling, convicting introductions. They stood firm for orthodoxy and historic Methodism. They wrote in the Bishops' Greeting something that I think should be very instructive and convicting to us. They were talking about the amazing amount of success the church was having, and had been having for about 20 years. They were in that phase of our history where we were opening a new church EVERY DAY. Can you imagine? Opening one new church every day. They were, in fact, close to opening two a day for a while.

They attributed their success to the very reason we have a Book of Discipline: our structure and organization (the METHOD in Methodist) was (WAS) geared to get out and evangelize, make disciples and gather them into churches. They attributed the success directly and unequivocally to “the itinerant preacher and the sub-pastorate of the class meetings.”

We had it.  Then we lost it.

The pastors weren't itinerant solely based on the Bishop moving them around. They went out looking for the people and places where Jesus was not worshiped as Lord. People would be gathered into small discipleship groups, and when there were enough of those, they became a church. In the times between the return of the preacher, the small group leaders provided pastoral care and encouragement for spiritual growth.

1900 was about 160 years after the Methodist movement started. 160 years after the Wesley brothers started, their movement had another outburst, of probably greater growth than the first revival! So a movement can still burn 160 years later! No doubt it can happen again. And it is, just not among the Methodists. We wryly say, “The Wesleyan movement is alive and well in the non-denominational church.” Other people have adopted the Method. I am part of a learning community from the Exponential Conference. It is my second go-round, learning from churches that are doing discipleship well. They are all working heavily with accountable small-group discipleship. Alan Hirsch, perhaps the foremost thinker in this movement says that all he does is “teach Methodism.”

I am hopeful that some may rediscover “the old paths,” and that individuals and churches here and there will start class meetings because they see and feel the life transformation. Perhaps it might even become so compelling that we re-adopt it again as the model for our churches!

Wherever There's Water

Friday, I had a call at the church from a chaplain at the local hospital.  There was a fellow who wanted to be baptized, and was asking for a Methodist pastor.  I called him as soon as I could.  I talked to his wife, as he is terminally ill, can barely breath and can't talk.  I said, "well maybe I should come out to you?"  She was surprised that we could do that.  I said, "if you have some water, what can stop him from being baptized?"  As we got to talking, it was apparent there was no way we could immerse him.  And it seems that that is why she was seeking out Methodists, because we will sprinkle or pour in addition to immersing.

Well, the more we got to talking, I realized they live in Menifee County.  I told her we are starting a new church in Menifee County.  She said, "I didn't think we had any Methodists down here!"  I asked her if she would like me to put her in touch with Mike Adams, our planter down there.  She was really excited to think that they will have a church right there where they live.

We don't always know how God is going to use and reward our faithfulness.  Let's just do what He asks us to do!

Funerals

It's been a long week. A good week, but a long one. And I say a good week, even though there were two funerals. A funeral is an excellent time for a kind of evangelism, “apologetics.” As we become more and more secular, death is seen as some kind of anomaly. The secular mind tends to fear death, to disbelieve it. It happens only to old people who are carefully secluded away so it won't scare children... or adults. And even then, death is seen as an injustice, evidence that God does not exist or does not care. So, on that level, if people thinking that way come to a funeral (and sometimes they do, to honor the person being memorialized), there is a chance to present the claims of the Gospel, the reason for the hope the deceased had in Christ. It's not an easy thing for the unbeliever-- they are alternately attracted and repulsed. From the vantage point of a preacher, you see indifference, surprise, comfort, hostility. But the point is to acknowledge death as the consequence of sin and death and to acknowledge eternal life as the reward of faith in Jesus Christ.

And the deep mourning of the family is also something that a strong, Christ-centered funeral addresses. I remember a funeral that Howard Willen took me to. He was the pastor at First Methodist in Lexington, who helped me immensely, not the least way was helping me discern a call into ministry. Because I was going into ministry, he took me along to things like meetings, hospital calls, nursing home visits... and funerals. So at the first one...

It was interesting. I knew I was going to have to get used to funeral homes. Caskets. Mourning. Death. And constant reminders of death. What a weird job pastors have, I remember thinking. Most people would actively try to avoid going to a funeral home. And yet, we go, and will be with the people as they are dying, perhaps when they die. I won't lie, it's tough. But you get to go with Jesus, and occasionally you see some signs and wonders.

Well, Howard and I were headed into Kerr Bros. funeral home, the one downtown. It was a cold day, maybe winter. Howard had said he would call me if there were a funeral so that I could see how they were done. As we went in-- I will never forget this-- he said, “Let's kick the devil around.”

