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 | 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.
by Clarence E. Stowers | Apr 13, 2009 | Christian, Christianity, Church Issues, Current Affairs, Music, Preaching, Religion, Vision, Worship
Sunday services are over, but, my mind is STILL spinning…
- I honestly feel that this weekends services were the most amazing services we’ve ever had since I became pastor in 1999.
- Our total church attendance was over 2,500 for the first time in the history of our church!
- I preached about God’s historical bailouts & (The Full Coverage Plan, The “I AM” Plan, The Provision Plan) & closed with The Greatest Bailout that ever happened – The Resurrection Plan!
- Our NEW & IMPROVED Video Venue Service had over 220 for the first time today! I want to thank all the ushers, greeters, deacons, ministers, and security who served in our Video Venue – YOU ARE SIMPLY THE BEST!
- Our 100-voice choir was OFF THE CHAIN as they slammed Donald Lawrence’s “Matthew 28.”
- Honestly, I believe Mars Hill has the best Worship & Fine Arts Ministry – PERIOD! There are churches with larger ministries & celebrity musicians & personalities. However, I’ll take our anointing over any celebrity!
- Folks…what happened yesterday at our church IS NOT NORMAL…it wasn’t a “nice service”…it was a move of God! I’ve honestly never been a part of something like what happened today…and it’s only the beginning.
- Religion is all about what we do to get to God…Christianity is all about what God did to get to us!
- THAT is one of the problems with church today…we’ve became “normal” when the call of Christ on our lives is to change the world-“normal” people can’t do that!
- We will continue this series on Sunday…expecting/praying for God to do amazing things AGAIN!
AND…to My Mars Hill Family…a personal note…
Reality is this…satan got his butt kicked this weekend! Hell is going to be less crowded! People crossed over from death to life. The way a community is changed is by the church preaching AND living the Gospel…and I believe we are going to continue to see Jesus do the unexplainable and undeniable…and we, His church, will continue to become unstoppable!
He’s alive-we win…now all we need to do is continually run up the score!!!
I LOVE you guys…I LOVE our church…I LOVE serving here…there is NOTHING ELSE on the planet I would rather do! I’m bought in!!!
I can’t wait to see what happens next!
by Clarence E. Stowers | Apr 9, 2009 | Christian, Christianity, Church Issues, Communication, Politics, Preaching, Vision, Worship
Free-wheeling capitalism has always been the heart of the US Economy but the recent $700 billion bailout, a level of government intervention not seen since the Great Depression, is hardly unprecedented. Historically, the Federal Government has not only taken stakes in banks, steel mills, and coal mines but have even seized control of everything from railways to savings and loans. Unfortunately, when it comes to you and I, we would be hard pressed to make their list. Consequently, If you STILL believe the government will bail you out – think again!
As Believers, we’ve already received our bailout!
So what does the bailout mean for me? The word power occurs 57 times in the New Testament. It is a word used to describe the most powerful bailout that ever happened, an event that separated A.D. from B.C. That event was the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Consequently, that resurrection power is available to change your life! So, please join us this Easter at the Mars Hill Baptist Church and experience a heartfelt worship experience coupled with a timely Word from God. Additionally, we will unveil our “new & improved” video venue which is additional worship experience using video technology to reproduce our live worship experience.
Easter Weekend Schedule
Good Friday
Friday, April 10, 2009
12 Noon & 6:30PM
Easter
Sunday, April 12, 2009
8:00 AM & 10:30 AM (Live)
8:00 AM & 10:30 AM (Video Venue)
by Clarence E. Stowers | Mar 25, 2009 | Bible Journey, Christianity, Religion, Vision
The Preacher & The Atheist
Trevor (not his actual name) says that he is “currently” an atheist. However, he says “he is open to the possibility that he may learn something that will change his mind.” Trevor and I currently work out together and he calls me the only “Christian” he likes. “Why,” I ask? His reply: “You walk the walk, you’re down to earth, you’re funny, a cool person, and your goal is not to convert me, but to be friends with me. That’s what I like about you.” For the record, Atheism is the view that God does not exist and it is not a new development. Psalm 14:1, written by David in around 1000 B.C., mentions atheism: “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.'” Recent statistics show an increasing number of people becoming atheists, with up to 10% of people worldwide declaring themselves to be adherents of atheism. Trevor is an associate professor at the University of Chicago (whose workload includes classes on comparative religion, anthropology, and philosophy), a husband, and the father of three children. He is also a poet and an author. Trevor’s father is a retired professor who is also an atheist. His mother is a classically trained violinist and a lifelong seeker of truth. Last week I asked Trevor to attend one of our worship services and he did (I’ll post what he said about attending Mars Hill – EYE OPENING). In turn, he asked that I attend a lecture with him at the University (I’ll share my experience – EYE OPENING). Of course, I agreed. Before we agreed to attend each other’s events, we made an agreement:
We will do this only if we remain open minded with each other. We both agreed.
Here’s what’s on my mind:
“What would you say to Trevor since he’s “open” to the possibility that he may learn something to change his mind?”
by Clarence E. Stowers | Feb 4, 2009 | Book Reviews, Communication, Empowerment, Leadership, Success, Vision
With 2009 destined to be a tough year for a lot of people, I thought now would be the perfect time to review Marcus Buckingham's book , The Truth About You which aims to empower you to enjoy higher satisfaction and performance in life and work.
If you are someone who still is not sure what to do with your life, then this is probably a great book for you to pick up. It includes a DVD, the book and a notepad, all of which make for a very interactive experience. If you are already in tune with your strengths and how you want to spend your life, and you are one of the 2 out of 10 people Marcus mentions that get to play to their strengths at work, then there are still some solid nuggets in the book for you as well.
The book discusses how successful people can build their dream jobs. The philosophy of the book revolves around 3 myths that hold you back from building your own dream job.
"Your strengths aren't what you're good at, and your weaknesses aren't what you're bad at."
“When it comes to the job, the 'what' always trumps the 'why' or the 'who'."
“You'll never turn your weaknesses into strengths.”
It also explains the differences in your strengths versus your weaknesses in a way that you probably have not thought about. Ensuing chapters provide 5 pieces of advice (a chapter for each) to stay on your strength path and succeed in both work and life.
In short, if you're really yearning to discover more about your strengths or weaknesses, give this book a try. Pick the book up and read it. Then give it away to a young person preparing for a new career path. And then treat yourself to a new copy.
To read the first 12 pages click “read” on the widget below:
Disclaimer: I was given this book by the publisher, Thomas Nelson, as part of a program for book reviewers, but given no direction to follow nor compensation for this review.
