Best Practices for Adventist Ministry

Do you have an event you'd like to invite NAD pastors to? Send details to BestPractices@Ameritech.net.

AU Worship Conference, March 25-27, 2010
InMinistry classes from the Seminary in each union, April 11-22, 2010
NAD-IAD Health Summit Orlando 2010-January 24 - February 7
Adventist Community Services Convention, March 28-April 3, 2010, Orlando
Just Claim It 2010, Adventist Youth Ministries Convention, April 2-11, Columbus, OH

Best Practices is a Vervent publication of NAD CHURCH RESOURCE CENTER. Editor: Loren Seibold, Senior Pastor, Worthington Ohio Seventh-day Adventist Church. E-mail: Best Practices. You are free to republish pieces from Best Practices in your own newsletter or blog, with attribution to the Best Practices newsletter and the author of the piece.

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Pastor: Tom Glatts transplants Peru

NAD Church Resource Center | 12501 Old Columbia Pike | Silver Spring | MD | 20904

Best Practices for Adventist Ministry

2009-12-18T11:45:00.008-08:00

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BestPractices

November 6, 2009

I'm writing to you from the NAD year-end meetings. Like most church business meetings, a mix of things: some interesting and encouraging news, and some dull by-laws changes. Always enjoy Elder Schneider's stories, and seeing old friends.

Friday morning the NAD Women's Ministries department unveiled a great program to end violence to women, called "End It Now". It's a wonderful program. You can get connected with it all here.

Monte Sahlin tells me that nearly a hundred people signed in to the Strategic Planning webinar last week. Thanks for the great response, and it encourages me to do a few more webinars. We'll let you know.

Blessings
Loren

IN THIS ISSUE

Levite Praise, by Cheryl Wilson-Bridges

Reading: Depressed pastors

Media: Delwin Finch

Quotes: ".When men stop believing in God they don't believe in nothing; they believe in anything."

Dan Day on discipleship

News & ideas: Tithing for our youth

Events: Westpoint of Evangelism

Behaving like Peru in Vancouver
Tom Glatts, Vancouver, BC

Awhile back, Tom Glatts told me he was taking a Sabbatical to Peru. He wanted to find out how the church was growing so fast there, with so few clergy. I asked him for a report, and here it is. LGS

You asked me to let you know what I learned on my Sabbatical in Peru. Sorry for taking so long, but I've been in transition. I've now landed in Vancouver, BC and am now beginning to put into practice what I learned.

The reason the church is growing so fast in Peru is two words, "grupos pequeños." Small groups is the basis for their growth. The commitment to small groups is so strong that when conference leaders wanted to have a meeting in Iquitos, they arrived two weeks early and visited all of the small group leaders in a city of 500,000. I went to a training session for small group leaders at 5:30 a.m. on Sabbath morning and found people already waiting.

I attended a meeting in Cusco, where the conference president held a meeting with the small group leaders. They were there to prepare for satellite meetings in November. They plan to baptize 100,000 in the South American Division. Their plan was simple. The SAD has 93,000 active small groups. (They are always birthing new groups. They expect to have 100,000 by November.) Each member was to be praying for 7 people. That's about 50 prayers per small group (average of 7 members per group). Each group was given 10 sharing books and they were to target 10 people out of the 50 they were praying for. Of those 10, on average 3 would accept Bible studies. Out of the three, one would be baptized. Look at these numbers.

Praying for: 5,000,000 people
Target: 1,000,000 for sharing books
Bible studies for: 300,000
Baptisms : 100,000

In Peru and all of South America, you reap what you sow.

What am I doing about what I learned? I'm starting small groups and a college of evangelism at my church to train the members of those small groups. I found 5 young men who have gone through Mission College, Amazing Facts and Arise. I'm going to put them to work as teachers in our local church college. We are going to see if you can behave like Peru in Vancouver, BC. It could all fail, but I'm expecting great things from the Lord who is gracious.

Resource Review

Book review
Levite Praise, by Dr. Cheryl Wilson-Bridges

Getting right to the point, this is a book that senior pastors and worship leaders should read. Instead of planning worship by market research, Wilson-Bridges believes worship should be planned by principles found in the Old Testament and in Revelation.

To lay the framework for her work, the author has organized the book into three sections. What does God desire? What does God require? How should we aspire?

The first chapter contains twelve principles of heavenly worship. These are based on Revelation. Of special interest to the reviewer were

God alone is the audience and sole object of adoration and praise; therefore, His parameters define mankind's worship reality.
God seated on His throne is the centerpiece of true worship.

If one read only the first chapter, one's time would be well spent. However, there is much more. In the third section of the book, Wilson-Bridges draws the parallels between the ministry of the Levites and the ministry of the worship leaders today. She includes twenty-one premises of Levite praise. Here are just a few.

Worship singers and musicians are called of God for service.
This sacred office of the Levite is a priestly role.
Worship singers and musicians who are called into service are Levites-priests and leaders in the church.
The Levitical priestly order is for today and must be implemented in the contemporary church.
To please God with our praise and worship we must follow His guidelines on musical worship in the church.
Under the inspiration of King David, God outlines the components of true praise and worship for the Levites.
God does not take this Levitical service lightly. There are severe consequences for the priests if these godly instructions regarding the Levites are not followed.

While some may question the imperatives, one must still must consider the thoughtful questions and concepts Wilson-Bridges presents. If you desire worship to focus on the majesty and worthiness of God and not merely on the foibles of the sinner's daily troubles, then you need to read and contemplate deeply this worthy book.

Reviewed by John Wheeler Boyd. Boyd is a lifetime music educator. He chairs the music department at Southwestern Adventist University.

Does e-church have a future? Apparently.

Some churches are doing all their worshiping on line. What happened to face to face community? Quote: "Fifty years ago you could expect everyone to come to you. Now, we have to meet people where they are."
Many others, including the iconic Willow Creek, have made online connections a priority, even though there's a physical church service.
This includes our own Forest Lake church - see this video.
At least one Adventist example, sponsored by the Ohio Conference, holds memberships. Are there other online Adventist churches out there?

Here's a new twist to religious liberty: an employee claims discrimination about his "green" beliefs. Quote: "In a landmark ruling, Mr Justice Barton found in favour of Tim Nicholson, who was made redundant by the property company he worked for. The judge argued that a 'philosophical belief which is based on science' should receive the same protection as religious beliefs." Chesterton was right.

La Sierra president Randal Wisbey shared with me this piece called "Nurturing the Adventist Mind." Quote: "While we at times make mistakes, I am convinced that the church would be well advised to see higher education as friend - not to be feared because of the questions that we at times ask, but embraced because we are willing to ask these very questions."

Depressed clergy?

From USA Today: a much published pastor's suicide
Ryan Bell on depression among pastors
More on pastoral depression: "A Lutheran view of depression".
A thoughtful reflection on the troubled lives of pastors

Internet. Cell Phones. iPod. Text Messaging. Facebook. Technology invades every part of our waking hours, including our worship services. Instead of trying to shut cell phones down Forest Lake Seventh-day Adventist Church is leveraging interactive technology to enhance their corporate worship. Delwin Finch is a full time web pastor and is leading a team of 70 lay leaders to help support this booming ministry. Watch how interactive technology plays an important role in this young adults worship service. Then listen to the full length uncut interview with Delwin as he gives a candid report on technology is used at Forest Lake and where it might be going.

When men stop believing in God they don't believe in nothing; they believe in anything.
- G.K. Chesterton

My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four, unless there are three other people.
- Orson Welles

If once God's electing love rises upon the soul, it never sets.
- Thomas Watson, A Body of Divinity

We never feel Christ to be a reality until we feel him to be a necessity.
- Austin Phelps

It is our responsibilities, not ourselves, that we should take seriously.
- Peter Ustinov

The only reason some people get lost in thought is because it's unfamiliar territory.
- Paul Fix

You must learn from the mistakes of others. You can't possibly live long enough to make them all yourself.
- Sam Levenson

Discipleship

Discipleship: if we saw it would we recognize it?
by Dan Day, Director, NAD Church Resource Center

Discipleship: what is it? If we were walking along the street and discipleship fell on our heads would we: a) wipe it off; b) call the paramedics; or c) fall to our knees and begin to pray? In other words, if we saw it, would we recognize it?

In this and subsequent issues of Best Practices we're going to dig at the answers to these questions, leading to the introduction of a remarkable new resource for discipleship that will be really cool. Just wait and see.

First of all, though, what is discipleship? For some people, discipleship is only about spiritual disciplines. It's about learning how to pray better, how to meditate, how to resist temptation. All those are good things, of course. But something inside has to change before the outside stuff gets a whole lot better, right?

