How should Christians vote?

16 09 2008

So many directions I could go with that title.  Which one will I choose?  This has been on my blog list for a while since we are in the middle of an election year and what appears to be a great battle between Barack Obama and John McCain.  One of the things I’ve decided as a pastor is I will not say from the pulpit or on this blog who I think anyone should vote for.  If you want to ask me my opinion, I’ll tell you but I’m not going to use our church or my position as a political platform.   I am admittedly NOT a political junky, (My brother on the other hand…) but I do enjoy the whole political debate and occasional political show on tv.

Two Sundays ago I made some comments about politics, and as usually happens in church, I think people didn’t hear it quite the right way.  So, I thought it was time to bust out this blog that’s been sitting around for a while.  Here is my take on the church and politics as I attempt to answer the question “How should Christians vote?”

#1  Do it — Actually vote.  I think it is not only our American duty, but our Christian duty to vote in elections.  I think we should vote in our local, state and country elections.  I’m amazed at how many people (including Christians) don’t use their freedom to vote.  WE have the opportunity to put into office people we believe will take our government in the right direction.

“Does my one vote really matter?”  First, that’s not the point, and YES it does if 500,000 people use that as their excuse.  AND, I don’t want to hear you complain about any elected official if you aren’t going to vote.

#2  Vote Informed —  I’ve not always been the greatest at this but I’m getting better.  We need to be informed voters.  Know WHO we are voting for and WHY.  ESPECIALLY as Christians.  I know we may not be able to recite a political candidates platform on EVERYTHING, but we should know more than we typically do.  There are several online places where you can compare the candidates (presidential) and where they stand for on issues.  Typically states and local governments provide those as well.

#3  Vote AFTER Prayer —  Take voting seriously enough that you ask God who you should vote for. Pray about it.  Pray over the candidates. And remember, regardless of who is elected GOD IS IN STILL IN CONTROL!  NEITHER John McCain NOR Barack Obama is the answer for America, JESUS IS.  AND, if history plays out as I think it will, eventually we’ll most likely have a president who will agree with and/or take America into and through worldwide persecution of Christians. Remember, Jesus wins and the Gospel will not be stopped.

#4  Don’t vote just because… — This is what was said at church that I think some people heard different.  I said, and I quote (at least closely) “Do not vote for someone JUST BECAUSE they are a Christian.  JUST BECAUSE they are a Christian does NOT mean they will make a good president.”  I think many times, the church has supported candidates SOLELY on the fact that they were “good Christians” and nothing to do with whether or not they could lead a country.

Would I love a “good Christian” president?  ABSOLUTELY!  (And by the way, doesn’t nearly every candidate say they are a Christian?)  But I ALSO want him/her to  have some ability to lead, govern, negotiate, be fiscally sound, know foreign policy, AND THE LIST GOES ON!  Being a Christian does NOT automatically qualify someone to be our president.  If I have to go see a specialist for Cancer, would I LOVE, even PREFER for them to be a Christian.  ABSOLUTELY!  But I much more need them to be a doctor who can deal with cancer.  If I need counseling on an issue do I want a Christian counselor?  YES!  But just because they are a Christian does not make them a good counselor.  If I need financial advice do I want a Christian?  YES!  But just because they are Christian doesn’t make them a good financial adviser.  (I know some Christians who would be HORRIBLE financial advisers)  It’s kind of like the Holiday Inn Express commercials “Are you a doctor?”  “No, but I am a good Christian!”  Do I need to go on?

Should we vote according to our values?  YES!  Should we pray for godly men and women to lead our great country?  ABSOLUTELY!  Should we pray for our leaders even if they AREN’T Christian?  DUH! Every election, I pray that truly godly and Christian candidates will rise to the top, AND that they also have the gifts, skill and knowledge to lead us politically.

#5  Trust Jesus  — Presidents don’t change morality Jesus does.  Presidents don’t fix marriages Jesus does. Presidents can’t mend broken hearts Jesus does.  Presidents cannot advance OR stop the Gospel, JESUS DOES!

Voting,

Jeff


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Leaving, Sending, or Both?

15 09 2008

I was mowing the lawn tonight and this post came to me.  So here ya go:

There is one given in the church world and EVERY church deals with it.  PEOPLE LEAVE!  Whether you are a new or an established church.  Traditional or modern.  Portable or permanent.  There is a constant that remains.  People leave!

