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May 2015
Church Press Newsletter
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Greetings!
Welcome! Please come in. "Rock of Ages" was written by Augustus Toplady in 1776. He was given the inspiration after taking refuge in a cliff during a terrible thunderstorm. "...cleft for me" reminds us of Moses' plea to God in Exodus 33:18-23. It is sung by the Antrim Mennonite Choir. It's a comforting presentation. Come rest a bit. View the video, listen to or sing the words.
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"Them Bones, Them Bones, Them Dry Bones"
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Sermon on Ezekiel 37:1-10 by Pastor Don Ginkel
Ascension Lutheran Church, Littleton, CO, April 19, 2015
 By now you know that I recently didn't make it as a baby sitter for my 10 month old granddaughter, Finley. In less than an hour little Finley, 10 months old, did me in. You know I imploded. It was so bad that my gracious wife, Nadine, took me on a Caribbean cruise for healing. That was great. But Easter Sunday was horrible. We went to the Easter Service. The preacher talked about looking at a sparrow in England. No Jesus. Not a word. I wanted to stand up and yell, "Shoot the sparrow! Get to Jesus!" I knew I shouldn't make a scene, so I sat there. They announced that the closing Easter hymn was, "He's Got the Whole World In His Hands." Nadine immediately got up and walked out. I followed. It was a bummer. We came back to Ascension last Sunday and Pastor Larson preached a powerful sermon on John 20. What a relief.
Now we come to the next preacher, the prophet Ezekiel. Here's the question: Can dry, dead bones come back to life? Can a dry bone with no skin, no brains, no sign of life, come back to life? That's the question God asked Ezekiel. Verse 3, "The LORD asked me, 'Son of man, can these bones live?'"
Poor Ezekiel. The Bible says that when he was 30 years old, God came to him and said in Ezekiel 2:4-5, "The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says.' And whether they listen or fail to listen - for they are a rebellious house - they will know that a prophet has been among them.'"
Now that's like God telling you: "This morning I want you to go to a certain house in a bad area in Denver. This house is packed with people. They are still carrying on after an all night party. They are in a rebellious mood. No, they won't listen to you. They might threaten you. They might even attempt to do you bodily harm, but you go anyway just so they can never say that they didn't have a chance to hear the Gospel." That is your assignment. Would you go?
Could your message bring life back into the people in that house? Well, that was Ezekiel's predicament. God did not say to Ezekiel, "Just go to those who will listen." He said, "Go to all the people just so they will have a prophet among them." Ezekiel went. They didn't listen. God said they wouldn't. [read more]
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How to Recover the Lost Art of Dying Well:
What Kara Tippetts Taught Us | By Ann Voskamp, A Holy Experience, 3/25/15
 She'd said it brave into the camera, the liquid of her heart brimming like light in her eyes: "I feel I'm a kid at a party, whose Father said its time to leave and go Home already... And I am not afraid of dying - I just don't want to go."
Her wondrous little boy, Lake, had curled into her bed and he had looked into her eyes and whispered: "I don't want you to go..." Kara hadn't wavered. She was 38 years old and the mother of 4 children. Dying of cancer, and she hadn't looked away - She nodded and stroked his cheek with the palm of her hand, like she could etch her love right into his grief.
I had choked it out last night before I turned the last light out: "I feel like I am a kid still left at the party - and I'm at the window watching her go... watching the life of the party go." [read more] (feel free to share this article with your people)
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| Please believe that most churches can do MUCH, MUCH BETTER on visitor follow-up. That's why we're repeating the following article from last month's newsletter: "Learning from Pastor Nathan Brandt (LCMS)." Please read it and resolve that your church will make some critical improvements. | His church building, Our Savior Lutheran Church in Tualatin, OR, burned to the ground two years ago. Nathan lost his entire personal library in the fire. He has been using I HAVE GOOD NEWS FOR YOU for years for his large adult classes. He recently sent us this note.
Don, I want to share something with you. I've promoted a program wherein we have members of the congregation go and visit all of the people who visit us. Our goal is to visit them within 48 hours of the worship service. We do not call for an appointment. We just show up at their door. We do not expect to get in the door, but rather just seek to acknowledge that we were glad to see them. We hand out a re-usable grocery bag to them with a loaf of bread and some church literature. If they aren't home, we hang the bag on the door knob. If the visitor gets invited in, so be it - but we tell our people to keep the visit short because none of it was planned. We also tell them when the next adult class is starting.
Tom Renne, who knows you, is the chairman of that committee. He coordinates visitors with those that need to be visited by geographic area. He keeps a Google Docs spreadsheet on each visiting family that can be updated by any of his visitors and can be read and updated by me at any time. It also gives me a list of visitors that I can report to the Spiritual Life Board and Church Council.
Thanks for everything,
Nathan Brandt
lslc@living-savior.org
living-savior.org/home
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| The Power of Adding More Services to Grow Your Church | By Rev. Dane Aakers, Centerpoint Church, 3/10/15
 Centerpoint was founded in1887 and had averaged 125-150 attenders for over 30 years. The church had been through many pastors, much conflict, and several splits. I came to pastor the church in 1985 after a major church split which left the church with an average attendance of 89.