For others, discipleship is about teaching people to do "the right stuff." It's about getting people to tithe, to go out witnessing, to attend services regularly. Discipleship is about making better church members. But, again, is this something we can accomplish merely through more extensive training?

For still others, discipleship is what we do after we hold an evangelistic series. The evangelist gets them into the church, and discipleship is the process by which we indoctrinate new members into the detailed beliefs and practices of the church. It's how we fill in the gaps the evangelist didn't cover, sort of like "boot camp" for new Adventists.

For discipleship to "take" in an Adventist congregation, though, it must encompass all these and much more. It's about all the stuff that enables us to follow Jesus more closely-and have fun doing it. It's about our life, our faith and our church.

The rest is yet to come...

Are we really doing all we can for youth and young adults? A. Allan Martin from the AU-SDATS has written an open letter to church leaders that I found challenging, and thought you might, too.

Several have mentioned this website by Liberty Mutual, with film clips about responsibility - some useful for sermons, perhaps?

Re Michael Campbell's birthday phone calls, from last BP, Einar Rom writes, "If you have pastoral access to your church's membership account, you can see a list of all birthdays at www.eadventist.net. This is a great practice and have seen how members appreciate the calls."

From Terry McComb. "If you missed out on Creation Sabbath, October 23-24, why not host a Creation weekend on November 27? November 24 marks the 150th year since Darwin published his Origin of the Species. Go to www.creationrestoration.org for resources that will help in your planning. (Creation is a common ground belief of both Muslims and Jews. Invite them to join you in your Creation event.)"

Previous resource links:

Got a tool, resource, site, article, idea or seminar that you like a lot? Share it with us at BestPractices@ameritech.net.

Do you have an event you'd like to invite NAD pastors to? Send details to BestPractices@Ameritech.net.

K.I.D. University (Discipleship training for churches)
· November 8-11, Collegedale, TN
InMinistry classes from the Seminary available in each union, Nov 1-12, 2009
Southern Union Evangelism Council, Nov 30-Dec 3, Daytona Beach
Oakwood University Evangelism Council Dec 6-9, Huntsville
Westpoint of Evangelism Dec 6-9, Simi Valley
NAD-IAD Health Summit Orlando 2010 -January 24 - February 7

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Reading: How to lose an argument on line

NAD Church Resource Center | 12501 Old Columbia Pike | Silver Spring | MD | 20904

Best Practices for Adventist Ministry

2009-12-18T11:45:00.005-08:00

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BestPractices

December 9, 2009

This and that:

A question from Monte Sahlin: "Are you, or someone you know, using Twitter in ministry, outreach or pastoral care?" Contact Monte directly.

A compliment (I think) from Richard Latane: "Your newsletter is a roborant for the intrepid myrmidons of Christ." Richard adds, "I just couldn't resist using my word(s) for the day."

An announcement of a new resource we're developing at Vervent: the iFollow discipleship curriculum, Spring of 2010.

A new hymn - I thought it very good - for the 2010 GC session. Download both sheet music and a recording of it, and try it with your church.

IN THIS ISSUE

Reviving a Dead District

Media: Krystalynn Martin

Quotes: "Never have children, only grandchildren."

Dan Day on discipleship

News & ideas: Getting a clean copy of Best Practices

Events: NAD health summit

Care Center Brings New Life to an Old Church
by Ken Ferguson

Since most of our NAD churches are small, I'm always looking for pastors who've had the ability to bring a small town small church to life. A while back I told you about Ken Ferguson's Community Care Center in the barely-there Appalachian river town of Manchester, Ohio. For a church to have a community services center isn't all that unusual. What is unusual is that Ken had been in the district for eight years, pastoring several elderly churches in small towns - essentially maintenance ministry - when he decided to start the CCC. That's when everything changed. Here's an update. LGS

The church members told me right up front they weren't hopeful. "Pastor," they said, "we have no money and we're all too old." But they were willing to pray while I went to meet with the mayor and the town council, and before long we were stacking cans of food and piles of clothes in the prison cells of the old city hall!

A lot has changed. The old building was condemned, and we've moved to main street. We have free use of two buildings. We get financial and volunteer support from the United Methodist Church and the Presbyterian church, as well as the area's grocers, a whole slate of non-profit partnerships, plus miscellaneous donations and garnered grants. We're now wondering what other ministries we could use to fill the spaces. The mayor declared a Community Care Center day, with a street fair and events. In short, our little elderly church has started something that has become a major part of the life of this village.

When the Center opened its doors in August, 2002, it served approximately 40 families a month with 2000 items of food and 3500 items of clothing. What we formerly served in a month, we now serve in a day. Just a few weeks ago, the Center broke an all time record serving 86 families in a four hour period.

The church has been revived. Some of those "too old" people of the church are now managing the programs, and have a sense of purpose. After years of largely fruitless seminars and meetings, the Seventh-day Adventist Church is now on the map in Manchester. One client came into CCC one day and picked up a copy of The Great Controversy. She read it and then began to ask questions. With much excitement, she went back to her church and pastor and asked them to do a study of the book. Out of that study, she, her pastor, and her church are all keeping the Sabbath!

Contact Ken at ferg76@roadrunner.com.

Can you believe in Jesus and astrology? Apparently a significant number of Americans mix new age and other beliefs in with their Christian faith. Here's the original Pew Research report.

Santa Claus had a real life model: remembering St. Nicholas. Quote: "The problem with Santa Claus as it stands now is that it's a substitute for Christmas - Santa Claus instead of the creche, instead of the manger, instead of the nativity scene. This man we would find kneeling at the nativity scene saying, 'This is what I'm here to celebrate as well.'"

In the last edition of Best Practices Dave Gemmell forgot to unlock the privileges on the Stained Glass Church Documentary. It's been fixed and you can watch as Oakland Ave wrestles with how to minister in an environment where one out of a hundred residents are homeless.

Instead of trying to get people to church Pastor Krytalynn Martin of Rio Lindo Academy Church is bringing church to the people. Listen as she shares how she takes her Academy church into the city of Santa Rosa and offers a worship service and food for the homeless. This video is a sneak peak of good things to come in Pastor's DVD 17 with emphasize on getting the salt out of the saltshaker.

Men who are unhappy, like men who sleep badly, are always proud of the fact.
- Bertrand Russell

Health food makes me sick.
- Calvin Trillin

I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult.
- Rita Rudner

Ask your child what he wants for dinner only if he's buying.
- Fran Lebowitz

An economist is an expert who will know tomorrow why the things he predicted yesterday didn't happen today.
- Laurence J. Peter

The significant problems we face can not be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.
- Albert Einstein

The trouble with America is that there are far too many wide-open spaces surrounded by teeth.
- Charles Luckman

Every great advance in natural knowledge has involved the absolute rejection of authority.
- Thomas H. Huxley

The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there is no good evidence either way.
- Bertrand Russell

Davy my boy, annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.
- Charles Dickens (David Copperfield)

There can be no disparity in marriage like unsuitability of mind and purpose.
- Charles Dickens (David Copperfield)

Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.
- Douglas Adams

Never have children, only grandchildren.
- Gore Vidal

Discipleship

Discipleship: What Is It, and Why Should We Care?

Dan Day, Director, NAD Church Resource Center

Adventists don't have a lengthy history with "discipleship." So, I was not surprised when I discussed with a pastor friend of mine our new iFollow discipleship resource (coming out in the Spring of 2010) and he returned: "What do you mean by discipleship?"

I don't mean in saying that we don't have much history with discipleship that we're unfamiliar with the elements involved with following Jesus. In discussing discipleship, we're exploring how we can become more successful in our spiritual journey. But journey language typically involves a rather specific, linear perspective. We start in one place and then continue on an upward path. We're "growing in Christ." We're learning how to be "more disciplined, spiritually," "more useful to God," and "more kind and loving." Right?

Some in today's modern culture, though, have trouble with this linear language. "What evidence do you have that you're getting better?" they ask. They point at an elderly Christian who is crotchety and seems to be increasingly rigid in his or her views and say: "Is that what you mean?" They point at someone with years of Christian service, but who has "fallen from grace" in some public humiliation, and say: "Is that what you mean?" And even more pointedly, they look at a church filled with "pew-sitters," who are not in any way involved with ministry in their communities, and they say: "Is that what you mean?"

If discipleship really means: "getting better and better, day-by-day," then we need to provide some pretty solid metrics, don't we? We need to be able to show that growth is happening in measurable ways and that it is happening to most of us.

