07.06.09
Jud Wilhite: What Are You ReThinking?
Jud Wilhite, our Senior Pastor was recently interviewed by ReThink Monthly to sit down and share about what he was rethinking, what keeps him up at night, and what was on his mind. Check out this article to see how God is using some of today’s prominent church leaders to ReThink the church culture of today. Here is a little of what Jud shared…
Rethink Monthly: In your personal life, is there anything that God is speaking to you that is causing you to rethink the way that you do things in your own life?
Jud Wilhite: Yeah, I think the one thing just this last week, I have been really convicted by is that I think my prayers are too small. I have been reading about the Great Awakening in America and just thinking about how the entire city of Philadelphia went out to a field and heard George Whitfield speak. It has happened before, and like how small my prayers are to imagine the entire city of Las Vegas going out in the desert to hear a message about Christ. I have just been trying to expand my thinking so I will tell you how that played out this weekend. I saw something that I have never seen this weekend. It is one of the things I want to talk to you about on the church side. You know what, I’ll wait. As far as this question goes, I think the big challenge that I have wrestled with is my prayers are too small, and our God is soooo much bigger than I give Him credit. It hasn’t sunk into my life enough and I have really been lit up with that personally. I am just trying to expand my vision of what God can do and who He is, and all that He is accomplishing.
So what are you ReThinking about ministry? What has been on your mind?
07.02.09
No Time for God
In the busyness of life and ministry, do I really have time for God? Over the past 19 years of ministry, God has allowed me to serve as Senior Pastor, Executive Pastor, Family Pastor, and Small Groups Pastor and in every role one of the biggest obstacles I find is making room for God in my daily schedule. I know that statement doesn’t sound too spiritual but to me prayer and the spiritual disciplines have seemed to always (not intentionally) slowly shift to the back seat of my priorities. Today, I was reading through Colossians and came across a challenging but encouraging verse about making room for the eternal. Here is what it said,
Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.
Devote myself to prayer…uhm…good thought but really how devoted am I to prayer? Here are a few of the take aways from my time today:
- Define Prayer: My definition for prayer has changed over the past few years. I use to define prayer as talking to God but now I define prayer as listening to God. The problem with me talking to God is I still have this sense of control and I find myself just spouting off my checklist of wants and needs. Henry Blackaby described that we need to find out where God is working and join Him in what He is doing. Whenever I listen, I can let go and spend more time focusing on what God is saying to me individually. God is always speaking but sometimes we can’t hear Him due to the busyness of our activity.
- Focus My Thoughts On God: I have noticed that great spiritual leaders from the past have almost always spoken of finding a specific place to get alone with God. A place of no distractions, no cell phones, no computers, or any other gadgets that would take our focus away from the Almighty. We have a casita at our house and it is the perfect place to go and just focus on what God is saying to me. I really love the escape and it has really become a special place to me and my time with my Heavenly Father.
- Hang Out with Spiritual Leaders: Whenever I say that, people sometimes think a spiritual leader is someone who is not cool, not hip, and definitely cannot be fun! I really wasn’t looking for hip or cool people but what I have needed is someone who can read my soul and give me guidance in my walk with Christ. I am so thankful for the spiritual leaders that have taken the time to invest in my life. Don’t forget as leaders, we need to be pouring our lives in those that God has placed around us.
- Go on a Retreat: No, not the one you have to sign up for and pay a lot of money, but just go on a retreat. I was able to take a retreat the other day by just getting in the car and driving 30 minutes to be in the mountains. I love to get away to remote places and just enjoy the view and listen to God. You can go on a hike, a drive, or even take a walk. Whatever you do, take time to go on a retreat. It will do so much good for your soul!
Mother Teresa once said,
You have to be holy in your position as you are, and I have to be holy in the position that God has put me. So it is nothing extraordinary to be holy. Holiness is not the luxury of the few. Holiness is a simple duty for you and for me. We have been created for that.
Remember, Holy not perfect…spiritual not religious! Just some of my thoughts that God has me thinking about today! What are you thinking about today?
