FOR Winter header
January 16, 2008

 

 

 



buttonsbuttonsbuttonsaddress change buttonbuttons
In this Edition:
Video: Ben Carson
To the Point
Pastor: Jared Miller, Iowa
Resources & Ideas
Cutting Edge Book: Help! I've Been Asked to Preach!
Back Talk: Readers Respond
Calendar of Events
To the Point:


Few things are more satisfying than seeing your own children have teenagers of their own.
  - Doug Larson

Committee--a group of men who individually can do nothing but as a group decide that nothing can be done.
  - Fred Allen

The perfect bureaucrat everywhere is the man who manages to make no decisions and escape all responsibility.
  - Brooks Atkinson

I tend to live in the past because most of my life is there.
  - Herb Caen

Got a favorite quote? Send it to BestPractices@ameritech.net. 
Jared MillerPractitioner:
Jared Miller, Iowa
A few months ago, we introduced you to Jared Miller, who's in his first year of ministry in a four-church district in Iowa. I checked in with Jared a few weeks ago to see how he's doing. LGS

Life as a pastor is tough because the devil is at work. He hates what we're trying to do. He hates us and wants to destroy us, our wives and families, and our ministries. Here are several things happening in my district which show me the great controversy in action:
  1. One church member stole a non-Adventist lady's husband.  We tackled the issue instead of sweeping it under the rug. After visiting with her about this, she wants her membership removed.  (The reputation of the Seventh-day Adventist Church has not totally been destroyed for the non-Adventist. My wife and I and an elder visited with her, to support her in the tragedy of losing her husband. We now have a friendship with her, and she has mentioned possibly coming to see what our church is like.)
  2. A member left our church to return to the Catholic Church because she previously had been a Catholic for 50+ years.
  3. Another couple is cohabitating, and can't see any reason why it's wrong.  They sleep in the same bed, but are 100% committed to saving sex for marriage. 
  4. We just removed another member who hasn't attended in roughly 20 years, who works on Sabbath as a post office man.
  5. The best clerk in my district has resigned her positions in the church because she feels like she isn't doing a good job.
  6. Another couple is seriously dating, he never married, she divorced (though the jury is still out as to whether she had biblical grounds). Some in the church are tallying up the votes as to who will vote to disfellowship him if he marries her.

How does all of this make me feel? Discouraged. Beaten up. Sad. Drained. Like I'm doing something wrong. And I don't want my wife to get disheartened because she sees the ugly side of pastoring.
In times like these, two biblical stories come to mind.

  • In the trials of Job's life, he responded by saying, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him" (Job 13:15, NKJV). Job's life had fallen apart. When all these trials come in ministry, it feels like my ministry is falling apart. I want to respond to the trials in faith, like Job did.
  • Jesus was the perfect Shepherd, yet Judas, one of His twelve handpicked disciples, forsook Him. It was not Jesus' fault--the devil was at work. I am encouraged in that, realizing that when things seem to go all wrong, it isn't necessarily my fault--the devil is at work. 

We're in a battle. The great controversy is coming to a close. If I were a betting man, I would bet that before the clouds roll back like a scroll and our Savior Jesus appears, it's going to get a lot worse. God's call to Joshua is a call to us in the spiritual battles of the 21st century, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9, NASB)

Send Jared some encouragement at jaredandkatiem@hotmail.com
Resources, Reflections, Links and Ideas
by Best Practices Editor, Loren Seibold