Or do we? How would you define discipleship? How would you characterize the Christian's spiritual journey? The rest is yet to come...

Got a tool, resource, site, article, idea or seminar that you like a lot? Share it with us at BestPractices@ameritech.net.

To those of you who aren't getting a clean, formatted HTML copy of Best Practices, two suggestions:

"I had the messy text problem and finally figured out that on the subscribe page I had checked the box to receive the newsletter in plain text." Bruce Blum
"Perhaps it's a simple problem of changing the format that their mail is viewed in? Open Outlook, click Tools, then Options, then Mail Format. At the top in Message Format, click the drop down box and select HTML. Hopefully that will do it!" Kasey McFarland

From Bruce Nicola, about the pamphlet Motion Pictures and Television: Principles and Standards Governing Their Selection. "The reaction to this set of guidelines will be like to trying to define what appropriate music is for a worship services - very subjective in interpretation. I found the guidelines to be overall very Biblical in attempting to reflect a Christian set of values - and to have a Seventh-day Adventist application. If we applied Philippians 4:8 to all the movies produced today easily 98%+ would be excluded for any number of reasons. But, most Christians/Adventists/(pastors?) who watch movies do so simply because they like to watch whatever they want. Challenging ourselves to levels of holiness that honestly deal with what passes through our eyes, ears, and minds is not something far too many of us have chosen to do. Maybe the reason the church in North America is not growing is for some very simple reasons - reasons this 70 year old pamphlet unwittingly defines in making holy choices."

A reminder of Friday Fax, the best way to keep up to date on everything that's happening everywhere in the NAD church.

Have you heard about the new hymn, written by Bruce Ashton especially for the General Conference session next year? We sang it at NAD meetings, and I thought it was excellent! If you'd like to teach it to your congregation, you'll find sheet music here, and you can listen to a recording of the song here.

Previous resource links:

Do you have an event you'd like to invite NAD pastors to? Send details to BestPractices@Ameritech.net.

AU Worship Conference, March 25-27, 2010
InMinistry classes from the Seminary in each union, April 11-22, 2010
NAD-IAD Health Summit Orlando 2010-January 24 - February 7
Adventist Community Services Convention, March 28-April 3, 2010, Orlando
Just Claim It 2010, Adventist Youth Ministries Convention, April 2-11, Columbus, OH

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Job Networking as a Ministry

NAD Church Resource Center | 12501 Old Columbia Pike | Silver Spring | MD | 20904

Best Practices for Adventist Ministry

2009-12-18T11:45:00.003-08:00

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BestPractices

November 18, 2009

Sabbaths 2002, X

Teach me work that honors Thy work,
the true economies of goods and words,
to make my arts compatible
with the songs of the local birds.

Teach me patience beyond work
and, beyond patience, the blest
Sabbath of Thy unresting love
which lights all things and gives rest.

(A poem by Wendell Berry. Happy Thanksgiving!)

Blessings
Loren

IN THIS ISSUE

Book: Learning from the Stranger

Reading: the lifetime value of a customer

Media: Gaspar Colón

Quotes: "A gentleman is a man who can play the accordion but doesn't."

Dan Day on discipleship

News & ideas: Bob Mason reviews a book by God

Events: TechnoEvangelism

The Ministry of Job Networking
by Loren Seibold

Usually I leave this space for others' ideas, but I wanted to share a ministry we're doing at Worthington that has been timely and successful. In a down economy, we're helping people find jobs.

The program isn't original with us: we adopted it, almost like a franchise, from a local Methodist church. It's called the Scioto Ridge Job Networking Group. SJRN is a way for mid-level professionals looking for work to make connections with career counselors, human resource experts, and employers. The group meets twice a month, and we often have 50 job seekers from the community gathered in our fellowship hall. SJRN has developed a great reputation in the city, and we're getting support and interest from many civic and business leaders.

This isn't just a meet-and-greet, though. The evening begins with news, usually about people who have "landed" (found a job), or job openings others have heard about and want to share. That's followed by a half hour of small groups, whose purpose, besides getting acquainted and encouraging one another, is to practice one's "elevator speech" (explaining the job you're looking for in a minute or less - the time you'd have with someone on an elevator). The last formal segment of the evening is a presentation by someone in human resources about networking, creating a résumé, interviewing, making online connections, or general encouragement. Often people remain for an hour afterward just to visit. (See our agenda for more details of an evening's activity.) I see new people each week, and often they leave encouraged and ready to try again.

The leader of our chapter is a young man from the Scioto Ridge Methodist Church, who from his experience with other chapters is providing the guidance we need to get the ministry going. There are a number of chapters meeting in metro Columbus, but they're spaced out so that none is too near another, or meeting on the same night. We're fortunate to be well-located, so have had a strong and growing attendance. The support staff is from our church family, who set up chairs, AV equipment, lead groups, take care of registration and refreshments, and anything else that needs doing.

This has been an ideal ministry for a church with many professional people. Younger church members have embraced it, and are gratified by the response from people they can relate to. Another plus: SRJN has been revenue neutral to us. Most of the work is volunteer, but sponsors - employers or career counselors - pay a fee to the SRJN organization (this pays for the website and promotional materials) to have their information on display and to be introduced to the group at chapter meetings, where they get clients or employees. Each attendee contributes $5/meeting if they can afford it, which we keep for our expenses.

SRJN is faith-based, which means we don't preach, but we do talk about faith where appropriate, and we end the evening with prayer. As pastor, I've been on hand to do that most evenings, and our Methodist ministry leader always tells the job-seekers in attendance what a great church we have, and invites people to come visit! (They've also invited me to make one of the presentations, which I gladly did, and have been invited to other chapters to speak as well.)

Criticisms? Only one: we're not offering anything for blue collar workers. A perfect adjunct to SRJN would be clinics to help immigrants and others looking for manual labor jobs with résumé writing and online application.

Resource Review

Book review
Learning from the Stranger: Christian Faith and Cultural Diversity, by David I. Smith

This is a book about how Jesus' call to love our neighbor involves learning from cultural strangers, not just imparting our own ideas to them. Claiming that we are reluctant to relinquish pictures of the world that place ourselves at the center, the author exposes how even our seemingly unselfish desire to share the gospel gets infiltrated by our own cultural egocentricity. The book is a blend of theological and practical insights - peppered with stories from the author's experience.

Reviewed by Raj Attiken

Non-violent church activism appears to have been a major catalyst for the fall - a fact that is being forgotten. Quote: "Any reporter in Berlin in the tense weeks before Nov. 9, 1989 knew the Protestant (mostly Lutheran) churches sheltered dissidents and was working for reform."
An interview with The Rev. Christian Fuhrer of St. Nikolai Church in Leipzig in East Germany. Quote: "'We were ready for anything, except for candles and prayer,' the police said."
The movement that led to the fall started not in Berlin, but in Leipzig.
Calvinist scholar John Frame, in support of Christian activism. Quote: "In the Kuyperian view, all the ills of society are essentially religious. They stem from people worshiping false gods. Either sinners worship the gods of some pagan ideology, or they give primacy to their own autonomous thought."

As the thanksgiving season approaches in the United States our hearts are turned to the needs of the less fortunate. This week's featured videos include Chapter One of the Stained Glass Church Documentary. Watch as Oakland Ave wrestles with how to minister in an envirornment where one out of a hundred residents are homeless.

Sit at the feet of Dr. Gaspar Colon as he gives a Holistic Ministry foundation that includes much more than just public evangelistic crusades. This lecture was recorded at the 2009 Adventist Urban Congress.

Writing is a shield as much as a window.
- Carey Tennis

This is the true joy of life: The being used up for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one: being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clot of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.
- George Bernard Shaw

When dealing with the insane, the best method is to pretend to be sane.
- Hermann Hesse

Man forgives woman anything save the wit to outwit him.
- Minna Thomas Antrim

Television has raised writing to a new low.
- Samuel Goldwyn

If a cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered mind, what is the significance of a clean desk?
- Laurence J. Peters

A gentleman is a man who can play the accordion but doesn't.
- Unknown

Speech is conveniently located midway between thought and action, where it often substitutes for both.
- John Andrew Holmes

Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.
- Napoleon Bonaparte

Discipleship

Discipleship: just about being spiritually "buff"?
by Dan Day, Director, NAD Church Resource Center

Adventists don't live in a gilded cage. We see what's happening around us. So, as we think about discipleship in a distinctly Adventist context-what we'll see in the upcoming discipleship resource from the Adventist Church in North America-we also want to understand it through the eyes of others, including the broader evangelical community.