06.17.09
Leading vrs Managing by Tony
Tony Morgan posted this on his blog recently and I think it is something that a lot of us pastors and leaders face in our ministry life…”Am I a Leader or a Manager?” Once you can answer this question and know how God has wired you, I believe you will be able to find your “Sweet Spot” in the work that God has called you to do!
In their book First, Break All the Rules, Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman defined both roles like this:
Managers – “Great managers look inward. They look inside the company, into each individual, into the differences in style, goals, needs, and motivation of each person. These differences are small, subtle, but great managers need to pay attention to them. These subtle differences guide them toward the right way to release each person’s unique talents into performance.”
Leaders – “Great leaders look outward. They look out at the competition, out at the future, out at alternative routes forward. They focus on broad patterns, finding connections, cracks, and then press home their advantage where the resistance is weakest. They must be visionaries, strategic thinkers, activators. When played well, this is, without doubt, a critical role. But it doesn’t have much to do with the challenge of turning one individual’s talents into performance.”
That’s how Buckingham and Coffman described the two roles in marketplace organizations, but the Bible also distinguishes these two rules. The spiritual gift of leadership found in Romans 12:8 is very different from the spiritual gift of management (or administration) found in I Corinthians 12:28. Few people have both of these gifts, but both are needed within a healthy church body.
So, here are some questions to consider, pray about and discuss with your team:
- Are you a leader or manager? (How do you know?)
- Are you in a role that allows you to lead or manage according to your gifts?
- Do you know whether or not the people working for you are leaders or managers?
- Are they serving in roles that fit their giftedness?
- Have you defined what roles in your organization need leaders and which ones need managers
When one of those roles are open, are you trying to find the person who is best gifted to lead or manage?
So which one are you…a Leader or a Manager? Are you in your “Sweet Spot”? For the rest of the post, click here.
05.28.09
What? No More Poker Night? No More Small Group?
Have you seen this video yet? Possibly no more “Poker Night”, no more neighborhood “Super Bowl” parties, no more “Tupperware” parties, and oh yeah, no more Small Groups at a San Diego home! Well, that is what is being reported by a local San Diego news station.
10News.com reported:
A local pastor and his wife claim they were interrogated by a San Diego County official, who then threatened them with escalating fines if they continued to hold bible studies in their home.
“If the county thinks they can shut down groups of 10 or 15 Christians meeting in a home, what about people who meet regularly at home for poker night? What about people who meet for Tupperware parties? What about people who are meeting to watch baseball games on a regular basis and support the Chargers?” said Broyles.
Would love to know your thoughts…
05.27.09
Do Your Leaders “Own” What Happens…
…in the Small Group Ministry at your church? Do they fail to connect with the vision of where your Small Group Ministry is headed? The truth is most Small Group Leaders feel little responsibility for the vision that God has given to your church. Most are pretty satisfied with sitting back and allowing their group members to coast!
Motivating Small Group Leaders to create a vision for their own Small Group is no easy task, but challenging leaders to embrace the vision of your Small Group Ministry team is within reach for every Small Group Pastor or Director. consider some ideas for getting leaders to engage and embrace the vision:
- Check Your Vision: Is it 20/20 vision? Is the vision clear and simple for everyone to understand? If not, gather with some of your leaders and ask “Why not?”
- Challenge Leaders: Everyone in their group–leaders and members alike–is responsible for creating an effective and authentic Small Group experience. Are your leaders mentoring and sharing their responsibilities? If not, give some ideas: communications leader, prayer leader, food coordinator, community service leader, apprentice leader, or make up a new role.
- Communicate Often: In the Age of Technology, there is no excuse for not being able to communicate with all of your leaders. Make sure they know what is going on in the Small Group Ministry and don’t forget that “vision leaks” so constantly over-communicate your vision in your emails, blogs, one-on-ones, leadership gatherings, websites, and any other way that you choose to communicate.
- Set Realistic Goals: Do you and your leaders set goals together? The leaders are the ones in the trenches and they can give a true assessment of what is happening in your groups. Plan a Leadership Round Table and ask your leaders to dream and dream BIG! Don’t forget to celebrate when your team achieves their goals! Be specific and usually helps to have seasonal goals.