I know one of the big complaints of church plants is that people leave other churches to go to the new one.  That is true.  Some people do leave other churches to go to new churches.  There are probably some, but I don’t know of any church planter whose goal is to go into a community and reach people who were already attending church.  What I think is funny is most pastors who complain about new churches receiving other church attenders are the same ones who, when they receive someone from another church, says “Well, they weren’t being fed at their previous church and we want them to be fed.”

We’ve had people leave Element Church.  People have left who were part of our launch team.  People have left who were serving.  People have left who were giving.  People have left who seemed to be committed.  Even new churches aren’t free from people leaving and going to other churches.  IT’S GOING TO HAPPEN!  It’s NOT desired but it will happen.  It’s human nature.  What I’ve found is, people leaving becomes so much easier if you send them with a blessing!

Someone will take this wrong but they’ll have to deal with it.  I don’t want ANYONE to ever leave our church, HOWEVER, if someone wants to leave I’m not going to beg them to stay.  If I’ve done something wrong, made a mistake or dropped the ball I’ll definitely apologize and ask for forgiveness.  (Already had to do that)  I REFUSE to hold on to members/attenders who don’t stand behind our vision, strategy, methods or beliefs if they are wanting to move on.  If someone believes in what another church is doing more than Element Church, WHY WOULDN’T I WANT THEM TO GO THERE?  If they fit better at another church, feel more at home, serve in a ministry….I mean we are FOR other churches aren’t we?

Believe it or not, there are other churches in our communities, besides the ones we attend, who are doing things in different ways, with different visions and maybe even some different views on non-essential doctrines YET THEY ARE STILL SERVING THE SAME JESUS!  They are GOOD churches.  They are EFFECTIVE churches.  Element Church does NOT have the market on the only way to do church.

We FULLY understand at Element Church that we are NOT the church for everyone.  There are some people that we will NEVER reach and we need other Bible believing churches to reach them.  We are going to reach some people that other churches will NEVER reach.  Some people will stand beside our vision and strategy, others will not.  Some people will be with us for the long haul, and others will not.

There is a responsibility when an attender leaves a church to leave well.  And there is a responsibility on the church/pastor to SEND WELL!  Like I said, we want EVERYONE who attends to stay.  But, when a person decides that Element is not for them, our goal is for them to leave well and us to send well.  Why should we have this attitude?  Because it WILL happen.  If people are going to leave, we may as well send them.

Are there people who leave poorly?  Sure!  Are there churches who send poorly!  Definitely.  I just want to be the pastor and church that  just doesn’t receive people, we’re willing to send them too!

Sending,

Jeff


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Sunday Rumination (9-14-08)

14 09 2008

— WOW!  WOW!  WOW!  Today was one of those days man.  One of those Sundays where it hits me again.  “I can’t believe God asked me to do this!”  I grabbed Grant today, pulled him aside and said “Can you believe this?”  Of course, Grant, with the gift of faith and the eternal optimist said “YES!”  I told him I’m still blown away that God asked us to do this and it works.

— Today I stood on the aisle and began to cry.  Seeing all the people worshiping God and listening to His Word.  THIS is what it’s all about.

— 497 today in church. One year ago today we had 44 people in church.  That is totally unbelievable to me.

— One of our head ushers in 2nd service said that there were 3 seats left.  WOW!

— Our ushers are doing AMAZING!  They are having to find seats, move people, make room each service.  They are doing such an awesome job making everyone fit.

— Had people on the stairs in 2nd service.

— The Spirit was VERY real and present today through worship and the Word.

— I had some GREAT conversations and heard some GREAT stories from people today. Wish I could share them all here.  Maybe I’ll share one or two this week. We’ll see.

— We had 60 at The Tour today.  We had more at The Tour today than we had at church a year ago. HA

— The buzz in the lobby in between services is awesome!

— Knowing God’s will is NOT that difficult!  (today’s message)

— “God will not show me His will for my life until I’m doing His will for my today.  And if I just do today what His will is, I’ll end up accomplishing His will for my life.” (today’s message)

— The value of God’s Word cannot be measured when it comes to knowing God’s will.  (today’s message)

— Brought my kids on the stage today.  They helped me with a sermon illustration.  They did a GREAT job!

— I can’t wait for our anniversary Sunday.  And the final week of LOST is going to be VERY special.

— We need to get into the New Location!  PLEASE, if you are an Elementer, DO NOT STOP INVITING OR BRINGING PEOPLE TO CHURCH!  We’re working this week on some ideas to open up some seats.  Update you on that this week hopefully.  (And NO it is NOT a third service…yet!)

