Pastor Mike's Weblog

Bible Studies for Life Sunday School Commentary for October 1, 2006

In a culture of relative truth, people often feel that it doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you believe something. As Christians, what we believe is vital because God’s Word is our standard of belief. Believers avoid the dangers of a shipwrecked faith by grounding their faith in the gospel of grace.

Today is the annual student-led prayer observance called See You At The Pole. Students all over the nation, and indeed the world, gathered around their school's flagpole before school hours and prayed together. Here in Chester County students gathered at each school along with parents, staff, and church ministers to pray for our students and schools. I personally visited the Jr. High and High School and was blessed to see students taking a stand and publicly praying. The high school turnout was, according to our principal Troy Kilzer II, the largest gathering in his memory. Approximately 80 students and many parents and church staff ministers gathered in groups to pray and then held hands around the flagpole to pray. Perhaps what impressed me the most was seeing a large circle of school faculty holding hands and praying together. Praise the Lord for Christian teachers. This was noticably absent at the Jr. High.

SYATP is a student-led prayer event organized and ran by the students themselves. Parents, faculty, and any other interested guests are welcome to participate, but cannot lead the event. It is a real blessing to see so many students coming out to pray with one another for their school, regardless of what church they attend or even if they do not attend church. What a powerful witness to the entire community as they drove past the schools today and saw students gathered around flagpoles with their heads bowed, obviously praying.

Here in Chester County the churches are sponsoring an event for SYATP at the High School tonight at 6:45 PM. There will be music, free food, fun, and of course, prayer for our schools. At our church, Bethel Baptist, we are hosting a SYATP prayer event for kids in grades 1-6 at 7:00 PM. We will pray for each school in the county and their teachers and students. Join us if you are in the area.

For more information about See You At the Pole and prayer for our schools visit: www.syatp.com. For more information about Chester County, TN, schools visit: www.chestercountyschools.org.

New research is available from the North American Mission Board (SBC) concerning the evangelization of children, and the results indicate there is work to be done. Read the results of this research here. A complete 6-page report of the research can be found at the bottom of that page in a PDF file. It contains graphs that show some suprising information regarding the effectiveness of the most popular children's programming used in our churches. How evangelistic are our children's ministries? The research points out that a strong evangelistic emphasis in children's ministry is more dependant upon personnel than programming. To quote from the research itself: "Thus the key to effective children’s evangelism is not dependent so much on the particular program or number of programs, but on the quality of that program and the trained people behind it."However, some programs naturally lend themselves toward evangelism.

Out of 300 churches surveyed, churches of all sizes that were effective in children's evangelism, Vacation Bible School was the number one program used.

There's more. Consider the following summary statement taken directly from the research:

What's the Best Strategy?
From our research among Southern Baptist churches, there is no "silver bullet" -no best way that fits all churches. The keys to a successful children's evangelism strategy are not found in its programming, but rather in encouraging pastors with vision; supportive church budgets; solid biblical training in evangelism for workers, parents, and children; and high-quality intentional approaches that do not overburden volunteers, yet include parents in the process. Churches with high children's baptisms are teaching us a few things-and we ought to listen, for the sake of our churches and for the sake of our children.

I submit that VBS neatly fits into that maxim. When pastors become passionate about reaching the lost and lead their churches to be passionate as well; when churches budget generously for VBS programming; when solid evangelism training is provided for every VBS worker; when counselors are trained and equipped; and when an effective follow-up plan is constructed and implemented, VBS outshines every other method for event evangelism. And further, VBS provides a platform for funneling families into the connecting ministries of our churches.

Consider the possibilities:

• Workers volunteer for a set time-commitment, so worker recruitment is much simpler.
• Most associations provide free training for every facet of VBS, so worker training is provided.
• VBS includes various learning environments which enables people of varying talents and/or skills to fit into a place of service.
• VBS curriculum is offered from preschool through adults, providing a comprehensive family-centered evangelistic opportunity.
• VBS is highly flexible and customizable for every size church. In addition, Lifeway offers two VBS lines specifically designed for larger or smaller churches. Each is customizable for both large or small church settings and budgets.
• THE BOTTOM LINE: Lifeway consistently reports that between 25% and 33% of all baptisms in the SBC are a direct result of VBS. Estimates soar much higher when one considers that many who are saved in our churches have been brought into contact with us because of VBS. VBS WORKS!!!

Check out both VBS curriculum lines and see which one fits the needs of your church.

http://www.lifeway.com/vbs

Bible Studies for Life Sunday School Commentary for September 24, 2006

Pass on the Baton   Joshua 24:1-31

A popular directive says, "Do as I say and not as I do." This is not to say that verbal instruction has no value but that mere words without confirming action are of very little value. People will follow a leader when he or she authenticates a word of command by a life of example. God is looking to develop leaders that dare to blaze a trail of obedience. Joshua modeled this kind of leadership.

I recently finished reading "Simple Church" by Dr. Thom Rainer and Dr. Eric Geiger (see the link to the book on Amazon.com in the sidebar to the left). I must say that much of what they say makes perfect sense, all the research notwithstanding. Of course, their research is clearly presented in the book and is undeniable; simple is better. It has challenged me to examine our church and ministry process and ask some serious questions. I posed a question toour ministry staff that we will ponder and discuss together at our next staff meeting. Here is the question (or assignment):

"Describe our current ministry process for making disciples."

We have had a few e-mails back and forth since then with good questions and indicating that this question has made the wheels turn.

I recommend the book, and more importantly, the simple process it advocates. Now, to implement it......

Read the following report from the Leadership Development Subcommittee of the International Mission Board, given at this week's trustee meeting. Some comments of mine follow.