How? Death is his turf. Mourning and hopelessness is his game. But the Gospel is preached in the face of death. And the death of the believer's physical body is the first step to resurrection to eternal life.

So I am always ready to roll at a funeral. I've got Good News. How good it is to be able to offer the consolation of the Lord!

I wrote some of this in the middle of the night. Nadia had a nightmare, I got her and brought her into bed with Jessie and me. And then Nadia ran me out. Three episodes of Burn Notice later and I was still wide awake.

Now it is Saturday evening, a bit of snow coming down. I had a great Sabbath. Slow morning to go over the sermon. Great lunch with our DS Terry Reffett—we chewed some of the same dirt in Clark County. Good, slow day with the family. Right now a fire in the fireplace. Going to read a few more chapters of My Side of the Mountain with the boys. Thinking back to how Dr. Willen scooped me up out of the gutter, and how good the Methodists have been to me and my family.

What's The Scorecard?

A few years back, I was visiting with some parishioners in Lexington.  The wife was a Methodist pastor's daughter.  She said something that has really stuck with me.  She remembers her dad coming home one day (I think this was the 50s).  He had been at some kind of denominational meeting. She said he sat down at the kitchen table and was weeping.

The powers-that-be had decided to strike a statistic from the reports pastors make: "evangelistic contacts."  He said it would mean terrible things for the church because we no longer valued the important work of reaching out to people who did not know Jesus, and getting out of the church office.

I have heard about this statistic.  But I have never been asked about it in my ministry.  We are asked about money and property and insurance.  And, indeed, we report on worship attendance, professions of faith.  But at some point I can't help but think my parishioner's weeping father was right.

The simple fact is that what you celebrate gets repeated, what you measure is worked towards.  As Methodists, the two things we should value most: people coming to saving faith in Jesus Christ (Justification), and their continued growth in grace (Sanctification).  Put another away, Evangelism and Discipleship.  From my perspective we seem to think you can make unconverted disciples-- never talk about Jesus, just do good things and be a nice guy.  That's works righteousness, and no one has ever seen God that way.

Recasting Revival

I love getting the word out about the effort to start new Methodist churches in Kentucky.  Part of doing that involves going to a venerable Methodist institution, The Charge Conference.  Charge Conference is where a church ("charge") presents their leadership for the coming year and addresses basic concerns of the church.  Most importantly, it is a time to get pumped up about the future.  In recent history, we have started having multiple churches come together in "clusters" to save the time of going to each church.  But I have found that when done well, it is a time for a whole bunch of Methodists to get together and be encouraged by the work and the potential.

Thursday night, I had the chance to speak to the Nicholas County Methodist churches, in Carlisle.  I have a personal connection there, because I preached revival in the Rose Hill church and am friends with Rick Sowder at the Headquarters church.  It was great to see some old friends and make some new ones.

Our DS Terry Reffett had regaled me with stories of some of the old pastors... who are still preaching!  One of them I sat with, preaching 60 years! Terry said there would be weeks of revival, with the preachers "preaching their hearts out."  I wonder what that would look like?

What if we had a revival and it kept going?  Terry had a revival in the early 70s that ran for 17 days.  Alfie Grubb, whom I buried this past summer, was converted at a revival that lasted 50+ days.

We often look back at revival and wonder why it doesn't happen so much now.  There is a very simple reason, and it's not just that we are "less spiritual" than before.  Much of it, I think, has to do with entertainment.  What I mean is this: 50 years ago there was no cable or satellite tv.  No internet.  A revival had a social function in addition to its spiritual component. People were more willing to come because everybody had the same blocks of time available.  That is simply not true today.

So on the one hand, we have to find ways to be "revived" in different ways than we did before.

More importantly, we may have to call it something else so we don't get sucked into doing it the same way we did before.  Terry Reffett suggested to me that maybe it's called a "spiritual renewal weekend."

But I have to say, I would love to have some real fireball come in and preach and maybe think it was just a few days but it kept going weeks.

I told everyone at the meeting that Robert Coleman, author of Master Plan of Evangelism is going to come to Morehead and teach a seminar on "The Lifestyle of the Great Commission" on November 9.  One of the old pastors remembered that Dr Coleman had preached a revival in Nicholas County, outside.  There was a bar nearby and Coleman was tearing it up in the sermon and he was so loud and his voice was echoing off the rocks and folks in the bar came out to see what the commotion was.

Lord help us, we are so bland nowadays.

