Catalyst Session 4: Francis Chan

Francis Chan is a pastor of a church in So. Cal.

It is actually possible to be successful preacher and have a growing church--and not really love the people of your church. It is also possible to be successful outwardly and not really be in love with Jesus.

In the early days of my faith I had a deep passion for people, the lost friends in my high school, the people that I worked with in the Mexican Restaurant I worked at. I had a huge love for God and for people...and then I got into ministry.

And I am constantly fighting to keep this from becoming just a job. I am working hard to be aware of the tendency I have to drift away from the core of what this is all about.

Paul talks in Galatians of how God had selected him to be used by Him from birth. This thing we do is not something we should treat casually. God ordained us into His service. He has filled our bodies with the very Spirit of God that raised Jesus from the dead! That is some serious power!

So do you really speak and serve out of that reality?

Jeremiah 1:4 tells us that Jeremiah was known by God BEFORE he was even formed in the womb. So God knew us before he actually created us. In verse 5 he goes on to say that...before birth I had selected Jeremiah to be a prophet.

Does God really think that about me? Did he really have this specific a destiny for me even before I was conceived? Do you really believe that God wanted you hear on this earth because He had a design for you so important and so essential that only you could fulfill?

Jeremiah's response to this knowledge was...'I don't think I can? I don't really talk that well.' But God rebuked him and told him that he was not to doubt himself or refuse to go out of fear.

At the end of the day, we have to not only believe that we are uniquely designed and called by God, we also have to do the very unique thing God designed us to do. It's fine to learn from other successful pastors and churches, but we need to get back to the place where we get alone with God and listen for the unique and specific things God wants you to do in your context.

And just in case Jeremiah didn't get the point of God's call, listen to what God says in v. 17:
Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them.

Question: Am I really ready to say whatever Jesus called me to say? Jeremiah was called to say some very difficult things. Are you willing to say WHATEVER Jesus calls you to say?

Jesus did not build a popular ministry. He challenged people to pick up their cross and follow. The large crowds found His sayings so hard that they departed from Him. If Jesus had a church in the same city as me, I would probably have a bigger ministry. People would leave his church and come to mine because He would say much more challenging things that I tend to say.

I don't want to present to Jesus a lukewarm church of a bunch of people who sort of love Jesus. I want to present a 'bride' of people in my local church that are passionate radical followers who are willing to give up everything to please Him. I could spend my life for that. Building a big building or a big crowd, what good is that?

I want to build a BRIDE for Jesus. I want to fulfill the complete mission and destiny that I was born to fulfill. I want to live up to the capabilities of the Holy Spirit that is alive within my soul. I don't want to do the typical thing, or the thing people expect me to do. I want to do what Jesus has for my life.

Catalyst Session 3: Unchristian

Session three launched with a discussion about a new book that is out called UNCHRISTIAN. It is a documentation of how the current culture views Evangelical Christians.

• Young people ages 16-29 are 8x more likely to have a negative view of Christians than did their Boomer parents.
• Their views were shaped not as much by the media as by their personal experiences. The majority surveyed had been in a church for at least six months and at some point have considered becoming Christians.
• The over-riding idea is not so much that we are resented for our righteousness but rather for our self-righteousness.

This is a book that I will not only read, but I think should be read by as many believers as possible so that we can understand the challenge we are dealing with in reaching the next generation.

After that Shane Claiborne who leads a ministry in Philadelphia shared his vision for following Jesus who was never cornered by political or religious expectations. Shane was an intern both at Willow Creek and for a time under Mother Theresa. A very unique guy.

His life and ministry to the poor and broken in Philly was very challenging. I wish I could convey in my words more about his spirit (one of those things that you just to be present to absorb).

Catalyst Conference Session 2: Patrick Lencioni

Blogger's Note: Lencioni is a great leadership author. One of my favorite books of his is called DEATH BY MEETING.

Isn't it interesting that many of the popular TV shows of the past (Happy Days, Seinfeld, Friends), they rarely showed people at work. Even in church, we rarely think about or refer to our life at work.

Job misery is something that effects every social level and every type of profession. No job is a perfect job. So how do we address our work life? What can we do to help people find greater fulfillment and meaning in their jobs?

Samuel Johnson: People need to be reminded more than they need to be instructed.

THREE SIGNS OF A MISERABLE JOB (...or a miserable church member):

1 - Anonymity - going to work and feeling like you aren't known. All human beings have a need to be known, so when we feel like no one cares enough to know us, we feel we are missing something important.

