Good windy morning to you all! Hoping the wind dies down a little so that we can fully enjoy our AWANA/Youth gathering party outside tonight. Some games, hopefully smores and fun. Don’t need to be a “kid” to come! As I said yesterday, I may be the biggest kid in the church and I will be there.
We finished up “Shaken” yesterday and in the message, I talked briefly about Micah Tyler’s song “Praise the Lord.” The song was about praising the Lord in good times and in bad because he is ALWAYS good. Here is what he had to say about the song and the reasoning behind it. Awesome take.
“My new song ‘Praise the Lord’ may seem a little bit simple, but at the end of the day, it’s got a little depth to it. If you look back at the text in Judges chapter 20, whenever Israel would go into battle, the tribe of Judah would lead the way. Why? Because Judah means praise. Praise is how we begin our battles. We fight our battles by loving Jesus and knowing that we can trust Him no matter what. In this world, there will be trouble, but we take heart because He has overcome the world. For that, we can praise the Lord.”
Micah Tyler
I just shared this with a brother in Christ who is going through a tough battle with cancer and then to top it off he was just diagnosed with prostrate cancer as well. A faithful brother who always had my back at previous church, he is going through a tough time emotionally and spiritually right now. I asked you yesterday if you have ever doubted your faith during a crisis and some of you were brave enough to raise your hand. My friend confessed to me last night he was really struggling. It is okay to struggle with your faith but make sure you have “your people’ you can turn to who will lift you up if needed, kick you in the butt if needed or just sit and be with you if that is what is required.
Here is the link to the song on YouTube. It is light-hearted and somewhat humorous but in tough times, you need to have a little relief and humor does that.
We are quickly heading towards the Advent season. According to a Barna Research survey, the churchless people they interviewed were most open to a friend inviting them to attend a local church. One in five said they had a strong interest in going with that friend while almost half said they would be willing to consider attending with that friend. Barna says an invitation from a friend is the top-rated way churches can establish connections with the unchurched. A Lifeway Research project said that almost half of the unchurched say they would be likely to attend worship if invited by someone they know, and more than a third would attend a small group for people curious about God. The chances are even better for those who a nominal Christians – those who profess to be followers of Christ but bear little evidence of that faith. Plus, it’s Christmas…it will be all around them anyway!
Who are the unchurched you encounter during your day? At your doctor or dentist visit, what about those sitting around you? Your barber or beautician? The person checking you out at the grocery store? Your neighbor? Our waitress or waiter? They are all around us. You just have to be intentional seek to build relationships with them. We are creatures of habit and likely visit the same places often. I will have some tools for you this weekend and then some new tools for Advent. Be praying for God to open your eyes and heart to those around you who need “good news” in this shaken world.
Thanks to our American Baptist Women for their worship service yesterday morning. The highlighting of their mission and ministry was great as was Rev. Jane’s message. Be strong and be courageous! Why? Because, if you are a follower of Christ, no matter where you are going or what you are going through, we have this promise…I will be with you. You may need to intentionally look for the evidence of his presence but it will be there. We love Jeremiah 29 where God promises us only good in terms of our future and hope but he also says we will find his goodness when we seek him wholeheartedly. Seek after him wholeheartedly.
I want to thank those who ventured out to Lawrence Elementary School for the Fall Fest last Thursday. They reported a good time was had by all, good connections were made and lots of candy and faith-based trinkets were handed out to the kids. They also passed out Awana/Youth info as well as our church brochure. Putting faces to the Meridian Avenue name is always good when we are striving to be a neighborhood church. I will be working with the administration and the organization known as Love Schools to find more opportunities for us to connect with the families with kids at LES.
I was listening to the WAY FM, radio station 90.7 in the Wichita area, and they said the most horrifying thing. They said Christmas was only about 10 weeks away! Unbelievable! I am still looking forward to Halloween and Thanksgiving. However, now is the time to start thinking about how we can reach out to our community for the Advent season and to share with them the good news of the birth of the Savior. I want you to know that there are two seasons in the year when most non-church attenders are willing to go to church. Those two seasons are Christmas and Easter. I think the last number I saw was that about 80% of people will be happy to attend church if they get a PERSONAL INVITATION to go. Make a list of those around you who don’t regularly attend church and pray about how you might encourage them to join you. Pray regularly for the courage to ask and for them to give you a “Yes, I will.”
We have one more message in our “Shaken” series to finish it up and then we will return to the Book of ACTSion for a few weeks. I am still trying to sort out Advent as to whether it will be three or four messages but if it is four we will most likely start the Sunday before Thanksgiving.
Have a great week you all. There is a chance of rain this afternoon and evening so be praying for that!
Hope you are enjoying this brisk morning. Sherry and I got up early this morning to work out and because we both had places to be early we didn’t get to enjoy our morning coffee on the back porch but we would have needed a blanket that’s for sure.
Today is not really a “rewind” but more of a “forecast.” We are headed towards the annual business meeting in November as our church “business” calendar runs November to October. We will soon begin a new year and it will be the first “year” that I will be with you from the start! Sherry and I came in January and you were already two months into your church year.
I want to thank you all for the gift card yesterday as part of pastor appreciation month. I have a surprise for you all next Sunday as part of my appreciation for the church! You all have been open to new things and new ideas for which I am thankful. When I was a head coach in football or even track, at the end of the year we would do an evaluation of the things we accomplished, what we didn’t get done and if we needed to change our processes or our goals. With that in mind I want to share with you some markers that are widely recognized for “healthy churches.”
Healthy churches are those that are those that have the greatest staying power and don’t have to fear aging out or closing. According to research, these are keys to the revitalization of the church as we move forward:
1. The number of children and students in a healthy church. Of overall attendance, 1 in 5 should be children and 1 in 10 should be students (HS/MS). It is said that in a healthy church, one-third should be under 18 years of age.
