Holy Homework

As parents, it is just part of the territory to help our kids with their homework. D.J. is in 6th grade and Dawson in 3rd and both attend the awesome school we have at ECC, Evergreen Christian School.

The homework I most enjoy helping them with is scripture memory. Every week they have assigned verses to memorize. The assignment D.J. has now is to select a section of Psalm 119 to commit to memory.

Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible with 176 verses. It is a Chapter devoted to the theme of The Excellence of God's Word. All but 2 or 3 of the verses contain some description of Holy Script. Those descriptions include statues, commands, law, precepts and promises.

This wonderful chapter is divided into 22, 8 verse sections. The reason there are 22 sections is because there is one section for every letter in the Hebrew alphabet (the same is true of the book of Revelation - each chapter has a letter value). The beauty of the original Hebrew that we do not see in English is that whatever letter each section represents, each verse in that section begins with that letter. Meaning, the first section is labeled the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet Aleph. In Hebrew, each verse begins with Aleph. Brilliant and beautiful.

I have each section numbered in my Bible and for the first 22 days of each month, I read the corresponding section with the day of the month. For example: on the 10th of the month I read the 10th section of the chapter.

So I am going to suggest to D.J. the 13th section, verses 97-104.

97 Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.
98 Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me.
99 I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes.
100 I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts.
101 I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey your word.
102 I have not departed from your laws, for you yourself have taught me.
103 How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104 I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path.

Maybe you want to join D.J. and me in "hiding God's word in our hearts."

When was the last time you memorized a passage of scripture? Remember, if you are struggling with something that seems to have control of you, a way to break free is to memorize the Bible. See Psalm 119:11.

Membership Team Gathering

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:3)

How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity! (Psalm 133:1)

I am still basking in the wake of our Annual Meeting on Sunday night. How wonderful to have a gathering in which you sense the unity of God's people. There is nothing as splendid to witness, nothing as beautiful as the healthy Church. (I have to admit that I have never really liked these types of meetings. I am not sure why. Maybe because it is so out of the norm of how we convene on a weekly basis and that makes me uncomfortable. Maybe it is the whole, "A motion is on the floor, is there a second; all in favor say...." Kinda sounds like the King James Version of the Bible.) Anyway....

The reason for the meeting was the business of the Church, ECC. We all knew that the centerpiece of the evening was going to be discussion of building a new Activity Center. This has been a part of the vision of our campus that was relegated to the "back burner" for quite some time. It became very clear to me that it was the direction of God and the consensus of His people that the time is now.

I had a hard time sleeping Sunday night. I was wound up so wonderfully with a confirmation of the providence of God.

How we are going to come up with resources? When will we start? How will it all come together? Not sure, not sure, not sure - but I am sure that the cloud is moving and it is not going to leave without us.

Below you see a basic rendering of the project. More to come in later blogs.

Amazing Grace

The Oquist crew saw the movie Amazing Grace last night. The story of William Wilberforce and his fight to abolish slavery in England. If you desire to be inspired by a movie to live your life BIGGER; if you want to see a movie that shows what passion for God and others looks like; and if you want to go to a movie that makes you feel like worshipping God during and after - then see this movie.

It was a great discipleship tool for our family. I really like movies that foster and create conversation.

The movie will remind you to live your life for a purpose that outlives you. We need to be reminded to live for that which is more important than us. It is the way we were created.

If you are not familiar with the movie, you can watch the trailer here, Amazing Grace.

Redemptive History

This week we had our monthly leadership meeting with our Church Executive Board. I know a lot of pastors that don’t look forward to these types of meetings. I really enjoy them. Our Board is a group of forward thinkers and Spiritual Dreamers. Not only do they love God, they have a sense of collective purpose. I learn so much from just being around them. One of the most practical aspects to our meetings is that we really like each other and love being together.

Let me assure everyone that this group of leaders seeks the Lord and wants nothing but God’s best for His Church.

A healthy chunk of our meeting was spent discussing the annual Membership Team Gathering taking place this Sunday night (6 PM). One of the centerpieces of the evening will be the discussion and decision of a new Activity Center for our campus. At the end of our meeting, we all gathered together to pray over the schematics that represent our future. There was such an awesome sense of God’s presence and our unity. I could not escape the overriding significance of the moment. We were part of redemptive history. We were picking up where those before us had left off. We were, in that moment, assuming the responsibility of the Gospel. Not waiting for others to do what God has called us to do. We stood over those plans realizing that leaders before us had taken steps of faith and God was expecting no less of us.

Every day, each of us is part of a meta-narrative that is part of Redemptive history. Let’s make the most of this and every day.

Cents and Sensibility

We began our new series called Cents and Sensibility this weekend. Talking about money in Church can be a tricky endeavor. I thought it went well based on the feedback I received from quite a few people. I guess it could be that those that did not like it didn't talk to me. Hmmmm.

Another part of the day that I really grooved on was meeting some new folks. Some were first time attenders and others have been with us for a while and I finally got a chance to connect with them. I am so humbled that God continues to grow our Church family and expand our influence.

