Suggestion for Christmas

1.   A special weekday service – lights or ornament to represent people who passed away that year –

A.   with special prayer for each
B.   with chance for each to say a word about person who died
C.   a few carols
D.   a 5-minute devotional about why Christ came

2.  Gift to shut-ins delivered by pastor or staff, with thanks for the past.
3.  Christmas eve services – early for kids and later for older. (11:00 pm was most popular.)
4.  College students to pastor’s house for cider and doughnuts (7:00-9:00 pm, or stated hours so they know not all evening).
5.  Letter to high school seniors about Christmas and their futures.
6.  Start carols early. All ages like carols.
7.  Do not hesitate to sponsor a special end-of-year giving offering, whether or not you like to call it a Christmas gift to Christ or the church. Other ministries are asking your people, and many need to give in a special way at the end of the year.
8.  A letter to church to thank them and express love from you and staff. Include all staff.
9.  Honor the staff with a “Thanksgiving benefit” to use for family Christmas. (Obviously only in a strong year – we’re talking $100, $200, or $300, not massive.)
10  .Project to help needy in community with food baskets and turkeys. Church people turn in names and deliver.
11.  Sermon series from Old Testament or Isaiah or “Christmas in the Letters” – not always traditional Matthew or Luke sermons.
12.  Church building decorated by Sunday after Thanksgiving.
13.  Three-minute interviews during all December in worship services, for people to be asked about both how they began with Christ and how they continue. (You hold the microphone.😊)

P-R-A-Y

praySuggestions for a way to pray in public, and especially for prayer in Sunday and home groups  — to get more involved and attached.

  •  Because so many group prayer times are really request times,  with little time left to pray….
  • Because so many group prayer times are only about “surgeries and accidents”…..
  • Because sometimes one or two people pray long prayers in group prayers,  inhibiting others …..

Continue reading “P-R-A-Y”

A Plea For Public Prayer

Thoughts on a missing part of church worship, with some possibilities for a reinstatement

It is not that a worship time for a church does not work without a planned worship and request prayer. Many churches do very well without it. And no one complains. But…

…All of us who follow God’s ways are clearly commanded to pray. And Jesus taught His disciples to pray.

…Spontaneous prayers by a guitarist are not very worshipful, and they do not model prayer for families or individuals, though they are often good examples of praise and heartfelt love. (Sometimes they are just indicators that the leader liked the previous song :-). Continue reading “A Plea For Public Prayer”

Write me a job description that is pure joy!

First responsibility: Live in connection with Christ Jesus, Lord of all times and the universe.

Second: Love His people with actions and words.   Show what it looks like to be connected with Christ.

Think of and practice ways to get word of God’s grace and love out to people who do not do church.

Study the Word of truth and wisdom and teach it to the church every week with passion and application.

Help to organize and manage the church volunteers and groups and activities so all the above happens a lot.

Get paid for all this,  so you can give it strong attention!

Whoa — I’ll take it!

Enjoy!
Knute

SHALL WE SWIM?

You know it is true:  many people float at their work instead of swim. Some of them even practice “the dead man’s float” — a maneuver  a Navy pilot taught me.  You can float in onespot for a might long time. But that is not what we want.  We shall swim.  Make progress.  Cover some distance,  make progress in loveand grace and more at this church. And that is what these notes are about: pastoring with joy,  making progress, headway, and seeing good happen. They are what others and I have learned and are learning about doing this wonderful gift called church, and seeing people grow in their faith and their “combination life” with Christ our Lord. See what helps you swim better.
Trying to avoid the float, Knute

PRAY

Suggestions for a way to pray in public, and especially for prayer in Sunday and home groups  — to get more involved and attached.

Because so many group prayer times are really request times,  with little time left to pray….
Because so many group prayer times are only about “surgeries and accidents”…..
Because sometimes one or two people pray long prayers in group prayers,  inhibiting others …..
Crucial for this to work well:  there is a leader who moderates the whole prayer time,  instructing as needed,  and modeling what a short prayer is!

Praise/  Repent (and about character)/ Ask/ Yield Continue reading “PRAY”

Leadership Development

Why do we make it hard

  1. Because it is. We learned very little about it in school, and very few of us had strong leaders who deliberately built skills and desires into our lives. And we do not get much time to travel together like Paul did with Timothy or Titus.
  2. We use books too much. A lot of them make it complicated.
  3. Maybe we should just have two subjects to impart: character and church.   CE National has discussion guides from Bible verses on these two subjects, by the way.
  4. We forget it is just TLC – time with men in a group of 4 to 6 others, Love shown and said, and Content of the scripture that hits the heart.
  5. We do not ask ourselves and all staff to lead a group of 4 to 6 others to develop in character strength and church leadership.

Continue reading “Leadership Development”

The leadership part of the pastor’s ministry

Most of us love the preaching responsibility,  and many the shepherding responsibility.  These are two of the main circles of responsibility of a pastor,  and the third is that of leading.

There are many resources available to help us be more accurate in preparing to preach the Word.   And while some shepherding is just plain about showing righteous love, there are many clues from the experience of others that can benefit us.

But the main issues addressed here on this site are about leading (and changing) the church that has been here for a while.  Here on earth.

I hope the proven ideas and the suggestions help.  Consider them,  please.

I would be glad to answer questions about any of them,  or to tell why I think they are better than many traditions I have seen.  Please take a look!