LAUNCH TEAMS to SURVEY and STUDY

A Special Strategic TEAM called LAUNCH TEAM/s will be ORGANIZED soon and MOBILIZED to:

• Survey CITIES, COMMUNITIES, COUNTRIES and even CAMPUSES to LAUNCH NEW HLM Groups (churches, congregations and more)!

This will take away the BURDEN from our current Local Pastors.

This will inspire our INTERN Pastors to start their own groups with ease.

This will involve more and more people in a BURDEN that will reach more for Christ.

#JOIN #PRAY #SEE

more soon ...
CLICK HERE FOR more input

VERY IMPORTANT: the "atmosphere"

THIS WILL BE THE ATMOSPHERE
WE WILL BE EXPECTING AND CREATING
DURING THIS SEASON OF THANKSGIVING:


1
Let's GO for BEHAVIORAL Teaching 
--- that is the calling of  people 
to action / to do something in response the the WORD of God.  

we will Let them PRAISE THE LORD
we will Let them be a HOUSE of PRAYER
we will Let them GIVE TO THE LORD
we will Let them SHOUT TO THE LORD
we will Let them DECLARE TOGETHER
we will Let them PLAN AND PARTY TOGETHER
we will Let them DECIDE TO CHANGE
we will Let them BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT
we will Let them BE A PRAISER!
we will Let them BE A TITHER!!!  LET people use the ENVELOPE "tool"
we will LET THEM BE A TRUE WORSHIPER!


2
Let OUR MODE be in 
EXPONENTIAL FAITH Thinking.

WE MUST HAVE GOALS that are NOT EASILY FULFILLED BY OUR HUMAN ABILITIES.
Lets have GOALS that only God and God alone can fulfill!  TRY IT!  Make it IMPOSSIBLE!  With God nothing is Impossible! 

When we MAKE THINGS Impossible --- that's the time God comes in, FOR HE FEELS WELCOMED!  With God NOTHING, NOTHING, NOTHING is impossible!

APPLY THIS AS YOU set Goals for NEW LIFEGROUPS started during this CAMPAIGN ALONE, using our DESIGNATED MATERIAL.

APPLY THIS TO How Many PEOPLE you can TOUCH in the Community of our HOUSE CHURCHES | HLM VILLAGE

APPLY THIS TO How MUCH the LORD wants you to RELEASE / GIVE / OFFER during our UNITED THANKSGIVING DAY!


3
LEGACY MAKING
POSITIONING ourselves for the 
NEXT GENERATION to enjoy what we are doing at this very moment.

HOW: 
by ALLOTTING more towards "HLM PROPERTIES" (these are permanent investments and ASSET build up) which WE and our CHILDREN'S CHILDREN will enjoy NOW and BEYOND.  As you
ALLOT more to this ... it becomes an INVESTMENT and thus will have its RETURN to any GIVING DONE today.

This is with an "ROI" idea. Therefore do NOT give more to Projected EXPENSES versus INVESTMENTS, because INVESTMENTS will bless us more in the FUTURE.

REMEMBER this Thanksgiving Sunday CANNOT BE REPEATED.  This happens only ONCE a YEAR. THERE are 52 SUNDAYS in a YEAR. ONLY this ONE out of the 52 ... we will ASK. 

LETS make this then something special and "perpetually" enjoyed.

MOVEMENT THINKING _ MISSION FACTOR Part 8 of 10

MOVEMENT THINKING _ MISSION FACTOR Part 8 of 10

THIS MATERIAL BELOW
is a borrowed material
for DISCUSSION PURPOSES at
HIS LIFE DIVINITY SCHOOL


PART 8 of 10


THE MISSION FACTOR
The Great 9 IDEAS on HOW TO BE A POWERFUL MISSION CHURCH

Someone has said that the church does not exist FOR missions but rather BY mission.
If you peek inside the fastest growing churches in the world, you will discover that, without exception, they are missions-minded and have caught a vision of “World-conquest”.
Our own church really became alive when missions was placed on the front burner and became a top priority, visible for all to see and hear. For a few years, it was simply another slice of the pie, an auxiliary, a tackled on organization with in the church to which no one listened and no one gave.
It took one of our staff leaving us and going to the mission field to awaken what has amounted to an on-going revival.
Let’s face it. Missions conjures up in most people’s minds poorly dressed missionaries whose talks can’t hold anyone’s attention longer than 3 minutes, showing slides that are too dark and blurry or too light and irrelevant to missions but always with the closing slide being a lovely sunset view! Sound familiar?

There are some key factors about missions that are indispensable if it will be a viable ministry in any church. And, unless it is a viable ministry, the church is doomed to a plateau of no growth.


1.  MAKE A GREAT COMMISSION COMMITMENT

The preacher, the governing body, and the other key leaders must start the process.
Missions isn’t optional. It’s what the church is all about. What we call the Great Commission has too often been the Great Omission. Yet, Jesus declared that missions is why the church exists.
That’s why the Great Commission appears five times in the New Testament. (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:47; John 20:21; Acts 1:8).
What oxygen is to fire, missions is to the church. As fire exists by burning, so the church exists by missions. No missions, no church.

I once read where an artist was asked to paint a picture of a dead church. Masterfully, he worked day and night, and finally the portrait was finished. When it was unveiled, it showed a box on a table in a church foyer. On the box was printed the word MISSIONS. There was a slit in the top of the box for the offerings, and across the slit was a spider web. It could never have been said more eloquently! Until the leadership of the church acknowledges the centrality of missions, then provides the members to become personally involved in the support of missions, that church will not grow beyond just a few hundred people.


2.  DEFINE CLEARLY YOUR MEANING OF MISSIONS

How does missions differ from evangelism?
Isn’t evangelism in Seattle and evangelism in Bangkok the same thing?
Why, then, do we call one evangelism and the other missions? In our own local church we have made the delineation from Acts 1:8. “Jerusalem” for us is our local outreach area. “Judea and Samaria” we refer to as our nation, beyond the local church. The “end of the earth” is just that, those places beyond our national border. Basically we’ve called that which is beyond our “Jerusalem” missions. While it may not be the most accurate delineation, it helps identify it for our people.
But beware! We have discovered that not all appeals that come to us labeled “missions” are in fact missions. Thus, we have basically determined that we will hear causes and consider causes whose objective is the winning of the lost to Jesus Christ, and establishing His church. Dropping gospel tracts from helicopters over mountain villages in South America hardly qualifies. Buying 1000 bicycles for a Vietnamese mission may or may not qualify. Define what you mean for missions, and the bottom line should be saving souls and building the church. The Book of Acts provides the model for that approach.


3.  ESTABLISH A MISSION COUNCIL

Whether a church is large or small, there ought to be a mission council that meets at least twice per month. The larger the church, the more often it should meet. Our mission council meets weekly just to stay on top of requests, procedure, and future planning. Who should serve on the council?
Start with people who have a burning interest in global evangelization!
I think the council will be constantly changing. If the church is relatively small, the pastor himself should lead that council. In cases where missions are covered by staff person, that person should lead the council. This council needs pastoral leadership one way or another to keep vision high and involvement at a peak. The responsibilities of this council are simple. They set the policy and procedure for missions in that church. They also interview mission candidates, and peruse requests, making appropriate  recommendations to the governing body of the church. Of course, they also formulate the annual missions budget and plan the faith promise conference.


4.  STAGE AN ANNUAL FAITH-PROMISE MISSIONS CONFERENCE

The faith-promise principle is operative in most growing churches today as applied to missions.
The principle  stated is this: It is a promise made by the believer to God that whatever He supplies in the way of funds to be given to missions will be given. It is  not a pledge of a certain amount for the year, which if God supplies will be given. Rather, it puts the emphasis on the personal and on the power of God to provide. It also removes the negative stigma of a pledge made and not fulfilled. For example, if I faith promise to give to missions $1000 this year and over and above my regular giving. God only provides $800 is what is  given. On the other hand, if I didn’t trust God for enough and  the Lord frees $1500 for me and through me, then it’s $1500 that I give. Apart from personalizing missions giving, it is a great faith builder. An airline stewardess who had never made a faith promise in her life  decided she would try it. Flight attendants aren’t the highest paid people. But one Sunday about 3 ¼ months after her faith-promise pledge, she came running up to me waving an envelope. She opened it up and showed me a check made out to  her by the airlines for $1800. She whispered in my ear. “I know we aren’t supposed to tell anyone but God about our faith promise, but I made a faith promise of $1000 having no idea where it would come from. This is a settlement check from a 4 year old wage dispute that I had forgotten about and given up on! “Did she ever learn a lesson in faith!
By the way, she put the whole check in and gave more as God provided throughout the year!

Every fall we hold our annual Faith-Promise Missions Conference, a week long program of services , prayer meetings, luncheons, breakfast and groups. missionaries are in abundance and our entire foyer (large enough to hold 900 people) is full of missions displays from  around the world that we are  supporting. On the last Sunday of the conference, an opportunity is given for everyone to make a faith-promise commitment on card. No signatures are placed on the cards. They are totaled and we fully expect in our next conference for the total to exceed $1,000,000! Faith promise works, because in it God gets all the  glory. On our giving envelopes, we have a place for people to write in their gifts. It says “Faith Promise  Mission.” So every week, people can include along with their regular giving what God has provided them to give in missions. Does it hurt people’s  regular giving? Not  at all in fact, we saw our general fund and building fund INCREASE when we began the faith- promise program.


