by Chase | How To, Leadership
Are you experiencing resistance as you implement new lighting effects, instruments, and smoke machines?
Here is a list of bible verses to will equip you for make a biblical argument for contemporary worship styles!
If your congregation and senior pastor can overlook your lack of biblical hermeneutics and the simple fact that each of these verses have been taken completely out of their intended context, you may be able to bring your worship service into the 2010s!
Smoke Machines and Loud Singing
Isaiah 6:4
At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
Preaching From Tablets
Habakkuk 2:2
Then the Lord replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.”
Exciting Music
Psalm 98:4
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music;
Lighting Effects
Ezekiel 1:4
As I looked, behold, a storm wind was coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing forth continually and a bright light around it, and in its midst something like glowing metal in the midst of the fire.
Using Bass, Electric and Acoustic Guitars
Isaiah 38:20
The Lord will save me, and we will sing with stringed instruments all the days of our lives in the temple of the Lord.
Untrimmed Beards
Leviticus 19:27
Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.
Wearing Sandals and a T-shirt
Mark 6:9
Wear sandals but not an extra shirt.
As long as your congregation can overlook your lack of biblical knowledge, you should be set!
If not, either you will soon be enrolling in seminary courses or looking for another ministry. Either way, have your resume ready!
Do you have any other passages you would add to the list?
by Chase | Leadership
This week I have resolved to get back into my running and weight lifting habits. You all know how it is; life gets busy and three weeks pass by without taking a run.
I follow a weight lifting video program each morning. Having a structure already laid out helps me focus in on my goals and get back into the routine.
One thing that always frustrates me is when I am watching these videos being led by men who look like Greek gladiators start communicating that I can receive their results by following this 45 minute a day workout program.
Seriously bro?
I can become a 2 time Mr. Universe by exercising 45 minutes a day?
Get real!
I wish they would stop portraying that the life of a fitness guru is easy.
Stop minimizing the struggle!
The truth is that these men and women who create these programs have dedicated their lives to fitness.
Day in and day out they are counting calories, spending loads of time doing cardio, eating a restricted diet, prioritizing their exercise in the midst of work and family schedules, and focusing on proper rest.
There is nothing more frustrating to someone just starting to workout then when a seasoned athlete shares that they only work out for 45 minutes and still eat 4,000 calories and are in peak physical condition.
Once people realize that exercise takes work, they can feel isolated because for some reason they are the only one this is difficult for.
This got me thinking about how frustrating some Christians can be when they talk about the ease of their Christian walk.
It seems as if they never have doubts, never experience trails, and never run out of faith.
Other people will look at these saints and become discouraged because their lives are anything but easy and faith is hardly ever easy.
So they give up.
There are no quick tricks for sanctification. Following Jesus is difficult for everyone, because it is against out heart’s desires.
Galatians 5:17 says, “For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.”
Lets be careful of what we are communicating. Lets be real with our struggles.
No one is perfect. That is why we need Jesus.
The Christian life is far from easy. God is continually working on our pride, selfishness, and self-centeredness.
Living in authentic community will allow us opportunities to see how we are all far from perfect and how Jesus is sustaining all of us along the way.
Stop pretending following Jesus is easy. Our nature desires what is contrary to God’s Spirit. When we promote an ease of following Jesus, we discourage those who are struggling with spiritual disciplines. God gives us the ability to follow, but that doesn’t mean each step is an easy one.
Lets not minimize the faith and discipline required to follow Jesus.
by Chase | Student Min
As our summer student ministry schedule started an elderly man in our church approached me and said, “I hope you enjoy all of the vacations the church is paying for you to take this summer.”
How do you respond to this one!?
The only thing I could say is, “I will enjoy every minute of it! I’m praying that none of your grandchildren try to make out with another student while we are at the beach.”
Being a student pastor means you have a crazy schedule. Between the tags for events, retreats, emergencies, your own family schedule, and your church responsibilities your Google calendar looks like a rainbow threw up on it.