- Hang Out: Nothing is better at building relationships and ownership than just hanging out with your leaders. When was the last time you planned an event to just “hang out” and have fun with your leaders. Plan a cookout, bowling tournament, kick ball tournament, rafting trip, or go hiking together!
Maybe you have some ideas that have worked with your Small Group Leaders. Please feel free to share any of your ideas and comments!
05.21.09
Ultimate “Idol” Upset…
Congrats to Kris Allen for winning the Biggest Upset in American Idols history! My entire family was voting for Kris and was pumped and a little surprised whenever the “Dark Horse” took the AI Crown from Adam last evening! Congrats to Adam also for coming in at second. Both of these guys totally rocked!
Did you know that Kris is a worship leader at New Life Church in Maumelle, Arkansas. He has been involved in missionary work around the world including Burma, Morocco, Mozambique, South Africa, Spain, and Thailand. Much of his musical background is connected with his church experiences.
Way to go Kris! Keep looking up!!!
05.16.09
Q/A With Craig Groeschel
At Catalyst West this year, I was introduced to two guys, Tyler and Tripp who did this Q & A with Craig Groeschel! Check out this video.
05.14.09
Engaged Couple’s Small Group Resources
Wanted to let you know about a Resource that we use in our Premarital Groups called PREPARE/ENRICH Couples Assessment Tools. Central will be hosting a PREPARE/ENRICH Facilitator Training at our Henderson location. Here are some of the details about the resource and the upcoming training:
PREPARE/ENRICH Facilitator Training
Wednesday June 3rd, 8:30am to 4:30pm
Central Christian Church Henderson, NV
PREPARE/ENRICHis a customized couple assessment completed online that identifies a couple’s strength and growth areas. Based on a couple’s assessment results, a trained facilitator provides 4-8 feedback sessions in which the facilitator helps the couple discuss and understand their results as they are taught proven relationship skills. To read up on the latest developments of PREPARE/ENRICH you can visit www.prepare-enrich.com Training Options in the PREPARE/ENRICH Program The PREPARE/ENRICH Program enables facilitators to identify a couple’s specific strength and growth areas, teach them communication and conflict resolution skills, and help them resolve key relationship issues. The Workshop is designed to help facilitators learn how to administer PREPARE/ENRICH and provide feedback to premarital and married couples using six core and over 20 supplemental exercises. Facilitators must attend one of our PREPARE/ENRICH Workshops held throughout the country. The 1-day training includes all the materials you will need to get started using PREPARE/ENRICH in your setting, as well as a complimentary online scoring credit. The price of the workshop is $175 and average length is about 7 hours.
The PREPARE/ENRICH Resource Kit includes: Resource Guide; Samples Reports; Couple’s Workbook; Two Training DVD’s; Facilitators Manuel on CD; A Complimentary Scoring Credit ($29.95 value) The UPDATE WORKSHOP is designed for facilitator’s previously trained in the Version 2000 materials who would like to be updated to use the new Customized PREPARE/ENRICH. The price of the update workshop for already certified users of PREPARE/ENRICH is $75.
In addition to the basic training, the goals of the upgrade workshop are:
- Compare the Customized Version to Version 2000
- Demonstrate the Administration process for the Customized Version
- Review the new Facilitator’s Report
- Overview the new Couple’s Workbook
- Review the 6 core exercises
TO REGISTER: Click Here
05.13.09
Evangelism Doesn’t Matter!
Evangelism doesn’t matter….or does it? Today, I want to continue today and reverse the question, “Can you do Discipleship without Evangelism? Is there a choice? Some of the last words that Jesus left with His disciples were words of instructions: “Go and make disciples.” So here is the question, “What is more important? Evangelism or discipleship?” As long as people are discipled, does it really matter if we evangelize or is that God’s job? Can you separate the mission given in Matthew 28:19, 20?
I have the privilege to work at an amazing church where we are seeing God do a movement. Over the past few weeks, we have seen over 1,000 people come to know Christ and in just one weekend, we were able to see over 1,400 people baptized. I have the privilege of having a front row seat of what God is doing in “Sin City”. Our Senior Pastor, Jud Wilhite said yesterday in our all-staff meeting, “I hope you guys don’t ever get tired of this because we are never going to let our foot off the gas when it comes to evangelism.” One of the great motivators for us is a poem that was written by Sam Shoemaker entitled “I Stand at the Door.” One thing that it emphasizes is the need for relevant church to maintain an intentional outward focus. Jud continually reminds us that it is our mandate to be more concerned with those not yet a part of the community. The poem is posted below. A great reminder to us all…Don’t forget about evangelism…those that are standing at the door!