5.  MAKE MISSIONS VISIBLE TO YOUR PEOPLE!

A once per year missions emphasis isn’t enough. It’s going to take weekly exposure to keep this vital ministry before the eyes of  the people. If you were to walk into our building, you would  notice a very large color picture of the world behind plexiglass. On either side of that display are the pictures of the missionaries  we are currently supporting with a button under their picture. When you press that button, a light comes on  the map at the  very spot where they are  ministering. There isn’t a service where before or after I don’t see people of all ages standing at that display pushing the buttons. When you walk into our auditorium. We have a very large map of the world on the right wall and on the left wall, in huge letters, “ GO THEREFORE AND MAKE DISCIPLES.” We want everyone who walks in to at least visually observe what we are about as a church.

In addition to that, we have a once per month missions minute in our services to point up the tremendous need from overseas. Sometimes , it is a personal taped message from a missionary, sometimes a very brief, well done slide presentation. Sometimes, a time to pray for a particular missionary. We have put in very special phone lines to talk live to our missionaries on the field so our audience can hear them. All of this is vital to keep missions before the eyes of the church and personalize the whole missions program for people. We have learned that people give when they are informed. This is especially true in missions. We  also publish a very attractive missions booklet which every member receives and every new member receives in his membership packet. Listed are pictures and stories of every missionary we support, their families, birthdays, anniversaries and addresses so people can send cards throughout the year. Again, this personalizes what could easily be a very impersonal approach.

6.  RAISE UP MISSIONARIES OUT OF YOUR CHURCH
One hundred percent of all missionaries I’ve ever met came out of the local church.
Some came because they were challenged and raised  up, some came in spite of the fact there was no program to raise up and train recruits! Where do missionaries come from? Start with your high school juniors by challenging them to seriously consider the ministry of cross-cultural missions, get those teen vitally involved early on in missions projects, on the missions council, expose them to missions journals and invite them to seriously consider short term missions projects. A second source is college students. Many a youth in their first and second year of college at a university will catch the world vision. And thus  needs a local church surrounding in which to nurture that vision. Many a youth is lost to the ministry and missions today because there is little or no encouragement, guidance, challenge and education in the local church toward world evangelism. Of  course, God can tap anyone who really catches the vision, businessmen, housewives, singles, couples, and retired people. We have at present four or five couples who in their retirement years caught a vision, joined a missions agency and off they went to serve the Lord cross-culturally in undeveloped nations by using their professional skills. Retired teachers, physicians, plumbers, construction workers, dentist and many others have decided that instead of sitting in their retirement home in sunny Florida, they will serve the Lord where they can. Growing, dynamic churches today have organizations in house to embrace these people, train them, encourage them and commission them out  for service. A few years ago, our organization, known as Pioneers, was formed and at present some sixty people of all ages, educational background and interests are involved. Some  of these are short term missionaries, who may later become career missionaries, some are exploring the idea of becoming  career missionaries and others want to try their wings in America first. But all have felt the call of God upon their lives to fulfill the  Great Commission in some way. Most churches would be greatly surprised to discover that within their ranks are people with tremendous gifts in various areas, who if challenged and encouraged, would  respond. It is estimated that 30% of all career missionaries on the field today constitute people who were already in a career when the challenge came. With a world population of over 4 billion people, we can’t afford to overlook anyone.


7.  SPONSOR MISSION TRIPS

Whether large or small churches serious about the Great Commission need to plan and sponsor periodic mission trips for their pastor, staff and leadership. These trips need to be budgeted out of the missions giving and have several objectives. A primary objective is fact finding. It is poor stewardship of funds to blindly support causes that are five or seven thousand miles away without personally investigating the effectiveness of the mission. This is not to imply distrust or even suggest that widespread deceit occurs in missions overseas, but if our support is the extension of the local church’s ministry, there needs to be first-hand knowledge of the work. This can only be had by occasional visits from the home church. Another obvious objective is information and personalization for the local church. We have found that when one of our members stands in the pulpit and relates through slides and personal comments about the effectiveness of a work in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, or Africa, our people come alive for missions and support greatly increases as well as awareness. Besides the pastor, staff and elders, we have found that it is extremely beneficial to send other lay people who have deep interest in mission because of the transforming influence on their lives. In fact, we have people on the mission’s field today whose first taste of cross-cultural missions was a fact-finding missions trip. Even if they don’t end up on the mission’s field, they become the greatest advocates for missions in the home church, and the church hears a voice for mission besides the voice of the preacher.

Another objective to mission trips in ministry to the missionaries. Most of us who have never served extended periods in another culture, away from the familiar, old friends, loved ones, and conveniences, have a difficult time relating to what a missions visit from “back home” really means. Having made one of these trips in 6 countries, seeing some 42 missionaries, I can testify as to what a visit means to the missionaries as well as to their families. It’s like a breath of fresh air, a spiritual shot in the arm, a revival, and a mountain top experience all rolled up into one. In many instances, a visit has spelled the difference in whether the missionary stayed on the field or came home. In most cases, the visits are geared to bring spiritual refreshing to the missionaries. You might also guess what a personal. Visit means to those to whom the missionaries are ministering. It places the work and effort on a much higher plane when native Christians see that missions are only a few days or maybe a week.
Sometimes those from the home church paying the visit will also minister by preaching, teaching, doing medical work, or helping in some other area. This too, is a great source of encouragement to the missionaries on the field, and it gives the person doing visiting first-hand experience of what missionary work is really like.

It needs to be understood these are not pleasure trips, or sight-seeing trips. Often a person making the mission trip will want to tack on an additional week at his own expense for sight-seeing and pleasure, but it is apart and aside from the mission trip. Also, on fact-finding trips, we ask the person traveling to keep a journal as he goes. Some key questions we feel a real need to have answers to are these: what are living condition like? Is it productive field as far as response is concerned? Are the missionaries adjusting properly to the culture? Are there any personal or family problems existing with the missionaries? Do the missionaries have enough to live on? What are their greatest personal and ministry needs on the field? Is evangelism really taking place, is there equipping taking place, is the church being established, what are the greatest barriers, etc.? it is usual on the visit also that the need for more missionaries in that place is determined. To some in the local church, a periodic mission trip may sound like an extravagance, yet in the long run, it is probably the most productive thing than can be done to really put missions on the front burner where it truly belongs.


8.  SPECIAL MISSIONS OFFERINGS

Our church receives only two special offerings per year, Christmas and Easter.
We have a policy of designating one of those for a special missions project that is cross-cultural. One year we raised $37,000 to build a 400-seat tabernacle in rural Chile. On another occasion, we bought a large mobile medical unilt fully equipped for our missionaries in Mindanao in the Philippines.
Recently we purchased a portable house for our missionary family that just moved to a desert in Kenya working with the Masai tribe. These special offerings not only, of course, provide what is needed for the missionaries, but give our people a personal stakein a country. People do not give to generalities and theories, they give to projects. For example, the special offering for the 4-wheel vehicle was easily raised when we had parked in front of our lobby for 2 Sundays the exact kind of vehicle we were buying. People could actually see what we were doing. I think it best to have no more than one special missions offering per year, but make it a big project. People love to be on a winning team, and we have found that people will really sacrifice if they know they are directly helping fulfill the Great Commission. One of the ongoing projects financed by special offering and faith promise giving is to mail cassette tapes monthly to our missionaries of our services and sermon. They have told us again and again how they have been spiritually sustained by those tapes, and how they play them over and over again.


9.  DEVELOP A WORLD MISSION STRATEGY

Many churches operate only on a reaction basis with missions. They re-act to appeals for support. It is better by far to act by discovering those parts of the world most in need of the gospel message coupled with the greatest degree of receptivity. It is there a church really needs to invest its time, money and energy for the fulfillment of the Great Commission. For example, we discovered just a few years ago, that Africa was a sleeping giant. A great receptivity was developing, especially among certain tribes in Kenya. We have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in that area, and fortunately have seen great returns on our investment. We turned to that part of the world after doing some intensive study. That’s not to say you ignore or neglect the other parts of the world. I believe however, that God expects us to be wise planners, and good stewards of the funds with which He’s entrusted us.
A church should never forget that God is holding us accountable for the peoples who have never heard. My missions professor in Bible college said 32 years ago. “America doesn’t have a right to hear the gospel twice until the farthermost parts of the world have heard it once. “I’ve never forgotten those words.
God’s word to the church is bound up in the prophecy of Ezekiel:
So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me, If I say to the wicked, “O wicked man, you shall surely die,” and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand (Ezek. 33:7-8).
Those words never stop ringing in my ears… they must never stop ringing in the ears of every local church as it faces its responsibility to take this world for Jesus Christ and His Kingdom!

