Evangelism Connections is an ecumenical tool for Christians who strive to frame evangelism, hospitality, and church vitality in a 21-st Century context and provide shared resources toward that end. We invite you to participate, comment, and share your own thoughts and ideas on sharing Jesus’ message in a postmodern world.
One resource they offer is a evangelism reflection based on a reading from Sunday's revised common lectionary...visit this resource here
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
A thought: God's perfection
GOD'S PERFECTION...considering Matthew 5:38-48 is not about having the perfect body, wearing the right clothes, having the neatest house, room or workspace, being on time, producing a flawless product or service, getting 100% on an exam or test or any other perfection that we try to create.....it is about living in love and forgiveness in all situations and with all people!!!! and that is hard to live up to...but we shouldn't stop trying!!!!
Article: Will your church have a Kodak moment
The Church’s Frightful Kodak Moment
From author Thom Schultz of 'Why nobody wants to go to church anymore!!'
We walked through the nearly empty, formerly flourishing space of the Kodak manufacturing plant near our home. The plant manager, a friend from church, sadly described how Kodak plants had been downsizing and closing ever since the advent of digital photography.
We have a wish here, he said. We just want to be the last one standing.? Kodak since abandoned most of its space on this campus. This week, the company announced the latest job eliminations.
My friend from church is gone. And I wonder...Is the church the next to go the way of Kodak? I see some chilling parallels.
Kodak dominated the photographic scene for more than 100 years. It commanded an 89 percent market share of photographic film sales in the United States. Almost everyone used the brand. And the company’s advertising language of a “Kodak moment” became part of the common lexicon.
What happened since then has become a colossal story of failure and missed opportunities. A gigantic casualty in the wake of digital photography–a technology that Kodak invented.
That’s right. Kodak engineer Steve Sasson invented the first digital camera in 1975. He later said, “But it was filmless photography, so management’s reaction was, ‘That’s cute, but don’t tell anyone about it.’” And the company entered into decades of agonizing decline, unable to perceive and respond to the advancing digital revolution. In 2012, this American icon filed for bankruptcy.
How could this happen? Where did the leaders of this once-proud organization go wrong? And how might the American church, which has also entered a time of decline, resemble this story?
Signs of Demise
1. A misunderstanding of mission. Kodak’s leaders thought they were in the film business–instead of the imaging business. Their clutching of the traditional methodology clouded their ability to think about the real objective and outcome of their work. The same is happening in churches that confuse their methodologies and legacies with the real mission. Many church leaders believe they’re in the traditional preaching business, the teaching business, the Sunday morning formula business. Clinging to the ways these things have been done diverts the focus from the real mission of helping people today develop an authentic and growing relationship with the real Jesus.
2. Failure to read the times. Kodak’s leaders didn’t recognize the pace and character of change in the culture. They thought people would never part with hard prints. They derided the new technology. They assumed that people, even if they wandered off to try digital photography, would return to film-based photos for the perceived higher quality. People did not return. Similarly, church leaders who assume that the current church decline is just a cyclical blip will be left to sweep out the empty factories of 20th century religion.
3. Fear of loss. A central reason Kodak chose not to pursue digital photography in 1992 was the fear of cannibalizing their lucrative sales of film. Kodak had become a hostage of its own success, clinging to what worked in the past at the expense of embracing the future. The same tendency befalls churches. A pastor in our upcoming documentary, When God Left the Building, said his church will not make any changes to become more effective because someone will inevitably object and get upset. “We abdicate every time,” he said. “We just can’t lose any more members.” That congregation is already dead. They just don’t know it.
Turning Around
The Kodak story didn’t need to take such a dismal turn. And neither does the story of the American church. The times call for proactive steps for a brighter future if we’re willing to learn from others’ mistakes. Some thoughts to consider:
1. Accept and understand reality. Even though some of the decline is slow, it’s real. The American church is fading. (See the cold facts in our new book Why Nobody Wants to Go to Church Anymore.) Work through the data and the realities with your staff and lay leaders. Do not be misled by anecdotal glimmers of numerical growth in isolated examples. Examine the overall trends in the country. And look past the easy measures of butts in seats, and ask deeper questions about true spiritual vitality. And resist the temptation to defend the status quo.
2. Don’t just tweak. Revolutionize. Once digital photography began to take off, Kodak tried tweaking their old models. It was a case of too little too late. Many churches today are tweaking with cosmetic changes–in music, church names, and pastoral facial hair. A church leader in our documentary said if his traditional church would just install screens, the people will come. They won’t. It’s too late for tweaking. It’s time to re-examine everything we’re doing and re-evaluate. Ask big questions. Is the old Sunday morning formula of half sing-along and half lecture what works anymore? Is that performance on Sunday morning really how we want to define the sum total of the church anyway?