As the website gotquestions.org puts it: "Christian discipleship is the process by which disciples grow in the Lord Jesus Christ and are equipped by the Holy Spirit...to overcome the pressures and trials of this present life and become more and more Christlike." They add: "This process requires believers to respond to the Holy Spirit's prompting to examine their thoughts, words and actions and compare them with the Word of God. This requires that we be in the Word daily-studying it, praying over it, and obeying it."

Gotquestions.org is associated with Calvary Theological Seminary, and while there is more on their definition of discipleship at their site, it is typically evangelical in that it sees the term primarily through the prism of spiritual gymnastics. A disciple is someone who "examines their thoughts, words and actions," who is "in the Word, daily," in order to "overcome the pressures and trials in this present life."

These are all good things, of course. Christianity has embraced spiritual disciplines all the way back to the time of the religious hermits in caves and desert hermitages, where monks secreted themselves from temptation. The Adventist community from its beginning has embraced the call for a deeper spiritual life.

The question is, does such a description adequately encompass the reality demanded by today's circumstances? Is discipleship just about getting really buff, spiritually?

It's the sort of thing that makes you go: "hmmm," doesn't it? The rest is yet to come...

Got a tool, resource, site, article, idea or seminar that you like a lot? Share it with us at BestPractices@ameritech.net.

Very funny, from Tom Rush: looking for my wallet and car keys.

From Byron Dulan, the announcement of TechnoEvangelism: The Conference on Local Church Technology and Evangelism, to be held December 7 and 8, 2009 in Huntsville, AL in conjunction with the Annual Pastoral and Evangelism Council. It is sponsored by the Office of Regional Conference Ministries. For registration and more information go to www.washingtonconference.org/te.
I asked a few friends for book reviews for Best Practices, and got this from Bob Mason: "Best-selling author, God, definitely proves He doesn't shrink from controversy in His classic work, The Holy Bible. He deftly takes the reader on a roller coaster tour of the best and worst of humanity, adopting many different voices along the way. Despite His lack of formal education, His broadly expansive yet finely nuanced analysis of the human condition is unsurpassed. The reader who trustingly signs on for this incredible ride will be richly rewarded."

Paul Kotanko and others have written to say that in the MS Outlook program, Best Practices comes through as messy text rather than formatted as html. Does anyone know how to fix this in email readers so folks can see Best Practices fully formatted?

Previous resource links:

Do you have an event you'd like to invite NAD pastors to? Send details to BestPractices@Ameritech.net.

K.I.D. University (Discipleship training for churches)
· November 8-11, Collegedale, TN
InMinistry classes from the Seminary available in each union, Nov 1-12, 2009
Southern Union Evangelism Council, Nov 30-Dec 3, Daytona Beach
Oakwood University Evangelism Council Dec 6-9, Huntsville
TechnoEvangelism: Local Church Technology and Evangelism, Dec 7-8, Huntsville
Westpoint of Evangelism Dec 6-9, Simi Valley
NAD-IAD Health Summit Orlando 2010 -January 24 - February 7

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Pastor: Michael Campbell says Happy Birthday

NAD Church Resource Center | 12501 Old Columbia Pike | Silver Spring | MD | 20904

Best Practices for Adventist Ministry

2009-12-18T11:45:00.001-08:00

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BestPractices

October 22, 2009

This morning my associate, Bob McGhee, wished me a "Happy Great Disapointment Day". So I pass the greetings along to you. Let's hope we don't need to wait too much longer for Jesus to come!

Please remember Monte Sahlin's strategic planning webinar class coming up, October 28. It isn't too late to join. We'll do a few more webinar classes if this one goes as well as I expect it to.

I often hear about some of the things you pastors are doing, and I'm so impressed with your creativity. I'd like to know what you're doing in ministry, ideas others might like to try. Even if you're not a writer, or are short of time, contact me and we'll figure out a painless way to share your ideas and insights.

Blessings
Loren Seibold

IN THIS ISSUE

Reading: A dramatic development for Anglicans

Media: Jose Rojas

Quotes: "To be bursting with thanksgiving is a true witness of the Spirit within us."

News & ideas: Plain White T's sing about love

Events: BP Webinar on strategic planning

The Happy Birthday Phone Call
Michael Campbell, Rocky Mountain Conference

Several years ago when I attended a large church in a large Adventist community I was surprised when the senior pastor of the church we attended called me up to wish me a happy birthday. In the past I had received form letters from pastors of large churches, and for most of my experience growing up in smaller churches I don't remember anyone ever wishing me a happy birthday. It isn't that it is that big of a deal. But, it was nice to know that someone remembered. And that person happened to be my pastor. So I decided that if I ever had the privilege to pastor that was something I wanted to emulate.

Over the past two years I've now had an opportunity to experiment. I've found it to be a wonderful way to connect with both my regular as well as backslidden members. I'll never forget the first couple of weeks when I still was learning the names of my church members. I was able to get a list of birthdays from an old church directory. I started hunting for current phone numbers for some of them. During the first month I was able to talk to at least a dozen church members who had stopped attending church a long time ago. One person asked me how many years I had been the new pastor - an obvious clue that they had not been in church for quite some time. One of the first individuals I called, unbeknown to me, was a young person. I didn't get a hold of her, but left a voice mail message letting her know that her church family was thinking of her on her birthday. To this day she still tells me that was a transformational event because in a tangible way it meant for her that her church family cared about her.

After a short while I went ahead and populated my Outlook calendar with all of the birthdays that I could find. Now they pop up automatically. And in my church of about 240 members that averages out to about 5 phone calls a week. Often it doesn't take more than 15-20 minutes of time during my week, but it gives me an excuse to stay in touch with my church members. I find that church members respond in a variety of different ways - but even the ones who are the quietest I discover later through other people that they really appreciate the gesture. I have yet to find someone who doesn't want to be remembered on their birthday (except maybe for the possibility that an older woman may not want to be reminded of her age!). But with some common sense this is a great way to make your ministry even more effective.

Michael writes at Pastor Soup's Blog.

This may prove to be among the most dramatic developments in Christianity in centuries:

The Pope welcomes disaffected Anglicans/Episcopalians
Up to 1000 Anglican clergy may cross over
According to some reports, 400,000 members are prepared to become Roman Catholics
Meanwhile, new reports of Catholic physical and sexual abuse continue to surface

Another great essay by Tom K. at Patterns of Ink: Two words that can be either wonderful, or terrible, depending on the context.

Seth McBee at Contend Earnestly has a thoughtful piece on faith and reason. Quote: "Faith without reason is foolish, reason without faith is pointless and damning."

Christianity Today reviews the new movie, "The Invention of Lying". Quote: "As I've read about this film I've gained the impression that it is intended to be a jab at religion (and, some have said, at Christianity in particular). I didn't sense that while watching, though. It seemed rather a touching depiction of the human desire to know something more - the mysterious sense we are born with that this life is not all there is (see Eccl. 3:11b). Because, in fact, we are not unable to doubt."

From the author of Tuesdays with Morrie: Mitch Albom's life lessons. Quote: "Faith is about doing. You are how you act, not just how you believe"

Are you ever surprised at how much the saints know about the church, but how little about basic Christianity? Apparently that's a problem all over. Many churches are using the Alpha series, and finding it helpful. More information here.

Might evangelicals be backing off from the political involvement of the past decades? A conference at Gordon-Conwell suggests that. Quote: "Some evangelicals are taking little comfort these days in successes of the past two decades, which included hundreds of mushrooming megachurches and the advancement of a socially conservative agenda under former President George W. Bush. Too often, they say, Christians came to display un-Christian behavior in the public square and did their disciple-making cause a disservice. 'Beware the escalation of extremism,' Os Guinness said. 'Christian sayings such as, "love your enemies "- they're forgotten. People are attacking their enemies, [but] they're certainly not on the side of Jesus in this.'"

Commune with God on an entirely new level as you are assisted with a variety of prayer experiences in this prayer room at New Hope Church. Feel free to adapt any of these experiences or invent new ones as you create a prayer room in your faith community.

Did you miss out on the 2009 Adventist Urban Congress sponsored by the NAD Adventist Community Services? If so you missed all the fellowship of this tribe of passionate commuity organizers. However you can still watch many of the annotated video recordings of the presentations at the Vervent Online Training Videos. For example, listen to Jose Rojas as he shares his love for urban people.