MOVEMENT THINKING _ GIVING FACTOR Part 7 of 10

THE GIVING FACTOR

MOVEMENT THINKING at DIVINITY SCHOOL _ part 7 GIVING
THIS MATERIAL BELOW
is a borrowed material
for DISCUSSION PURPOSES at
HIS LIFE DIVINITY SCHOOL

PART 7 of 10

First Church of Possum Gulch was having trouble financially.
Meeting after meeting was given over to finding a way to increase revenue and decrease expenditures. Finally, the golden suggestion was made. . . a new-fangled offering plate would be used! It would work like this: if someone dropped only a dollar in, a siren would go off; if they dropped only fifty cents in, a bell would ring. If they put nothing in it, it would take their picture! Well, no one really knows the outcome of the imaginary story, but we do know that an essential factor in church growth is a clear teaching and understanding of what God’s principles are concerning finance and stewardship.
Many churches struggle for years in this area, they plateau at one or two hundred, maybe even five hundred, and go on farther. Why? Sometimes, because they aren’t willing to pay the price, go the distance, and be confronted with the clear Biblical teaching on finances. It still comes as a shock to many that almost half of all Jesus’ parables deal with a man and his money. Jesus taught more in this area than he did about heaven, hell, baptism, and judgement all put together. No book in all the Bible fails to mention this in some way. Yet many churches fail to expand much needed facilities, add long overdue staff, or launch ambitious evangelistic campaigns due to lack of funds, caused by poor giving resulting from little or no teaching.
There are two musts, I believe, for any churches desiring growth as it pertains to the area of stewardship and finances. The first must is good, sound Biblical perspective. We might call them laws, not in the legalistic sense, but in the sense that there is a “fixness” about them. Just as there are physical laws at work in our universe such as the law of gravity, and if that law is violated, consequences will occur, so there are moral laws, and specifically laws of stewardship that are inviolable. Without attempting to be exhaustive in a study of stewardship, here is a list of inviolate laws that I’ve made to teach in every new member’s class as well as from the pulpit in my sermons.

1. THE LAW OF OWNERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT
This is the first, because if it is acknowledged by all believers, the other laws will all fall into proper place. The essence of this law in scripture is that God owns all, and we ae called to manage what is His. This cuts right across our affluent culture’s concept of material things. The Psalmist said, “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein” (Psalm 24:1). And who can possibly deny this law when they read the following prayer of David?

Thine O Lord is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majestic; for all that is in the heavens is thine; thine is the kingdom, O lord, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from thee, and thou rulest over all. In my hand are power and might . . . but who am I and what is my people that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee (I Chron. 29:11-14).

Again, just in case were still in doubt, God himself says:

For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the air, and all that moves in the field is mine (Psa. 50:10-11).

The fact of God’s ownership and our trusteeship radically changes our concept of material things and/or money. For the believer, the issue of ownership must be settled and acknowledged at the entrance gate of the Christian life. That’s why Jesus said, “So therefore, whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33). Well, what exactly does “renounce” mean? Does that suggest that in order to become a disciple one must give up all his possessions and lapse into total poverty and become a ward of the state? Absolutely not! Nor does it mean some kind of “transfer of ownership” theology. It’s not like we are transferring what WE own at conversion over to before you came on the scene, while you are on the scene, and long after you’ve departed the scene! It means that, when you to be a disciple one must give up all his possessions and lapse into total poverty and become a ward of the state? Absolutely not! Nor does it mean some kind of ”transfer of ownership” theology. It’s not like we are transferring what WE own at conversion over to God so that HE now owns it. No, He has always owned it, long before you came on the scene, while you are on the scene, and long after you’ve departed the scene! It means that, when you walk into the Christian life, at least one of the entry requirements to be a disciple is total acknowledgement of God’s ownership and your management. God owns it ALL, we simply are managers of what He has entrusted to us. Sadly, enough, many believers discover this law many years AFTER the become Christians instead of on the first day.


2.  THE LAW OF ACCOUNTABILITY
Not only does God own all and entrust to us differing amounts of money and material to manage, we are accountable to Him of what we manage. The bible clearly says that it is required of stewards that they be accountable (I Cor. 4:2). Who can forget the parable Jesus told of the land owner who decided to take a journey and entrusted to his servants some funds. To one he gave $5000, to another $2000, and to another $1000. A key verse in that account says this, “Now after a long time, the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them (Matt. 25:19). There was and is a time of accounting. That’s why it is not only important to teach the tithe, but equally important to teach that God is holding us accountable with how we use the nine-tenths we keep!


3.  THE LAW OF SACRIFICE
Sacrifice is a relative word. We Westerners have a very difficult time understanding what sacrifice really is, because as a rule, our lifestyles are relatively high. In third world countries where $68 a year is considered good income, sacrifice means one thing. In a country where many people earn over $50,000 a year, it means another. Jesus graphically underscored this by highlighting the widow who dropped two pennies in the Temple treasury. The only time in His entire ministry when He made a comment about a particular person’s giving, Jesus praised this woman because while others were giving out of their abundance and plenty, she gave out of her abject poverty… she literally gave everything she had! The principle of sacrifice runs throughout the Bible.

If a man’s offering is a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offers an animal from the herd, male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the Lord (Lev. 3:1).

That admonition is repeated many times in the Old Testament. What was behind a “without blemish” offering on the part of God’s people? Was God short on good lambs? Hardly, since He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. The point is, we need to give the best, first. By King David’s era, this was a well-accepted teaching and indeed, part of a sincere Hebrew’s life. That is why when he was offered all the ingredients of a sacrifice by Araunah, King David declined the offering saying:

…No, but I will buy it of you for a price, I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God which cost me nothing (II Sam. 24:24).

No cost, no meaning, no sacrifice involved, no depth or meaning to giving. God’s indictment to Israel in her latter years concerning their cheating in this matter is very sharp to say the least. When the Jews asked God how they had despised His name in their giving, God was quick to respond:

“By offering polluted food upon mu alter… When you offer blind animals in sacrifice. Is that no evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that no evil? Present that to your governor, will he be pleased with you or show you favor? “says the Lord of hosts (Mal. 1:7-9).

Those are pretty strong words, yet they underscore the fact that it does make a difference in what we give and how we give it. It must be sacrificial.


4.  THE LAW OF TRUE SUCCESS
Again, we Westerners have a mind-set that defines success in a narrow, limited frame of reference, namely possessions: if a person drives an expensive car, lives in a fashionable neighborhood, takes long and expensive vacations, wears the finest clothing, we dub him a “success.” On the other hand,
Someone who rents instead of owns, drives a car over 5 years old, and is an hourly wage earner with no savings in bank most people would not consider successful.
Jesus challenges this very limited concept of success with one simple statement: “For a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions (Luke 12:15). He then proceeded to tell a parable about a farmer whose crops brought forth plentifully. With inadequate barns, the farmer determined to tear down the small “inadequate” barns and build larger barns where he would store (actually hoard) his crop. Someone has pointed out that the personal pronouns, I, my, you, and your, appear some 12 times in 3 short verses! Then Jesus concludes with very straight to the point words:

Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be (Luke 12:22)?

The accumulation of things is not a symbol of success in God’s eyes. Of course, neither is poverty, but rather a right relationship with God! In a day when great emphasis is placed on get, get, accrue, have, we need to remind ourselves of Jesus’ words again and again. It isn’t wrong to have nice things or a lot of things, it’s when things have you that you’re in trouble.


5. THE LAW OF GODLY FOCUS
This really is similar to the law of success, but an added warning is given. DON’T SEEK WEALTH! The wealthiest man who ever lived wrote:

Do not toil to acquire wealth; be wise enough to desist (Prov. 23:4).

In other words, do not make the objective of your life the accumulation of wealth. Several years ago, a friend of mine said, “My life goal is to be a millionaire by the time I’m 30!” why does God that’s wrong? Paul wrote Timothy some sound advice. It wasn’t just for young Timothy either! He told him that we need to be content with food and clothing without seeking other things. He reminded Timothy that we brought nothing into this world and we can take nothing out of this world. That is true, isn’t it? You never see a hearse with a U-Haul trailer behind it. But in I Timothy 6, Paul really gets to the core.

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and hurtful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction (I Tim. 6:9).

Then Paul delivers the punch line:

For the love of money is the root of all evils, it is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced their hearts with many pangs (I Tim. 6:10).

Later in that same chapter he warns the rich not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on uncertain riches. So, is it wrong to be rich? No! God chooses to bless some with great amounts of money. Even Jesus had wealthy friends. What is wrong, is to seek wealth, and to make the accumulation of money and financial security your goal and objective in life. Nor is this to say that people with special ability to make money should stifle that ability. It is to say that we are not to seek wealth, nor are we to see it as a panacea to cure all ills. If a local church is going to grow numerically and spiritually, it cannot avoid or evade this part of stewardship teaching. In a culture that has become extremely materialistic, God’s people somehow must be different. No, poverty is not spiritual and wealth is not evil. Yet we cannot avoid the signposts erected in scripture for our safety.


6. THE LAW OF COMMITMENT FOLLOWING GIVING
A common mistake many churches make is their approach to new members. the philosophy has been, “Don’t mention money or giving to these new people until they have become active and are ready for it.” Jesus’ method was just the opposite. His philosophy was that giving generates activity.

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Matt. 6:21).

