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May 21, 2008

 

 

 



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Best Practices Sermon
j.Douglas.Wiley
Best Practices Video

Bernards; Atlanta North
To the Point:

If churches were doing what they're supposed to be doing, they wouldn't need advertising.
 - Brad Abare

It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in argument.
  - William G. McAdoo

Of all noises, I think music is the least disagreeable.
  - Samuel Johnson

There can be no more conclusive evidence that we possess the spirit of Satan than the disposition to hurt and destroy those who do not appreciate our work, or who act contrary to our ideas.
  - EGW, Desire of Ages 487

The most radical revolutionary will become a conservative the day after the revolution.
  - Hannah Arendt

Music with dinner is an insult both to the cook and the violinist.
  - GK Chesterton

The computer is a moron.
  - Peter Drucker

Got a favorite quote? Send it to BestPractices@ameritech.net. 
Judy ProsserEffective Ministry:
Why Kevin Doesn't Like Me
By Judy Prosser, Kansas-Nebraska Conference

I heard this story from a 1-2 grade teacher, and asked her to write it for you. We pastors aren't alone in grieving over some of the families in our churches! LGS

First-grader Kevin had had a particularly unproductive year. One afternoon I had a few extra minutes, so I pulled my chair close to him. "Hey, buddy, let's see if we can finish a couple of workbook pages!" Kevin is one of seven at home, and gets no quality time from his stressed-out parents. His eyes lit up at the prospect of some one-on-one attention from teacher. I noticed a tiny scrap of paper in his hand and I asked what it was. "It's a picture my brother taught me to draw." "It's a skull and crossbones Kevin. Why does your brother like to draw that?"  He was matter of fact: "Well, he's really angry. In fact, my whole family is pretty angry!"

I dismissed the other first and second graders to their science class. But Kevin kept talking to me, on and on, about his family, about school - and yet there seemed to be something else he wanted to tell me. He studied my face carefully and said, "Teacher, my dad doesn't like you!" "How do you know that, Kevin?" I asked. "Well, whenever you send home a progress report or a note he yells, 'I do not like that lady!'" "What about your mother?" I asked. "She doesn't like you either." He paused for a moment, and said "And to tell you the truth, Mrs. Prosser, I don't really like you very much myself."  

He watched my face to see if I'd get angry. "Kevin, that's OK. I'm not here to be best friends with you....I'm here to help you become an educated Godly young man!" "I know that, teacher!" he exclaimed.  We continued our "therapy session" for about 45 minutes, while Kevin shed tears and shared his sadness and worries about his very troubled family. As the conversation closed down, some of the weight seemed to have lifted. He skipped out of the classroom. He was feeling better because he had left his very sad little boy burdens in the care of an adult who loved him, no matter how he felt about her.

We teachers want you pastors to realize that we are doing ministry with you. There are things we readily learn about families that you'd have a hard time finding out. We can't always tell you everything we know - schools have certain expectations of confidence - but we are your partners in touching troubled families with Jesus' love. Sometimes, all it takes is a listening ear.

Thoughts on the ministry of teaching? Write BestPractices@ameritech.net.
Reading for Pastors
by Best Practices Editor, Loren Seibold

Responses to "You Can't be Friends with an Amway Salesman"

Today's piece is excellent, and you have cut right to the heart of the matter... What does the corporate body language of a congregation say to the neighbors, civic leaders, and other onlookers? Do they see genuine, unselfish compassion ("disinterested benevolence," to use Ellen White's phrase) demonstrated by the behavior of the church as an organization? Does it make a contribution to the community beyond its religious activities? The only truly evangelistic churches do this, and the research data clearly demonstrate this fact.
 
I find in the majority of churches a better attitude then was characterized in the article. I am convinced that the people will catch the spirit of love and caring as their leader shows the way. Not all churches have the cavalier attitude that is hinted at here. We who have been in the evangelistic outreach of the church do refer to the visitors as "interests" in our meetings with the staff, but that does not mean that we do not have a personal love and caring for each one. We pray for and plead for each one. Some [evangelists] have done things that are not the best at times, but to put an umbrella of negativity on the work of all those that are striving to reach as many as possible with the gospel seems a little over the pale.
 - Gordon Henderson

I couldn't agree more with your sentiments, Loren. I would offer, though, that we may be setting up an artificial line of separation. It is possible to be friends with people, inviting them into our community, while all the time hoping that they may one day choose to fellowship with us in a more comprehensive manner. It's all in how we do it. The driving force behind our misuse of people is our impatience. Not only are we obsessed with numbers, but we don't really trust God to bring people along at His pace. So, we try to urge them along - and in the process betray the rules of courtesy and friendship.
 -Dan Day