Sometimes in the interview process potential employees are sold with warmth on a great work environment. Then after beginning the job, there is a huge disconnect. Important moments happen for employees (births, deaths, etc) and no one seems to care.

When it happens in a church, it is particularly painful because the expectations are higher for a church (especially a church staff).

If we don't care about the people we manage, we shouldn't be a manager.

Why don't we do this? It is intuitive. It should be a no-brainer. It might be busyness. It might be a lack of our own sense of value. We don't understand that we have importance and influence to them. Sometimes we feel like it might be disingenuous because you have never asked about them before.

#2 - Irrelevance - people that don't feel they are making a difference have a deep sense of insignificance.

We as leaders need to be constantly remind people of the difference they are making in the company or in the lives of others. Identifying for people their role and reminding them of how valuable it is brings great meaning and purpose to their existence.

Why wouldn't we want every waitress, janitor, church usher, or minister to know what a huge difference they are making in our lives?

#3 - Immeasurement - people need to measure for themselves how they are doing. If you don't know how you are doing, and you don't know how to track it, you tend to feel a bit hopeless and out of control.

Often sales people like their jobs because they always know where they stand. We all have a need to measure.

We need to measure what is is we do that is relevant? What do we do to assess our effectiveness?

Good management is actually good ministry. Helping people feel valuable can be one of the biggest impacts on their lives.

Live Blogging At Catalyst Conference

I am attending the Catalyst Conference on Thursday and Friday (Oct 4-5). I will be blogging live from the sessions. You can read the notes from Andy Stanley's first session here.

More posts to come...

Wednesday Morning, October 3, 2007, Penn-Del Minister’s Enrichment – H.B. London

Moral Failure in the Pastor's Life
Why does pastoral moral failure occur?
· Fatigue and Burn-out. You are depleted of energy, and you need something to fill you up.
· Carelessness. You allow yourself to slip in very subtle areas.

Three things observed in every pastoral failure –
1. Very limited time alone with God.
2. Unresolved conflicts at home.
3. No one holding them accountable.

Other observations noted in pastoral failure -
· An over-abundance of pastoral counseling. Pastors must have a good referral system – people who you can refer your parishioners to who are better than you are at counseling. This is no indication of weakness on your part.
· Spiritual burn-out. When you see the same people, saying the same things, with the same problems, and you begin to wonder if anything ever will change. You keep getting beat down, and you spiritually burn out.
· Loneliness and isolation. Pastors and/or their spouses feel isolated and underappreciated. You seek affirmation in other places, and this leaves you vulnerable.

Ephesians 5:3 – let there not even be a hint of immorality. We need to put on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6)

· The inability or unwillingness to identify areas of weakness. We need to do everything we can to avoid all areas of personal weakness. You need to have someone to whom you are personally accountable. Someone who you allow to ask you the hard questions. Build safeguards into your life.

If therer are unresolved issues from the past, they must be resolved, or they will come back to haunt us.

What is the solution to these things?
1. Intimacy with God
2. Right relationships
3. Adequate rest
4. Honest accountability
5. Meaningful ministry
6. An attitude of joy and thanksgiving
7. A vigilant spirit

Guard your heart, stay pure, love your family, stay very close to God.

Tuesday Evening, October 2, 2007, Penn-Del Minister’s Enrichment – H.B. London

The dream never dies, just the dreamer.

The song never stops, just the singer…

I’m not going to let the challenges, difficulties, take my song away, or my dream away.

When we dream, God nearly always gives us impossibilities at first. They seem impossible to us at first. The size of our dreams has to do with the size of our faith. If we are going to realize the wonderful things God will give us, we need to begin living out our dream.

Illustration of James Dobson’s experience on the Phil Donahue show at the beginning of the Focus on the Family ministry. Donahue told him "we're going to eat you alive." And they did. Dobson could easily have given up at that starting point in the ministry of Focus on the Family, but if he had, then all that it has become would never have taken place.

Joseph’s brothers said ”Behold here comes the dreamer. Let’s slay the dreamer and see what becomes of his dreams.” (Genesis 37:20.) Then they threw him into a cistern, and sold him to the enemy. (:28) The enemy wants to slay us, and to throw us in a cistern where we will never realize our dreams nor even think about them again.

Everyone needs a dream – what’s yours?
Without a dream, you have no ministry, just a job. No sense of passion or call.

