Reformation Snack Mix

To celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, what could be better than assemble-your-own Reformation snack mix? With a little help from my friends, I came up with this recipe and lesson for an upcoming church children's program. If we are feeling really festive, we'll wash it down with some (root) beer. 

Pretzels

Pretzels were invented in the Middle Ages (more than 500 years ago) in Roman Catholic monasteries. Before he came to understand the teaching of the Bible, Martin Luther was a monk in a German monastery. Maybe he ate some of the first pretzels!

Relics (Lucky Charms cereal)

As Martin Luther studied the Bible, God helped him to see that some of the practices of the Roman Catholic church were not biblical. One of those was the practice of honoring “relics” or things that had belonged to famous Christians in the past. People wrongly thought that viewing or touching those relics would give them favor with God.

Indulgences (chocolate chips or chocolate coins)

Another practice that Martin Luther learned was not biblical was the practice of paying “indulgences.” The Roman Catholic church wrongly taught people that if they gave money to the church, it would help them (or their family) to get to heaven.

95 (Reese’s Pieces) Theses

Martin Luther wrote a list of the teachings of the Roman Catholic church that were unbiblical. He had 95 things on his list, and the list came to be called the 95 Theses. One day in October, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Roman Catholic church in Wittenburg, Germany. That day is what we consider the beginning of the Reformation—when people like Martin Luther worked to help the church to do what God says in the Bible and not what people just think for themselves is a good idea. *Reese’s Pieces have peanut butter in them, so if you are allergic to nuts, you should not take any of these!*

Diet of Worms (gummi worms)

Because of the 95 Theses and the other things Martin Luther was teaching about how the Roman Catholic church was wrong, many people were angry with him. The Emperor, Charles V, summoned Martin Luther to a meeting at a town called Worms (pronounced “verms”). At the meeting, the powerful emperor told Martin Luther he should change his mind about the things he had been teaching from the Bible. Martin Luther refused to change his mind, and said to the emperor, “Here I stand. I can do no other.” This meeting was known as the Diet of Worms.

Goldfish

Katharina Von Bora was a Roman Catholic nun, living in a convent in Germany. She and several other nuns became convinced of the Bible’s teaching that was being explained by godly Reformers like Martin Luther. Katharina wrote a letter to Martin Luther asking him to help her leave her convent. He sent Leonhard Köppe—the man who delivered fish to the convent kitchen—and he helped Katharina and the other nuns to hide in his wagon among his fish barrels and escape. Katharina joined Martin Luther at Wittenburg and eventually married him.

Scottish Oats (Cheerios cereal)

Oats grow very well in the cool, wet climate of Scotland and Scottish people have eaten oatmeal for hundreds of years. These oats remind us that the Reformation did not just happen in Germany. All over Europe, people began to study the Bible for themselves and learn what it said. In Scotland, one of those Reformers was a minister named John Knox. John Knox was born in Scotland, but once he began to teach and preach the truth of the Bible, he had to flee Scotland several times. Once, he was even captured and made a slave on a boat where he was put in chains and forced to row. Perhaps while he was rowing he dreamed of eating a familiar bowl of oats!

Dried “Cranmer”berries

Another important person in the Reformation was Thomas Cranmer. When King Edward VI was the king of England, Thomas Cranmer helped to write “The Book of Common Prayer” which gave the Church of England directions for a more biblical way of worshiping God. Like Martin Luther, he wanted to eliminate unbiblical practices like saying ministers couldn’t get married, using pictures in worship, and worshiping saints.

Sola Granola

Today, when we think about the Reformation and the many men and women who worked hard to make sure other people could know true teaching from the Bible, we see five things that those Reformers taught again and again. These five things became known as the 5 Solas of the Reformation:

Sola Scriptura (“Scripture alone”): The Bible alone is our highest authority.

Sola Gratia (“grace alone”): We are saved by the grace of God alone.

Sola Fide (“faith alone”): We are saved by grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ.

Solus Christus (“Christ alone”): Jesus Christ alone is our Lord, Savior, and King.

Soli Deo Gloria (“to the glory of God alone”): We live for the glory of God alone.

Enjoy!

Extending the Vision from Local to Universal

Many churches hold national annual meetings in the late spring or early summer to conduct the business of the denomination. I think that a pastor's wife can benefit from occasional attendance at such gatherings, especially if her local church is in an area that doesn't offer much support for ministry.

I go to our General Assembly (GA) from time-to-time, and it protects me from insular thinking. This year in Mobile, Alabama, I was able to sing with Keith and Kristyn Getty, hear Timothy Keller preach and enjoy Christian fellowship with like-minded people from around the world. This meeting of a small American denomination reminded me that God is at work in a big way in the church universal.