Tears At The Altar

There were tears at the altar today, and fervent prayer. The sermon was on bringing friends and family to Christ. This is perhaps the greatest pain in the church, the people we love who do not know Jesus. I was overcome at the end of the early service by the prayer requests that we lifted up at the altar. Hearts were breaking, and we turned to the only One who is mighty to save.

In the second service, the same thing. This was one of those sermons that I always feel a little weird about, like they are not going to “work;” they are out of my comfort zone-- I tend to be more “expository.” Topical preaching is hard for me. But again, there were so many tears, so much desire for our friends and family to know the Christ, who has done everything for us.

But I have to tell you the thing that worked me over the hardest was something said to me after the first service. Bob Gould is a man who is testifying to us. He has a difficult cancer. Early on in my ministry here, we sat down and prayed. He asked me what should he do with this last part of his life. I immediately was thinking of the old school Methodists who were known for dying well, who sought entire sanctification. So we have been studying and praying about seeking to have the love of God in our hearts-- the Holy Spirit infused love of God and neighbor.

And man, is Bob seeking and showing it. He came up to me after the service and was talking about some good news in his disease and some worrisome stuff. And he said the most amazing thing. He said these have been some of the best years of his life, knowing that his death is coming sooner than later. He said he and Wanda (his wife) are closer than they have ever been, and that their life in Christ is better than it has ever been.

I can only think this is the power of God, this is one of those things where what is meant to discourage us and challenge our faith is turned to glory. Our friends and loved ones should be in fear, turning away from faith, and yet, all they can see is the love of God working in those who diligently seek it.

I would advise people, when sharing faith, to talk about this power of sanctification. Hopefully, I will add some more posts on what we're talking about, and how it works in our lives. I have found that some people are afraid of “trying” church because they are afraid they might not receive power over the sins in their lives. When we can let them know that Jesus does not just forgive sin, He overcomes it and progressively destroys its influence in our lives, they can be encouraged to know, on firm footing, that God is not just another coping mechanism or counseling strategy.

No one who is born of God continues to sin. We want to delve into what the apostle John meant when he wrote that. Stay tuned.

Water

Just filled up the baptismal for Andrew Donner, a college student who will be baptized.  Our evangelism is cranking on a lot of levels... children's ministry, youth ministry, Methodist Student Center, sanctuary services, all producing converts.  And all to the glory of God!  I can't figure it out.  If I could I'd bottle it, sell it, get proud... but that can't happen anyway.  It's the work of God through and through so that the only boasting we can do is in Christ. And I won't shut up about all the good he has done!

Last year about this time, I got frustrated with our bulletin "stats."  We count attendance and giving.  That's important, but it's hardly the whole picture.  I felt we needed to start keeping track of things that need to go up and things that need to go down.  So, worship attendance and giving need to go up.  But so does membership in the church, and most definitely professions of faith.

Things that need to go down has been a little harder to get a handle on.  Kids going to bed hungry needs to go down, and if there are as many Methodists as we say there are in Rowan County, then it should be going down.  People living in sub-standard housing needs to go down.  Jeff Lewis has been helping me think through how we can measure stuff like that.

At any rate, we set a goal of 20 new members and 10 professions of faith.  We did not set that goal as something that we must reach-- we set it simply to remind us that it is an important task.  The Holy Spirit will determine the final numbers.  Maybe higher or lower.  But we need to keep it in front of us, to remind, to challenge.  Well, we were really being blessed early in the year.  We were going to hit our goals.  So after baptizing some of our children I asked if we should push harder, and we all agreed we should.  So our goal is 30 new members and 20 professions of faith.  I think putting that out there has really helped us to be intentional, reminding us that we all have a part to play in bringing people to the church.

As of tomorrow, we will have 24 new members and 12 professions of faith. We think that's pretty good because as United Methodists we are not used to much of that at all!  If you think about the need, about all the people in Rowan County who do not know Jesus as Lord and Savior, we have a lot of work to do.  I wish you were crying about it.   I need someone to go to the Staff-Parish committee and say you want a new pastor because we just aren't getting it done!

You know, Brother Wesley used to tell his preachers, "you have nothing to do but save souls."  Somewhere down the line, we got into doing other things.  The main criteria for a Methodist preacher back in the day was "have they fruit?"  That is, are people converted under their preaching? We still ask that question when we ordain elders, but we apparently refuse to define what fruit is... or we don't want to be accountable to anything so measurable.

See what happens when I get pumped up because people are coming to faith in Christ?  I get rabid.