3. Take some risks. Experiment. Act now. At Group Publishing and Lifetree Cafe, we talk with hundreds of pastors and church leaders every week, many of whom are discouraged. As we brainstorm with them about changes they might try to enhance their ministries, some sink into paralysis. “People may not like the change,” they say. “What if it doesn’t work?” And we ask, “What are you afraid of?” It’s time to have some faith–faith that God will walk with the faithful who are willing to step out and risk a little love on his behalf. Try something. Experiment. Let your people experiment. Be bold. Don’t delay.
Kodak failed and squandered tremendous opportunities because its leaders chose to defend the status quo. We can learn from their mistakes. And we have an additional resource on our side–God. He’s not giving up on his church. He’s already moving into the future. We need to muster the courage to move with him.
From author Thom Schultz of 'Why nobody wants to go to church anymore!!'
We walked through the nearly empty, formerly flourishing space of the Kodak manufacturing plant near our home. The plant manager, a friend from church, sadly described how Kodak plants had been downsizing and closing ever since the advent of digital photography.
We have a wish here, he said. We just want to be the last one standing.? Kodak since abandoned most of its space on this campus. This week, the company announced the latest job eliminations.
My friend from church is gone. And I wonder...Is the church the next to go the way of Kodak? I see some chilling parallels.
Kodak dominated the photographic scene for more than 100 years. It commanded an 89 percent market share of photographic film sales in the United States. Almost everyone used the brand. And the company’s advertising language of a “Kodak moment” became part of the common lexicon.
What happened since then has become a colossal story of failure and missed opportunities. A gigantic casualty in the wake of digital photography–a technology that Kodak invented.
That’s right. Kodak engineer Steve Sasson invented the first digital camera in 1975. He later said, “But it was filmless photography, so management’s reaction was, ‘That’s cute, but don’t tell anyone about it.’” And the company entered into decades of agonizing decline, unable to perceive and respond to the advancing digital revolution. In 2012, this American icon filed for bankruptcy.
How could this happen? Where did the leaders of this once-proud organization go wrong? And how might the American church, which has also entered a time of decline, resemble this story?
Signs of Demise
1. A misunderstanding of mission. Kodak’s leaders thought they were in the film business–instead of the imaging business. Their clutching of the traditional methodology clouded their ability to think about the real objective and outcome of their work. The same is happening in churches that confuse their methodologies and legacies with the real mission. Many church leaders believe they’re in the traditional preaching business, the teaching business, the Sunday morning formula business. Clinging to the ways these things have been done diverts the focus from the real mission of helping people today develop an authentic and growing relationship with the real Jesus.
2. Failure to read the times. Kodak’s leaders didn’t recognize the pace and character of change in the culture. They thought people would never part with hard prints. They derided the new technology. They assumed that people, even if they wandered off to try digital photography, would return to film-based photos for the perceived higher quality. People did not return. Similarly, church leaders who assume that the current church decline is just a cyclical blip will be left to sweep out the empty factories of 20th century religion.
3. Fear of loss. A central reason Kodak chose not to pursue digital photography in 1992 was the fear of cannibalizing their lucrative sales of film. Kodak had become a hostage of its own success, clinging to what worked in the past at the expense of embracing the future. The same tendency befalls churches. A pastor in our upcoming documentary, When God Left the Building, said his church will not make any changes to become more effective because someone will inevitably object and get upset. “We abdicate every time,” he said. “We just can’t lose any more members.” That congregation is already dead. They just don’t know it.
Turning Around
The Kodak story didn’t need to take such a dismal turn. And neither does the story of the American church. The times call for proactive steps for a brighter future if we’re willing to learn from others’ mistakes. Some thoughts to consider:
1. Accept and understand reality. Even though some of the decline is slow, it’s real. The American church is fading. (See the cold facts in our new book Why Nobody Wants to Go to Church Anymore.) Work through the data and the realities with your staff and lay leaders. Do not be misled by anecdotal glimmers of numerical growth in isolated examples. Examine the overall trends in the country. And look past the easy measures of butts in seats, and ask deeper questions about true spiritual vitality. And resist the temptation to defend the status quo.
2. Don’t just tweak. Revolutionize. Once digital photography began to take off, Kodak tried tweaking their old models. It was a case of too little too late. Many churches today are tweaking with cosmetic changes–in music, church names, and pastoral facial hair. A church leader in our documentary said if his traditional church would just install screens, the people will come. They won’t. It’s too late for tweaking. It’s time to re-examine everything we’re doing and re-evaluate. Ask big questions. Is the old Sunday morning formula of half sing-along and half lecture what works anymore? Is that performance on Sunday morning really how we want to define the sum total of the church anyway?
