I have been wrestling with the topic of "ministry" for a while. I understand the need for church classes, training, courses, conferences and that sort of thing, but I feel like I am getting to the point where I am tired of being "equipped" and I just want to go be Jesus to people and "do" ministry.
Too often we take something simple and make it confusing and difficult. I have concern that if the church doesn't begin providing more opportunities for hands-on ministry where people can get into the world and give their lives away, then people will look elsewhere to serve. In fact, I think this is already happening. If I want to give money that I believe will impact people, I give to Kiva, not to the church. If I want to get involved in an organization that is really helping people, I work with To Write Love on Her Arms, not the church. What a shame. The church should be the greatest force of good in the world, but has instead become a club or a training center that equips but never sends.
I am greatly encouraged by a recent example of someone who decided to "do" ministry.
Jon Acuff started the popular blog, Stuff Christians Like and he now has one of the largest followings of any Christian website. A few months ago he decided to use his large readership to try and raise enough money to build a kindergarten in Vietnam and he ended up raising enough to build 2. After the success of that he decided to try and raise 10K in 24 hours that would go toward malaria nets in Uganda. He ended up raising $32,250. Because he wasn't satisfied with ordinary there are thousands of lives in Vietnam and Uganda that are being impacted. It's that simple. There was no training, no meetings, no ministry plan. Just someone who decided to use what he had to impact the world.
I am being greatly challenged with this in my own life. How can I do more? Who can I help? How can ministry become more organic and natural and less planned and processed?
Monday, October 18, 2010
Friday, October 1, 2010
Can You Relate?
This is a song from the "secular" band Never Shout Never. Can you relate to the lyrics? I know that I can.
I love the honesty and truthfulness in this song and I think that many people outside the church would agree with this.
Watch a video with the song lyrics: HERE
I love the honesty and truthfulness in this song and I think that many people outside the church would agree with this.
Watch a video with the song lyrics: HERE
Friday, September 17, 2010
"Must Read" post of the month...maybe the year
Tim Schraeder is the Director of Communications at Park Community Church in Chicago. In my opinion, he is probably the best voice in the modern church communications world. I enjoy his posts, but none as much as what he released today.
Have you ever read something, and as you read it something inside of you just cries out knowing that it is true? This was one of those moments for me. Every thought and feeling that I have had but was unable to put into words or blog posts, he said.
I have a passion for the local church and believe that no movement has the potential to impact our world like the church does. That being said, I see that changes need to be made in order for that to happen. We have an opportunity with today's generation to change "church as usual" and get back to what it's all about.
Read Tim's Post here: No One Cares About Your Church
Have you ever read something, and as you read it something inside of you just cries out knowing that it is true? This was one of those moments for me. Every thought and feeling that I have had but was unable to put into words or blog posts, he said.
I have a passion for the local church and believe that no movement has the potential to impact our world like the church does. That being said, I see that changes need to be made in order for that to happen. We have an opportunity with today's generation to change "church as usual" and get back to what it's all about.
Read Tim's Post here: No One Cares About Your Church
Friday, August 27, 2010
An Unexpected Bonus
I am over 2 weeks into the new job as Communications Director at ChangePoint and I am working on a longer post about my experiences so far, however I wanted to put this thought up now.
__________
One thing that I didn't expect about working at a church is the awesomeness of the "Staff Kitchen."
It seems like most days there is some type of food that is brought in for the staff. So far we have had brownies, cookies (several times), soup, chips & dip and lots of other stuff. As a church member I never thought about making delicious treats for the staff, however I am SO happy that there are people out there who are wired that way.
If you are a church staff goodie bringer, Thank You! Your delicious snacks are greatly appreciated.
__________
One thing that I didn't expect about working at a church is the awesomeness of the "Staff Kitchen."
It seems like most days there is some type of food that is brought in for the staff. So far we have had brownies, cookies (several times), soup, chips & dip and lots of other stuff. As a church member I never thought about making delicious treats for the staff, however I am SO happy that there are people out there who are wired that way.
If you are a church staff goodie bringer, Thank You! Your delicious snacks are greatly appreciated.