Other pluses of being there:
Meeting up with old friends and making new friends
Praying for our denomination with members of our denomination
Choosing from a wide variety of relevant seminars 
Touring area attractions and learning the history of the place
Hearing about new missions and ministry projects
Realizing the seriousness of the issues before the assembly
Spending time, before or after GA, exploring a new area of the country with my husband

In addition, a highlight for the solo pastors in the group may be the daily worship service. These men are freed from their normal responsibilities of leading in worship and are able to sit under the preaching of some of the finest ministers.

One of the sermons we heard this year was given by Timothy Keller on boasting in the Lord. Keller said that everyone boasts in something in order to face his enemies. When the object of boasting is not ourselves, but the Lord, we see more unity in the Church and more effectiveness in our witness. To see Keller's sermon, select "PCA 2016 Wednesday Worship" from this website and forward to 38:47 minutes. The Gettys sing before that point in the video.

Why Can't the Church Just Get Along? A Review of Redeeming Church Conflicts

Perhaps nothing is more stressful to a pastor's wife than a conflict within the church. Not only does she have the heart-wrenching experience of seeing her Christian sisters, spiritual mothers, and precious daughters-in-the-faith quarrel and fight with one another; not only does she hear murmurings (or, worse, sudden silences) as she walks down the hall on Sunday mornings; not only does she have to carefully guard her own tongue and actions at every minute to promote peace and avoid escalating the problem; she also helplessly watches conflict's toll on the church's pastor, her beloved husband.

Thankfully, over my years in various churches, the conflicts have been few. But every church faces conflict to some degree, and each of us could use help to navigate those situations.

This is why I was so thankful to receive a copy of Redeeming Church Conflicts: Turning Crisis into Compassion and Care by Tara Klena Barthel and David V. Edling. This recent reprint (it was originally published by Baker in 2012) is a gift to the church for its clarity and biblical wisdom.  

To someone in the middle of a church conflict, the complex knot of spiritual and material issues, contributing factors, and personalities can appear impossible to understand, let alone untangle. As emotions rise and hope sinks, everyone in the church experiences distress, and, amid the confusion and hurt, a positive path forward often seems unclear. In this book, Barthel and Edling (both experienced conciliators/mediators) offer a warm, biblical, and careful roadmap for navigating church crises.

Although we might be tempted to think of church conflict in terms of the immediate crisis (or what Barthel and Edling call "the presenting issues"), the authors encourage us to see conflict through the lens of God's bigger purposes for his church:

"Redeeming church conflict is less about resolving specific problems than it is about seeing conflict as a means by which God is growing his people into true saints, true eternal children who are being continuously conformed to this holy image." 

While not ignoring the specific, material concerns that are the public face of church conflict, the authors very helpfully remind readers that much more is actually at stake. Lest we begin to think the expensive new building project, the Sunday school curriculum, or the feuding individuals are the biggest issue we need to consider--and then "solve"--they constantly point us to the greater importance of God's glory and the good of our neighbor.

Only with this eternal perspective can churches begin to untangle the knot of obvious issues. To do this, each chapter uses the pattern of the church in the book of Acts (especially Acts 15) combined with specific contemporary examples from the authors' mediation cases to define and illuminate a path toward church healing.  Readers of material from Peacemaker Ministries will recognize many of the same helpful principles, applied here to a church setting.

As a pastor's wife, I was particularly challenged by the authors' reminder that no one is "neutral" in a church conflict. As righteous (and safe) as it might sound to say, "I'm just staying out of it," Barthel and Edling admonish their readers: "You are either part of the solution or part of the problem--there can be no fence-sitting. Avoidance may feel better in the short term, but it will never help any of the people involved to grow in grace. . . ."

Perhaps surprisingly for a book about sin and its fruits, these pages are filled with hope. Through the words of Barthel and Edling, church members and leaders will begin to see their conflicts as opportunities for the glory of God. And whether your church is currently in the midst of strife or proactively seeking to avoid it in future, this book is an excellent guide.

____
Barthel, Tara Klena and David V. Edling. Redeeming Church Conflicts: Turning Crisis into Compassion and Care Reprint: Hendrickson, 2016.

I Have the World in my Backyard

As I see athletes from all over the world gathering in Rio for the Olympics, I am reminded of the visitors from abroad that live not far away from me. Many come to my region from around the globe for employment or a university education.

Some internationals are from places none of us will ever be able to visit. I ask myself what I am doing with this opportunity to mirror Christ and His love to those I meet.

Some of my church's members recognize this migration as a chance to minister. For example, they held English as a second language (ESL) classes at the church. Many of their Asian, European, Middle Eastern and Latin American students were associated with a nearby university.  Now, our church is changing directions slightly and becoming friendship partners with international graduate students via International Christian Fellowship (ICF) at the same school.