“I stand by the door.
I neither go to far in, nor stay to far out.
The door is the most important door in the world -
It is the door through which men walk when they find God.
There is no use my going way inside and staying there,
When so many are still outside and they, as much as I,
Crave to know where the door is.
And all that so many ever find
Is only the wall where the door ought to be.
They creep along the wall like blind men,
With outstretched, groping hands,
Feeling for a door, knowing there must be a door,
Yet they never find it.
So I stand by the door.The most tremendous thing in the world
Is for men to find that door – the door to God.
The most important thing that any man can do
Is to take hold of one of those blind, groping hands
And put it on the latch – the latch that only clicks
And opens to the man’s own touch.Men die outside the door, as starving beggars die
On cold nights in cruel cities in the dead of winter.
Die for want of what is within their grasp.
They live on the other side of it – live because they have not found it.Nothing else matters compared to helping them find it,
And open it, and walk in, and find Him.
So I stand by the door.Go in great saints; go all the way in -
Go way down into the cavernous cellars,
And way up into the spacious attics.
It is a vast, roomy house, this house where God is.
Go into the deepest of hidden casements,
Of withdrawal, of silence, of sainthood.
Some must inhabit those inner rooms
And know the depths and heights of God,
And call outside to the rest of us how wonderful it is.
Sometimes I take a deeper look in.
Sometimes venture in a little farther,
But my place seems closer to the opening.
So I stand by the door.There is another reason why I stand there.
Some people get part way in and become afraid
Lest God and the zeal of His house devour them;
For God is so very great and asks all of us.
And these people feel a cosmic claustrophobia
And want to get out. ‘Let me out!’ they cry.
And the people way inside only terrify them more.
Somebody must be by the door to tell them that they are spoiled.
For the old life, they have seen too much:
One taste of God and nothing but God will do any more.
Somebody must be watching for the frightened
Who seek to sneak out just where they came in,
To tell them how much better it is inside.
The people too far in do not see how near these are
To leaving – preoccupied with the wonder of it all.
Somebody must watch for those who have entered the door
But would like to run away. So for them too,
I stand by the door.I admire the people who go way in.
But I wish they would not forget how it was
Before they got in. Then they would be able to help
The people who have not yet even found the door.
Or the people who want to run away again from God.
You can go in too deeply and stay in too long
And forget the people outside the door.
As for me, I shall take my old accustomed place,
Near enough to God to hear Him and know He is there,
But not so far from men as not to hear them,
And remember they are there too.Where? Outside the door -
Thousands of them. Millions of them.
But – more important for me -
One of them, two of them, ten of them.
Whose hands I am intended to put on the latch.
So I shall stand by the door and wait
For those who seek it.‘I had rather be a door-keeper
So I stand by the door.”
Okay, I would love to know your thoughts.
05.11.09
Discipleship Doesn’t Matter…
Discipleship Doesn’t Matter…
Discipleship doesn’t matter…or does it? Some of the last words that Jesus left with His disciples were words of instructions: “Go and make disciples.” So here is the question, “What is more important? Evangelism or discipleship?” As long as people come to know Christ, does it really matter whether they are taught the teachings from His Word? Can you separate the mission given in Matthew 28:19, 20?
- “Go and make disciples”
- “Teach these new disciples”
In a recent article Suggestions for Today’s “Relevant” Church, Craig Groeschel writes a challenge to the relevant and growing churches of today:
“While the intentions of most relevant pastors (including my own) are generally to reach those who don’t know Christ, we have to ask ourselves, “How effective are our ministries really?” Just because we are “growing” numerically doesn’t mean the people coming are growing spiritually.”
So, what do you think? How effective are we at reaching people for Christ? How effective are we at teaching the new disciples? Does the relevant and growing church of today need to make some corrections about discipleship? Love to know your thoughts!
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