The cistern of self-doubt. That is the doomsday of the dream. God gives us a dream, and puts us in a place to see the dream become a reality. All too often, self-doubt becomes the cistern the enemy enslaves us within. You can’t go around feeling sorry for yourself, or allowing doubt to creep in.

The cistern of rejection. Perhaps people have left your church. Rejected you. Jesus likewise had people reject him. The people of Nazareth said “aren’t you the son of the carpenter?” Even Peter turned away from Him. You must be true to yourself, true to the Scriptures – you can not try to please everyone.

The cistern of failure. You’ve prepared your message, thinking it’s going to be the best ever, and it “cures people of insomnia.”

The cistern of anger. Too many pastors are angry over one thing or another, and due to their anger, they are unable to accomplish anything for the Lord. You will never accomplish anything for God as long as you are filled with self-doubt, rejection, failure or anger. We cannot allow the enemy to hide us in the cisterns of life. We need to get out of the cistern, and do all we can for the Lord every day of our life.

Everyone needs a Reuben – who’s yours?
Reuben saved Joseph’s life (Genesis 37). Everyone of us needs someone we can count on, that we can trust, who can rescue us. You allow a person in your life to monitor your life and hold you accountable.

Everyone needs to stay close to Jesus
From the cistern, Joseph moved to the palace, and was next to the king. (Genesis 45). Joseph says to his brothers “Come close to me.” In the hard times, Jesus says to us, “Come close to me.”

When we come close to Jesus, three things take place at that moment of surrender –
· You begin to love people the way Jesus loves them. Numbers, attendance, all become far less important. You begin to serve the ones
· The Bible becomes the source of light and strength, rather than a textbook for preaching
· There is a boldness that comes, from being freed from over-concern of what people think or say.

If you are ever going to see your dreams come true.
· It will need to be an impossible dream
· You will need people who will hold your arms up and pray for you
· It will be at the foot of Jesus, and we will have to let Him live us

Tues AM: H.B. London

Dean of Duke University said at one time, 'being in the ministry today is the greatest call in the world--but it is the worst job in the world (meaning most challenging and difficult).

1 Timothy 4:15-16--Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.

FOUR GAUGES TO WATCH IN OUR LIVES: Don't forget to watch the gages. We all have a dashboard in our lives just like we have in our car.

#1 - The Spiritual Gauge

Is it well with your soul? Are you walking in intimacy with God? Or has your relationship with God become professional (a working partnership)? Are you comfortable in His presence.

One of the greatest tragedies in the Bible. Samson went out to do battle as before, '...and did not know that the Lord had left him.

Henry Blackaby talked about his walk with God where his success in ministry had become the substitute for real relationship with God. God spoke to him and told him, "Henry...you are hurrying me! You need to slow down and do life with me."

Stats say that the average pastor spends less than 20 mins alone with God per day.

#2 - The Physical Gauge

Are you living like the Temple?

Pastors tend to neglect this area of life. Exercise. Diet. Healthy living. All of these are part of a good investment in God's work in your life.

Keeping in shape lifts your energy, builds enthusiasm, and assists you in maintaining a good perspective in life.

#3 - The Emotional Gauge (dealing with draining circumstances and draining people)

I will not be anxious!

Stats say that the average pastor may deal with 2 or 3 crisis moments a month. After a while it takes a toll on us. If we are not careful we become callous and aloof and we lose our joy and our ability to influence others.

Emotionally draining people tend to draw our attention. Before long we are concentrated on them. Our focus on them actually does more to drain us than anything else.

#4 - The Family Gauge

The most important people in your congregation are your spouse and your children.

Your congregation needs to:

• Allow you to dream impossible dreams.
• Pray for you regularly.
• Treat your family with respect. They need to allow you to take time off, vacations, and time to be with your family.

When I started in ministry I had this idea...H.B. you just build the church and God will take care of your family. THAT IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE!

Your primary call is to your family. If you have everything else in ministry, numbers, status, recognition, results, but you lose your family--what good is it? We can never allow our involvement to destroy our most important relationships.

What about the Check Engine Light? It comes on when...

• When you begin to look for short-cuts and compromises in your ministry and life.
• Not giving adequate time to Bible Study and prayer.
• When you avoiding time with kids and spouse
• When you allow inappropriate material on your computer.
• When you begin to cut corners in your integrity or in your financial dealings.

When we see the warning signs on the dashboard, we need to take it very seriously and make sure that we are guarding the health of our lives.