In the past, individuals in the church were paired with students from other countries, through a process similar to ICF's. Activities included inviting them to a home cooked meal, teaching the adults to drive or taking them to an international food store. My husband and I were friends with a Korean couple as part of that effort. One main avenue of testimony was to share our lives with the two of them. We also tried to show them, by example, what a Christian lifestyle looks like because internationals might equate the words and actions of actors on American TV with what Christians do.

In another type of outreach, one church member developed relationships with some internationals who visited his produce stand. After he got to know them better, he gave them God's word in their own language when they expressed interest.

A training class that I took for international ministry stressed showing Christian love, but it did not recommend encouraging our friends to depend on American Christian friends for everything. Instead, it advocated praying for opportunities to point others to Christ; he is the only one who can meet the deepest needs of people from any nation.

Having a heart for internationals is worthwhile, but it requires a shift in thinking for some of us. I, for one, grew up in a very homogeneous culture, eating only Middle American food, seeing no other skin colors beside white and believing there was no reason to live anywhere else in the world. However, through the small steps I have taken to reach out to other cultures in the name of Christ, I have been blessed.

I am thankful for itinerant missionaries who went out of their way to make occasional visits to my small home church. Although I was a child at the time, I could see that they had a genuine faith. Motivated by a love for God and an understanding of the plight of man, the missionaries had a vision for a world that needs the Gospel. These men and women gave me an excellent starting place to leave my comfort zone and get out into the "world" in my backyard.

Being in Ministry Saved My Marriage

This morning, my husband and I prayed together with our kids. Before we walked out the door, we looked into each other’s eyes, and we kissed. Later, at lunch time, we had a significant discussion about personal priorities for our finances. No one shouted or cried or clammed up. We also discussed our church. No one shouted or cried or clammed up. This evening, we ate dinner as a family. We laughed a lot. I did the dishes. He paid bills in the family room. After the kids were in bed, the two of us ended the day by reading side-by-side on the couch.

Ours is the story of a happy marriage. 

We owe this to the grace and mercy of our Lord. And one of his loving means has been our place in the church. 

When yet another pastor falls publicly into grievous, soul-bruising, family-destroying sin, the onlookers can quickly line up to blame life in the church. I have read many articles in recent months that claim ministry life makes pastors and their wives inherently lonely or hypocritical or distracted or vulnerable to sin or prone to cracking from stress. The cumulative message is clear: when failure happens, it’s the church’s fault. 

I know that ministry life can bring unique, and sometimes intense, challenges to family life. (See: this entire blog.) I know that there are neither perfect churches nor perfect pastors nor perfect pastors' wives. Sin is a many-tentacled monster that can drag us toward death from many directions at once. 

But I also know firsthand the privilege of a ministry marriage.

And I worry that an endless litany of blame-the-ministry could cause faithful pastors and their wives to view the local church as their marriage's enemy rather than its best ally. 

The Prayers of Many 

I can’t count the number of times our church has publicly prayed for us and for our marriage. Sunday mornings from the pulpit. Wednesday nights in church prayer meeting. Tuesday mornings at Bible study. The people of God are regularly and specifically praying for us to have a loving, faithful, and happy marriage. 

These prayers are the arms of Aaron and Hur, holding up our marriage whenever it grows weary. They are an offensive weapon against Satan, cutting down temptation before it begins. And they are an open invitation to corporate rejoicing, allowing “the many” to “give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many” (2 Cor. 1:11). 

The Good 

In church life, we are surrounded by couples who are thriving in their marriages—loving one another, serving God, and pursuing faithfulness. We watch them work and worship together. And we see God’s grace to them when trials come. 

Ministry life has taken us to hospital beds and death beds, to moving trucks and waiting rooms, to drought-plagued farms and hard-hit small businesses. We have seen marriages walk through the sea billows and come out singing “it is well.” 

These couples are our cloud of witnesses: cheering us on, handing us cups of cool water, and pointing us to the same Christ who is also at work in them. 

The Ugly 

We have also watched marriages die. Too many times, we have cried together for a church couple who didn’t make it, who met the end in a dingy courtroom stacked with allegations. And we have doubled-over in fear and grief and anger for all the sins that led them there. 

But even the ugly is a grace for my marriage. Having seen the multi-car pile-up beside the road, I resolve to drive more cautiously. Having watched the house next door burn to the ground, I check the batteries on my smoke detectors. Having witnessed a friend falling off the cliff, I back away from its jagged edge.

Thanks be to God. 

God’s Gracious Constraints 

The blame-the-ministry posts are correct when they observe that ministry life comes with plenty of constraints. People are watching you. You have demands on your time. At every moment, you are expected to act like a Christian. True. 