Friday, August 13, 2010
These people "get it"
Here is another great article about a group of people in Kentucky that are representing Jesus well.
My favorite quote from this article is
What a good reminder to all of us!
Read the article: HERE
.
My favorite quote from this article is
"The reason that so many people who are deep in sin don’t believe that God loves them is because God’s people (Christians) don’t love them.”
What a good reminder to all of us!
Read the article: HERE
.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Ch...Ch...Changes
In 8 hours I will make a phone call that will usher in some VERY big changes in my life.
In the morning I will call, and accept, the Communications Director position at my church, ChangePoint.
Weird.
So, how did this happen?
First, I have worked in the hotel / tourism industry for around 12 years (I'm only 30 years old). This is an industry that I love. It has provided well for my wife and I, and it has given me the opportunity to grow professionally, travel, and get amazing experience. However for some time I haven't felt much satisfaction in my job. All of the pieces were there, my hotels were doing amazing, business was flowing in and I was booking HUGE groups, but for some reason I wasn't happy there anymore. However, I had been in this industry for so long that a change just didn't seem realistic. It was almost too comfortable to leave where I was.
About a year ago I became heavily involved volunteering on the communications team at ChangePoint. I was handling Social Media projects and helping however I could and I loved it! I really enjoyed trying new ways of communicating and seeing people get connected! The past year we set up a hugely successful Facebook page (now over 1,300 strong), launched a weekly announcement video, and set up a presence on other Social Media sites like Twitter, YouTube & Vimeo. It was, and is, exciting to see the church try new things in the area of communications.
A few weeks ago I was made aware that the Communications Director position would be coming open because our current (AMAZING!) Director was moving on to a position with a para-church organization.
My initial reaction to the position was "no" - I think that it was mostly due to the uncomfortableness of change and the fact that the position seemed so BIG to me, plus, it was at a CHURCH!?
I tried to dismiss the position and figured that I would just keep volunteering with whoever the new Communications Director was. However this position kept coming back around. It seemed like every time we were at church for about a 2 week period someone would come and ask me about the position. It became so frequent that I finally realized that I needed to at least pray and consider this position. I began discussing this with my wife and friends and the more I thought about it the more excited I got.
Somewhere along the way I went from "thinking" to "dreaming" - I began dreaming of what it could look like. What if a church could really, effectively communicate with people. Not just "church people" but all people. What if a church could communicate in such a way that no matter where in the world you are, you can stay connected with your church. The more I began to dream, the more excited I got. I quickly realized that these dreams could actually become realities in this position.
Our church is large and very mobile. On any given weekend around 1/3 of our "church family" is not there. In the summer they are fishing, hiking and camping and in the winter they are skiing, vacationing and snowmachining, not to mention our family members who work 1/2 the year in the North Slope oil fields and the large military demo that we have can often be deployed overseas. Because of the transient nature of our church we have an opportunity to do something very unique. We can build our communications in such a way that anyone, anywhere can stay connected with us. How awesome is that? It can be so much more than just creating and printing bulletins, it can be using technology in creative ways to connect and communicate with people.
That gets me excited.
So, I decided to apply.
The interview went great and I felt pretty good about the position, I heard back quickly and this morning they made me an offer.
After talking it over with my wife one final time we have decided that I should accept the position.
Starting soon I will be stepping into a totally new role with totally new challenges and I am totally excited about it.
Along the way I got a lot of feedback from people. One quote really sticks out - "The worst part of working for a church, is working for a church" - I have no pipe dreams that it will be prayer, puppies and praise all of the time. I am aware of the challenges that come along with it, however, isn't the upside far greater?
Worst case scenario is that I get burned and used by the church, it turns out terribly and I lose my job.
Best case scenario is that people get communicated with, connected to, and transformed by God.
Isn't the risk worth it? Despite all of my faults and screw-ups God never gave up on me and I don't want to give up on the church because of theirs.
So, I'm moving forward with this, trusting God that He is big enough to handle anything that happens. I am excited to use my gifts and talents in a new way, and perhaps I am most looking forward to watching dreams become reality.
Thanks for reading.