In thirty years’ ministry, I have seen the truth of that statement. When you look behind those members who are unselfish in giving of their time and talents, you’ll find they are part of that 20 group who support 8% of the church’s budget! It is people whose financial resources are firmly planted in the kingdom who follow their financial commitment with their life. We have found that right teaching up front concerning the tithe and beyond is the quickest and most lasting way of people becoming active in the body of Christ. Interest follows dollars.
A non-Christian man walked into my office one day and ask if we were the church involve in the Miracle Day Campaign. I assured him we were. His response was puzzling at first. He said, “I’m not a Christian, and a member of no church, yet I admire the courage and large goal you have set. Would you mind accepting a donation from me? He wrote out a check for $ 1000  and left. The following Sunday I saw  him in church. He returned  a week later with his wife. The third Sunday they were back and both came forward to accept Christ at the close of the service. His comment to me much later was , “I followed my investment right  into the kingdom of God!” That’s exactly what Jesus said would happen.


7. THE LAW OF REGULARITY AND CONSISTENCY
Paul wrote Corinthians an interesting command:


8.THE LAW OF SOWING AND REAPING
This is a simple  law , but one that has been used and abused . it is the Biblical law that what you give is what you get back. It has been called in some circles the law of returns. Without being exhaustive, Solomon espoused this thousands of years ago

Honor the Lord with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce, then your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will be bursting with wine (Prov. 3:9-10).

Notice the sequence . YOU honor the Lord with your substance. The New International Version gets more explicit. “Honor the Lord with your wealth.” It’s your money, your finances Solomon is speaking of here. Now note how the verse continues “… with the first fruits…” “That means your best , it means to take right off the top , not give what is left all the bills are  paid. Now, watch carefully the wording,. “Then your barns will be filled with plenty….”The sequence is clear; you give first the best, lavishly and unselfishly and then God will bring it all back plus  some more! Its said in Proverbs again, but with more clarity;

One man gives freely and grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give and only suffers want. A liberal man will be  enriched and one who waters himself will be watered (Prov. 11:24-25).

That scripture cuts right across American, middle class, economic thinking. Any economist will tell you that you will have money when you learn to “hold on” to it. Give it away and you lose it forever. So it really boils down to whose economic system you’re willing to trust, God’s or man’s. the world says, “GET ALL YOU CAN, CAN ALL YOU GET, THEN BURY THE CAN!” God says, “Give it away and watch it come back so you can continue to give.”

We cant leave Solomon without his wife words in Ecclesiastes.
Cast your bread upon the waters and you will find it after many days (Eccl. 11:1)
The world system would re-write that and say if you cast your bread upon the waters, either the ducks will eat it or you’ll have soggy bread. He goes on in that chapter to warn us against letting our circumstances determine our giving. In verse 4 he says, “He  who observes the wind will not sow and he who regards the  clouds will not reap. “ In other words, don’t check the surrounding climate before you give or you’ll never do it, thus you will get nothing back, Jesus went straight to the heart of the matter in the Sermon on the Mount;

Give ant it will be given to you, good measure, pressed down , shaken together, running over , will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back Luke 6:38.

Many people want to “spiritualize” that verse to mean everything but money, but Jesus was talking about one’s possessions here. Notice how what  is given back to you is “pressed down, shaken together and running over. “Gods give back is always bigger than our “give to”. This same promise God made in Malachi 3 when tithers are promised a blessing they won’t be able to hold. Again, we are taught this principle in II Corinthians 9:

The point is this, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly and he who bountifully will also reap bountifully (IICor. 9-6).

Now look further down  that passage at the promise made to those who sow (give) bountifully (liberally).

And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance.

SO THAT YOU MAY ALWAYS HAVE ENOUGH OF EVERYTHING  and may provide in abundance for every good work (II Cor. 9:8).

Here’s the cycle! We give abundantly. God gives it back so that we may give more. SO THAT He will give more back, SO THAT we can give more…. And so the cycle goes. But also notice… it doesn’t start by waiting for God to give back, it starts with our giving, which is the God -given way of trigging God’s response. By the way, later in the passage, another promise is made.

He who sup[plies bread for food will supply and multiply your resources and increase the harvest of your righteousness (II Cor. 9:10a).

He not only will give all back that you give. He will multiply it for you so that you can continually give more. If we are the starters of this increased giving cycle we can also be the stoppers. Cut your  giving or cut drastically back, and His give back is cut as well.
Now you maybe thinking. “Then, does that mean we give in  order to get? Only in the sense that we pour a quart of water into  a pump to prime it so well get endless water. This God’s  great plan of economy. We can actually increase our ability to give by  having the resources increased. How does that happen? By  giving more! Get it? What this means is that you cant out give God.  You shovel in, God shovels out and God has a bigger shovel. Giving to get, in order to spend it on your desires is obviously a carnal motive. But giving to get so we can give more is God’s program. It works.
Growing , dynamic churches don’t shy away from Biblical teaching on this matter. If these subjects are faithfully, consistently and lovingly taught, there will be results. It has to happen.
If property taught and if the leadership of the church leads the way with magnanimous giving, budget drives will be unneeded.

MOVEMENT THINKING at DIVINITY SCHOOL _ part 6 LEADERSHIP

MOVEMENT THINKING at DIVINITY SCHOOL _ part 6 LEADERSHIP
THIS MATERIAL BELOW
is a borrowed material
for DISCUSSION PURPOSES at
HIS LIFE DIVINITY SCHOOL







THE LEADERSHIP FACTOR


No church will ever rise above its leadership!
This statement may be time-won, but oh, so true!

In fact, if we could say there is one area that is the “culprit” inhibiting churches to grow, this may be it. Having traveled and spoken in scores and scores of churches of all sizes, virtually every problem shared with me by pastor and layman both is traceable back to a leadership problem. If we are going to let Jesus build His church, we must let Him do it with Biblical and sound leadership.
So much has been said and written about leadership of late, I hesitate to write another word. Certainly, no one would argue that I Timothy 3 as well as Titus 1 speaks of the bishops and the elders (both being the same), as having extremely high qualifications for being in leadership position.
The plurality of elders as a factor is seldom argued either.

Every church has a a power structure.
There is someone or a group of people who call the shots, make the decisions, set the pace, and really determine what is going to happen in that place.


THE GROWTH FACTOR
Sometimes it is called a “board.”
Sometimes it is called a steering committee.
Sometimes it is even the person or persons with the big bucks, whether they are on the “board” or not. But it will be best if we take this area item by item so that no one is confused.


WHO ARE THE LEADERS?
Biblically, the spiritual leaders of any local church should be elders.
We have the Biblical precedent recorded in Acts 14.

And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they believed (Acts 14:23)

We find Paul pouring out his heart to the elders of the Church in Ephesus when he was departing, probably never to see them again (Acts 3:23). Paul later writes young Titus to say:

This is why I left you in Crete, that you might amend what was defective, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you (Titus 1:5).

These were to be the spiritual overseers, the pastors (I Pet. 5:1) of the church. They were to feed the flock of God, guard the flock against heresy, shepherd the flock, and according to I Timothy 5:17, they apparently had a spiritual authority inherent in their office that demanded respect.

Thus, in Hebrews it says:

Obey your leaders, and submit to them; for they are keeping watch over your souls as men who will have to give account . . . (Heb. 13:7).

You won’t find a single elder ruling a church in the New Testament. There was a plurality of elders, yet they did not comprise together a “board” or a “vestry.” They were obviously men who met the qualifications laid down in Titus and I Timothy 3, men who were “above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sensible, dignified, hospitable, an apt teacher, no drunkard, not violent, but gentle, not quarrelsome, and no lover of money. He must manage his own household well, keeping his children submissive and respectful in every way; for if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how can he care for God’s church? He must not be a recent convert or he may be puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil, moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders or he may fall into reproach and the snare of the devil” (I Tim. 3:2-8)


WHO MAY BE AN ELDER IN THE CHURCH?

Certainly anyone may be an elder who meets the above qualifications. Does this include the preacher? Yes, in fact, if the preacher of a local church does not meet the qualifications of an elder, I question whether or not he is qualified to pastor ought to be counted among the eldership to avoid the “we/they” syndrome that kills many churches. This is the syndrome that sets the pastor against the “board.” It’s “me, the pastor,” and “they, the board.” This dualism reduces the minister to some “hired hand” on the spiritual ranch and thus minimizes his effectiveness as a leader. He must be considered one of the team leaders in leadership. In fact, he really must become the leader of the leaders, not that he has any more authority than the others, but is respected as the God-called pastor/teacher of that local body. Thousands of pastors leave the ministry early because they are not freed up to lead. Freedom to lead is never license to dictate. Though some pastors of local assemblies have abused their office and have exploited the other elders and people, a far greater problem centers around the pastor’s “subliminal” role in leadership. In many churches, the “official” board is made up of individuals whose job (they believe) is to corral the preacher, keeping him in toe and in subjection. This is done by requiring “board reports” from him as to his activity, down to keeping track of every long distance call he makes. He is so tied and bound, he can’t lead. What a tragedy! He is ostensibly called to lead, trained to lead, gifted to lead, anxious to lead; but not allowed to lead for fear he will take over or usurp the leadership of the “official board.”



HOW DO MEN BECOME ELDERS?