Those constraints are God's grace. 

Because of the ministry, I must speak kindly to and about my husband. I must serve God alongside him. I must set an example for younger Christians. I must surround myself with more mature Christians. I must submit myself to the direction of the elders. I must show up twice every Sunday to worship God with him. 

And aren’t those the very things my marriage needs? 

I cannot say what my marriage would be like if my husband were not a pastor. I have only the life God has given. But I do know this: ministry life is, by God’s kind intent, good for my marriage.

Great Expectations in Ministry

Expectations are tricky things for pastor's wives. People in our congregations assume that we should act or think in a certain way, and we expect the same of them. Christians get into trouble when we take our focus off Christ and the truth of the Bible.

The scriptures tell us about the marvelous hope we have in God and the benefits of knowing Christ. They also show us how we ought to live with the power of the Holy Spirit to help us. However, we are not assured that our ministry will be always successful and without any pain. As much as the world tries to convince us, humans cannot expect to create their own perfect reality.

In a June 21, 2016 article on The Gospel Coalition website, Senior Editor Jeff Robinson writes about the "poison ivy of self-centered expectations" that he had for his church as a rookie pastor. He built a fictional church in his mind that was quite successful, filled with all agreeable people and void of much that caused him anxiety. Although this piece is written with pastors in mind, it has application to their wives, as well.

Robinson gives six reasons why having such great expectations for a church is lethal. For example in reason two, he says that the pastor can become disappointed when reality doesn't live up to fiction. According to Robinson, when you try to reach a standard that neither you nor your congregation can meet, "you will be frustrated with them, and they will be frustrated with you." Instead, he says, "...you are called to love the congregation you have, not the one you desire."

"6 Ways a Fictional Church May Wreck Your Ministry" is good advice for those who are right out of seminary as well as those people who are discontented with their current church and want to leave. Robinson gives convincing reasons why we should not create what he calls a "ministerial Disneyland," which has no basis in reality.

According to TGC's website, editor Robinson is also a church planter. In addition, he is a senior research and teaching associate for the Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies and adjunct professor of church history at Southern Seminary. His article was accessed on July 4, 2016.

Writing, Publishing, and Praying: Resources from My TGCW16 Sessions

I had the privilege of leading (or co-leading) several sessions at TGCW16 this week. I'm thankful for each of my sisters who attended those sessions, and--as promised--I'm posting links here to the resources I mentioned in my presentations. If you have follow-up questions or comments, you can always email me: megan@sundaywomen.com 

When Women Pray Together (Megan Hill)
Friday, June 17, 2016, 4:30 PM

My book, Praying Together, was the basis for the material in my session. You can find it here:
Praying Together: The Priority and Privilege of Prayer in Our Homes, Communities, and Churches

Donald S. Whitney made the observation I quoted (about praying for other people v. praying with them) in his book:
Spiritual Disciplines within the Church

Praying systematically through the nations of the world (and the church in those nations) has been one of the greatest privileges of my corporate prayer life. This book helpfully assigns the countries to each day of the year:
Operation World

Getting Published without Selling Your Soul (Megan Hill)
Friday, June 17, 2016, 9:15 PM

One more story about the winding road to getting published from Gaye Clark:
Dreams Deferred and No Regrets

Bret Lott's "On Precision" is my favorite short piece about the craft of writing and its importance before the face of God. You can read that chapter in his book:
Letters and Life

The National Writing Project offers a way to structure group feedback on writing, including the "Bless, Address, Press" formula I mentioned:
Guidelines for Response Groups

Tim Challies knows a thing or two about platform, and his post about the dangers of idolizing the numbers is worth reading:
No Platform High Enough

Charity Singleton Craig's site is full of valuable nuggets about the writing life. This is her post about being "famous to the family":
Almost Famous: Who Am I Trying to Become?

Melissa B. Kruger's The Envy of Eve is both gracious and challenging as we seek to root out covetousness in our hearts. I review it here:
I Have Learned to Be Content

Jared C. Wilson had a useful article recently giving answers to some FAQs:
Everything You (Might Have) Wanted to Know about Writing and Publishing

Margot Starbuck is a writing coach whose conference seminar on non-fiction book proposals was extremely helpful to me as I prepared my first book proposal. You can download her (free!) annotated book proposal template at the bottom of this page:
Top Ten Tips for Creating Book Proposals

Word-Filled Writing (Gloria Furman, et. al.)
Friday, June 17, 2016, 1:30 PM

Marilynne Robinson said, "I hope I never condescend to the audience. I think you should write as if people who are smarter than you are will read it." That quote comes from this article:
Marilynne Robinson: the Pulitzer Prize winning author on her new book

Any of the resources I mention above ("Getting Published") would also be helpful to those who were part of my workshop group.