"To be bursting with thanksgiving is a true witness of the Spirit within us. For the voice of thanksgiving speaks without ceasing of the goodness of God. It claims nothing. It sees no merit in man's receiving but only in God's giving. It marvels at his mercy. It is the language of joy because it need look no longer to its own resources. The Christian rejoicing in this blessing of a thankful heart will have his eyes fixed upon the right person and the right place, Christ at God's right hand. He cannot be taken up with himself without being immediately reminded that everything he possesses is the gift of God."
- R.C. Lucas, The Message of Colossians and Philemon

"Christianity is more than a hope, however glorious. It is, even now, 'Christ in you'! Full salvation belongs to the last day, but a real salvation belongs to the Christian here and now. If a believer cannot yet say that he is free from the presence of sin, he certainly should be able to say that he is free from the penalty of sin. And by God's grace, it is his daily privilege to find Christ at work in him saving him from the downward pull of sin."
- R.C. Lucas, The Message of Colossians and Philemon

"The nearest place to the gate of heaven is the throne of the heavenly grace. Much alone, and you will have much assurance; little alone with Jesus, your religion will be shallow, polluted with many doubts and fears, and not sparkling with the joy of the Lord. Since the soul-enriching path of prayer is open to the very weakest saint; since no high attainments are required; since you are not bidden to come because you are an advanced saint, but freely invited if you be a saint at all; see to it, dear reader, that you are often in the way of private devotion. Be much on your knees, for so Elijah drew the rain upon famished Israel's fields."
- Charles Spurgeon, Morning & Evening

Got a tool, resource, site, article, idea or seminar that you like a lot? Share it with us at BestPractices@ameritech.net.

How well do you know the great hymnists? Take this quiz, from ChristianHistory.net

From Lynetta Murdoch: A Quick Quiz on Formal Worship - Who said: "The evil of formal worship cannot be too strongly depicted"? It was Ellen G. White! You'll find the quote in 9T143. She also wrote in PP 523, "Open apostasy would not be more offensive to God than hypocrisy and formal worship." - (from Evangelism News of Australian Conference, July 23, 2008.)

Recomended software: Milton Adams recommends Xmarks plug-in for (windows, firefox, and safari), which updates bookmarks between all your browser on the same computer and between multiple computers. Also, Zotero is a wonderful Firefox program/plug-in that allows you to capture and file entire web pages - helpful when content is always changing and you want to electronically capture and file an article.

Occasionally pop songs say it well: I like this one about love (of all kinds) from Plain White T's.

Our first Best Practices online webinar, "How to do Strategic Planning With Your Congregation," is scheduled for Wednesday, October 28, 2009, to be taught by Monte Sahlin. Go here to get all the information you need to sign up. You will also need this document (free PDF download) as a reference.

Comments on the H1N1 emergency:

Greg Brothers: "1. Wash your hands. 2. If you get sick, stay home. 3. Make sure there's hand-sanitizer in the Fellowship Hall for potlucks. (But you did that anyway, right?) 4. If they close schools, close church. 5. And don't shake hands with people you dislike - you can blame it on the threat of flu."
Jeannette Dare: "As a member of Pennsylvania's Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster, and Interfaith Response Group I am kept up to date by the Center for Disease Control through the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency. See this guide "H1N1 Flu: A Guide for Community and Faith-based Organizations" available on line. Go to Section F: "Meetings and Religious Gatherings."
Ken Lockwood: "Have you ever stopped to watch just how many of us lick our fingers regularly as we go through potluck lines, handling each serving spoon, and while we eat? Have we never learned to use napkins?... Coughing/sneezing into the elbow, rather than into hands is catching on, too."

Previous resource links:

Do you have an event you'd like to invite NAD pastors to? Send details to BestPractices@Ameritech.net.

Best Practices webinar, "How to do Strategic Planning With Your Congregation,"October 28, 2009
K.I.D. University (Discipleship training for churches)
· November 8-11, Collegedale, TN
InMinistry classes from the Seminary available in each union, Nov 1-12, 2009
Creation Sabbath, October 24
Southern Union Evangelism Council, Nov 30-Dec 3, Daytona Beach
Oakwood University Evangelism Council Dec 6-9, Huntsville
Westpoint of Evangelism Dec 6-9, Simi Valley
NAD-IAD Health Summit Orlando 2010 -January 24 - February 7

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Pastor: Orlando Moncrieffe on getting acquainted with new members

NAD Church Resource Center | 12501 Old Columbia Pike | Silver Spring | MD | 20904

Best Practices for Adventist Ministry

2009-12-18T11:40:00.001-08:00

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BestPractices

August 26, 2009

I'm delighted to invite you to our very first Best Practices webinar: "How to Do Strategic Planning With Your Congregation." It's scheduled for Wednesday, October 28, 2009, 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM EDT. (For those of you who are new to this, a webinar is an online class, that you can participate in via your computer. You don't need to be a computer expert to link up.)

We've got our denomination's best consultant on this topic, Dr. Monte Sahlin, to teach the class. Monte can only take a limited number of people, so I'd encourage you to sign up right away. You can go here to register and reserve your place. You also need this document on strategic planning as reference.

IC5, the National Conference on Innovation, is coming up next week in Columbus. I do hope I'll see some of you there. I'll also be at Innovative Impact in Nashville, October 11-13.

Blessings
Loren Seibold

IN THIS ISSUE

Reading: Vulgarity for Christians

Quotes: "I am more afraid of my own heart than of the pope and all his cardinals."

News & ideas: Google Scholar for sermon research

Events: IC5, The Fifth Annual Conference on Innovation

Making Friends with Newly Baptized Members
by Orlando Moncrieffe, Allegheny East Conference

The need to integrate new members into the full fellowship of the church family as quickly as possible is well established. Various methods have been employed to initiate, accelerate, support, and sustain the process. I have developed for my church a baptismal candidate profile form - one for adults and one for youth - to be filled out by the candidates prior to their baptism, to help church members become acquainted with new members.

As the candidates are presented to the church on the day of baptism, I introduce each one to the congregation. I focus on one individual at a time: just prior to the public examination, I ask each candidate to stand facing the congregation as I make a narrative presentation (see below) about him or her using information drawn from the profile form. I want it to be a warm and personal introduction, and not just some data about the candidate. When I am through, the candidate is seated and I invite another to stand.

My intention is to encourage congregants to initiate contacts and establish personal relationships with the new members based on shared interests such as word games, fishing, cooking, gardening, or whatever hobbies or interests they may find in common. This supplements the more formally structured programs that are in place to assist the new members in becoming acquainted with the church family, integrated into its fellowship, and engaged in its nurturing and outreach activities.

Here's an example of a new member profile:

Michael Henry was born in Antigua. He is married and has three adult daughters, two of whom are in college. He worked for many years as a truck and bus driver. He has also been a waiter on an ocean liner, and a store detective at a supermarket. His hobbies include cricket, cooking, and gardening. As a teenager Michael attended Sunday night evangelistic meetings in his home country, at the invitation of some Adventist friends. More than four decades later, the seed planted in his youth prompted him to search for an Adventist church in Teaneck, where he has resided since 1984. His quest led him to the First Seventh-day Adventist Church of Teaneck. After months of regular attendance and Bible studies, he was baptized. His favorite Bible passage is the Genesis Creation story, and his favorite Bible character is Job. He is now actively involved in Men's Ministries, and is a member of the Sanctuary Choir and the Men's Chorus.

Orlando is senior pastor of the First Seventh-day Adventist Church of Teaneck, New Jersey.

Christians and the language we use:

Jehovah's Witness Serena Williams' behavior raises the issue of cursing among Christians.
The Third Commandment: is it really just about vulgarity? Or is there a deeper meaning?
What's the difference between cursing, swearing, profanity and vulgarity?
Martin Luther was notoriously earthy in his language.
In an odd twist, Chuck Swindoll was kicked off a Christian network, accused of using vulgar language on Insight for Living.

From Monte Sahlin: Study shows American congregations are in decline. Quote: "Most congregations report that attendance is declining, not increasing. Most congregations report that their finances are in worse shape. Most congregations report that spiritual vitality is down. More congregations say that most of their members are uncertain about the mission of their church. Many congregations have an aging membership, with fewer young adults."

How often are pastors sexual predators? According to this Washington Post piece, "One in every 33 women who attend worship services regularly has been the target of sexual advances by a religious leader." (Some Baptists have taken this problem to the webwaves, in a most blunt way.)

Uh... seriously? The founder of Jediism, a religion based on Star Wars, is suing a supermarket chain because they asked him to remove his hood while shopping! Quote: "Jedis are very welcome to shop in our stores although we would ask them to remove their hoods. Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda and Luke Skywalker all appeared hoodless without ever going over to the Dark Side and we are only aware of the Emperor as one who never removed his hood. If Jedi walk around our stores with their hoods on, they'll miss lots of special offers."