In only one of the services today I mentioned a web site that is pretty fascinating. It is called Global Rich List and it shows you, that in comparison to the rest of the world, we in developing countries are really rich.

The people at Global Rich List write: "We are obsessed with wealth. But we gauge how rich we are by looking upwards at those who have more than us. This makes us feel poor. We wanted to do something which would help people understand, in real terms, where they stand globally. And make us realise that in fact most of us (who are able to view this web page) are in the privileged minority. We want people to feel rich. And give some of their extra money to a worthwhile charity."

God has blessed us and we best make the best of it by being a blessing to others.

Matthew 6:21 "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Developing People

Hi everyone,
I’m looking forward to occasionally contributing to TransForum. I’m the pastor of education at ECC. What that means is I oversee the adult classes, the 430 student private school, and am liaison for the Bible college that meets on our campus. There are a few other ways I serve, but mostly you should know-I love doing what I’m doing.

I recently learned that the history of the verb develop indicates that it means to de-envelop or release from previously understood boundaries. In the area of learning or discipleship, understanding this concept is very important. Most of us think of self development as adding skill sets or a body of new knowledge to what we already can do or know.

But I’m discovering that true learning also means letting go of that which has proven untenable, unreliable, or even harmful. In the Christian world, we would recognize this as repentance. Often though, when it comes to developing myself, I seldom think of removing the old mind set. Like most of us, I would rather add-to than experience the expansion-by-subtraction that is necessary to realize the new.

If one is the teacher, this concept should revolutionize your teaching. De-enveloping means I will need to be relational and transformative in my work. Asking ourselves questions such as, “What envelopes am I faced with helping the students to see?” and “How can I help the students become aware of their need to remove them?” and “How will that affect them?” is important to success. Teaching will be more difficult than simply passing out knowledge, but it will be successful in growing and transforming people. Reliance on God’s leading will always be a priority to such a teacher because each student’s envelope most be discovered as well as their hunger to change birthed into existence. Ephesians 4:22 declares the concept well. I pray and hope that I continue to develop and de-envelop into that sort of learner and teacher.

Good to Great

As I have been preparing for our first bi-annual youth staff retreat I have been reviewing a book that I read recently (since coming on staff at ECC) called Good to Great by Jim Collins. Collins writes in the opening chapter that the principles in this book are applicable not only for business people seeking to build their companies (the target audience), but also for anyone seeking to personally go from “good to great” in any area of their life. “That good is the enemy of great is not just a business problem. It is a human problem.” Good to Great (16).

The chapter that I have been mulling over the last few days talks about “Level 5 Leadership.” Two things mark a Level 5 Leader: they have a strong personal humility and a strong professional will. They are interested more in developing others to be successful than they are in building their personal legacy of success. They are people of “inspired standards,” self-reflection, and “unwavering resolve.” I like the analogy that Collins gives about where they look when they are faced with success: it’s the analogy of the “Window and the Mirror.” His main point is that when a Level 5 Leader is blessed with success they “look out the window” and point the finger at those around them, quickly dolling out praise of others. Conversely, when they deal with negative situations and a lack of success they are quick to “look in the mirror” and accept responsibility personally as a leader, even if their decisions didn’t directly lead to the outcome. Talk about humility?

In the closing pages of this chapter Collins discusses how to develop into a Level 5 Leader and he makes an interesting statement, “A strong religious belief or conversion might also nurture development of Level 5 traits.” (p 37). I can think of one “Level 5 trait” that should correlate with a “strong religious belief or conversion.” The word I’m thinking of starts with an “H” and ends with an “umility.” Collins makes me think, how often do I pat myself on the back for things I am associated with that are successful, looking in the mirror when things go right? In the same vein, when negatives things happen, how quick am I to apportion blame and point the finger at everyone but the guy staring back at me in the mirror? My prayer this day is that I would travel the path from “good to great” in the virtue of humility.

Leadership and Churches 2

I wrote that I would continue on this subject today, and although it is getting late, it is still today. We had a really nice evening here at ECC for our mid-week gathering, NextUp. Great to see so many new people getting deep into God's word to allow the Holy Spirit to transform them along side others. Have I mentioned that I really love being part of the ECC family?

We are getting ready for our Annual Membership Team Gathering that is taking place on February 25th @ 6PM. There is a lot to do to get ready for a meeting like this because it is a review of the past year and a time to cast vision for our future. It is also necessary by law and our bylaws that we convene.

It would really be easy to get lost in the business side of ministry. We have a lot to do administratively to facilitate the ongoing process of people development. Maybe some don't realize the many hats a Pastor has to wear. I wish it were as easy as just teaching on Sundays. We have to be part counselor, part financial wizard, part construction contractor, part insurance expert, part lawyer and CEO.

The key to it all is remembering that the goal of ministry is ministry! Things like staff meetings and organizational structures and budgets and bylaws are all means to an end. If we allow the Holy Spirit's guidance, He will direct us on all of it. God wants anointed financial decisions just like he wants anointed sermons. For all of our lives as followers of Jesus, all things are spiritual, so business decisions are spiritual decisions.

