organized teaching-In addition to a firm foundation, members need organized teaching. Often, the preaching and the adult Sunday Schools of many churches are very haphazard with no master plan. Sermons are often chosen week by week or from a series that hits the pastor’s fancy. Adult Sunday School classes are often chosen for each quarter at random. Without a basic foundation of knowledge and without organized instruction, bits and pieces of knowledge are tossed together in a heap. Many adult church members know many things about the faith but have no way to pull it together and do not understand how it applies to their life. The church needs to draw up a blueprint of what its members need to know and teach them in an organized manner. Using the Christian calendar gives structure to teaching and helps the church provide organized teaching. By going through the Christian calendar, it goes through all the major teachings of the church each year. I have a series of courses on Udemy to teach Christian beliefs. It begins with a course on Basic Christian beliefs. Next is a course on the Celebrations and how they help members understand the faith. Next I have courses on The values laid down in the Ten Commandments., including the value of life, the value of the rule of law, and the value of the family. See promos and links under “study courses”
Archive for the ‘Church ministry’ Category
Second Sunday of Kingdomtide-Sept 14
A firm foundation- Catechism. When I began my ministry, it was common for churches to have a concentrated time of study for those coming of age, generally considered about age twelve, to give them a basic foundation of understanding of the church and its beliefs. Few churches today, particularly evangelical churches, have any organized classes for twelve year olds to teach them the basic tenets of the faith. Even children who have been in Sunday School their whole lives need a concentrated time to pull together everything they have been taught. As a result, many children today do not have even a basic foundation of knowledge and cannot build their faith as they grow older. There is also no concentrated study for those coming into the church who did not grow up in church. The result is that few adult church members today have even a basic understanding of the faith. I have developed a basic catechism course of study for new members for that purpose (Understanding the Path We Walk-see “books” on website and Basic Christian Beliefs on UdemyURL- https://www.udemy.com/course/basic-christian-beliefs/?referralCode=45EA0BA6DAD6F47E7541)
First Sunday of Kingdomtide-Sept 7
Growing in faith-Learning By Doing-A Children learn by doing and new Christians learn the same way. Unfortunately, few churches today have training programs where new Christians can work alongside more mature Christians. By involving new Christians in hands-on ministry in the congregation and in Christian ministries under the tutorage of more mature Christians, new Christians learn how to serve Christ and the Church. They learn how to minister as they watch others minister and get to minister to others themselves. As new Christians minister to others, they not only learn to identify those who have needs and how to minister to them, they also develop a love and concern for them. However, few churches today involve many of their members in ministry. They wait until an opening occurs and try to pressure someone to take the position, even though that person may have no prior experience and may not have the gifts for it or the concern for it. As a result, many Churches today are very ineffective in training new Christians in ministry or reaching people for Christ. Involving more members in ministry will allow the church to train more people for ministry and reach more people for Christ. It also enables the church to train them for when the present leadership can no longer serve.
First Sunday of Kingdomtide-Sept 7
Growing in faith by watching Kingdomtide is a time when the church should be active in helping new converts grow deeper. While few new converts are coming into the church this is vitally important today when so few churches teach members how to live a life pleasing to Christ. Many members who transfer in from other churches where they were members for many years come with very little spiritual depth. As a result, I was asked to develop the lecture series. Surrendering to Christ does not automatically bestow maturity in Christ. When we are born again, we are like babies in the faith and must grow to maturity. Children learn by observing adults and copying the way they do things. In the same way, new Christians need to observe more mature Christians in the faith and interacting with them. It is very hard to explain in a sermon or Sunday School class how to love others or to humble ourselves. It must be learned by watching others who are more spiritually mature, and interacting with them, as they live out their faith day by day, however few churches today have the close relationships needed to help new Christians grow in Christ. With very little spiritual training, new Christians have few mature Christians to learn from. There is also no close interaction of members with spiritual leaders to enable them to grow spiritually as they see them in action. There needs to be active mentoring of new members by those who are spiritually mature, however many church leaders today are chosen for their financial management skills and popularity rather than their Christian maturity and do not provide good spiritual role models to follow.
