ChurchHacks.com

My church has been focusing on the Ten Commandments during our weekend worship gatherings and this past Sunday was number seven: You shall not commit adultery (Exodus 20:14). Jesus instructs us in Matthew 5:27-30 that adultery includes the act as well as the thoughts leading up to the action, so don’t think you’re off the hook if you haven’t committed the physical act of adultery. Since I’m not the one preaching here, I’ll move on.

If you’re in pastoral leadership, you’ve probably read many articles and books on the subject of protecting yourself in the area of marital faithfulness and more recently about not taking the bait of Internet pornography. I don’t feel I need to develop a rationale to convince you to pursue Christlikeness in these areas because you should know better. If you’re a student of God’s Word and are in church leadership, as a pastor or in lay leadership, you should already understand how God thinks. Others have accomplished that much better than I could so I encourage you to dig up those magazine articles and books and go through them periodically and prayerfully. We know there is a hook attached to the bait and a fisherman at the other end of the line with every intention of pulling you in. It’s good to re-read those materials and remind yourself of those truths from time to time because our minds might blur the distinction between the bait and the provisions God has given to us.

Think of it like reverse beer goggles. Beer goggles enable the drinker to view the not-so-attractive barfly as a thing of beauty the more alcohol they consume. The more we study God’s Word and other materials on the subject of purity, the clearer the lines will be between that which God has blessed us with and that which ensnares us.

While I’m not going to give you instruction on why you need to have victory in this area, I will give you some ideas on how you can succeed and steps you can take to reduce the chance of making the wrong choice.

(more…)

‘Tis the season to be infectious. Since we’re approaching that time of year when your health can fluctuate as often and severe as the price of a gallon of gas, it’s time to consider the ramifications of you, the pastor, getting sick and having to attend Bedside Baptist instead of preaching on a Sunday morning. What do you do when you wake up on Sunday morning as sick as a dog?

1. Establish a plan and procedure ahead of time and discuss it with those involved.
   We often think clearer when we don’t have the pressures of a crisis breathing down our necks. The military has operation procedures and football teams have play books. They execute strategies and plays that have been predetermined for every scenario. Take the time to develop a contingency plan in advance so you’re not dumping responsibility on someone at the last minute.
2. If there is another pastor on staff or church leader who is able to preach, make sure he has a message prepared for this purpose.
   Football teams have second- and third-string quarterbacks and the military has a chain of command so if someone gets taken out, another can step in to take their place. I was the second-string preacherman at a previous church. Shortly after I had taken this ministry, the senior pastor instructed me to have a message waiting in the wings in case he was ill. I never received the early Sunday morning call but I was ready, nonetheless.
3. Designate a point man to make a final decision about what will take place.
   Your plan may work 95% of the time but it’s possible that you’ll be sick on a Sunday when your plan won’t work. You may need to call an audible. For example, your plan is to have a fellow pastor preach a message from Genesis 3 that he already has prepared. However, it’s Mother’s Day and it’s probably not a good time to talk about the whole ordeal with Eve and the Serpent. Have your point man call an audible and put an alternate play into motion.
4. Strip out elements for that day’s service that are unique to your message (drama, special music, videos, etc.).
   If you have music or other aspects to your service that are closely tied to your sermon, put those on hold until you preach that message. People are pretty flexible and I’m sure soloists and those involved in drama will appreciate an extra week of preparation.
5. Early the next week, think of the impact it will make on your sermon schedule and adjust accordingly.
   Changing this week’s plans might have implications for future weeks. You may be in the middle of a series that needs to end on a certain week or you might be approaching a holiday or another event. Look ahead on your message planning sheet and figure out where you need to make adjustments in the schedule.

Here are some specific ideas to include in your plan.

(more…)