Pray for me that I will continue to fulfill my God-given role as Pastor and leader to do my part to keep us focused on the Lord's direction for His Church. May we cooperate with Him and participate in what He is blessing rather than expect Him to bless our self-centered plans.

Good night and God's Best!

Theology of the Nap

I will resume my thoughts on Leadership and Churches tomorrow, but I just could not resist commenting on a study I read about. After tracking over 23,000 people for over six years researchers found out something that I have known for a long time - naps are good for you. Can anybody say, “Amen?”

Call it what you want: a nap, a siesta, a snooze; it has been part of many cultures for a long time. It helps with stress and lowers a person’s chance of having a heart attack and other heart related problems. And everybody said…. Amen.

I remember reading another article on this topic that made an interesting find. It seems that naps of all different lengths are good for you except for an hour. When people nap for an hour it leaves them tired and groggy. So, at least three times a week, 30 minutes of shut-eye will leave you refreshed, energized and healthier. Is anybody else Pro Nap?

If you want to see if naps are scriptural just look up Matthew 8:24.

Leadership and Churches

I heard a statistic from a reliable source (although I cannot totally guarantee the accuracy) that 60% of all Pastors are so frustrated with their job/work/ministry that they would leave the ministry if there was something else they could do. There is a part of me that cannot believe this and another side of me that it makes all the sense in the world.

The part of me that cannot believe that most Pastors want out is the personal perspective side. I love my job as a lead Pastor, I love my church family and I cannot imagine doing anything else and being satisfied. That is not to say I do not have frustrations and days that make me doubt, but those days carry no lasting influence. I snap out of it pretty quickly and realize that it is more my pride than anything else that propel the feelings.

The part of me that can believe - that most Pastors are so frustrated that if they could find another way to provide for their lives they would just as soon step out of leadership - is the side of Church observation. Did you know that, in America, 85% of all Churches are either plateaued or declining in attendance? That is a piece to the puzzle that starts to make the picture clearer. I would venture to say that nearly all of the 60% that want out are also part of the Churches that are struggling with plateau and decline. They are part of a sinking ship and have been on a mission of crisis management and to think of moving ahead is very difficult.

Let me convey a few approaches that our leadership team have found valuable to stem the tide of frustration in ministry:
1. Vision - we stay committed to the BIG IDEA. For us that is transformation. Our common goal for the sake of the Kingdom of God is to see spiritual hunger transformed into devotion to God. We know where we are going, why we want to go there and how we will get there. When things start to go wrong we have a point on the compass we can check - our God-given vision.

2. Relationships - we continually remind ourselves that the main focus is people. For Church leaders to slip into a mode of building attendance rather than building people is a universal temptation. We stop being godly leaders when the good of the whole gives way to the good of the individual. And the way we build people is to love them enough to connect with them.

This blog is becoming longer than I planned so I will stop here, let you digest, and come back with more later.

Full Speed Ahead.
Dale

The Unsafe Goodness of God

Musings on Hebrews 12:29:

“for our God is a consuming fire.”

These are 7 words that will eat you alive, especially that 6th word. God is a consuming fire. I don’t know about anyone else, but I don’t like the idea of something consuming me, especially not fire. I think Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10:2) and Ahaziah’s men (2 Kings 1:10ff) would probably agree with me that fire consuming you is not a pleasant experience. I’m reminded of the words Dale read from The Chronicles of Narnia a few weeks ago in his message, in talking about Aslan, “He is not safe, but He is good.”

Getting involved with a consuming fire isn’t a very safe venture. Don’t get me wrong, I love fire—when I have control over it. I enjoy coming in out of the cold weather and warming myself by a fire, as long as it stays under control. I cook food on a stove that has a dial which allows me to adjust the level of heat according to the purposes I want to use it for. I have a lighter that I use to light a barbeque, or a candle, or a camp fire controlled in a rock pit. The great thing about this lighter is that when I want the fire I just click the switch, I am in charge, and I am able to use this fire for my purposes. How unpleasant it would be if these controlled fires in my life became consuming fires. It’s hard to roast a marshmallow over a Bunsen burner. If the controlled fires became consuming fires not only would I not be able to use them for my purposes, to relegate them to the roles that serve my wants and needs, but the very inverse would be the case. A consuming fire, by its very nature, cannot be controlled, manipulated, or extinguished. It is in charge. Anything it touches must yield to its purposes. A consuming fire doesn’t come with a dial that can be adjusted so that it backs off when it begins to char areas that I only wanted it to singe. A consuming fire is not safe, but when that consuming fire is the sovereign God, it is good.

Welcome to Transforum

We here at ECC branch out into the bloggosphere. This is a conversation between us and you. It will include many things. Maybe it will be about something that we have been thinking about for quite some time and just need to get it out. It may be about something we have read and want to share our reactions. Maybe we will let you know what is going on and the thoughts behind it all.

Whatever else, it will allow for you to interact and share and dialogue along side of us. It will be another way we can challenge and encourage each other in the most dynamic journey of all - the spiritual journey.

Let me know what you think.
Dale

post from Pastor Dick Netzer

Welcome to my blog site.