Denomination vs. congregation: The First District Court of Appeal rejected a San Francisco congregation's attempt to leave the Reformed Church of America rather than submit to closure over dwindling attendance.

The Path of Meaning
By Marcel Schwantes

Think of a recent situation at the office or in your congregation that triggered your emotions - your amygdala sent an emergency signal. We've all been there, right? Now step through this little process I call "the path of meaning."

Event - what caused it? (For example, a belligerent member confronted you about the theology of a sermon)
What conclusion did I come to? (The story you're telling yourself in your head includes some very unflattering things about this saint.)
What emotions did it drive? (Anger, frustration and rage may have now controlled you)
How did I act or behave? (Did you react by saying something back you shouldn't have, and it escalated?)

Perhaps you think your behavior was appropriate. I mean, what a jerk, and how dare he say that to you! But as you look back at the scenario and its conclusion, let's consider how you might have dealt with this differently by avoiding "victim and villain" storytelling. Look at the "path of meaning" again. At what point on the path could you have exerted influence on yourself, and in turn influenced the outcome of your behavior?

Why would you want to consider a different outcome? Because our emotions often get in the way of our ability to think. IQ is not enough. Even the smartest of people (including pastors!) can do very dumb things.

Marcel Schwantes is a certified life/leadership coach with a virtual office open to clients across the country. Visit his website at www.marcelcoaching.com.

Two outstanding Adventist conferences on innovation are coming up. The National Conference on Innovation, October 4-6 is in Ohio, and on October 11-13 Innovative Impact will be held in Nashville Tennessee. Preview the events by watching Wesley Knight's presentation at 2008 Innovative Impact and Kelly Kullburg at 2008 Conference on Innovation.

I am more afraid of my own heart than of the pope and all his cardinals. I have within me the great pope, Self.
- Martin Luther

Be thou comforted, little dog, Thou too in Resurrection shall have a little golden tail.
- Martin Luther

Be a sinner and sin strongly, but more strongly have faith and rejoice in Christ.
- Martin Luther

The victory lies not with us, but with Christ, who has taken on him both to conquer for us and to conquer in us. The victory lies neither in our own strength to get it, nor in our enemies' strength to defeat it. If it lay with us, we might justly fear. But Christ will maintain his own government in us and take our part against our corruptions. They are his enemies as well as ours. Let us therefore be "strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might" (Ephesians 6:10). Let us not look so much at who our enemies are as at who our judge and captain is, nor at what they threaten, but at what he promises. We have more for us than against us. What coward would not fight when he is sure of victory?
- Richard Sibbes, The Bruised Reed

Anyone who is to find Christ must first find the church. How could anyone know where Christ is and what faith is in him unless he knew where his believers are?
- Martin Luther

By becoming a Christian, I belong to God and I belong to my brothers and sisters. It is not that I belong to God and then make a decision to join a local church. My being in Christ means being in Christ with those others who are in Christ. This is my identity. This is our identity. . . . If the church is the body of Christ, then we should not live as disembodied Christians.
- Tim Chester and Steve Timmis, Total Church

Every man must do two things alone; he must do his own believing and his own dying.
- Martin Luther

For where God built a church, there the Devil would also build a chapel.
- Martin Luther

Got a tool, resource, site, article, idea or seminar that you like a lot? Share it with us at BestPractices@ameritech.net.

From Tim Mitchell: "You may be way ahead of me on this, but I am finding Google Scholar to be a helpful tool for sermon prep. By using Google Scholar to look for legitimate articles you can omit a lot of the crazy stuff on the web. You can also consult a single, specific chapter of a book that would cost you $30 to buy for one sermon. Recently I preached on the Lord's Supper from 1 Corinthians 11. Here's an example of a helpful and practical resource I found online in about two minutes: Google Scholar --> G. Theissen, 1 Corinthians 11. --> Social Integration and Sacramental Activity: An Analysis of 1 Cor 11: 17-34. Send me resources you find too, ok?"

Our first Best Practices online webinar, "How to do Strategic Planning With Your Congregation," is scheduled for Wednesday, October 28, 2009, to be taught by Monte Sahlin. Go here to get all the information you need to sign up. You will also need this document (free PDF download) as a reference.

The Center for Youth Evangelism and Pastor Ron Whitehead invite you to receive our free 411 Newsletter monthly e-newsletter, designed for Adventist Youth and Youth Leaders. It will keep you up to date on Adventist events, news, and resources from around the world! To sign up, please visit our website, www.adventistyouth.org.

Sabbath, October 24 has been designated as Creation Sabbath. The General Conference has set up a Creation Sabbath resource site. Dale Galusha from Pacific Press is offering some books that he thinks would be helpful for study groups or individual reading for that event.

From Nick Bejarano at Guide magazine: Do you think Guide's online ministry is doing a good job? Find out how you can help make it even better and honor someone you care about at the same time! Visit http://guidemagazine.org/sponsor/viewsponsors.asp to help make a difference!

Previous resource links:

Do you have an event you'd like to invite NAD pastors to? Send details to BestPractices@Ameritech.net.

IC5: The Fifth Annual Conference on Innovation, October 4-6, Columbus
K.I.D. University (Discipleship training for churches)
· November 8-11, Collegedale, TN
InMinistry classes from the Seminary available in each union, Nov 1-12, 2009
Innovative Impact, October 11-13, Nashville
Conference on Marriage, Homosexuality and the Church,October 15-17, Andrews University.
NAD-IAD Health Summit Orlando 2010 -January 24 - February 7

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Q&A: Are there tools for helping us do a 5-year plan?

NAD Church Resource Center | 12501 Old Columbia Pike | Silver Spring | MD | 20904

Best Practices for Adventist Ministry

2009-09-09T16:42:00.001-07:00

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BestPractices

August 26, 2009

"Ah, when to the heart of man
Was it ever less than a treason
To go with the drift of things,
To yield with a grace to reason,
And bow and accept the end
Of a love or a season?"

Summer is winding down, and I'm feeling a bit like Robert Frost in "Reluctance". I love autumn, and winter, but the change is bittersweet!

Perhaps I'll see you in October at IC5.

Please note, below, a great question about visioning and goal-setting from Keith Mulligan, and the answer from Monte Sahlin. Monte is offering to conduct a webinar on this topic for all Best Practices readers who are interested. Just send him a note.

Blessings
Loren Seibold, Editor, Best Practices for Adventist Ministry

IN THIS ISSUE

Pastor: William Davis tests lay leadership training

Reading: Soul-searching on Facebook

Quotes: "Wisdom is what's left after we've run out of personal opinions."

News & ideas: eSword SDA software

Events: Music & Worship Conference

Resource Q & A

Visioning, goal-setting and planning?

Question from Keith Mulligan, Ceres, CA :

I think it is time for our church to start the process of setting a new vision, goals, objectives and a 5 year plan. What do we have that is uniquely Adventist that could be used as an outline to assist a church in developing such a plan?

Answer from Monte Sahlin, Ohio Conference:

There are two resources specifically designed for this purpose:

1. There is a simple package that I wrote some years ago and have done with scores of churches as well as taught hundreds of pastors to use in classes and seminars. A copy of it is attached. It is available as a free download on the Center for Creative Ministry web site, www.creativeministry.org

2. There is a more sophisticated package that was created for the NAD by Search Institute in Minneapolis. The facilitators manual is sold by AdventSource, although I do not believe it appears in the catalog. It is called "Vision for Mission." I have used this process with hundreds of churches and other groups. It works best with a trained facilitator, although a few pastors have got a copy of the manual and done it themselves. Interested pastors can call the Center for Creative Ministry at (800) 272-4664 and the staff will help them connect with the nearest trained facilitator. The Center maintains the network of people that the NAD had trained by Search Institute in the mid-1990s.

If you think there are some interested pastors, I would be happy to schedule a Webinar cosponsored by BP to train pastors to use the first package. Contact me and let me know. It only takes an hour or two to walk through the entire process and understand all of the tools that are used. I routinely spend time doing this in my class for the Doctor of MInistry program at Andrews, as well as in one of the classes that I teach for Eastern University.

Does Local Church Development Work?
by William Davis, D.Min. Wyoming Conference

Over the years my conference has invested time and money training the lay leaders of many of our congregations. But does leadership training really work?