I remember years ago being in a church who had an annual election. This church elected everyone from the Sunday School Superintendent to the Board secretary. Three months prior to the election, the political machine began humming. People began politicking for other people. Several would “throw their hat into the ring.” The official ballot had something like 27 names on it to elect about 5 positions. The idea was that the congregation was to vote, marking only one name for each position. It was so American, but so unbiblical. The church was never meant to be a democracy, but a theocracy. You don’t find churches in Acts voting on leadership. It’s not up to a vote. Well, if you don’t vote them in, then how do they become elders? Let me list for you the step by step procedure that combines good sense without violating a Biblical principle.

 First of all, no church should ever set a number, like 10, and say, “That’s how many spots we have to fill, no who can we elect?” the number of elders in any local church is not determined by some artificial criteria like that, but rather it is determined by the number qualified. If a church of 500 members only has 3 qualified men for elders, then they have 3 elders. It’s that simple. Secondly, where I minister, we look for men who are not only practicing the characteristics of the qualifications listed, but men who are, in fact, already ministering with their lives in a shepherding/teaching capacity. That way, you elevate a man to the office and call him what he’s already doing, rather than electing him to a position, then hope he does something! Third, we ask the man up front if he has a desire to be an elder to fulfill the scripture in I Timothy 3:1. If he does, we move to the fourth step, the step of investigation. He is given a form that looks like this:


ELDER DESIRABLY & QUALIFICATION QUESTIONNAIRE

1. Briefly share how you came to know the Lord as your personal Savior.

2. How long have you been a member of this church?

3. Do you desire strongly to be an elder in this church? Why?

4. Have you recently read I Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-9, I Peter 5:1-4?

Yes_______ No_______

5. How long have you been married? _______ Have you ever been married before?
(If yes, list their names & ages.)

6. Do you have children? ______ (if yes, list their names & ages.)

7. How would you describe your marriage?
______Exceptionally stable, _____ Very good, ______ Have areas of significant conflict.
(Explain if you need to.)

8. Please describe in brief detail where you feel your children are in their personal walk with the Lord.

9. Do you have a regular time of Bible reading, study and prayer?
_____ Yes _____ No _____ Daily ______ 4-5 times a week ______Weekly at least.

10. One of the Biblical requirements of an elder is his willingness to teach the Word of God. Regarding teaching: ______I have never taught ______Have taught, but not now teaching _______Am willing to teach.

11. Do you consider yourself above reproach?
(I.e. good, ethical, moral reputation inside & outside the church.)
______ Yes ______ No (Explain if necessary.)

12. Are you free from the use (and/or addiction) to alcohol?

13. Do you consider yourself free from the love of money?

14. Are you a regular and generous contributor of your income to OUR CHURCH?

15. Are you currently teaching or attending a Home Fellowship Group?

16. Eldership in this church requires a time of anywhere from 2 to 6 hours per week on the average. Are you willing to make that kind of a time commitment?

17. What do you feel is your spiritual gift(s)?
______Mercy ______Giving ______Teaching ______ Administration ______Service
______ Other __________

18. An elder is a shepherd (I Pet. 5:1-4).
Are you willing to “shepherd” the flock, by being available to listen, spiritually feed others, to encourage the sheep, etc..?

19. How would you personally rate the control of your temper?
______Very calm person ______ Tend to get upset easily
______ Have great difficulty controlling anger.

20. From time to time, the sick call for the elders of the church to pray over them, anointing with oil according to James 5:14,15. Are you willing to be involved in this when called upon?

21. Visibility of leadership is so essential in the body of Christ. Unless providentially hindered, are you willing to be present for all the main services of the Church?

22. Our eldership practices the principle of unanimity, i.e., all elders must be in 100% total agreement on voting issues for them to pass. Are you willing to serve in a structure like this?

23. Are you in sympathy with XXXXX’s position as an undenominational church, belonging to no human denomination, organization, or ecclesiastical system?

24. Are you willing to be supportive of the other leadership (staff and elders) so long as their walk and witness is according to the scriptures?

25. Do you agree with the basic position of XXXXXX that our one and only task is to disciple the world?

26. If eventually you become an elder, are you willing to step down voluntarily from that position if you need to because of inactivity, heresy. Or immorality?

27. Do you accept the Bible as the inspired Word of God without error?

28. Can you honestly say that your wife is fully supportive of your desire to serve as an elder at XXXXXX Christian Church?

29. What ministry have you been involved in, in the past, at XXXXXXX?

30. What ministry are you now involved in?

Once completed, we make copies for every elder to peruse. If all of our men are in complete

Agreement that the answers look good, we decide by unanimous consensus to arrange an interview. During the interview, we ask many questions; basically, however, questions that lie in two distinct areas, his spiritual life and his ministry life. We are more concerned with his closeness to God and the fact that he is in the Word on a regular basis than we are about his particular “skills.” Many churches make men elders because they have a good income, or because they are good public speakers, or because they are well known in the area, etc. we believe the spiritual standing of the man must pushed to front burner.

 After the interview, in which we have shared with him the rigor sand disciplines of being an elder, if every elder agrees this man is elder material, we stand him before the church with a  Statement like this: “We have found ___________________to be a godly man, a family man, a good steward, a man of the Word, etc. Thus in unanimity, the elders have called him to be an elder here. If any member has any reason why that shouldn’t happen, please write your reason, date it, sign it, and turn it in to any elder-prior to _____________. There being no objection, he will become an elder here on _____________, 19_____. “Once that elder has been accepted, he basically observes for a three-month period, verbally expressing little or nothing, and having no voice in matters to be decided. This is not only for his protection, but for ours as well. It works.


HOW DOES LEADERSHIP OPERATE?

Leaders are servants. They are where they are to serve. They are not policy makers, but policy receivers. The role of the eldership of the church is to find out what the Holy Spirit is doing and get in on it. Their task is to find out the direction the Holy Spirit is leading that particular body, and get in on it, so they can flow in the same direction. From time to time, every eldership needs to stand in front of the congregation and say what was said at the Jerusalem conference:

For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us . . . (Acts 15:28).

A godly leadership will always get its cue for the church from the leading of the Holy Spirit. It’s not their job to “create” a program or a plan, then call the Holy Spirit in to bless the mess! It is rather their task to find out what the Spirit’s plan is for the church, then get themselves and the church headed in that direction. Secondly, decisions reached should reflect an unanimity, since the Holy Spirit says the same thing to every man in leadership. God doesn’t have two directions in which the church should move, only one. Until every man comes to that oneness, nothing should pass by a “three-fourths majority.” Again, there is Biblical precedence. Again in Acts 15, when the message came to the church solving the Judaizing problem, these words were used:

. . . it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord. . . (Acts 15:25).


We make a practice to always have every man in favor of something before we proceed with it. You may be saying, “but one man’s ‘no’ vote can stop progress, can’t it?” We believe one “no” vote may be the voice of God stopping a very foolish thing. If the “no” vote is a foolish thing, God will change it. He may take time to do it, but He will change it, by changing the person. Sometimes, this may mean that things will take longer. More prayer, more thinking, more scriptures studied . . . these may all be necessary. If so, so be it. It keeps you from running ahead of God. It also presents to the church a very united front in the leadership in which God is greatly honored. Churches who don’t respect their leadership’s integrity and spiritual stature usually don’t grow or do anything else significant for God (Heb. 13:17).


THE PURGING OF LEADERSHIP
If elders aren’t elected, but appointed, and they have no “term of office” like a three-year term, what do you do with men who cease to function as elders? Every elder, when he becomes an elder, is told plainly, verbally and in writing, that we believe God has called Him to be an elder until one of four things occur.

 He is an elder, until he dies. Obviously, his term of office is terminated with death.

 He is an elder until he moves away. Since you can’t be a member where you don’t bodily live, you cannot be a leader of people separated by miles.

 He is an elder until he resigns. An elder may resign for a number of reasons. He may even feel God called him for only four or five years, and he may want to pursue another ministry in the church.

 He is an elder until he ceases to function as an elder. How important it is to have a mutual accountability in any eldership. If a man is showing signs of slackness in his discipline or duties, we go to him to exhort him. If the slackness continues, he will ultimately be asked to step down from being an elder. We feel that the confrontation disciplines mentioned in Matthew 18 are applicable here as well as in any other level of church discipline.

Right now, the men in our eldership have an average of 8 years as elders. We have 5 men who have become elders within the past 2 years.

By holding 2 leadership retreats per year, we reserve much time to talk about our own spiritual progress throughout the year. This is a great encouragement to the men, as well to the staff of the church, many of whom are also elders.

I believe there are ten marks of Godly leadership that must be present in leaders if church is going to grow and make an impact on it community.


A LEADER MUST BE A MAN OF GOD IN CHARACTER AND LIFE
What a man is must be there long before what a man does! We are an activity oriented culture. The more projects one gets done, the more successful we think he is. Not true! A spiritual leader leads out of his overflow, not from “scraping bottom” for wherewithal! It can never happen through us until it happens to us and in us. We have come to see that it isn’t a man’s cleverness, nor his skills, nor his innate abilities that in the end make him an effective leader, though all these things have their place. It is his spiritual depth that really matters. King Zedekiah summoned Jeremiah out his prison cell to ask, “is there any word from the Lord” (Jer. 37:17)? Jeremiah was a social nobody. His name wasn’t exactly a household word! He had attained no prominence in society, was not considered by the business tycoons of his day as a tiger in the market, and certainly was not perceived by the world as the leading economist, politician, scientist, or author. Yet, when the chips were down, and King Zedekiah wanted to know the truth about the future, he turned to Jeremiah for spiritual answers, not because of Jeremiah’s position, but because he was a man of God!  Spiritual leadership in the body of Christ starts with a spiritual person. It’s no wonder God’s word reminds us:

Thus says the Lord, “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him glories, glory in this: THAT HE UNDERSTADS AND KNOWS ME, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice and righteousness in the earth; for in these things I delight,” says the Lord (Jer. 9:23-24).

