BestPractices
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January 1, 2009
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 Te Deum: for a New Year
by Charles Reznikoff
Not because of victories
I sing,
having none,
but for the common sunshine,
the breeze,
the largess of the spring.
Not for victory
but for the day's work done
as well as I was able;
not for a seat upon the dais
but at the common table.
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Opinion
| A New Decade for Faith and Religion
by Monte Sahlin
Religion
does not change so rapidly that much can be measured in a decade. There
is evidence that the secular, unchurched segment of Americans has grown
by relatively small percentages. The Protestant churches have lost
ground and almost all of these denominations now have a majority who do
not believe that their particular view is essential to salvation. This
may undercut passion for mission unless it is redefined away from an
almost total focus on recruiting more members. Evangelicals started the
decade on an upswing, electing one of their own President of the United
States. By the end of the decade most Evangelicals have backed off from
politics and cultural dominance, listening to voices that had been
raised against it all along and seeing eight years of an Evangelical
president as essentially a failure. Many agree that the efforts to
outlaw abortion and same-gender marriage may end up being as much as
failure as was Prohibition, the last major political project of
Christian Fundamentalists in America,
although there is a sense in which collective, public witness for
Christ's morals may be useful and influential even if it is a political
failure. Yet, many Evangelical colleges and universities are quietly
removing the last remnant of the Prohibition era; rules prohibiting
dancing and consumption of alcohol by their students.
Post modern thought is seen by many conservative Christians as an
enemy despite the fact that (1) it is an inevitable process as the
failures of modernity become more and more apparent and the thought
patterns of new generations are increasing influenced by technological
innovations; and (2) many Fundamentalist movements are engaged in
postmodern faith when they insist on holding onto traditional
formulations that defy logic and evidence. Post modernity is actually a
great opportunity for religion. It is no longer necessary to prove the
established intellectual consensus wrong in order to make converts.
Growing numbers of people construct their faith from things other than
the materials approved by the established consensus. Relationships
become more powerful than proof texts, logic or science. "So what?" is
more important than "What is truth?"
I have a grandson named Ezekiel who was born in July, and I have tried to imagine what the Jesus movement will be like when he enters adulthood about two decades from now. Some predict a significant jump in the rate of change, but my guess is that it will be just a few more clicks down the road
that is already well established. Religious institutions will be weaker
as more people, particularly younger people, move into faith patterns
(in and out of the church) that they develop for themselves. The
mission of Christ is likely to be stronger as it is freed by younger
generations from its entanglement with legacy systems. The hope that is
in Jesus will be more acutely needed than ever. It is my prayer that
Ezekiel and his generation (as yet unnamed by any demographic
consensus) will grasp that hope and that mission more fully and deeply
than have those who have gone before them, and accomplish what my
generation has clearly failed to do. This is reprinted from Monte's blog, Faith in Context.
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Practicing Pastor
|  Journey to Nazareth
by Greg Brothers
Life is full of surprises.
This is not always a good thing.
When I was in Seminary, for instance, some friends invited me on a hike. It was Spring, they were looking for birds, and I was expecting a stroll through the woods - the kind of stroll, as a matter of fact, that would be perfect for bringing along a date. Unfortunately, my friends thought the perfect place to look for birds was a cow pasture. Instead of a stroll through the woods, my date and I had to pick our way through mud (and other stuff)!
Life has a way of taking something we thought would be a walk in the woods - a new church, a new program, or maybe even a new relationship, and turning it into a slog through a swamp.
Think of Christ's childhood. He was born in Bethlehem. It would have been the perfect place to settle. But God warned Joseph to flee Bethlehem - first to Egypt, then to Nazareth. Moving to Egypt was bad enough . . . but Nazareth! - Nazareth was a small town - maybe 500 people in all.
- It was way up north in Galilee - up in a place where people were known for their lack of education, lack of breeding, and lack of class. (They even talked funny up there!)
- What's more, there is not one, single place in the Hebrew Bible that mentions Nazareth. (I know Matthew quotes the prophets as saying, "He shall be called a Nazarene" - but we don't know where he got this, or even what he meant by it!)
No, Nazareth was not famous. It was not glamorous.It was probably not the place Christ's parents would have chosen to raise the Messiah. But in three dreams to Joseph, God made it clear that Nazareth was the place He wanted Jesus to be.
This coming year may find you in a place that's not very famous . . . or running a program that's not very glamorous . . . or even in a relationship that isn't quite so obviously wonderful as you thought it would be.
Instead of Bethlehem, you get Nazareth. Instead of a walk in the woods, you get a slog through a cow pasture.
Yet even if this isn't what you expected, that's not necessarily a bad thing.
When my friends invited me on that hike, for instance, you'll remember that I brought along a date. It was my first date with the woman to whom I've been married now for 25 years. And the fact she was there made that cow pasture a blessing in disguise.
Granted, it was very heavily disguised - but it was still a blessing!
Likewise, God has promised to be with us in the coming year - and that promise is true, even if we end up in a Nazareth. It may not be what we expected, after all. But it still can be special.
Because Someone special is there.