- Adam
In the morning I will call, and accept, the Communications Director position at my church, ChangePoint.
Weird.
So, how did this happen?
First, I have worked in the hotel / tourism industry for around 12 years (I'm only 30 years old). This is an industry that I love. It has provided well for my wife and I, and it has given me the opportunity to grow professionally, travel, and get amazing experience. However for some time I haven't felt much satisfaction in my job. All of the pieces were there, my hotels were doing amazing, business was flowing in and I was booking HUGE groups, but for some reason I wasn't happy there anymore. However, I had been in this industry for so long that a change just didn't seem realistic. It was almost too comfortable to leave where I was.
About a year ago I became heavily involved volunteering on the communications team at ChangePoint. I was handling Social Media projects and helping however I could and I loved it! I really enjoyed trying new ways of communicating and seeing people get connected! The past year we set up a hugely successful Facebook page (now over 1,300 strong), launched a weekly announcement video, and set up a presence on other Social Media sites like Twitter, YouTube & Vimeo. It was, and is, exciting to see the church try new things in the area of communications.
A few weeks ago I was made aware that the Communications Director position would be coming open because our current (AMAZING!) Director was moving on to a position with a para-church organization.
My initial reaction to the position was "no" - I think that it was mostly due to the uncomfortableness of change and the fact that the position seemed so BIG to me, plus, it was at a CHURCH!?
I tried to dismiss the position and figured that I would just keep volunteering with whoever the new Communications Director was. However this position kept coming back around. It seemed like every time we were at church for about a 2 week period someone would come and ask me about the position. It became so frequent that I finally realized that I needed to at least pray and consider this position. I began discussing this with my wife and friends and the more I thought about it the more excited I got.
Somewhere along the way I went from "thinking" to "dreaming" - I began dreaming of what it could look like. What if a church could really, effectively communicate with people. Not just "church people" but all people. What if a church could communicate in such a way that no matter where in the world you are, you can stay connected with your church. The more I began to dream, the more excited I got. I quickly realized that these dreams could actually become realities in this position.
Our church is large and very mobile. On any given weekend around 1/3 of our "church family" is not there. In the summer they are fishing, hiking and camping and in the winter they are skiing, vacationing and snowmachining, not to mention our family members who work 1/2 the year in the North Slope oil fields and the large military demo that we have can often be deployed overseas. Because of the transient nature of our church we have an opportunity to do something very unique. We can build our communications in such a way that anyone, anywhere can stay connected with us. How awesome is that? It can be so much more than just creating and printing bulletins, it can be using technology in creative ways to connect and communicate with people.
That gets me excited.
So, I decided to apply.
The interview went great and I felt pretty good about the position, I heard back quickly and this morning they made me an offer.
After talking it over with my wife one final time we have decided that I should accept the position.
Starting soon I will be stepping into a totally new role with totally new challenges and I am totally excited about it.
Along the way I got a lot of feedback from people. One quote really sticks out - "The worst part of working for a church, is working for a church" - I have no pipe dreams that it will be prayer, puppies and praise all of the time. I am aware of the challenges that come along with it, however, isn't the upside far greater?
Worst case scenario is that I get burned and used by the church, it turns out terribly and I lose my job.
Best case scenario is that people get communicated with, connected to, and transformed by God.
Isn't the risk worth it? Despite all of my faults and screw-ups God never gave up on me and I don't want to give up on the church because of theirs.
So, I'm moving forward with this, trusting God that He is big enough to handle anything that happens. I am excited to use my gifts and talents in a new way, and perhaps I am most looking forward to watching dreams become reality.
Thanks for reading.
- Adam
Thursday, July 8, 2010
"Cancer is the best thing that happened to me"
Here is the video of Zac Smith's story. Zac passed away on May 16, 2010, but his story will live on.
While watching this video I was challenged by this thought: Here is a man that battled cancer, yet was able to find the strength and the faith to remain positive. Why is it that I let much smaller things derail me? It is so easy to let small, insignificant things get us frustrated and off track.
I hope that the next time my light and momentary troubles are getting me down, I can remember Zac and know that there is a God who is far bigger than anything I am dealing with.
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