Slowly the church grew to about 150 in attendance but we just couldn't seem to get through the 200 barrier. In 1989 15 leaders went to a conference on prayer sponsored by the Fuller Institute of Church Growth. When we came home we met in the living room of my house to pray for our church to reach people for Christ. My wife, Karen, prayed, "God, take us through the 200 barrier like a space shuttle through a rubber band."
Sunday morning, two weeks later, I went down to the church at 6 a.m. to pray for our worship service. When I walked into the sanctuary the presence of God was so strong all I could do was fall on my knees in silence. That Sunday 100 new people walked into church. Our average attendance went from 150 to 250 in one Sunday. We went through the 200 barrier in one Sunday like a space shuttle through a rubber band. [read more] (because this was just the start of even more amazing things)
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| 8 Values of TEAMWORK That Keep a Church Healthy | By Rick Warren, Ministry Toolbox, 3/27/15
 The success of your ministry depends largely on a strong team with a deep sense of team spirit. I've witnessed the incredible power of a unified team to create growth and have counseled many churches who weren't growing because their team members worked as individuals and not as a team. A team spirit is never accidental; it is always intentional.
Teamwork is built on three factors; 1. A compelling purpose. 2. Crystal clear communication. 3. And a code of commonly held values. At Saddleback Church, we express eight values of teamwork in a simple acrostic, T.E.A.M.W.O.R.K.:
T - Trust. Trust among your team is the emotional glue that binds them together; it's essential to producing true confidence in each other. There are three factors that create trust within a team: [read more]
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Stack of Stuff
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 Before you hear your Father say, "It's time to leave and go Home," tell
someone, "Come and go with me to my Father's House." Tell them why and then take them by the hand.
Every church should have a commercial first-aid kit, including procedures for CPR. Periodically remind staff and others where it is located.
Don't limit yourself by small dreams - dream some big ones too!
Knowing the Creator makes all the difference in the world. Unspeakable delight is ours as we see the intricacies of His handiwork. But immeasurable joy fills our hearts when, with gratitude and praise, we acknowledge that the great Creator became our Savior, and all of God's fullness dwells in Him. Wade Robinson wrote:
Heaven above is softer blue, Earth around is sweeter green;
Something lives in every hue Christless eyes have never seen!
Birds with gladder songs o'erflow, Flowers with deeper beauties shine.
Since I know, as now I know, I am His and He is mine.
We like what we heard one boss say to an employee: "Get off your 'donkey' and do it!" Okay, okay, so it's "R" rated, but we still like it.
If you have a protocol for follow-up with visitors that seems to work, share it with us, if you will. Thanks.
Who do you need to forgive today?
"Perfectionism is slow death by self. It will kill your skill, your spark, your art, your soul." - Ann Vosskamp
D. W. Moody said, "When I study the Bible, I prepare myself to talk to others. When I read the Bible, God talks to me." Hope you study and read.
They really do care! "Your food stamps will be stopped effective March 2 because we received notice that you passed away. May God bless you. You may reapply if there is a change in your circumstances." - Department of Social Services, Greenville, SC.
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What It Will Take
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Most visitors at worship who receive cheerful hellos and smiles will not be convinced to come back the following Sunday. It's going to take much more than that. Two questions: 1. What would it be? 2. Are you willing to do that? Now, go ahead and do it
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12 Pillars of a Healthy Church
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By Dr. Waldo Werning (LCMS)
People are searching everywhere for answers to church ministry. This book will give you a vision for church growth and will broaden it. Rev. Stephen Hower (LCMS) says, "I especially recommend this book for those who are frustrated with their ministries and are looking for insights that will help them understand important principles of health." 130 pages #303 $12.00. Go to our website or email us.
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You're Free to Toke Up. But Don't
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By Andy Crouch, Christianity Today, 3/13/14
 With the recreational use of marijuana now legal in Colorado and Washington (and the Obama administration disinclined to enforce federal laws against it) it's only a matter of time before it is completely legal coast to coast to toke up.
All things are permitted. But not all things are helpful (1 Cor. 6:12). The Christian's freedom is a gift that leads to serving others, with care, attention, skill, and singleness of heart. It's a freedom that willingly sacrifices easy pleasures in order to serve. And by that standard, it's hard to imagine that pot will be helpful any time soon.
What is the function of pot? It is associated with superficially pleasant disengagement from the world. It connotes a kind of indolence and "tuning out" that is not an option for people who want to become agents of compassion and neighbor love, not to mention its association with all kinds of immaturity. Are these the eternal truths of pot, the only possible way marijuana can be used? No. But these cultural realities are still relevant for the discerning Christian. [ read more]
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Second Calling - 25% Discount
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 By Dale Hanson Bourke. She presents the case for women wanting to find passion and purpose in a new vocational life. It's a book for grown-up women who want to make their lives count for something bigger. Well written. Practical. 221 pages. Hard cover. $18.99. 50% discount for May brings the price to $9.50. Will send by Media Mail for low shipping. Email us now while supplies last. Ask for #680.
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Special blessings to you as you prepare
more residents for the Father's House
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