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Reading For Pastors
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A blogger visits the Wilson (NC) First Seventh-day Adventist Church church, and writes a complimentary piece about it. Quote: "[Sabbath School] wasn't merely a time of teaching but also
lively discussion among just about everyone in attendance. How lively? At one point Pastor [Jonathan] Edwards used the Borg from Star Trek as a metaphor for Gnosticism! I must confess: this was religious discussion that was seriously tuned into my personal wavelength."
Some of you may have read Karen Armstrong, in particular her very popular A History of God. (I also recommend her autobiography.) Here, Armstrong lays out a manifesto for the Abrahamic religions: that we begin to define ourselves more intentionally as compassionate religious movements. Kind, accepting, non-hurful religion? Who would have thought of such a thing?
Christianity in an economic downturn:
- From the Atlantic: Did Christianity Cause the Crash? Quote:"Over the past generation, a different strain of Christian faith has proliferated - one that promises to make believers rich in the here and now. Known as the prosperity gospel, and claiming tens of millions of adherents, it fosters risk-taking and intense material optimism. It pumped air into the housing bubble. And one year into the worst downturn since the Depression, it's still going strong."
- Also from the Atlantic: Lead Us Not Into Debt. The sensible, non-prosperity gospel of Dave Ramsey.
- Is the Bible the place to find detailed financial advice? Some folks think so.
Southerners - Mississippians in particular - are the most religious people in the US, according to the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. People in Vermont and New Hampshire have the lowest number who view religion as important in their lives.
Speaking of the religious South: some thoughts on Tim Tebow's Sugar Bowl eyeblack.
Church-State issues in the news:
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| Featured Media |
  If you have time to attend the Church Growth Summit in Tulsa February 11-13 it will be well worth your time (free registration!!!). If you don't have the time you should let Clayton Feitosa be your avatar in this repeat showing of A Visit to Tulsa. Need some creative ideas of community service for the new year? Dallas First
struggled with their role in a changing urban center until they
discovered that there was a thriving art community without an art
center to show their creations. Pastor Costin Jordache and his church
rose to the occasion by opening up their church as a community art
gallery. |
| To the Point
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"May it be Your will, LORD our God and God of our ancestors, that you renew for us a good and sweet year."
- Rosh Hashanah prayer
Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.
- Alfred Lord Tennyson
A desk is a dangerous place from which to watch the world.
- John le Carre
Nothing fixes a thing so intensely in the memory as the wish to forget it.
- Michel de Montaigne
Humor can be dissected as a frog can, but the thing dies in the process and the innards are discouraging to any but the pure scientific mind.
- E. B. White
I have long been of the opinion that if work were such a splendid thing the rich would have kept more of it for themselves.
- Bruce Grocott
Not only is the universe stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine.
- Sir Arthur Eddington
The important thing is not to stop questioning.
- Albert Einstein
Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted.
- Martin Luther King Jr.
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| Discipleship
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 iFollow: What it is, and how to use it
Dan Day, Director, NAD Church Resource Center
In the Adventist church, today, we have strengths and weaknesses. We understand well how to debate a series of distinctive doctrinal beliefs, including things like the Sabbath and the Second Coming. We know how to win debates. When it comes to being "right," biblically, we have it down.
However, "being right" about a cluster of biblical truths isn't of great use for reaching those who don't know who God is, who don't believe in the Bible, and who don't see the need of a church. In other words, the things we're good at, aren't particularly relevant to the secular professionals into which our members are morphing, the young adults who have grown up in the church but who are essentially Postmodern in their thinking, or even our young people, who are looking for ways to make a difference in the world.
Among our major challenges, then, are three. The first is equipping our members in developing an individual relationship with Jesus, so that they can follow Him in a vigorous spiritual journey. Next is preparing them for spiritual growth, including how to establish spiritual disciplines such as how to pray, how to study the Bible and how to deal with temptation. Then, we must also establish a nurturing community, equipped to embrace new members, engage with our community, and provide an environment where secular men and women can "come and see" what God is doing in His church.
These are all essentially discipleship challenges. I've clustered them under three general headings: (1) Discovering how to follow Jesus; (2) Learning how to grow in Christ; and (3) Experiencing how to become a nurturing community. In coming segments in this series on the upcoming discipleship curriculum from the Adventist Church in North America, we'll explore each of these components of discipleship. The rest is yet to come...
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News, Ideas & Reminders
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- Webinars: A. Allan Martin from the seminary has agreed to do a webinar for BP readers on working with young adults, followed by another training for using GodEncounters. We're just waiting for dates, and we'll let you know as soon as we get it arranged.
Got a tool, resource, site, article, idea or seminar that you like a lot? Share it with us at BestPractices@ameritech.net. |
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Upcoming NAD Events
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- AU Worship Conference, March 25-27, 2010
- InMinistry classes from the Seminary in each union, April 11-22, 2010
- NAD-IAD Health Summit Orlando 2010-January 24 - February 7
- Adventist Community Services Convention, March 28-April 3, 2010, Orlando
- Just Claim It 2010, Adventist Youth Ministries Convention, April 2-11, Columbus, OH
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Best Practices is a Vervent publication of NAD CHURCH RESOURCE CENTER. Editor: Loren Seibold, Senior Pastor, Worthington Ohio Seventh-day Adventist Church. E-mail:
Best Practices. You are free to republish pieces from Best Practices in your own
newsletter or blog, with attribution to the Best Practices newsletter and the
author of the piece. |
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