Whatever Your Hand Finds to Do

Even when converts are few or the church is small, the work of ministry must be taken up. In such situations, my specialized skills are not as valuable as my willingness to do whatever needs to be done. I have to roll up my sleeves, and answer God's call with the strength He gives.

My experience in a small church taught me that a journalism degree has little use when I am tasked with scrubbing toilets. Ditto housing and feeding the conference speaker. If a nursery scheduler was needed, it was up to me. When a VBS refreshment organizer was lacking, I did it.

I am not a super woman. In fact, I admit to my share of grumbling about the sacrifice required in my role as a pastor's wife. I do many things in my own strength and get overwhelmed. These attitudes do not automatically go away when the church gets bigger, either. But, I do pray that God will give me the desire to serve Him without thinking mundane tasks are beneath me.

Isn't it amazing that God uses us, as flawed humans, to build His kingdom? He knows our every weakness and yet loves us.

As I read Nehemiah recently, I saw a man who was motivated to serve God in an area outside of his skill set. When Nehemiah heard that the Jews were in trouble and that the walls and gates of Jerusalem were in ruin and in need of repair, he cried, prayed and repented. Then, this cupbearer-turned-wall builder set about to do God's will. (Nehemiah 1)

Nehemiah was not the only one who was willing to minister where his hand found something to do. When he told the Jews, the priests, the nobles and the officials about his desire to serve, they said, "Let us rise up and build." They strengthened their hands for the good work. (Neh. 2:18) 

Chapter 3 gives examples of the types of people who did the hard work of rebuilding, some of it with a weapon in one hand and a tool in the other because of the fierce opposition to God's plan.

...the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests, and they built the Sheep Gate...goldsmiths repaired...one of the perfumers repaired...the ruler of half the district of Jerusalem repaired, he and his daughters...the Levites repaired...the merchants repaired. In the midst of all this obedience are some sobering words, "...the Tekoites repaired, but their nobles would not stoop to serve their Lord."

Lord, please give me the willingness to obey you, even when you ask me to serve in new ways that I haven't been trained for. Forgive me when I think that a job you give me is beneath me.

Sunday Women make Top 25 blog list!

SundayWomen.com was recently chosen as one of the "Top 25 Women's Leadership Blogs You Should Follow" by ChurchLeaders.com. Megan and Patsy are honored to be among some well-known Christian bloggers on the list. The entire list is on the ChurchLeaders.com website.

Big Picture Mom (A Review of Missional Motherhood)

I read Gloria Furman’s new book Missional Motherhood in the trenches. Its twelve chapters accompanied me to countless youth-league baseball practices, interminable waits in the school parking lot, and one memorable Lord’s Day afternoon where seemingly every sentence was punctuated by the requests of small children for whom “Sabbath rest” means “more time for snacks.” 

It took a while, but I’m pretty sure I read the whole book. At least I know I read some of it more than once. 

Thankfully, Furman is a mom of young children herself, and she understands this about her readers. Her tone is warm, and her instruction is simple without being condescending. I’m pretty sure she knew I was going to read her book with one eye on the page and one eye on the child climbing backwards up the playground slide. Furman helpfully and repeatedly circles back to her thesis: “what God’s word says about his mission, how motherhood fits into that, and what Christ has done to fuel and fulfill our everyday ministry as moms” (p. 17). Even if some of her paragraphs get lost in the pre-dinner shuffle, you won’t miss her main point. 

And this book is not just for moms—at least not just for moms in the traditional sense. Missional Motherhood seeks to provide direction and motivation for all kinds of mothering, and for any woman engaged in “nurturing life in the face of death” (p. 50). So whether you are in the trenches of T-ball or muddling through mentoring a younger woman, here are 3 reasons to consider reading Missional Motherhood: 

(1) It Puts You in the Picture 

The entire first half of the book--101 pages of it, to be exact--isn’t really about motherhood at all. It’s about the Old Testament. As counter-intuitive as that might be, Furman has good reasons. She defends her Old Testament survey by explaining that mothers can easily get lost in the details and constantly need the big picture, that mothers need to be shaped by that big picture, that mothers need to be guided by that picture, and that mothers need to show their children (or those whom they are mentoring) the big picture. 

By expressed intent, Furman is not going to tell you how to discipline your disobedient pre-schooler or what method to use to get your toddler to sleep or how to have conversations about tough topics with your elementary-schooler. Instead, she seeks to demonstrate that mothering is one part of God’s bigger story and that all the choices we make in our days will flow out of and reflect what we believe God is doing in us and in our world. 