— My team is amazing.  I can’t imagine working with people who are any better.

— Tomorrow the Lead Team (minus Curtis) is driving to Denver to visit an Elementer and her new baby who is in the hospital.  VERY cool story/testimony that we are going to video and will be a part of our anniversary celebration!

— Gotta go!  That should be it.  I always forget stuff that I intend to share in my Ruminations.  I did blog better this past week as I promised I would.  Should stay up this week too!

Following Christ,

Jeff


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Piece Of Cake

13 09 2008

Anyone who knows Ben and I at all knows that we are not “handy”.  At times I’ve wondered if we are capable of ANYTHING crafstman related.  “A drill?  What’s that?”  Ok, it’s not quite that bad, but I do have at least one funny home improvement mishap.  So some wires were in the way and I thought it would be easier just to cut and remove them.

Our wives enjoy HGTV and their home improvement shows.  A while back, Ben and I came up with a show idea called “Piece of Cake”.   It would mirror how we would handle a home improvement project.  We would walk into a job, realize it’s impossible for us, hire someone to do it and then sit in our recliners eating cake while we watch the pro’s figure it out.  “Piece Of Cake”

What’s funny…no scary is, that 2 days this week Ben and I worked together on getting the Explorers classroom walls studded and up.  Here is a pic of us both on one of those steppy up dealy majiggers (I know it’s a ladder…just a joke).  This is one picture many people NEVER imagined they would see…and both of us still be alive after.


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New Location Update

13 09 2008

Got a LOT done it seemed this week.  The biggest wall (2 hour fire wall) that had to go all the way to the rook (not just the ceiling) got studded this week.  That was a major accomplishment.  I think all the rooms that need to be studded have been.  We’re ready for electrict then dry walling.  We actually have a lot of drywall that can start now because the walls will not be getting electric in them.  The nursery started to get painted this week so that is cool too.  Here are some pics.  Enjoy.

Jeff


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Makalah’s First Day

12 09 2008

Last week our third child started school.  Pre-school that is.  Jonah (7) is now in first grade.  Mariah (5) is in Kindergarten.  And Makalah (4) started pre-school.  It’s gotta be weird for Sabrina to have just one child at home three mornings a week while Makalah is at pre-school.  On the first day of Kindergarten Mariah saw Sabrina across the street and as she was running to her was yelling “THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!”  Ummm, let’s just say her love for school did NOT come from me.

Jonah’s main comment about school “I wish Mariah had a different recess.  I can’t stand her chasing me and trying to kiss and hug me.”  He’s already too cool for school.  He’s figured out (not sure who makes this call) that hot lunch is cool and bringing his own is not.

Makalah is a DEFINITE momma’s girl and we didn’t know how she’d do on her first day.  We were VERY proud when she handled day one of pre-school very well.  Below are some pictures from day one of pre-school.

Proud dad,

Jeff


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Skittles And Classical Music

10 09 2008

I got my sermon finished up for Sunday.  I’ll go over it multiple times between now and Sunday morning.  Adding, subtracting, tweaking.  My final typed notes look like a disaster with all my pen marks all over it.  I love preparing for messages and I’m passionate about delivering them.  I’m VERY hard on myself after each sermon.  I suppose we are all our own worst critic.  Each week, I want my sermon to be the best sermon I’ve ever preached.  That’s the only way I know how to do things.  I put LOTS of pressure on myself to make sure I deliver God’s Word in a way that people will engage with and understand. I want to help people connect to the Spirit NOT be a hindrance for them.  My process for putting a sermon together has changed quite a bit since I began.

I graduated from college with my Pastoral Ministries degree in Dec. of 1997.  I immediately began pastoring a church in Ringwood, OK.  Those poor people.  They were WONDERFUL people, I just don’t know how they put up with my preaching.  Some of my old sermons I can’t believe I preached.  I’m sure I’ll feel the same 10 years from now about these.  (Apologies in advance for those who listen to them now, HA)  I have a fairly consistent routine to things that helps me in putting together my messages.

We try to work several weeks in advance in our sermon and music planning.  I didn’t use to be that way.  I’ve had several Saturday night sermon attacks.  I know some pastors feel like planning ahead diminishes the role of the Holy Spirit in the process.  I don’t know why waiting till the week of is any more spiritual than praying in advance for what God wants us to share.  Being prepared in advance allows us to think creatively on illustrations, songs, videos, aesthetics, promotions, graphics, etc.  AND, the Holy Spirit can change our plans ANYTIME He wants.  We made two major sermon series shifts last year when we felt the Spirit leading.  I’ve changed my sermon the week of on multiple occasions since starting Element.

