by Clarence E. Stowers | May 26, 2009 | Christian, Christianity, Church Issues, Communication, Conference/Workshops, Current Affairs, Decisions, Empowerment, Leadership, Other Stuff, Politics, Vision
The North American Church is in decline and there are plenty of conferences offering their latest & greatest pitch to stop the church’s decline.
Each year we’re invited to hear “celebrity” pastors share God’s plan for the church and how we ought to adopt it and be large and successful like them. Frankly, I’m surprised that there hasn’t been a venue to really address how and why churches grow. Many pastors & church leaders make their annual pilgrimage to Saddleback, Willowcreek, North Point, Fellowship, New Birth, Greater St. Steven FGBC, The Potter’s House, etc. and come away excited and delusional with unrealistic expectations. Ed Stetzer of Lifeway calls it ministry pornography. According to Ed Stetzer:
“Ministry pornography is an unrealistic expectation of an experience you’re never going to have which distracts you from the real thing.”
God used these churches and their pastors for a specific time and in a specific place. Unfortunately, that experience is rarely duplicated. If you were to take the aforementioned churches and transplant them in other areas, the results would be drastically different. Can you imagine Bill Hybels, Rick Warren, or Andy Stanley leading an inner-city urban church? Or, can you see Bishop T.D. Jakes screaming “Get Ready…Get Ready…Get, Get, Ready” at Saddleback or North Point Church? Simply put, God rarely does the same thing twice.
May I Offer You A Few Suggestions to break your addiction to ministry porn:
- Confess your addiction to ministry pornography & repent!
- Do not attend any conferences for one year
- Get alone with your Bible, pen, & paper and discover God’s purpose for the church (read Matt. 22-37-40; 28:19-20, The Book of Acts)
- Get a demographic breakdown of your community (US Census Bureau or your local Chamber of Commerce).
- After discovering the purpose of the church, write down how your church plans to reach that community (this is the hard part). Make sure it’s less than a paragraph because people don’t like to read long statements.
- Preach/teach a series on God’s vision for the church and how you plan to fulfill it.
- Reorganize your church’s leaders, staff, volunteers, and structure (in that order)
- Evaluate & tweak your plan/strategy
So, what’s your next step? I’d love to hear it!
by Clarence E. Stowers | May 22, 2009 | Current Affairs, Decisions, Empowerment, Other Stuff, Relationships, Success
Everyone has made poor choices or done something in their past that could possibly be coined as “regrettable.” It’s easy to play the blame game, pointing fingers at someone else or circumstances as to why you have stumbled or why your life is difficult. Taking personal ownership that your past actions resulted in bringing about your currently reality is the first step to moving past regrets and moving toward a brighter future.
Here’s what I’d like for you to do:
ACKNOWLEDGE A MISTAKE HAS BEEN MADE
If your past actions or words have harmed another person an apology may be in order. Nobody is perfect and we all make mistakes. Continually berating yourself for past actions is self-defeating. Righting a wrong is not always feasible. If you feel badly about a past action, forgive yourself, others, and let it go and move on!
by Clarence E. Stowers | May 19, 2009 | College Life, Communication, Current Affairs, Decisions, Success
If you had a chance to go back and time redo life, would you? Everyone has made poor choices or done something in their past that could possibly be labeled as regrettable. But, think about it. The fact that you are now able to look back and realize that a mistake or mis-step occurred means you have learned a valuable lesson. Some of my choices may have landed me in unpleasant circumstances, but experiencing these things certainly built my current character. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for those character-building situations.
Mistakes are stepping stones to an evolving life.
If I had to live my life over again, I’d try to make more mistakes. Why? Mistakes give us experience which, in turn, makes us wiser.
If you had to live your life over again what 3 things would you change?
by Clarence E. Stowers | May 15, 2009 | Decisions, Other Stuff
Life has a way of rearranging your schedule without your permission.
First, allow me to apologize to my blog family for not posting in a while. I’ve been extremely busy setting up our community development corporation, pastoring, meetings, shuttling my children to their events, being a husband…you get the picture. So, I thought I’d start Monday’s post with a question everyone has thought about:
If you had to do it all over again…would you?
by Clarence E. Stowers | May 1, 2009 | Communication, Leadership, Other Stuff, Success, Technology, Tools
Currently, I serve as the Senior Pastor of the Mars Hill Baptist Church of Chicago. Contrary to what many believe, pastoring Mars Hill is more than preaching, counseling, and praying. Aside from my pastoral duties, it can be compared to running a small business.
Yesterday, I received a phone call regarding my productivity habits & tools, thoughts on computer hardware, life hacking, and advice for young pastors, entrepreneurs, and leaders. The questions are as follows:
What type of bag do you carry and why?
Currently, I carry a Tumi Laptop Briefcase. It’s the Alpha Expandable Leather Organizer Model. I know this bag is rather expensive, but, after carrying cheaper bags, it’s worth the investment. Tumi bags are always sleek, modern, stylish, and durable. The Alpha model is not exception, with its bold, black, streamlined look. It excelled at each challenge I set for it. Trust me, you’ll enjoy this bag for decades.
What’s In Your Tumi Bag?
- Apple MacBook (That’s right – no PC here)
- BlackBerry Storm (yep, dropped my iPhone until they work out a few kinks OR until it comes to Verizon)
- Amazon Kindle (this is the future of publishing – imagine carrying ONE DEVICE around campus that contains ALL your books. Personally, I like it, but, I don’t see myself giving up books).
- Moleskine Notebook (Journaling, capturing leadership moments, ideas/planning, etc).
- Chicago Tribune To Go (gotta know what’s happening in and around Chicago).
- Wall Street Journal (gotta stay connected with the world – especially the financial world).
- Leadership Journal (The #1 Journal for pastors & church leaders).
- Rev. Magazine (The best magazine for ministry application).
- Homiletics Journal (A must have for those who take preaching seriously).
- Expandable File Folder (My life is compartmentalized so I need folders to reflect that).
- Starbucks Mints (I believe in fresh breath & I carry them especially for others & offer them immediately).
- Levenger True Writer Obsidian Pencil (I use this pencil when I’m suited up & taking notes in professional settings).
- Levenger Executive Rollerball Pen (ditto).
- Levenger Pocket Brief (This time-tested leather notepad is the tool for taking good notes on the run, at presentations, and over lunch)
- G2 Pens (The G2’s are everyday writing pens that don’t bleed – honestly, in my opinion, they are the best writing pens on the market).
- Flip Digital Video Camcorder (You never know when something may happen).
- Reality Check by Guy Kawasaki (This book is a MUST HAVE for leaders – sorta like a desktop reference guide).
What gadgets do you use on a day-to-day basis?
I have such a crowded life and crowded schedule. When people send me a link with a gadget, I’ll look at it and buy it if it looks interesting, but I don’t have time to check out everything I’d like to. Currently, I use the following:
- BlackBerry Storm (I use it as a digital camera & voice recorder)
- Amazon Kindle
- Platronics Discovery 925 (My bluetooth earpiece)
- iPod Classic (My constant companion loaded w/many audiobooks, music, & podcasts)
What are you using to manage your email?
Currently, I use Apple Mail, but, lately I’ve grown fond of Gmail. It has an excellent spam filter and I can access it from any computer anywhere in the world.
What’s your web browser of choice?
My browser of choice is currently Firefox. I do not use Windows Explorer (WE) and may switch to Google Chrome (Mac Version). WE has too many security issues for me and I don’t like its current interface. If they improve WE with Windows 7, I may look at it again.
Do you have any questions that I didn’t cover?