2. Small groups and discipleship. It is said a healthy church has 60-80% of its overall attendance in small groups. The Southern Baptists, where Christian Ed is a priority, have always held that 70% is healthy.
3. The conversion ratio in a healthy church, There should be 1 conversion for every 20 people for average attendance on Sundays.
4. Year-over-year growth. Most churches took a great hit in the COVID year but since then has the church grown? From 2020 to 2023 has the church grown?
5. One area we excel in is per capita giving. The median average amount for giving in a healthy church is approximately $33/attendee. Off the top of my head figuring on our annual projected giving, with 60 people in attendance, we are averaging in the neighborhood of $50/attendee per week.
After reading that, you might expect me to push even a little more next year in terms of outreach! Surprise, huh! Remember, when we gave our lives to Christ, our lives became his and his mission which was to “seek and save the lost.” It is no longer about “I” or “me.”
Next week, I want to look at the expectations of a member in healthy growing churches. Some of those thoughts might not sit well with you but if we want to see MABC grow and thrive not just now but so that our legacy is a church that is alive and well in 10 years…20 years…30 years…then we will need to at least have some hard discussions!
I want to share with you one more key point from yesterday’s message about the woman with the troubled daughter. It was to be a part of the message but as we neared that point in the message I glanced at the clock and knew we still had communion to share and didn’t want to keep you too long! As it was we were still going to go a little long.
It’s easy to miss if we are focusing on the woman but did you notice the attitude of the disciples?
“Then his disciples urged him to send her away. “Tell her to go away,” they said. “She is bothering us with all her begging.” Matthew 15:23 (NLT)
The disciples are asking the Lord to dismiss her because she is infringing on their time. They are annoyed and want what they want. They didn’t want to get involved.
As people of faith, how many of us act this same way from time to time? “I should go do this but you know it’s Saturday and my only free day.” Or maybe you asked them for help once and they didn’t come so you think why should I help them. “I am too busy” is another as well as “I am tired of helping.” Even worse yet is the reason “let somebody else do it.”
Look, Jesus had been very busy. He had been in Gennesaret. He had fed the 5,000 and had taught. He thought he would get some rest but instead had to go rescue the disciples in a boat from storm. Then he taught some more. He left for Tyre and Sidon to get some rest and then comes this Gentile woman with some family problems.
I have to confess that sometimes I feel just like the disciples do. Someone comes to me or to church with a need…perhaps money, perhaps a prayer, and they come at a time when I just want to be left alone. So, I quickly grant their request in order that I can get on with what I wanted to do.
Have you ever felt that way? Are there people you consider a bother? You may help them, but you really don’t feel much compassion for them? We help some people begrudgingly and then invite them to our church and then we wonder why they don’t appreciate it or don’t embrace our invitation to come to our church. Could it be they can tell we really didn’t care or were just carrying out some duty?
Here’s the main point! Even when our faith is shaken, there are times we should get involved when we really don’t want to. Our lives have their own messes and getting involved in someone else’s…well it’s just too much! Please remember that when these opportunities arise, they may be very well be divine appointments. God has chosen you to help a person in distress. He has called you to be the messenger of his hope and love. What an awesome calling!
Pastor Rick
P.S. I will be in the office today and tomorrow this week. I have a cluster meeting on Tuesday at 11:30.
In the office this morning, I am visiting with Mike Lawson and we touched on the topic of yesterday’s message. He said he almost wore his Mercy Me concert t-shirt that says “Even If.”
Even If is the title of one of their most recent hits on contemporary Christian radio. The writer relates that he is going through a bad spell. He says that his songs are to remind the broken that everything will be alright, but he is losing so badly and doesn’t think it will be. Then he asks the question we kind of touched on yesterday…what will my witness be when things are bad, when I am held to the flame?
It’s easy to sing when there’s nothing to bring me down. But what will I say when I’m held to the flame like I am right now?
And the answer comes back telling us to trust in Jesus.
I know You’re able, and I know You can save through the fire with Your mighty hand, but even if You don’t…MY HOPE IS YOU ALONE!
Isn’t that what Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego say in Daniel 3:18 when they tell the king they will not bow down to the statue he has commanded them to worship? Don’t they tell him where their hope lies? Go back and read their response…even if he doesn’t.
It is my hope that as we go through this “Shaken” series that you will indeed not be shaken but stand firm in your faith. That even if God does not resolve your crisis the way you wanted or had hoped for…you will still worship Him. Not forsake him as culture says to do when you don’t get what you wanted. You see, too many in the world today treat Jesus or God like Santa Claus or even a genie whose sole purpose is to bring you whatever you want to make you happy.
Gary Thomas wrote a book called Sacred Marriage. In it he poses a great question which is applicable to all your marriage relationship but I think is good for any struggle as well. What if marriage isn’t designed to make you happy but to make you holy? What other opportunity in life do you have where you learn to be more like Christ each and every day? So let’s take that question and use it in other life circumstances – broken family relations, financial struggles, even health problems. What if God is using them to help you become holy? Remember, holy means set apart for God to use. What if God is teaching you to respond to whatever life throws at you in such a way that people have no choice but to say that you must be a follower of Jesus? Didn’t Darius in Chapter 6 of Daniel issue a proclamation that everyone in the nation was to fear Daniel’s God as the living, eternal God? Daniel was set apart from the beginning of his time and through the trials of living in captivity and having his faith challenged he changed a nation.
I am not asking you to change a nation today but maybe your response to a current struggle in life leads someone else to ask you how are managing to cope with “X” crisis? Maybe, just maybe you can change a life…that changes a life…that changes a life…that changes a life…
Have a great week MABC family! And even if you don’t …