  • Some of you may have received, as I did, an e-mail criticizing Barack Obama's Chicago church. Regardless of your political orientation, you might like to know more before you pass it along.
  • Kenya: You may already have heard that our people in Kenya are under siege, especially at Eastern African University.
    • Here is an e-mail from the university president (Kenya.pdf) and parallel, but less personal, information in a BBC article (thanks to Ray Tetz for the link).
    • From a friend whose parents are at the university: "Last week the Vice Chancellor of the University informed all the evacuated workers that they needed to report to work on the 14th. They were not guaranteed any protection or security. I'm sure some students fear for their lives and probably won't be back for a while. I'm not convinced that the people who wanted these people evicted from the campus have suddenly had a change of heart and are ready for all the tribes to be living there, conducting business as usual. Maybe if there is greater awareness around the NAD then we can all join hands in prayer and possibly find a way to help out.  If you can please pass on the information I would really appreciate it."
    • You in cities with an African population might consider doing what we did here at Worthington: call a prayer meeting for the Kenyan folks in the community. (We had a non-Kenyan African pastor of another faith lead out; feelings among the Kenyans run high, even over here, thanks to inflammatory e-mails.)
    • Are churches helpful in Kenya's crisis? Some think they are part of the problem (as in Rwanda).
  • Reading for pastors online:
    • How to Feel Serene Before You Speak
    • Postum was the SDA coffee of the pre-decaf world. I never liked it, but, my parents and grandparents started every morning with it. It will soon be no more. Guess who's going to miss it most?
    • Dan Day recommends this piece from Christian Century about the boundary between science and religion. A quote: "Some people see the boundary between mystery and science as a battleground with barbed wire and trenches on either side. But I think that the place where our searching and empirical minds meet the mysteries of the world is the realm of worship and poetry."
  • Sites worth checking out:
    • Check out BRI's Reflections newsletter, at their website. The username is "heaven", the password is "peter".
    • Are you acquainted with the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life? One of the best sources of news about religion in America. I keep it in my bookmark bar to check frequently. (By the way, nothing to do with church pews; it was started by gifts from a family named Pew.)
Got a tool, resource, site, article, idea or seminar that you like a lot? Share it with us at BestPractices@ameritech.net.

Cutting Edge Book
Help! I've Been Asked to Preach! By Maylan Schurch

Point: To prepare (and preach) an expository sermon you need to gather together the right tools and have a definite plan of attack, both of which are addressed in this book.

Key word: Preparation:there is no need to be fearful of preaching a sermon if you spend time in prayerful, thoughtful, and sometimes lengthy preparation. That preparation time includes prayer, Bible study, note taking, and finally sermon writing.

Pros: Gives an excellent overall picture of the whole process of writing an expository sermon

Cons: According to Mr. Schurch there are five different types of sermons: topical, textual, narrative, dramatic, and expository. Mr. Schurch freely admits that his book deals only with the expository sermon. If you are wanting to learn how to write any other kind of sermon, you may need another book.

Why you should read it: Whether you are a seasoned pastor, a brand new pastor, an elder who is expected to speak in your church, or just a lay person who has been asked to preach for the first time, sometimes the thought of writing a sermon is insurmountable. In this book you can take courage from a seasoned pastor who has been in your shoes. If you follow his guidelines as I am doing, the task ahead of you will not be so daunting.

-Review by Kathy Pepper

 
Back Talk:
Readers respond to "By No Ordinary Efforts"
Change is a funny thing.  I pastored a church that was very different when I left than it was when I began.  Yet no one objected to the change, because it took place slowly over time.  The year to year change was almost unnoticed and yet the collective change over the years was radical. I also pastored a church that was flourishing and yet a small group of members demanded changes that I felt would be disruptive and counter to the mission and message of that unique congregation. But if you really want change then do what I am doing now, plant a new church!
I appreciated the EGW quotes on change. Of course, we have to draw the line somewhere.... Take, for example the "praise" service. Words alone do not make a song sacred. What about the style--is it worldly?  Many dismiss it as a question of preference or opinion, failing to discern that there is an actual science behind the sounds. "Association with worldliness in musical lines is looked upon as harmless by some Sabbathkeepers. But such ones are on dangerous ground. Thus Satan seeks to lead men and women astray, and thus he has gained control of souls. So smooth, so plausible is the working of the enemy that his wiles are not suspected, and many church members become lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God." Manuscript 82, 1900.
Adam Hendron
Events
Do you have an SDA-sponsored event that you'd like to invite NAD pastors to? Tell us about it at BestPractices@ameritech.net.
NAD Church RESOURCE Center
Best Practices is an e-publication of Vervent
NAD CHURCH RESOURCE CENTER
Editor: Loren Seibold
Senior Pastor, Worthington Ohio Seventh-day Adventist Church