study course-Church in the 21st Century-free coupon
Up to the 1960’s, the church was successful in influencing the culture and Christian values dominated the culture but the church has allowed itself to rest on its success and the world’s values have spread throughout our culture. As a result, the church has declined from a position of dominance in our culture to where it is now considered irrelevant by much of society. If it is to influence our culture, it must restore the functions that were so effective in influencing the culture before the 1960’s. In “The Church in the World”, I examined the changes that have effected the church. In the “Church in the 21st Century” I deal with those functions and how to restore them. We are currently offering our course “Church in the 21st Century”” for free until 9/11/2025 to the first 100 who sign up at referral code https://www.udemy.com/course/the-church-in-the-21st-century/?couponCode=42089E8
Thirteenth Sunday of Pentecost-A-August 31
Hospital Ministry- Those in the hospital are often not there by choice. Many people hate to go to the hospital when they are sick or injured, though it is sometimes necessary. In unfamiliar circumstances, away from family and friends, and often unable to do many things they normally do. Staff do not have time to stop and chat so days are long and boring. I spent a number of times in the hospital as a child and a couple times as an adult and I don’t like it either. When I was a child, I always looked forward to the “gray ladies” (retired women who volunteered in the hospital and would bring around pop and ice cream in the afternoons and stop to talk) and the “candy strippers” named after the red and white stripped uniforms they wore(teen girls who volunteered in the hospital who brought around books, magazines, games, puzzles, and crafts in the evenings and spent time with us playing games and showing us how to make simple craft items). When I was in the hospital at age 40 for my hip replacement, no gray ladies or candy strippers came around during the week I was there. They tell me they get very few volunteers these days. Many tell me they hate to visit friends or family in the hospital because it is so depressing. If you feel hospitals are depressing, think how the patients feel. In addition, many people work and don’t have a lot of time to visit. Lastly, many people have no friends or family close by who can visit. Days are long when someone is confined to bed all day and although hospitals have TV sets, they get old after awhile.
Twelfth Sunday of Pentecost-C
Many Christians like to get away and go camping in tents, cabins, or motor homes on weekends to relax with the family but often don’t know the churches in nearby towns and don’t know if the churches will welcome strangers since they often can not get dressed up due to cramped quarters and primitive facilities. Those driving big motor homes don’t want to leave their lot to drive the motor home around town looking for a church and don’t have a second vehicle to drive. They welcome churches that provide worship services at the campground or provide transportation to nearby churches.
Twelfth Sunday of Pentecost-B
My wife and I usually seek a church to attend on Sunday when we are away from home. We usually do a computer search to find a church nearby and how to get to it, however many travelers may not be able to or may not want to take the time to research it. Searching usually requires going through the phone book to get names and addresses. Then you have to access a travel site to get directions. You may have to research a lot of churches before you find one close to the motel. Then you have to look up their websites or Facebook page to find service times. That is a lot of work. Unfortunately, many churches do not have addresses on their websites or Facebook page. I may look up First Church in Columbus, Oh and it will pull up a list of pages for First Church. Many of them may be in New York, Texas, Florida, or someplace else. If the site doesn’t list the city and State, you don’t know if it is the right one. Obviously, travelers are not going to visit them. Putting addresses on websites and Facebook pages would also be a big help.
Twelfth Sunday of Pentecost-A-August 24
Few people think about those that travel, yet a large portion of our society travels at one time or other. Many travel by car and by plane but many also travel by bus. Many spend only a short time at their destination before returning home. Many people traveling stop at hotels and motels but do not know their way around town. Those who regularly attend church at home may or may not seek a church to attend while they are away. If they do, they may look up churches in the phone book but not know the times of services or how to get to the addresses listed. Calling the numbers listed in the phone book often doesn’t help since few churches offices are staffed on weekends. Motels used to have notebooks in each room with a list of nearby churches, directions from the hotel, and service times, which was compiled by local ministerial groups, and included a map to show directions, however I have not seen any for years. It would help visitors find a church to attend. It would also help people moving into an area to find a new church home. Local ministerial groups can compile the list, organize the notebooks, and distribute them to local motels.
Eleventh Sunday of Pentecost-August 17
Truck Stop Ministry-Few people take any thought to the many trucks that travel our highways day and night. Many truckers have families that they don’t see for weeks at a time. Often they are alone for long periods except for stops at truck stops to fuel, eat, and sleep. Drivers have long periods with nothing to do but think as they drive, or while they rest over layovers and while they may have passing conversations with truckers they pass, they often have little meaningful conversation. Truck stop ministries are springing up where truckers can stop and visit and where volunteers are glad to minister to their spiritual and social needs. Many ministries are getting trailers to use for worship services where Christian drivers can worship while they are on the road, since it is difficult for drivers to drive around town on Sunday morning looking for a church with a parking lot big enough to accommodate their rig.