We would be naive to think this busyness is isolated to ministers – everyone is searching for a few more minutes to get things done.
In an effort to simplify our student and kid ministry calendars, I have re-visioned our key events – and dropped some of the non-essentials.
If we say our church wants to create environments for families to win, but expect them to spend every extra minute serving someone else’s kids, our families lose.
Doing less events often translates into more spiritual and numerical growth.
How we simplified our retreat/camp schedule
Our church said that the student ministry schedule was accomplishing a variety of ministry purposes, but when I took a closer look, I discovered that we over purposed each event. If a retreat was established to focus on fellowship we would also add in aspects to serve, evangelize, disciple, and leadership development. While all of these are needed in student ministry, they are not all needed in the same weekend! The event’s identity is lost, the students are confused, and the leaders are busying trying to make 20 things happen. But in the end, we were not doing many things well.
So, we asked 2 questions for each event:
- What is it’s purpose?
- Does it fit in our vision/mission?
This helped us to refocus, re-evaluate, and reschedule our student ministry calendar.
After many conversations we decided to implement the below schedule into our ministry. While this schedule works for our church and context, this might not work for you. Before you cut your schedule in half, make sure you are asking plenty of questions — you might be surprised which events need to stay on your calendar.
3 (Overnight) Camps Per Year
Spring – Discipleship Now
Purpose: Evangelism
Duration: 3 days/2 nights
(This is high energy and extremely welcoming for outsiders. This is by far our biggest event of the year.)
Summer – Summer Camp
Purpose: Discipleship
Duration: 5 days/4 nights
(Our summer camp schedule is divided into a beach camp for high schoolers and an adventure camp for middle schoolers.)
Fall – Fall Retreat
Purpose: Fellowship
Duration: 3 days/2 nights
(We have simplified even further and created a middle school only retreat while high schoolers attend a big one-day event in the fall.)
Bonus: International Mission Trip
Purpose: Mission/Service
Duration: 8 days/7 nights
(This is for middle and high school students. Typically limited to 25 total people. Because of the expense and distance, I tend to view this as a separate type of event.)
Every month we will add in a theme night, kickball tournament, or free food to keep momentum between events. This event schedule has allowed us to maximize our budget to create bigger, more focused events.
How do you organize your student ministry calendar?
by Chase | Leadership
The life of a Volunteer fan is not for the faint of heart! In the past decade the University of Tennessee’s athletic department has had it’s share of coaching changes, national championships, and scandals.
As a life-long UT fan, I have read every headline about our ups and downs.
And so far we have seen our share of second half lows.
A couple of weeks ago, our newly hyped up football team hosted the University of Oklahoma for a top 25 showdown here in Knoxville.
After an impressive start, the Vols were up 17-3 against the 17th ranked Sooners. Not a bad way to start the game! Tennessee made some important stops and played aggressively on offense.
Then the second half happened… If you are a UT your know the stress that hits you as they take the field during the second half!
As I tweeted after the game, Tennessee ended the game how Tennessee normally ends a game. (With a loss is the implied meaning.)
UT lost their lead, the Sooners forced overtime, then beat my beloved Volunteers in the 2OT.
Unfortunately, the same thing happened this weekend against the Florida Gators. Up 17-7 at halftime, UT ended up losing 28-27 on the road.
As upsetting as the losses are, there were a few turning points that dictated the outcome of the game.
Thinking about this game has made me realize that many churches and ministries have ministered the way Tennessee seemed to play in the second half – they were trying not to lose.
When churches minister with a “this has always worked” mentality, they end up missing out on opportunities to make an impact in their community.
This isn’t pitfall is not limited to established churches. Once you have a couple schedules under your belt, the temptation is to continue on with the way you have always done it — regardless if the community has shifted.
Churches must be willing to make sacrifices and take risks every now and again. Many churches encourage their members to faithfully follow God yet the church its self is unwilling to take a step of faith to reach their community.
So before your church or ministry ends up with disappointment and heartbreak, remember that the church was created for mission, not to maintain the status quo.