God always finds a way to use a man who seeks His face and in intimate with Him. On the other hand, a man cannot attain the spiritual life by frenzied activity and “spiritual” tasks. Service flows from life. If the output exceeds the intake, the upkeep will be the downfall. It is a spiritual law and it is inviolable.


A LEADER MUST POSSESS A COMPASSION FOR PEOPLE
We cannot affect those we will not love. Jesus’ leadership is measured largely in His amazing ability to be compassionate.

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd (Matt. 9:36)

What a commentary on life! Whoever equated strong spiritual leadership with a spirit of regimentation and sternness missed the boat. Christian leadership loves people and uses things; not the other way around. Our license to lead must be signed by the text that says, “And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony” (Col. 3:14). Hitler was able, as a leader, to execute six million Jews because of a strong hatred and evil desire to control. He was never able to get allegiance from the masses to himself, but only to the Nazi system. He had no compassion, only contempt. People will be intimidated only so long. Out of pressure, they will for a while be used, abused, and forced into following the line, but ultimately, without love from the leader, they will bail out or rebel. Nehemiah’s leadership lay squarely in his ability to be moved to tears by the condition of his own people, epitomized by the collapse of the wall of Jerusalem. During the whole project of restoration, his followers never lost sight of the undeniable presence of his compassion for God . . . and them. He accomplished the feat, with success!

Evoking work from saints by heaping on them guilt trip after guilt trip only works temporarily. Challenging people to tasks because of your love for God and them produces a consistent following. When the scripture talks about speaking the truth in love, I believe it applies also to those in leadership who are called to lead with affection, compassion, and a deep sense of loyalty to the followers.

A SPIRITUAL LEADER IS MOTIVATED AND A MOTIVATOR
Motivational seminars are everywhere today. There is probably one in session in your town somewhere, even as you read these lines! Many, not all, follow the theme of hooplah, bam, bam, bam, get ‘em, man, get ‘em. There is no doubt, that kind of motivation does move people to do things, but not always for the right motive. There has been too much carnal motivation going on in local churches. It uses slick psychological phrases, creates atmospheres conductives to saying “yes,” and is suave in getting “results.” But is it legitimate Biblically? I think not! Spiritual motivation is always tied directly to the glory of God. It always makes its “pitch” from the standpoint that God will be glorified in this. In addition, it is tied to trusting in the ability of God to do something rather than man. Caleb in the Bible is the best example of this I know. Talk about a spiritual motivator, Caleb founded spiritual motivation! The spies had been sent into Canaan to check out the land and see how tough it was going to be to take it. They came back devastated! Oh, it flows with milk and honey, all right, it’s a good land, and has all the abundance in it we need, but there’s one big problem. Giants lived there. The inhabitants were so big and mighty, we seemed like grasshoppers to ourselves… and so we seemed to them. What projection! That’s what I call negative confession. After the gloomy report was given, everyone got into a stir. Finally, it was Caleb who quieted the people. His words are classic:

Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it (Num. 13:30).

What a man! This is like someone saying today, “but they have warheads, ballistic missiles, and thermos-nuclear power, while all we have is sling shots and brick bats… so let’s go get ‘em!” I like that spirit. Caleb was pointing to the power of God as the means by which the victory would be attained. That’s spiritual motivation. By the way, Caleb never lost that spirit in retirement years! At age 85 he said:

I am still as strong to this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me… so now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day (Josh. 14:11-12a).

Every leader needs the ability to motivate others. That will never happen unless he himself is first motivated. We have a motivational crisis in the church today due to a lack of enough pastors who themselves are motivated. I’ve never known a church to grow whose pastors was not motivated and motivating. Historically, Biblically, in every great move of God there was a leader used who was constantly on the cutting edge motivating the people. There is no substitute for it.


A SPIRITUAL LEADER IS A VISIONARY AND A DREAMER
Because we have dealt with vision in general, let’s see how much of this must be resident in leadership. It’s obvious that a church will rise no higher than the vision of its leaders, individually and corporately. We have always fostered the notion in our leadership team that decisions should never be made on circumstances alone. For examples, if an item comes up to buy a piece of property, we constantly seek to get our leaders to ask, “Is this a great thing for God?” instead of “How much is this going to cost?” visionary dreamers in leadership seek to see things from God’s perspective. If it’s great thing for God, and God’s hand is in it, then it really doesn’t matter at that point how much it costs, or how specifically we are going to get it. The important thing is to see it from God’s perspective. This changes drastically the way most governing bodies operate. If it’s a great thing for God, and God’s hand is in it, it’s never too much. If God’s hand isn’t in it, no matter how inexpensive it is, it shouldn’t be done. Visionary leaders are ever seeking the face of God to discover what his next direction for the church might be. They don’t spend their time “dreaming up and creating” programs, then asking God to bless what THEY have planned. Instead of, “Lord, bless our plans,” their prayer is “Lord, show us how to accomplish Your plans for this place.”

A SPIRITUAL LEADER ADMINISTRATES AND MULTIPLIES HIMSELF
God never sanctioned disorganization, nor is it spiritual to be disorganized. Godly leadership is not afraid to organize as a means of accomplishing the task. Nor is a spiritual leader afraid to delegate and invest his authority in others, then trust them to facilitate what has been given them. At least 80% of what happens in our church does not happen in the hands of those to whom authority has been extended. Our task as leaders is not to just do the work, but to duplicate ourselves over and over in the lives of others who will share also. God never ordained a “one-man-show.” If anything, a spiritual leader’s task is to enable, to equip, and release people to do work of ministry according to their Spirit given gifts. An inordinate fear of this confirms an inability to lead.


A SPIRITUAL LEADER MUST HAVE DECISIVENESS AND ASSUME AUTHORITY
If we would be people-following leaders . . . we must lead with decisiveness. Indecision is the bane of all leadership. Don’t confuse decisiveness with capricious and reckless leadership that doesn’t wait on the Lord. He who hesitates long has lost his right to lead. Joshua said, “. . . as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Josh. 24:15). He led with the sense that he knew where he was going. People will never follow Mr. Looking-Both-ways. I have a poster on the back of my office door showing several ducks waddling along. The printed caption above it says, “DO SOMETHING; LEAD, FOLLOW OR GET OUT OF THE WAY.” I like that! Not everyone has been called to be a leader, but if you have, you must lead, and lead with decisiveness. We’ve all heard the quip about the irate football coach who kept yelling at the quarterback from the sidelines, “I said, throw the ball to Herschel, throw the ball to Herschel, throw the ball to Herschel!”  the quarterback finally said, as he eyed Herschel being chase by five 350-pounds tackles, “Herschel says he doesn’t want the ball!!!” But in spiritual leadership, failure to catch the ball and run with it results in leadership suicide. Greta leaders act with decisiveness and authority.





 A SPIRITUAL LEADER MUST HAVE A WILLINGNESS TO RISK



It’s proverbial; the turtle never gets anywhere unless he sticks his neck out! Neither does a spiritual leader in God’s church. While the spiritual gift of faith isn’t necessary to be a leader, a leader must exercise and demonstrate faith. Spiritual “risking” is moving ahead with faith and vision when everyone else says, “put on the brakes.” We needed more land to expand parking. Growth couldn’t have come at a worse time, because we were strapped as a church trying to pay for a new building. At the elders meeting, a research council brought a recommendation to buy the adjoining 4 ½ acres to our south, but the catch was the owners wanted $95, 000. We had no money in our contingency fund, no way of adding monthly payments, and from a business standpoint, the recommendation was as good as dead. One elder said, “I don’t know if we can see our way clear to do this at this time.” Monty, who has hence gone to be with the lord, rose to overseers of the church of the Living God! Since when did we start not doing things because we couldn’t see our way clear. Of course we can’t see our way clear, if we could, I would want no part of it, but we walk by FAITH, not by sight; I MOVE WE BUY THE LAND!” Someone else seconded the motion with emotion, and it passed unanimously! Guess what? We bought the land. At once? No, it took us almost two years, but had we not made that move of risk and faith, our church would still be running 500 people! Show me a church whose leadership is willing to step out on faith, and I’II show you a church that is growing! God honors that!





 A SPIRITUAL LEADER MUST HAVE WILLINGNESS TO RISK



Outside the church in the business world, transparency is a no-no. it is dubbed a sign of weakness and instability. To divulge any tinge of doubts, fear, or human inadequacy is a sure sign of weakness, never deceptive, and humble. No Christian leader is greater than the great apostle, it was Paul who said:



I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities; for WHEN I AM WEAK, THEN I AM STRONG” (II Cor. 12:9b-10).

