This past summer, I was invited to be the “storyteller” at an evangelistic block party in a rural Missouri town. I had four sessions. In the first one, I cut out a golden calf from gold foil wrapping paper and was good to go. Well, I asked what an idol was and explained that God didn’t like idols. And then I told the Golden Calf story from Exod. 32. Now, there were 20 in the place listening to me, 15 of which were under the age of seven or eight years old. I gave it all I had, but stuck to … [Read more...]
Full throttle, unprecedented opportunities
Mary Leigh, my wife, is a cancer survivor. She had the childhood form of leukemia as an adult. The Lord has healed her and she is a living testimony of the power of prayer. At every test, her markers exceeded those of so many others who eventually died. After six months of her three-year chemotherapy, we made a trip to the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. The traffic was bad; downright chaotic. I followed behind a yellow cab who really knew his stuff. I stayed right with … [Read more...]
Forming small groups: “Deeper than a nametag”
After giving someone a nametag, a cup of joe and a donut, what more could they want from your small group? But, then they turn to face a sea of unknown faces. Introductions are made: Glad to see you Mike Mary Earl Tammy John Sienna Sean Amy… There is no relationship, no recognizable network here. Individuals have come together and are trying desperately to make friends: Are you … Married? Looking? With kids? Employed? Having fun, how? Married? Working? Living where? Interested in anything, … [Read more...]
Towards a more powerful testimony
In my ministry, I often hear well-intentioned men and women give their testimony. Is there a better way? How is it possible to improve upon one’s personal experience with Jesus? We live in a time when people are complimented for even sharing their faith! But what happens when we spend too much time on the “before Christ” part and the moment of salvation is unfortunately muted, stunted, and offers no handles that a lost person can grab? Helping others have a clear path to Christ is the … [Read more...]
Opening the front door, closing the back door
In a consultation with a church as they were developing their evangelism strategy, it dawned on me that if their church had been in a community that had not grown numerically, they easily could have closed their doors. At least two counties in Missouri have grown incredibly in the past ten years. If they lost two families out the back door, there are many others walking in the front door. However, there are churches in Missouri that would be in trouble if two families walked out the back … [Read more...]
Thinking Bibles and sowing down the gospel
When Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief (DR) had a training simulation last May, I was blessed to have a chainsaw crew composed of volunteers mainly from Lebanon visit my home. They practiced by removing two dead trees. As they were getting ready to leave, they prayed for me and then presented me with a “gift” version of a New Testament with all their signatures. It really amazed me to think that each DR crew carried Bibles, that they cared enough to share with those that they had just … [Read more...]
Leading children to Christ, tell them Bible stories early
Growing up, my best friend was Jimmy and we did everything together for several years. It was only natural one summer to invite him to Vacation Bible School at my church. His parents let him go and he soon wanted to give his heart to Christ, so my mother talked to his mother. That’s when I learned about the “age of accountability” and even though I had accepted Christ and been baptized at age seven, apparently Jimmy’s mother – following the tradition of their church – insisted that he be … [Read more...]
But can you make disciples?
It was an honor to meet recently with a young pastor from southwestern Missouri. He wanted to know how he could get his church to become active witnesses for Christ. He had a pen and paper and was ready to write down a training program or book he could use. However, my advice was to model the behavior he expected of them. MAWL is an acronym for Model, Assist, Watch, and Leave that was developed by then-International Mission Board missionary Curtis Sergeant, who is now with E3 Partners … [Read more...]
Spiritual maturity, trusting the disciple-maker
Can spiritual maturity be achieved in a one-way lecture-based environment? School teachers grimace at the thought of teaching children in a large classroom in which one lesson is expected to apply to everyone. Speaking without listening is not communication if it lacks a feedback loop. Just as each student has a unique learning level, each follower of Jesus has a spiritual growth story. How can a preacher or small group leader know what is being caught no matter how deep theologically he … [Read more...]
Characteristics of a good sermon invitation
Evangelicals began using altar calls and invitations in the 1830s. From Charles Finney’s invitations to pulpits today, the same urgency drives a need for every person to respond in faith to the Holy Spirit’s prompting. Half-baked and incomplete invitations can inoculate the lost to thinking that they have heard all they ever need to hear. What response does your sermon generate? When Peter preached, the Holy Spirit convicted people to action. • At Pentecost: “… they came under deep … [Read more...]
The resources are in the harvest of souls
Across Missouri I have had a consistent message: Help new believers go down on one knee to pray to receive Christ as Savior and immediately go down on the other knee to pray for who they should go together to share their faith. We have around 10,000 to 11,000 baptisms every year. Are we intentional about making these new believers make disciples of others that they know? “It’s the responsibility of every church to make disciples. I also believe that the Word tells us that it is the job of … [Read more...]
Making disciples or teaching the lesson?
My Sunday School teacher called early on a Saturday morning. “Mark, my store was broken into and completely vandalized. It’ll take days to repair. If you don’t teach tomorrow, then we won’t have Sunday School. How ‘bout it?” I agreed, but only out of pity. Prior to that moment, I had only taught a third grade Sunday School class with my wife. I actually got her to drive to church while I scanned the lesson plan. And I knew I was bad. Because of that experience I skewed spiritual gift tests … [Read more...]