3. Take some risks. Experiment. Act now. At Group Publishing and Lifetree Cafe, we talk with hundreds of pastors and church leaders every week, many of whom are discouraged. As we brainstorm with them about changes they might try to enhance their ministries, some sink into paralysis. “People may not like the change,” they say. “What if it doesn’t work?” And we ask, “What are you afraid of?” It’s time to have some faith–faith that God will walk with the faithful who are willing to step out and risk a little love on his behalf. Try something. Experiment. Let your people experiment. Be bold. Don’t delay.
Kodak failed and squandered tremendous opportunities because its leaders chose to defend the status quo. We can learn from their mistakes. And we have an additional resource on our side–God. He’s not giving up on his church. He’s already moving into the future. We need to muster the courage to move with him.
Friday, February 21, 2014
Lent including Ash Wednesday Resources
Following are some resources relating to Lent that may help you in your planning and Lenten observance
LENT videos
A video to explain Lent
Another video explaining Lent
A reflective video for Lent
SKIT GUYS Lent videos are available here
Lutheran Church of Australia – Ash Wednesday Service
LENT videos
A video to explain Lent
Another video explaining Lent
Lent Reflection
A reflective video for Lent
SKIT GUYS Lent videos are available here
Lutheran Church of Australia – Ash Wednesday Service
Children, Youth and Family Ministry Lent resource from Grow Ministries - GIFT
http://www.lcacyfm.org.au/
Textweek
http://www.lcacyfm.org.au/
Textweek
Offers links to general resources, lent planning, reconciliation resources,
art and resources, devotionals and articles
Ministry Matters
Faithful Lutheran Resources from Cyberbrethran
Lenten Resources from Solapublishing
The Worship Well
Links to a variety of Lent and Holy Week resources
Lutheran Hour Ministries – Lent devotion, My God, My God why have you forsaken me?
can be personalised for congregational distribution
North Eastern Iowa Synod (ELCA) – Lent ideas
includes resources for home, church, school, Lenten fair, dramas plus
many other creative ideas
Lenten series and devotionals – more than Gold
available from http://www.lutheranchurch-canada.ca/resources.php
ELCA – world hunger Lenten pack
Emmaus Lutheran Church – Alberta
Resources that include Lenten and Easter Devotions, explanation of
Lent, radio episodes relating to Lent, papers, articles, Youth resources
Concordia Publishing House
Augsburg Fortress
Lenten Series suggestions
The Jesus Questions
Nine essential questions about life and faith
Peace Lutheran Church, Great Falls Montana
"You Know Best" Ash Wednesday --
Pastor Schlund's sermon from Ash
Wednesday (3/9/2011) based on the text from Luke 22:1-6
"You Have to be A Rock" –
Pastor Schlund's sermon from the 2nd Wednesday in Lent based on the
text from Matthew 26:40-41
"Sit Back and Wait" --
Pastor Schlund's sermon from the 3rd Wednesday in Lent based on the
text from Matthew 26:57-58
"A Little is Ok" --
Pastor Schlund's sermon from the 4th Wednesday of Lent based on the
text from Matthew 26:69-75
"Church Leaders Are Always Right" --
Pastor Schlund's sermon from the Lenten Lies series based on the text
from John 18:28
"Entertainment Is Always Good" --
Pastor Schlund's sermon in the Lenten Lies series based on the text
from Luke 23:4-9
"Only Bread and Wine" -- Maundy Thursday --
Pastor Schlund's sermon from Maundy Thursday based on the text from
Matthew 26:26-28
"Death is Always Bad" -- Good Friday --
Pastor Schlund's sermon from Good Friday based on the text from John
19:30
From United Methodist Church – Preach a topical series….
On the first Sunday in Lent, preach about the freedom and power God
gives God's people to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms
they present themselves.
On the second Sunday in Lent, explore what it means to confess Jesus
Christ as your Savior.
On the fourth Sunday in Lent, discuss the Apostles' Creed and its
historical and theological role in our baptismal faith.
On the fifth Sunday in Lent, consider the welcome that states
"Through baptism you are incorporated by the Holy Spirit into God's new
creation and made to share in Christ's royal priesthood. We are all one in
Christ Jesus."
How does reflecting upon our baptismal covenant during the season of
Lent help to prepare us for the Easter proclamation? How are we transformed by
the journey?
Church for Men
There has been much discussion.....some official....some behind the scenes that many congregations have neglected men.....
Church for men is a site that encourages discussion and reflection on how the church may improve in its ministry to men....
Visit Church for Men at http://www.patheos.com/blogs/churchformen/
Church for men is a site that encourages discussion and reflection on how the church may improve in its ministry to men....
Visit Church for Men at http://www.patheos.com/blogs/churchformen/
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