How powerful! Transparency doesn’t mean a leader goes around and openly parades his weaknesses before his team. It does mean he’s not afraid to say, “I’m sorry, I was wrong.” He is willing to stand before his team of workers and let them see him as he is, warts and all.



A SPIRITUAL LEADER STAYS STEADFAST TO THE END

We have become a “bail-out” culture. If a marriage hits bumpy roads, many couples bail-out. If you can’t cut it at work, you bail out. And so, it’s true in the local church. Leaders are subject to terrific heat, pain, pressure, criticism, and misunderstanding. Often elders or pastors just bail out. Only two years ago, the average stay of a pastor in a church was a little over 18 months! Incredible God uses to the zenith those who stay steadfast to the end. Real shepherds don’t run when they see wolves coming. They stay, and protect the sheep. Real leadership is not a “term” of office, but a life-long commitment of leading and guiding the body.



A SPIRITUAL LEADER WILL ALWAYS COMMUNICATE WELL WITH HIS FOLLOWERS

If lack of communication devastates a marriage, an office, or a business, it also devastates a church. Churches will never grow where the leadership is non-communicative. We have learned the hard and painful way, that the larger a church becomes, the greater attention must be paid to communicating with the staff, fellow elders, and the flock. When you read Nehemiah, you cannot help but be awed at the way he constantly communicated with all who were on the team to rebuild the wall. Communicated must be clear, concise, and repeated. A good motto for spiritual leaders in the body of Christ is, “NEVER ASSUME THAT WHAT YOU HAVE SAID IS CLEARLY UNDERSTOOD BY ALL.” That’s a pretty safe assumption.

 The leadership factor in church growth is far more important than we would like to admit. Everything else may be in place, great location, functioning building, a good choir, and a growing community, but if the leadership is weak, reluctant, fearful to act and lead, that church is doomed to mediocrity at its best.

 I often find myself praying this prayer for Godly men to lead the church:

God give us men . . . ribbed with the steel of your holy spirit . . . men who won’t acquiesce, or compromise, or fade when the enemy rages. God give us men who can’t be bought, bartered, or badgered by the enemy, men who will pay the price, make the sacrifice, stand the ground, and hold the torch high. God give us men obsessed with principles true to your word, men stripped of self-seeking and a yen for security . . . men who will pay any price for freedom and go any lengths for truth. God give us men delivered from mediocrity, men with vision high, pride low, faith wide, love deep, and patience long . . . men who will dare to march to the drumbeat of a distant drummer, men who will not surrender principles of truth in order to accommodate their peers. God give us men more interested in scars than medals. More committed to conviction than convenience, men who will give their life for the eternal, instead of indulging their lives for a moment in time. Give us men who will pray earnestly, work long, preach clearly, and wait patiently. Give us men whose walk is by faith, behavior is by principle. Whose dreams are in heaven, and whose book is the Bible. God give us men who are equal to the task. Those are the men the church needs today.

MOVEMENT THINKING at DIVINITY SCHOOL _ part 5 PREACHING

MOVEMENT THINKING at DIVINITY SCHOOL _ part 5 PREACHING
THIS MATERIAL BELOW
is a borrowed material
for DISCUSSION PURPOSES at
HIS LIFE DIVINITY SCHOOL

PART 5 of 10




THE PREACHING FACTOR

He was tall, well dressed, serious looking, yet polite.
I was shaking hands at the door after sermon which I thought had really rung a bell.
I could see him waiting by the wall; I knew he wanted to talk to me.
Finally, when everyone else had left, we talked.

Though not an exact quotation because of the number of years that have passed, this is what he said, “I came to church today to hear from God through His word, I didn’t come to hear some subjects talked about laced with illustration, sprinkled with Bible verses, and concluded with a tear-jerking story.”

We exchange pleasantries, he left, and I never saw him again.
In typical ministerial style, wrote his remarks off as another bell yacher and complainer, a kook, and trouble-maker that I hope wouldn’t return. After all, he had attacked the thing that I did best, preach. (At least I thought I did a good job in that department.) as I sat in my study that Sunday afternoon, I couldn’t get his words off my mind.
Monday, they came back to haunt me again.
Opening my sermon file, I spent the whole day examining every sermon I had preached in my life, about three hundred at that time.
Guess what? 95% of them were subject sermons.
Shortly thereafter, I came into contact with a preacher at a conference that wowed the audience with a simple, yet profound expository sermon. I couldn’t wait to talk to him in private. He asked me what kind of sermons I preached. Somewhat shame-facedly I told him.

I will never forget his remark, “People will never be drawn to a diet of hors d’oeuvres and snacks consistently, they will invariably crave meat… you must preach the Bible, book by book, chapter by chapter verse by verse.”

That was probably the biggest turning point in my ministry.
I went home and destroyed my existing sermon schedule, and started preaching through the gospel of John, chapter by chapter, and verse by verse. It took me a year and a half to finish that discipline, but by then I was hooked!

Expository preaching is defined differently from school to school.
Laying no claim to being a homiletical expert, and without delving into all the academia concerning homiletic principles, here is a description of what I believe Bible preaching or expository preaching is.
It is taking what is usually more than one verse of scripture and drawing from those verses truths in the present tense with which listeners have no problem identifying. That is a mouthful, but the essence of this type of preaching is simply taking the truth of God’s Word and applying it to life, where people are. It is not expounding a truth or principle, then frantically searching for verses to back it up. In this sense, expository preaching is primarily deductive, i.e., taking the truth of the Word, then deducing from that word its truth for the present.
People are drawn to that kind of preaching because in it they not only learn the Word of God over the months and years, they are equipped with God’s principles derived from that word.

The advantages are obvious.
First, it is advantageous for the preacher in that he never wonders what he’ll be preaching the next week. It will always be the next few verses from where you stopped the week before! “But doesn’t that get boring?” some ask. Never! To the contrary, when people can see the Word they have read for years come to life, they are far from being bored. Another advantage is that difficult and objectional subjects are covered in expository preaching naturally.
For example, one can’t preacher through the book of II Corinthians without coming to chapters 8&9 where Paul goes into long detail about giving. If you preach on those verses as you come to them, it means you haven’t selected them over others for a special stewardship Sunday, but that they too are truth and must be preached just as boldly and strongly as the resurrection in chapter 15 of I Corinthians.

Still another obvious advantage is the Biblical teaching given over an extend period of time.
In 18 years at my pulpit, I have preached through John, Mark, Acts, Revelation, Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians, I&II Peter, I&II Thessalonians, Hosea, Ecclesiastes, Psalms, I John, and I & II Samuel. That doesn’t mean you should never preach a subject sermon. There are many occasions when strong prophetic sermons need to be preached concerning issues of our day like abortion, homosexuality, drunkenness, etc. we should never shy away from those things, but 90% of the time, a diet of expository preaching will draw and feed people. It will serve as the greatest conservation program a church could ever have.

The advantage of people coming to church with their Bibles tucked under their arms is great indeed. Last of all, but not least of all, expository preaching keeps the preacher’s pump primed. It demands intensive exegetical study weekly, thus keeping him in the well of Biblical truth. In fact, it probably does as much or more for him than it does for his listeners.

Maybe you are saying (if you are a preacher), “but who has the time for this?”
Maybe you’re in charge of the printing, the maintenance, the finances, the worship, the evangelism, the shepherding, the Christian Education, etc. and to devote the extra hours to this would complete your burn out. The only answer to this is to ask what it is God has called you to do as a minister.
I firmly believe we cannot evade or avoid our responsibility to be a preaching/teaching pastor if nothing else gets done!
I believe there comes a time when every pastor must say what the twelve said,
“It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables” (Acts 6:2b).
We need to do what God has called us to do. That doesn’t mean a preacher shouldn’t get his feet wet in all areas at various stages in his life, but great blocks of time must be cleared to prepare depthful and meaty messages from God’s Word. That means of course that he cannot be everyone’s errand boy and the church printer.

Without applying all the rules of homiletics, here’s a step by step sequential order for planning an expository message.

Select a book whose message speaks to the current needs of the church.
Every preacher needs to have his hand on the pulse of the people.
Do you have many new believers?
A trip through Mark will help acquaint them with Jesus.
Is your congregation short-sighted about vision?
Take them through the book of Acts! Its power and action will awaken the dead.
I guarantee it!!!
Perhaps there has been much tragedy in the congregation, try II Corinthians.
It’s amazing how God can take what we consider to be an obscure section of scripture and use it to bless people in just about any situation.

I am of the firm conviction that Sunday morning messages should feed, bless, equip, challenge the saints. To be sure, there is always an evangelistic atmosphere and spirit, but the primary purpose of preaching on Sunday mornings is to mature the believers. But every pastor knows his sheep.
And their needs change from time to time, and their needs will become the criteria for selecting the book which to preach.

Lay out the sections of scripture you will cover each Sunday for about three or four months in advance. That doesn’t mean those sections can’t change, but for example, If you are preaching through I John, the first few messages would look like this:


DATE

___________ Sermon No. 1 FROM THE BEGINNING I John 1:1-4

___________ Sermon No. 2 THE LIGHT & DARKNESS I John 1:5-7

___________ Sermon No. 3 SIN & THE CHRISTIAN John 1:8-10 etc.


This lets you know well in advance what verses of scripture will be under consideration for that Sunday.