It was recently put to the test in my Northeast Wyoming district when I was gone 15 weeks due to health problems. As I left for the hospital, two churches were starting Adventist schools in their towns. One was revamping its Community Services Ministry and another was undergoing a building renovation while continuing a strong health outreach program. The 300 plus members of the church had to face their own problems with deaths and illnesses as well as family emergencies.

The conference appointed an interim pastor, Gordon Henderson, who was available in case of an emergency. But he lived outside the area and even with his faithful visits on Sabbath and an occasional board meeting, the leaders were responsible for the daily operation and advance of the church. I wondered, would they stand the test before them? Would our training pay off?

I am happy to tell you that it did! These leaders had learned the importance of dependence on the Holy Spirit to carry out the work of ministry. They preached and taught, as well as visited and led boards and business meetings. The schools were opened and the ministries were carried out extremely well.

The investment in leadership training was key to this success. If the churches had been dependent upon me, the prolonged absence of their "shepherd" might have let the flock wander aimlessly during this time. But praise the Lord, they were prepared to lead under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

We pastors are too often tempted to create dependency through our leadership. If we would delegate power, authority, and responsibility to our local church leaders while equipping and coaching them on a regular basis, what a change we would see in our churches. The power of the Holy Spirit working in the laity would be felt in a practical way. The pastor's responsibility is equipping and empowering the people of God for leadership. I am happy to be able to share in their success, but it is God who has blessed the work of His faithful, equipped, and empowered local church leaders.

Soul-searching on Facebook. There's a lot about faith on Facebook. Quote: "Not surprisingly, the most popular faith professed is 'Christian' and the various denominations associated with it.... The second most popular entry on the list is 'Islam,' followed by 'Atheist.' 'Jedi,' interestingly enough, makes an appearance at No. 10." (We do have a Best Practices for Adventist Ministry page-please join!)

Church buildings and the law:

Why do we need to be told to make church buildings handicapped accessible? Shouldn't we do it for practical and spiritual reasons? Quote: "There are also some potential benefits for congregations that are willing to make the investment in architecture and attitude in order to become more welcoming. ... More families with a disabled member would attend religious services, experts say, if congregations would make efforts to open their buildings and programs. Older people tend to attend services in greater numbers than the young."
A noise ordinance in Phoenix, AZ regulates church bells, but excludes ice-cream trucks! Not surprisingly, it's provoked this federal lawsuit (PDF).
People don't want megachurches in their backyards, prompting an increasing number of local zoning fights. Quote:"There's still a general impression that most churches are small: The white frame church down there on the corner, the little brick building that has a hundred people."..."It is equivalent in many ways to an area that's dominated by small mom-and-pop stores and a Walmart moves in."

A disturbing story, and one we may see more often as the west receives Middle Eastern immigrants: a 17-year old responds to Christian evangelism, leaves her Moslem home to become a Christian, with legal consequences.

I've used the NIV translation for many years, and prefer it. Now, an update to the popular translation that tries to be gender neutral. A good thing, or a change that ""departs from what the author actually wrote and adds an editorial layer of judgment and commentary", as some scholars say?

As much as we Adventists have studied Roman Catholicism, I'm not sure we really understand it. The passing of Ted reminds us that though the Roman Catholic hierarchy was never happy with the Kennedys' politics, their liberal, self-defined Catholicism may be more characteristic of American Catholicism than is the faith of the Vatican.

You may have heard about Tulsa Adventist Fellowship, a church that adds almost a hundred new members every year. You can spend a weekend with the church vicariously through the eyes of Pastor Kleyton Feitosa. Be the first to watch the premier HD online screening of the latest Paul Kim documentary. Or if you have time, sit down with Bill McClendon and ask the questions you always wanted to know from this businessman turned pastor by watching the unedited interview.

The gospel does not say, "There is a Saviour, if you wish to be saved"; but, "Sir, you have no right to go to hell - you cannot go there without trampling on the Son of God."
- John Duncan

The problem with any unwritten law is that you don't know where to go to erase it.
- Glaser and Way

I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.
- Bill Cosby

The gospel word and the gospel community are closely connected. The word creates and nourishes the community, while the community proclaims and embodies the word.
- Tim Chester and Steve Timmis, Total Church

Too many have dispensed with generosity in order to practice charity.
- Albert Camus

Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.
- Thomas Jefferson

The greatest challenge to any thinker is stating the problem in a way that will allow a solution.
- Bertrand Russell

Got a tool, resource, site, article, idea or seminar that you like a lot? Share it with us at BestPractices@ameritech.net.

5th Annual Music and Worship Conference, coming up September 17-19, 2009, at the Atlanta Berean Seventh-day Adventist Church. Info and registration here.

Monte Sahlin is offering to conduct a webinar for all Best Practices readers who want training in doing visioning and goal-setting. Please send him an email if you're interested.

eSword is a popular Bible study software, that probably many of you use. There are currently over 10 million downloads (and counting) of the basic e-Sword program, and several major denomination-based e-Sword files that feature their beliefs - but nothing specifically for Seventh-day Adventists until now. Shirley Babienco let us know that there are now Seventh-day Adventist Bible study tools for eSword available at www.sharpeningthesword.net. They'll feature the current and prior Adult Bible Study Guides (SS Quarterly). We're in contact with the White Estate regarding some of the Spirit of Prophecy books for e-Sword, too. Go to www.sharpeningthesword.net.

Previous resource links:

Do you have an event you'd like to invite pastors to? Send details to BestPractices@Ameritech.net.

IC5: The Fifth Annual Conference on Innovation, October 4-6, Columbus
K.I.D. University (Discipleship training for churches)
· Sept. 13-16, Collegedale, TN
· November 8-11, Collegedale, TN
K.I.D. Retreat (Discipleship training for families)
· Sept. 18-20, Collegedale, TN
InMinistry classes from the Seminaryavailable in each union; Nov 1-12, 2009
Vervent/UCAA Music and Worship Conference, September 17-19, Atlanta
Innovative Impact, October 11-13, Nashville
Conference on Marriage, Homosexuality and the Church, October 15-17, Andrews University.
NAD-IAD Health Summit Orlando 2010 -January 24 - February 7

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Innovative Impact is not designed for a Pastor to come alone. It is deliberately geared for pastors and the key members of their church leadership teams to share and grow together over two days sitting under some of the most insightful leaders in the "frontline" church today. In order to make Innovative Impact affordable, group discounts are available.

NAD Church Resource Center | 12501 Old Columbia Pike | Silver Spring | MD | 20904

Innovative Impact is just weeks away!

2009-09-01T11:57:00.001-07:00

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Nashville, Tennesee

Innovative Impact is just around the corner! This year we look forward to the conference kick-off, Sunday night, October 11 at 7pm.

Innovative Impact 2009 promises to be the best conference yet. Every stop has been pulled out to create a leadership experience that impacts your life and leadership well after the conference is over. Each component of Innovative Impact is prayed over, and sweated over to insure one thing: That you leave more passionate about leading the frontline church than when you came. It's this one single idea that drives Innovative Impact.

Our guest speaker will be the dynamic Dr. Forrest Harris, President of American Baptist College in Nashville, Tennessee.

Some of the finest workshop presenters from across the country including: Buddy Byrd, Bill McClendon and many more.

Who is this for?

NAD Church Resource Center and has teamed up with Innovative Impact to inspire Pastors and lay leaders from all over the North American Division.

Online registration available through Plusline
Questions?
Contact Us

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Reading: The end of Adventist ministry as we know it?

NAD Church Resource Center | 12501 Old Columbia Pike | Silver Spring | MD | 20904

Best Practices for Adventist Ministry

2009-08-27T19:42:00.001-07:00

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BestPractices

August 26, 2009

A note from my WWC classmate, Phil Muthersbaugh:

"Just wanted to say I like your new "look" on the Best Practices enewsletter! The cap and the sunglasses have totally recast your image in a postmodern culture. Kudos, dude!"

Thanks, Phil. But I'm really no cooler than I used to be. Just have postmodern sunglasses.

Last issue I told you about Mic Thurber's popular church database software, and even offered you a discount. It turns out that I didn't enter the link correctly! Apologies, Mic. Here's the page where you can contact Mic for a discount on Church Membership Directory.

Blessings
Loren Seibold, Editor, Best Practices for Adventist Ministry

IN THIS ISSUE

Pastor: Matt Gamble gets relevant

Resource: Website counter's Dale Ratzlaff's anti-Sabbath theology

Encouragement: Pastor, You're a Coach!

Quotes: "Wisdom is what's left after we've run out of personal opinions."