(2) It Points You to Your Help 

The second half of the book is not primarily about mothers either. It’s all about Christ. Here, Furman looks at the offices of Christ and considers how Christ at work in us transforms the way we mother those around us. Christ the prophet, priest, and king is our only hope and help. His ministry shapes our ministry. And his goal is our goal. 

As Furman writes: “It feels like our biggest need is a car that runs better, or a child who obeys fully, or a friend we can confide in, or a husband who appreciates us, or a church that values our gifting, or a ministry that fulfills us, or a body we are proud of, or a bank account that doesn’t worry us. Any one of those things may feel like the biggest, most pressing need we have. But they all pale in comparison to our need to stand in the presence of God, to whom all glory, majesty, dominion, and authority belong forever” (p. 123). 

And whether your mothering is the biological kind or the kind that happens over lattes at Starbucks, you will find refreshment in the fact that Christ has already done everything necessary. 

(3) It Connects You to Your Sisters 

One of the things I love best about all of Furman's books--and about this book in particular--is that Furman, writing as she does from the Arabian Peninsula, has a global view of the kingdom. She knows personally that Christ’s church is not limited to first-world mothers at the country club swimming pool (though it certainly includes them) nor is it exclusively the property of mothers living day by day in the slums of Mumbai (though they are an important part, too). 

Reading Furman’s varied cultural examples from my place on the third base line in western Massachusetts, reminded me afresh that my sisters throughout the world are all engaged in this same work of nurturing life in the face of death. It drew me to love them. It reminded me to pray for them. It encouraged me to look forward to our future eternity together. 

And, most importantly, it made me put down the book altogether in order to introduce myself to that woman sitting beside me on the bleachers. 

Hi, there! Whose mom are you?

_____

Gloria Furman. Missional Motherhood. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016. 

I also reviewed Furman's The Pastor's Wife here. And her book, Treasuring Christ When Your Hands Are Full here. And I even recommended Glimpses of Grace here. 

What I Have Learned Serving a Church Plant: Expectations

This guest posting is from Pam, who is preparing to move from Mississippi to Canada to help plant a church with her husband, Josh. They have two little girls.

My husband and I are so thankful that we are a part of a church plant called Grace Reformed Church, where he serves as an elder.

We both have a heart for church planting and seeing people come to know Jesus - for the first time or in new and deeper ways. Being a part of it for three years has taught us a lot about ministry.

If you are considering joining a church plant and are not sure what to expect, here are a few things we have learned.

 

Those of us in a church plant must expect to...

Sacrifice our preferences. Church plants don’t have the same structure, access to resources, or number of bodies as established churches. This means they won’t have the same kind of worship band, programs/ministries, childcare and facilities that we may be used to or long for.

It is helpful to stay focused on the vision and mission of the church.  Worship Jesus by teaching the Word, proclaim the gospel, witness to the kingdom and disciple people so that these lesser issues don’t become primary. R.C. Sproul says it well, “I think the greatest weakness in the church today is that almost no one believes that God invests His power in the Bible. Everyone is looking for power in a program, in a methodology, in a technique, in anything and everything but that in which God has placed it—His Word. He alone has the power to change lives for eternity, and that power is focused on the Scriptures.”

Additionally, it is important to be mindful of the ever-growing and ever-changing distinctness of a church plant. Many things will be tried and either added or abandoned. This requires and allows members to have an easy-going, accommodating attitude.

Serve faithfully using our time, money, energy, talents and resources to minister to the church and proclaim the gospel (1 Peter 4:8-11).  Based on their income, schedule, ability or role in the church, some people in the congregation will serve more than others. Serving is not about fairness. It will never be perfectly even. We don’t live in light of fairness, we live in light of the gospel!

It is easy to be self-righteous about our own service in the church when we compare ourselves to others. Our own desire to serve the church is a gift from the Lord. When we believe this, our self-righteous frustration, bitterness and anger towards others begins to diminish. And, we are able to be thankful for those who are willing to serve in any capacity.

Pray for more people to be so transformed by the gospel that they actually desire to give self-sacrificially. Ask God to help them begin to see the church as a place to serve rather than consume. Lastly, serve by simply showing up each week!

Seek people. In large churches, it is easy to be invisible. In small churches it is easy to choose invisibility. But the gospel motivates us to step out of our comfort zones, and talk to people, whether they approach us first or not.

Let’s seek the people who are sitting alone, who are outside of our life-stage or generation or who “rub us the wrong way.” Consider the people we wouldn’t normally have an opportunity to engage with. Invite them over for dinner. Church is a family. Intentionally building community is for our good and His glory.

Struggle to love others. Relational difficulties are going to be there because we are busted sinners. Sadly, churches are too often places where grace between brothers and sisters in Christ goes to die rather than come alive.