Excellent article! Thank you for writing it. I think we need to be friends for the sake of being friends and show the love and concern that Jesus did for others.
 - Steve Severance

Reading your editorial, I was reminded of the lyrics to Steve Taylor's now classic Christian rock song "I Want To Be A Clone." Over a bed of catchy New Wave he tackles the same subject: in the church, we want people to become like us before we really accept them as part of the family of God. Taylor sings, "So now I see the whole design/ my church is an assembly line/ The parts are there, I'm feeling fine/ I want to be a clone." It seems to me this attitude was at the heart of some of the biggest struggles in the New Testament Church: adopting the cultural/lifestyle trappings of a group of believers before being fully accepted by them. The controversy over circumcision was about becoming like one of us so you can be one of His, a notion Paul rebuffs.
- Mark Feldbush

All of us tend to count what is really valuable to us. From the parables of Luke 15, I get the impression that Jesus wants us to care about lost people (that's what He seemed to call them) enough to notice (and count?):
    * when they show up at a place where the Bible is being preached and Jesus is being lifted up
    * when their self-destructive behaviors keep them from including themselves where believers gather, to go visit them and try to reconnect them somewhere
    * when believers behaving more like goats than sheep injure them
Believers sometimes find it easy to spend several thousand dollars or more on a new home entertainment center, boat or car but question why several thousand dollars was "wasted" on inviting people to a place where they could learn about Jesus and the Adventist message, and where those who cared about them could "mingle with them as one who desired their good..." (MH 143). I believe that everyone in the world would be happier if they were a converted Seventh-day Adventist. That means that I will do all within my power to invite (never coerce) them to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, embrace all the truths of the Bible, and unite with a vibrant Adventist group.
 - Dan Serns
Resources and Ideas
by Best Practices Editor, Loren Seibold

  • Erik Stenbaaken writes, "The Best Practices quotes are awesome. However, one in the last issue ["Lay Sister White right to one side: lay her to one side" from the Spalding-Magan collection] has me puzzled. It is attributed to Ellen G. White, yet the grammar and punctuation don't seem like hers. And I don't recognize the source. Can you clarify?"
    • The quote is from a verbatim transcript of EGW speaking to the 1901 GC session, which accounts for its colloquial sound.
    • As for the Spalding-Magan collection, William Fagal from the White Estate said that these were private collections owned by the persons identified with the materials - in this case, A.W. Spalding and P.T. Magan. "As co-church workers with Ellen White, they had personally received and/or copied communications from Ellen White that pertained to topics related to their service to the church (primarily along educational and medical lines). These materials were not edited or prepared for publication.... but after Mrs. White's death various individuals and/or groups began to circulate and publish these collections. ... The White Estate has included these on its CD-ROM of Ellen White's published works."
  • Re new movie "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed." Victor Marshall writes:"I was very impressed with this movie. It's received good reviews by Creationist and Design proponents, while the secular media and Darwinian scientists have thoroughly panned it (pretty much to be expected). What is also expected is that there are now several lawsuits attempting to cripple its creators and its witness. This of course is its major premise  - that the big-science/secular media juggernaut is trying to crush honest debate in this controversy, trampling on the Bill of Rights in the process. Many of those who favor a designer in the movie are not Christian (a number are Jews, including the narrator, agnostics etc.). There goes the Darwinists' straw-man.... We need to pray for the influence of this film. It may well play a major role in opening the doors for an honest critique of evolutionary theory in schools and society."
  • Family Celebration Sabbath , July 18-20, 2008, at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, will feature Pastors Mike and Gayle Tucker of the Faith for Today television ministry and the music ministry of Michaela Lawrence.  Festivities begin with the AdventSource Resource Reception, Friday at 5:00 PM.  The Sabbath events are free and open to the public.  As an added value to your weekend, PREPARE/ENRICH Training is being offered Sunday at a discounted rate.  For more information call 269-471-6186 or email reled@andrews.edu.  
  • ELDER CARE MINISTRY is a NEW program for seniors and caregivers coordinated by the North American Division Department of Adventist Community Services.  This new ministry coordinates education and services related to aging, health, finance and social issues for senior in the church and community.  Attend training for this cutting-edge ministry at the Adventist Community Services Convention June 29-July 5, 2008 in Albuquerque , New Mexico.For more information and to register, visit www.plusline.org or call 1-800-732-7587.
Got a tool, resource, site, article, idea or seminar that you like a lot? Share it with us at BestPractices@ameritech.net.
NAD 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