News & ideas: Adventist Urban Congress, in August

Events: Music & Worship Conference

On congregations and attitudes:

Does your church have a glassed-in "cry room"? Congregations are divided on their usefulness. Should children be unseen and unheard so the rest of us can concentrate? Or is it better to live with a little noise? Quote: "If you have a church and do not hear any crying babies, it's a dying church."
In the US, Christians' views of God continue to trend toward the universalist. Quote: "According to a 2008 Pew Forum survey, 65 percent of us believe that "many religions can lead to eternal life" - including 37 percent of white evangelicals,"

The NAD church is changing rapidly, in giving, demographics and direction. Might we be seeing the end of Adventist ministry as we've known it for all these years?

An odd trend in religious fiction: Amish romance novels! Quote: "For the women readers who have made Amish romance the fastest-growing genre in Christian fiction, these books aren't exactly steamy aphrodisiacs. Hand-holding is a heart-stopping event.... Plots may stir an irresistable urge to bake rhubarb pie."

System theory has come to define almost every discipline. Why not theology? Here's an interesting presentation about what Andrew Sears calls "systemic theology." Draw your own conclusions. (Thanks, Lynette Murdoch!)

Effective Preaching to Unchurched People
by Matt Gamble

In Surprising Insights from the Unchurched, Thom Rainer makes the startling claim that the number one reason why an unchurched person chooses to attend a church is because of the pastor and his or her preaching. After interviewing 330 previously unchurched people, the characteristics of a pastor/preacher that were most attractive to an unchurched person who visited a church for the first time were that the preaching teaches, the preaching was applicable, the pastor was authentic, and the pastor had conviction.

Rainer's findings became the starting point for my own study. Because preaching is my passion I've tried to discover common elements among preachers who are attracting larger numbers of unchurched young adults.

I found that to effectively reach unchurched people, a preacher must be:

Aware - Specifically, the preacher is knowledgeable of the Bible passages they are preaching from as well as aware of the culture they are addressing (Acts 17:22-23).
Amusing - This is not to suggest that the preacher be a jokester, but rather that he or she is engaging. Ellen White says that we should "make (religious services) intensely interesting" (Matthew 13:34).
Ardent - This isn't charisma per se, or volume and activity, but internal passion. Low-key Morris Venden has internal passion just as much as the enthusiastic E.E. Cleveland (Acts 4:33).
Articulate - When people hear you speak, do they know what you are trying to say and what they're supposed to leave with? (Colossians 4:3,4) I recommend Andy Stanley's book, Communicating for Change.
Authentic - Simply put, be real. Don't be someone you're not and don't be afraid of being honest about your struggles and victories (I Timothy 1:15,16).
Attuned - You must be responsive to all involved in the preaching event. Specifically, this means being attuned to your audience, as well as to the Holy Spirit who may give you something to say when you least expect it (Acts 2:4,6).

Remember: "It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe" (I Corinthians 1:21).

Matthew Gamble, D.Min., is currently serving as an evangelist/revivalist and travels globally to share the gospel in creative ways. You can find him blogging at www.matthewgamble.com. He also serves as a consultant for the Center for Creative Ministry. Matt has made his D.Min. dissertation, about preaching to young adults, available here.

As churches gear up for the final thrust of the Year of Evangelism we've chosen three Vervent online presentations. To help prepare your congregation for evangelism you may wish to use Derik Morris's Radical Prayer. You can also download the manuscripts and slide templates. Listen to Carlton Byrd as he takes old school evangelism and adapts it to the 21st century. Finally listen to NAD president Don Schneider as he casts a vision for telling the story of Jesus.

Resource Review

Website

New resource aimed at Ratlaff's Life Assurance Ministries

A group in Lincoln, Nebraska has just set up a new website called sdaforme.com, specifically to resource pastors to counter the influence of Life Assurance Ministries, an anti-sabbatarian ministry headed by ex-SDA pastor Dale Ratzlaff. The website is written by Martin Weber in consultation with Mid-America Union president, Roscoe Howard, and NAD president Don Schneider.

Martin Weber writes, "In the past five days we have had nearly 1,500 unique visits from around the world - mostly pastors. Here's what a Florida pastor wrote us: 'After a thorough reading of the question and answer portion I am sold on the timeliness for a website like this. It is about time we present a clear response to the bias and unfair accusations that circulate in other websites and literature. As a Seventh-day Adventist in pastoral ministry for over 15 years, I look forward to recommending to my congregations and friends that they visit your site.'

"Local Adventist church websites around the world are beginning to link to www.sdaforme.com. Anyone wishing to help spread the word can go to the website and click on 'Tell a Friend.' Please note the various banners and widgets that can be used for your church or personal social networking website, such as Facebook.

"A special feature of the website is a five-part dialogue between Desmond Ford and myself on the 1844 judgment."

Clergy Encouragement

Pastor, You're a Coach!

by David Vandenburgh

Good pastors are coaches.

A coach is a person who helps you get where you want to go (think of "coach" as in "stagecoach" - a means of transport). A coach is not necessarily an expert in the thing you want to do, but rather an expert in helping you figure out where you want to go (from a Christian perspective, where God wants you to go) and then helping you figure out how to get there (from a Christian perspective, utilizing God-provided resources for accomplishing God's will).

That's really what a pastor does, at least according to the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 4: Pastors are people who help other people become equipped (Greek: katartizo) to do what God wants them to do - they "equip the saints to do the work of ministry", to use Paul's language. Pastors don't do the work of ministry, they do their work of ministry which is to equip others to do their God-given work of ministry. In this sense, pastors are coaches. Success, for a pastor, comes when his/her church members are engaged in ministry according to their spiritual gifts and equipped to do it well.

David directs the coaching program of the Christian Leadership Center at Andrews University, and has a website devoted to Christian Leadership Coaching.

Being taken for granted can be a compliment. It means that you've become a comfortable, trusted element in another person's life.
- Dr. Joyce Brothers

Well, if I called the wrong number, why did you answer the phone?
- James Thurber

No matter what side of the argument you are on, you always find people on your side that you wish were on the other.
- Jascha Heifetz

We are born charming, fresh and spontaneous and must be civilized before we are fit to participate in society.
- Judith Martin, (Miss Manners)

Wisdom is what's left after we've run out of personal opinions.
- Cullen Hightower

The point I am making is quite offensive to us today. It is that God hides himself from us, that he cannot be had on our terms, and that he cannot be accessed from "below" through natural revelation. In the malls, and in much of life, we encounter nothing like this. We expect access. We expect to be able to get what we want, when we want it, and on our terms. Here this is not the case. Here we have to be admitted to God's presence, on his terms, in his way ... or not at all. We cannot simply walk into his presence. Here nature does not itself yield grace. God's grace comes from the outside, not the inside, from above and not from within. It is not natural to fallen human life. We enter the presence of God as those who have been estranged, not as those who have been in continuity with the sacred simply because we are human. We are brought into a saving relationship through Christ; we do not put this together from within ourselves.
- David F. Wells, The Courage to be Protestant

Got a tool, resource, site, article, idea or seminar that you like a lot? Share it with us at BestPractices@ameritech.net.

Something funny for the week. But some truth in it, too.

Two big events coming up:

Adventist Urban Congress will be August 30-September 2, 2009, at the Dallas First Seventh-day Adventist Church. Register at PlusLine.
5th Annual Music and Worship Conference, coming up September 17-19, 2009, at the Atlanta Berean Seventh-day Adventist Church. Info and registration here.

Last issue I told you about Mic Thurber's popular church database software, and even offered you a discount. It turns out that I didn't enter the link correctly! Here's the page where you can contact Mic for a discount on Church Membership Directory.

Previous resource links:

Do you have an event you'd like to invite pastors to? Send details to BestPractices@Ameritech.net.

IC5: The Fifth Annual Conference on Innovation, October 4-6, Columbus
K.I.D. University (Discipleship training for churches)
· Sept. 13-16, Collegedale, TN
· November 8-11, Collegedale, TN
K.I.D. Retreat (Discipleship training for families)
· Sept. 18-20, Collegedale, TN
InMinistry Center CE classes (advanced degrees for pastors); summer classes, Andrews, July 19-30
AU 2009 Family Celebration Sabbath, featuring Mark Laaser on sexual addictions, July 27-18
Adventist Urban Congress, August 30-September 2, Dallas
Vervent/UCAA Music and Worship Conference, September 17-19, Atlanta
Innovative Impact, October 11-13, Nashville
Conference on Marriage, Homosexuality and the Church, October 15-17, Andrews University.
NAD-IAD Health Summit Orlando 2010 -January 24 - February 7

This email was sent to lseibold.best4567practices@blogger.com by bestpractices@ameritech.net.

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