There will be miscommunication, disagreements, gossiping and hurt feelings between both leaders and congregants. These relational difficulties can range from simple to serious. We might encounter differing parenting choices, various music style preferences, theological disagreements and personal hurts and offenses. The biggest battles of ministry are fought on the turf of our own hearts.

Therefore, praying for the church, fighting for unity, being honest with one another, forgiving quickly and being willing to repent and seek forgiveness can feel impossible. But, the gospel tells us that through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection we have been freed from bondage to sin and self. By his Spirit, we are given motivation and power to reconcile with one another. The God we worship is a God of reconciliation and his people are a people of reconciliation (Ephesians 4:25-31; Colossians 3:12-17).

Share in one another’s hardships (Romans 12:9-16). One of the ways the church shows God’s love is by caring for the practical needs of people. This means knowing the people we worship with well enough to know their needs. We need to take initiative because hurting people will infrequently ask for help. Some examples of ways to love, serve, and minister to people include making meals, running errands, offering specialized services, caring for the sick and crying with the brokenhearted. This is a joyful burden, a blessing and part of being the body of Christ!

See God's work. Hearts are changed, people are saved and the Spirit moves in big and small ways we have never imagined. The Lord will bring broken people from different backgrounds, ethnicities, ages, life stages and income levels together to share, hear, believe and be transformed by the gospel. We can expect to see Jesus redeem and change lives, including our own, from the inside out because the Word of God is powerful, active and alive. (Hebrews 4:12; 2 Corinthians 5:17,18; Romans 5: 18-21)

For more about the model used to plant Pam's church, see "Simple Church Planting" on the desiringGod website.

 

How to Pray Out Loud Online

Years ago, I worked for a Christian audio magazine—a forerunner to podcasts, I suppose. At the time, the studio was transitioning between analogue and digital.  Some interviews got edited digitally on the computer—the audible discards disappearing silently into the void—but mostly the editing still produced tangled snips of physical tape, curled on the studio floor like the remnants of a haircut.

I was reminded of this as I wrote and edited Praying Together. Behind its 158 pages lies a pile of discarded snippets—some physical bits of paper and some existing only in my mind. Mostly, the book is decidedly better for what got left on the floor. But some of those tangled curls of thought just won’t be swept up and thrown away. They didn’t belong in the book, sure, but I’d like to think they belong somewhere.

This is one of them.

_______________________

How do you pray online?

Almost daily, I am asked to pray “with” others when I’m not actually with them. If you are in a church, it probably happens to you, too. In this digital age, we frequently receive prayer requests from people at a distance. 

They email us. They text us. They post on social media.

Pray for my dad. He’s having surgery in 30 minutes.

Prayers, please. I need to be at the airport in 10 and I can’t find my passport.

I’m feeling so anxious today. Would you pray for me?

At the crisis pregnancy center. Please pray for the couple I’m counseling.

Praying for others is our great privilege. It’s a way to love our brothers and sisters and to bear their burdens, priorities so essential that the Bible equates these obligations with fulfilling the whole law of God (Rom. 13:8, Gal. 5:14).

Praying for others is also a means of exhorting them, of reminding them of truth from God’s Word, and of lifting up their heads and pointing them to Christ. As they hear our confident and tender prayers, the suffering brother or sister will be encouraged.

Online or in a text message, though, we tend to reply with a quick “Praying!” and click on. Sometimes, that's all we can do. And, it is certainly better than nothing.

But in these situations, I think it is best to pray out loud online--to share the exact words that we are at that moment bringing before the Lord. We don't do this to show off our eloquence or piety. We do this because prayer is a means of strengthening one another's faith and encouraging one another with our love.

First, it's good to say exactly who we are petitioning. Prayer is an activity of relationship—it is children talking to the Father whom they know and love. 

Not everyone understands this. Some people who see the social media post or receive the group text will mistakenly think prayer is nothing more than a good wish or a lucky charm. Out loud online prayers, then, affirm that true prayer is communication within an intimate relationship. 

We are praying to someone. And that someone is gracious and compassionate.

Even other Christians often need to be reminded that the sovereign, loving, and holy God hears and answers our prayers. He is the same God who once healed the sick, released the prisoners, comforted the grieving, and gave bread and fish to the hungry. Most of all, he is the God who took his enemies (us!) and made them his friends.

Knowing who we are praying to gives us confidence that he will hear and confidence that he does all of his holy will. Knowing that God has worked faithfully in similar situations gives us hope that he will act again. 

Praying to the One who healed ten men in one instant. . .

Praying to the God who made the borrowed axe-head float. . .

Praying to the Father who numbers the hairs of our heads. . .

Praying to the Lord who came to seek and save the lost. . .