Leadership Development Subcommittee
Interim Report to the Overseas Committee
September 12, 2006


Backgound

In response to concerns raised, the IMB established in February 2004 three subcommittees within the Overseas Committee. The Board charged one of these, the Leadership Development Subcommittee, to review and monitor leadership development issues. This Leadership Development Subcommittee was to do its work in conjunction with appropriate IMB staff. What follows are the description and responsibilities of this Subcomittee:

(1). Subcomittee Description

The Leadership Development Subcommittee of the Overseas Committee works closely with the Associate Vice-President for Leadership and Ministries Development. The Subcommittee meets on an "as needed" basis to review leadership training issues, including (but not limited to) Field Personnel Orientation, Stateside Assignment Conferences, and International Centre for Excellence in Leadership

(2). Subcommittee Responsibilities

a. As representatives of the Overseas Committee and the larger body of trustees, Subcommittee members will become especially knowledgeable about the board's strategies and the leadership training prcesses that support those strategies.

b. Subcommittee members serve as a bridge between the larger body of trustees and these important staff functions. Trustee members should bring to the Subcommittee questions or concerns about leadership training. Likewise, Subcommittee members should assist staff in communicating with the larger trustee body about the board's rationale and approaches to leadership training.

This particular interim report focuses on Field Personnel Orientation at the International Learning Center. Further study may be appropriate for the other elements of ongoing leadership development.

Summary Conclusions

(1). For the past two years the Leadership Development Subcommittee looked at the programs of training offered at the ILC. The conclusion of this study is that the programs are sound theologically. This includes but is not limited to missiology and ecclesiology.

(2). There is adherence to biblical parameters as expressed in the Baptist Faith and Message 2000. IMB staff is cognizant of and compliant with the SBC/IMB positions on such issues as ecclesiology and the role of women in ministry.

(3). There is a healthy cooperative relationship between these training programs and the larger Southern Baptist theological training system.

(a). The IMB participates in an annual consortium with six SBC seminaries and Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary. This keeps all parties abreast of concerns, trends, needs and developments in the field of missions. The IMB is represented at these meetings by both staff and trustee attendees.

(b). SBC seminary professors cooperate with IMB staff as regular lecturers at the ILC.

(c). SBC seminaries partner with the IMB in their established 2X2 programs and newer programs such as the MATSIL program at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. This program grants master level credit for studies done at ILC as a part of the requirements for said degree.

(4). While the ILC training processes are not exhaustive, they are healthy, growing, and effective.

Word of Commendation

Ron Wilson, Associate Vice-President of the Leadership and Ministries Development Department, and Elbert Smith, Director of Field Personnel at the ILC were both very cordial and cooperative. They were responsive to the inquiries of the Subcommittee and forthcoming with all requests for information. The IMB staff gives every indication of being anxious to respond to Trustee inquiries and input.

**********End of Report

Pay close attention to the Interim Report listed above. As we all know, it was Paige Patterson and Keith Eitel of then SEBTS and now SWBTS who charged there was inadequate theological and missiological training for our missionaries. Since the trustees of the IMB have studied those charges and found them to be completely unfounded, should we not have an apology from Eitel and Patterson for the inaccuracy of their charges and the way they were made? As I recall, Jerry Rankin stated they had not come to him with questions and given him a chance to respond. Instead Patterson, as president of one SBC entity, sent a letter to each trustee of another entity criticizing the work and leadership of that entity. 

A person posting a comment about this on another blog gave the following suggestion: "I think that John Floyd (current IMB trustee chairman) and Jeff Ginn (Leadership Development subcommittee chairman) should ask for a response from these two gentlemen and give them a chance to voice their disagreement or apologize."

That, I submit, is a pretty good idea.

Follow the link below and check out the promotional sermon materials for Lifeway's 2007 VBS "GAME DAY CENTRAL: Where Heores Are Made". Click on the VBS logo to go to the main VBS web site.

http://vbs.lifeway.com/vbs2007/yourvbs/news_readmore.aspx?id=415

I endured a few hours of waiting today for a regular checkup and am able to deliver the following news - THERE IS STILL NO CANCER! My next chekup is in December with a CAT scan to follow in January. I appreciate everyone's prayers through this experience.

Also, Aaron has experienced some low-grade fevers and an almost constant runny nose since beginning liquids, so we are thickening his liquids again. He does fine with solid food, just the liquids are presenting a small problem. We still do not have to pump anything; it all goes in by mouth. We would appreciate your prayers for this matter, also. The longer this persists, the longer we have to keep his 2nd belly button in place. When all signs of problems are completely gone, they will remove it.

Thanks for the prayers and expressions of concern from many of you!

Bible Studies for Life Sunday School Commentary for September 17, 2006

The Agony of Defeat  Joshua 7:1-26

No individual or group lives life with an unbroken succession of victories. Our fallen nature guarantees failure from time to time, even those of us who have come to faith in Christ and who are led and empowered by His Spirit. The question is not whether we can or will fall but what we will do in the wake of failure. Will we permit failure to derail us and render us useless for service in Christ's Kingdom, or will we confess our failure, put it behind us, learn from it and go on to achieve victory in the next set of challenges?

Joash: Almost Revival  2 Kings 12:1-12:18

In June of 1995, after years of planning and research costing multiple billions of dollars, the space shuttle Discovery was scheduled to launch for the first of seven missions which would rendezvous with the Russian Space station Mir, in preparation for the launch of the International space station in 1997. The date had been carefully chosen, weather conditions were favorable but strange noises were coming from Launch Pad 39-B, and upon investigation technicians discovered about six dozen holes in the insulating covering of the main external fuel tank.

All of the complex planning and high-priced preparation were useless as the mission ground to a halt because a family of woodpeckers decided that the Space Shuttle looked like a good place to live.