That all being said, not that anyone has asked to hear this, but here are a couple of routine things I do that are becoming habitual in my sermon preparation:

— Sermon series ideas are nailed down one year in advance.  Right now we are calendared out through October of 2009.

— Sermon themes are nailed down 4 weeks in advance.  (Adam is working on keeping music planned that far out as well)

— Each Wednesday is my study only day.  I don’t take any appointments that day and rarely leave the office for lunch.  That day is my only day that is blacked out completely for study and everyone in the office knows that.  If I’m working on my sermon I listen to Classical music and eat Skittles.  Terri knows that if she hears the jingle of the skittle bowl and piano music, I’m studying.  lol

— Each Wednesday I write out free hand my entire message for that week in my sermon notebook.  I then type it all out into my sermon format in Word.  I highlight the beginning of each paragraph with a different colored highlighter.  (I know, I’m weird)  I prepare a Keynote sheet for Pam and Terri to get my notes on Keynote and email Terri the follow along with fill in the blanks for the worship guide.

— When I’m finished with the current weeks sermon I begin on next weeks.  Each Wednesday I want to make sure the Big Question, Scripture, and main points are written down.  I finish the meat the following week.  I’ve been as far as four weeks ahead with Big question, Scripture and points.  That is rare though.

— On Thursday I try to read through my notes completely one time.

— I don’t touch my notes again until Saturday night when I go to bed.  I preach my message one time to myself Saturday night.  (I’ve been to the altar a few times, lol)

— Sunday morning I get up early to do my personal devotions, then I preach my message one more time to myself and make final changes.

— At the theater I go off by myself one more time before first service begins to pray and skim through my notes.  I want to be as familiar as I can with what God has laid on my heart.

NONE of this matters.  NONE, without my personal devotional and prayer life.  Most of my messages rise out of my devotional life.  I am ADAMANT about praying through my messages and making ABSOLUTELY SURE God is wanting me to speak on what I’m speaking on.

There ya go.

Ready to preach,

Jeff


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Leading without knowing

10 09 2008

I got an email this week that BLEW me away.  There are a couple of churches and pastors who, without their leadership in blogging and the technology of the internet, we wouldn’t have learned MANY of the things we did about church and specifically church planting.  Through the blog world we learned a TON of mistakes that other church planters made.  We learned a TON of successes and possible ways of doing things.  We’ve got ideas, inspirations, organization, and great leadership principles through the blog world.  I started my blog in hopes that friends and family could track along with what is happening at Element and in our lives.  I remember telling my wife “Who is going to learn anything from me?” when I started the blog.  Well the lead pastor from a church in Montana sent me this email this week.  River City Church and Pastor Brian Moser said this:

“Jeff,

I just wanted you to know that I’ve been following your blog (and church)
for the last year as our team has been planning a church launch in
Missoula, Montana. We launched today with 158 people and it was absolutely
amazing! I just wanted to let you know that you guys have been a great
influence, and you didn’t even know we existed until now. Keep up the
great work! I love what you’re doing.”

I am STILL blown away that anyone can learn from what I/we’ve done at Element.  Brian, Congratulations on your awesome launch!  Enjoy the ride!  Thanks for letting us be an influence.  We’re trying to hang on for the ride!  It’s cool to be a part of a larger team.  Hope we can influence other people for the good through all this.

Hangin’ on,

Jeff


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New Location Update

10 09 2008

progress
noun |ˈprägrəs; ˈprägˌres; ˈprōˌgres|
forward or onward movement toward a destination.
• advance or development toward a better, more complete, or more modern condition.

According to the definition, I guess you can say we are making progress.  Here are some updated pictures.  Last night we got the mens handicapped restroom stalls and door torn out.  The worship center entrances are knocked out and the nursery door is knocked out.  Enjoy.


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Bible Hero Knows How We Feel

9 09 2008

I don’t know who sent this to us.  I think we got it in a fax.  We got some MAJOR answers today on some building stuff and are heading in a great direction.  To be honest, I think all of us in the office can’t handle much more without our brains exploding.  BUT, I feel like we can move on some things that we couldn’t before.  I got a post coming about the season of life we are in as a church.  It almost feels like we are launching all over again.  Love doing this!  Can’t imagine doing anything else.  Your prayers are appreciated on the building stuff!


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