by Clarence E. Stowers | Jun 3, 2009 | Christian, Christianity, Church Issues, Communication, Politics, Prayer, Vision
The longer I serve as pastor of a thriving church, the more I realize how VITAL prayer is! Prayer is the link to a vibrant and fruitful ministry.
What if God granted you an opportunity to go back in time and speak to the wisest people who ever lived (people such as Moses, Apostle Paul, Solomon, Sojourner Truth, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and Fredrick Douglass)? However, once you reached your destination, you sat at their feet and proceeded to do all the talking? Would it be a worthwhile endeavor? Did the aforementioned people need to know all you had to say? Upon leaving would you wish you had talked less and listened more? Incredibly, many people enter God’s holy presence in prayer and then do all the talking!
What God has to say to us is infinitely more important that what we have to say to Him, yet we generally monopolize the conversation. God already knows everything we plan to tell Him, yet we continue talking rather than allowing Him to tell us things we don’t know. Why? Our American individualist mindset tricks us to believe that we can dominate our conversation with God. Prayer is two-way communication, but it is not communication between two equal parties.
Tonight (7PM) we’ll gather @ the Mars Hill Baptist Church for our 1st Wednesday Worship. This worship experience allows us to spend more time worshipping God and listening to the Word. During tonight’s service, I will pose 5 Questions that will revolutionize the prayer lives of those in attendance. The questions are as follows:
- What is Prayer (the definition may surprise you)?
- Why Pray (it’s not what you think)?
- To Whom Do We Pray (is it God, Jesus, or The Holy Spirit)?
- What Do God’s Answers Look Like (it’s more than, “God give me a sign”)?
- What If There Is Silence?
Please come and join us!
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 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 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?
by Clarence E. Stowers | Apr 28, 2009 | Apple/Mac, Books, Church Issues, Communication, Computers
Microsoft recently released a jaw-dropping video based on some of the their current research projects. All I can say is OH MY GOODNESS! These technologies will dramatically change your world and mine. The video is less than two minutes long and will give you a clear vision for what awaits us within the next ten years!
As Jonathan Crossfield explains, “These ideas are not science fiction but are just around the corner. It shows how far things will change in just a few short years and the ramifications for consumer behaviour are massive.” As an urban pastor who’s technically saavy, I openly ponder if pastors/church leaders will be able to lead this technically saavy generation.
How will the church (and it’s leaders) will need to change in order to be successful? I would love to hear what you or your church is currently doing to prepare for tomorrow.
This post was inspired by Michael Hyatt © 2009, Michael S. Hyatt.
All rights reserved. Originally published at www.michaelhyatt.com.
by Clarence E. Stowers | Apr 15, 2009 | Church Issues, Communication, Decisions, Empowerment, Money and Finance, Politics, Success, Vision
“It was the best of times, the worst of times…”
The opening sentence of A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens, referring to the time of the French Revolution describes the economic reality of today. The question that’s on everyone’s mind, but, seldom asked is: How are you doing? The answer depends on your individual circumstances, of course – but also on your perspective. The glass is either half full or half empty for many of us today. This morning when I woke up, my first emotion was profound gratitude. Even though my financial worth had been decimated by the events of the last three months, I realized that nothing could touch the things that are most valuable to me.
I also realized that I have a choice: I can focus on what I have lost or I can focus on what I have. I started making a mental list:
- I have my health.
- I have a loving wife, who is also my best friend
- I have three wonderful children. “I am particularly fond of each of them,” as Papa says in The Shack.
- I have several profound friendships that encourage and challenge me.
- I have meaningful work that I would do even if I wasn’t getting paid.
- I have incredibly competent co-workers whom I truly love and respect.
- I have a church that grows dearer to me with each passing year.
- I have a relationship with God that is endlessly fascinating and fulfilling.
And the list goes on. I could name a hundred more things, but you get the idea.
My guess is that the Economic Downturn is going to get worse (I pray I’m wrong) before it gets better. You and I have very little control over what happens in the external environment. But we do have control over what happens inside our hearts. It all depends on our mental focus.
Question:
What do you have that the Economic Downturn can’t touch?
FYI – I want to thank my friends from Facebook for sharing their tips. If you would like to read more, please click here.