Read the verses under consideration at least 6 times from the version out of which you will preach. Write in your own words exactly what you think those verses are saying.

Read those verses from at least 5 modern speech translations in order to pick up a drift in the way a phrase or verses is translated. Helpful translations for me are ones by Wuest, Goodspeed, New English Bible, Amplified Bible, Phillips translation, Barclay, and Williams.

Jot down key words in the verses. Sometimes these are verbs, sometimes nouns.
What a key word? It is a word whose root meaning you suspect will make a difference if it is looked up in the original. Occasionally there will be several key words up in a good word study book for root meanings. Often, this enhances you preaching by enabling you to get more than just what appears on the surface.

Now you need to write the main points from you study.
Every preacher has his own way of identifying those words, phrases, and flow that make up the main points. One thing must be remembered in expository preaching; your main points flow out the verses, the text. These points need to be clear, simple, short, and reflective of what the verse is saying.
John 3:16 is a good example:


          Main Points Text says

A Wonderful Fact “God so loved the world,”

A Wonderful Act “. . . gave His only Son.”

A Wonderful Pact “That whoever believes in Him

                                                                 should have eternal life.”


I am of the persuasion that main points need to be always in the present tense.
This proves how relevant scripture is. In other words, it’s not that Jesus SAVED (past tense) Daniel from the jaw of the lion, but that God delivers you today from so much more that would devour you!


Now it’s time for the commentaries.
A word of warning here. Our tendency is to always grab the commentary first, when in reality it should be the end of our preparation.
Why? Remember that those men who wrote the commentaries had to get their insights from someplace. Where did they get them? Obviously they came by pouring over the scriptures themselves. Not to deny scholarly insight, nor minimize others’ ideas, God still wants to internalize His word in the preacher who preaches it. There is no substitute for poring over the passages in meditation and prayer.

The final input in preparation comes from listening to messages of other great contemporary preachers who have preached on that passage. I also believe in anointing and unction that comes even while the message is being preached. I always pray this prayer before I preach: “Lord, set aside anything I have planned that is in your way, and replace it with your fresh word for this hour.”

What about notes?
I’ve found it to be very helpful to keep a manuscript out of the pulpit.
I jot my main points, sub-points, illustrations, and support references on 5x8 cards.
Too much dependence on too many notes keeps one’s head looking downward far too much!
Nothing can take the place of eye contact in preaching.

By now you’re asking, “well and fine, but what does all this have to do with church growth?”
Much in every way! There are two extremes in preaching today. At one end of the spectrum is didactics only. This is the preacher who literally teaches from the pulpit. His interests become the impartation of Biblical truths, organized, outlined, laced with appropriate scriptures, etc.
Often, this becomes the end in itself.
People leave this kind of service with eight pages of a notebook full on both sides, but few lives are changed.
At the other end of the spectrum, there is the experiential preacher.
His sermon consists of a series of experiences, stories, examples, poems and quotations, maybe sprinkled with a verse here and there. This kind of feeding only temporarily satisfies the scriptural hunger, then hunger pangs return very quickly because no meat has been dispensed.
History has borne out that church grow by neither extreme, but by steady week by week expository preaching covering so many verses per week, but preaching those verses using all tools of exegesis and delivery.

Christians visiting will return because perhaps where they’ve gone before, not much of the bible is preached.
Unsaved people will return because the word preached creates hunger for more of it. I can safely and honestly say that I do not know of one dynamic and growing church in America where the bible is not preached faithfully.

These “ten commandments” are for every preacher who desires to preach effectively so the church will grow.

THOU SHALT PREACH PREPARED.
          There is no substitute for poor or no preparation.

THOU SHALT PREACH IN THE VERNACULAR! Jesus preached in terms all could follow. 
          We should do no less.

THOU SHALT PREACH NOT RIDE THY HOBBY HORSE IN THE PULPIT.
          The tendency to get sidetracked onto our favorite subject is ever before us all. Avoid it!!

THOU SHALT SO PREACH THAT THE AUDIENCE USES THEIR BIBLE.
          They have brought their Bibles to uses, disappoint them.

THOU SHALT PREACH WITH EXCITEMENT.
          Your audience will not become more excited than you are.

THOU SHALT NEVER BACK AWAY FROM CONTROVERSIAL SCRIPTURE BECAUSE
        IT ISNT POPULAR.
            God wants it all preached.

THOU SHALT HAVE NO OTHER TASK BEFORE THEE THAN TO PREACH THE WORD
        IN POWER.
            You have not been called to entertain, but preach God’s word.

THOU SHALT PREACH WITH A SMILE.
            Seldom does the Holy Spirit use a lead a soul to Christ.

THOU SHALT PREACH FOR DECISIONS.
            Every sermon should answer the question, “So what?”

THOU SHALT PREACH EVERY SERMON AS THOUGH IT WERE YOUR LAST.
            It’s called preaching with a sense of urgency. There is no place for casual preaching.


Paul said: “. . . it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.”
I believe we need strong Biblical preaching for the world today more than ever before.

There are some obvious enemies of preaching today. Every would-be effective preacher should be familiar with them:

TELEVISION.
Far more than 50% of adult Americans watch television in excess of 20 hours per week. They are accustomed to color, cleverness, concise communication, and clarity. When they walk into your church on Sunday morning, the demand for sharp, interesting, and colorful preaching is heightened greatly today.

THE COMPUTER AGE.
Nothing has affected the work place more in our generation than the computer. It dawned on me one day that my audience consisted of hundreds of people whose eyes are on a computer screen during much of their 40-hour work week. They are not accustomed to doing a lot of intense thinking, nor are they accustomed to only LISTENING to communication. They have come to church from a week of SEEING charts, graphs, percentages, cleverly done comparisons and price inventories, all done in living color on a screen! That means my sermon must be extremely relevant, stimulating and motivating. The computer age has put all us preachers on our toes.

THE ENTERTAINMENT BINGE.
The last ten of twelve years have seen a dramatic change in people’s church-going habits. Entertainment has entered the church in the form of traveling “artists” who are “booked” for their “performances.” They draw crowds and standing ovations. No one should ever be opposed to any group who ministers music and drama in churches and arenas, and certainly no one would argue against the fact that there is a message in much of the Christian music today. But if church A is featuring a popular singing group on Sunday evening and Church B in the same town is featuring their able bodied pastor who is preaching, church A will be crowded and church B will probably be lower than usual in attendance. So a new dimension of “competition” is with us and likely to stay for a while.

I believe there is no room for tame, vanilla, generic preaching.
We are up against a supernatural power of evil, and that requires a supernatural message delivered in a supernatural way. If we want people to bleed, we must hemorrhage. That’s why good, expository preaching is much more than just teaching some verses and their meaning for today. Authentic preaching is mouth to ear resuscitation! It is a matter of life and death, it is preaching as a dying man to dying men, the unsearchable riches of Christ. Let it never be done casually. Real Bible preaching is always done with exclamation points and never question marks. People have not come to hear you air you doubts reservations about this and that, but rather to hear a word from the Lord, preached in a major key, not in a minor one. I find myself praying this prayer before “mounting” the pulpit to preach:

O God . . . don’t let the pulpit call me to the sermon . . . let the sermon call me to the pulpit.
Before I break the bread of life, Lord, break me! Wash from heart and lip the iniquity there . . . 
I want to preach, yea hemorrhage under the divine anointing. God . . . strip me of all pride . . . all cleverness . . . all showmanship . . . and salesmanship. Deliver me from reliance on suaveness, education, academics, personality, notes, canned quips and celestial cliches.
Let me speak with the humility of Moses, the patience of Job, the wisdom of Paul, the power of
Peter and the authority of Christ. Lord, make my preaching clear, not clever; passionate, not pitiful; urgent, not usual; meaty, not murky.

May it comfort the disturb the comfortable, warn the sinner, mature the saint, give hope to the discouraged, and ready for Heaven the whole audience.

Let self be abased, Christ be exalted, the cross be central and the plea be with passion. May my eyes never be dry. Just now Lord, take me out of myself, usurp anything I’ve planned to say when it’s in the way of YOUR message. Here I am Lord, I’m your vessel! AMEN.

Whenever else may be present in dynamic growing churches today, the preached word is there in power and prominence. Many are highly critical of growing churches who seem to grow because of the preacher. Accusations of “preacher-worshippers” are attached to members of those churches. And to be sure, there is a danger that while the dynamic, Bible-centered preaching of a man draws people to a place and may be the same thing that keeps them there even for years, that somehow their worship and admiration of the man doesn’t graduate on to the Lord as it should. But, is that a reason for a gifted expositor who happens to be God’s prophet for the hour and place, to “cool” his calling, and throttle back his own God-given style just so people won’t come just because of Him? No, because God has consistently used His anointed people at seasons and places. I think of the Moodys, the Whitefields, the Weasleys, the Sundays, the Grahams, plus many other contemporaries whom God has used and is using.

When preaching is restored to its proper place in the church again, we’ll begin to see tremendous growth. The Word still stands as a reminder to every would-be preacher:

. . . preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke and exhort, be unfailing in patience and in teaching (II Tim. 4:2)

The preaching factor cannot be ignored in the local church if growth is to come.