It is also good to say exactly what we are asking. Christian prayer is not a vague mumbling or a meaningless mantra. Prayer is “an offering up of our desires unto God.”

Identifying exactly what we desire from the Lord will help us to evaluate whether it is something according to his revealed will and character. It will also help us to recognize his gracious answer when he gives it. And this, in turn, will allow us to give public thanks.

. . .praying that he would heal you.

. . .praying that he would allow you to find your missing object.

. . .praying that he would reveal his love for you as you meditate on his Word.

. . .praying that he would be at work in her soul.

And then I close my eyes, bow my head, and bring that before the Lord. It may not be as good as standing shoulder-to-shoulder, together at the Throne with my needy friend, but it is something. One day we will be together there—and I trust that all of our prayers and all of his answers will be fully revealed to the glory of Christ.  

Brothers and sisters, let us pray.

_____

You can purchase Praying Together from Amazon, Crossway, The PCA Bookstore, Westminster Bookstore, or Christianbook.com.

Fear of Saying Goodbye

I say my share of tearful and fearful goodbyes. In our mobile society, church members get a new job and have to move. While I am happy for their career advancements in another state or country, I don't want them to leave because they are often the same people who furthered the kingdom of Christ in my church. These people encouraged me personally or led a life-changing Bible study or faithfully attended every service. I fear that this may be the end of ministry as we know it.

I experience another type of goodbye when a beloved church member dies. Sometimes my sadness at the funeral stems from the painful loss of shared fellowship or from the knowledge that death can come suddenly to anyone. My fear of saying goodbye keeps me from meditating on the delights God that has prepared for His children in heaven.

Part of my fear is rooted in unbelief. I fail to see that we have a faithful God who puts people in churches and gifts them for ministry. This same God does not want us to mourn as those who have no hope.  A "better country" awaits, and we will be with God and fellow believers forever.

Goodbyes always have fear in them because we think this may be the final one, according to Tim Challies. He wrote a blog posting called "The Difficult Goodbye" where he tells the story of saying goodbye to his tearful daughter when he had to travel to Australia. Challies goes on to encourage Christian readers. "This is the time to give thanks to the one who guarantees that in him there are no final farewells, no permanent separations. It is the time to look forward with hope and joyful anticipation to the time we will never fear saying goodbye," he said.

Challies, who blogs at http://www.challies.com/, is a pastor at Grace Fellowship Church in Toronto, Ontario. His popular blog is listed as one of the 10 top faith blogs in the world by several groups online, who use various metrics to determine the rankings. 

What to Say When You Don't Have the Whole Story

Recently, I got an email from a casual acquaintance. Among other things, he mentioned that he had recently been terminated from his position with a Christian ministry. 

From such a distance—both location and relationship—it was impossible for me to understand the issues which contributed to his situation. Was he wrongly terminated? Or was he the guilty one? I simply could not know. 

 And yet, our correspondence required me to reply, and I could hardly ignore what was obviously an important and life-changing matter for him. What could I say? 

Frequently, in Christian ministry, we are told about a situation and are invited to make a response. And often we know only one small part of the whole story. 

A person gives what seems to be an extended (and possibly biased) list of wrongs someone else has done. Another person only tells part of the story to avoid exposing someone else’s sin. 

Proverbs warns against making a quick judgment without information: 

"The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him." (Prov. 18:17) 

"If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame." (Prov. 18:13)

Sometimes, we are able to pursue the subject. If both parties are within our circles, we can get more information, assist them to pursue biblical conflict resolution, and offer help to everyone involved. But, as with my out-of-work acquaintance, some situations and relationships will never disclose the full story. 

So what can you say—over email or coffee or Sunday’s fellowship lunch—when you cannot have the whole story? 

I’m sorry. 

Sin makes us sorrowful. And if there is sin in a situation, no matter whose sin it is, you can truthfully say you are sorry. A church member loses his job because his Christian convictions are distasteful to his employer? Then, “I’m sorry to hear that.” A church member loses his job because he failed to show up three shifts in a row? Then, too, “I’m sorry to hear that.” 

Thank you. 

Maybe, as in the case of the email I received, the best reply is “thank you for your years of service.” Maybe it’s “thank you for being such a good friend to her in this hard time” or “thank you for being concerned.” Sometimes, all you can say is “thank you for being here.” 

Let’s pray. 

Our Lord knows the whole story even when we do not, and we can pray with humility and confidence for him to work. Together, we can ask him to vindicate the righteous, convict the sinning, reconcile the estranged, and exalt his Son. Prayer is also a great equalizer—forcing each of us to admit our limitations and to cry out in dependence on our sovereign God. When we don't know the whole story, we can together ask for help.

And that's something to which we can all say, "Amen."