A New Project For Men's Ministries

          Women's ministries thrive in churches across the country. No matter the size of the church, Women find strength in each other. There are groups for women with small children, women who have special talents, make quilts, and enjoy deeper studies in the Bible. Women's study guides, and women's devotionals, and specialty books for women line the shelves of bookstores. But try to find a good group study guide for men, and the picking is much slimmer.
          Gut Checks For Guys is a nine week study series that helps men grow in Christ, as well as grow between brothers. A Gut Check is something that affects us down deep. When we feel something in our gut, called splankna in the Bible, in changes us.
          Gut Checks change who we are, and how we deal with life. They stirs us and force us to look at our behavior, beliefs, and actions. When men talk to other men about being men, then Godliness is the result. We become better disciples, more loving husbands, greater models for our children, and better employees on the job. When men dig deep and open their lives to each other, real Christian growth takes place.
          This book includes videos from unusual sources, opportunities to laugh, chances to set goals. It allows men to begin laying the groundwork for deeper relationships with other men. Gut Checks For Guys can be used with individual small groups, or in a large group setting, through whole group activities followed by table group discussions.
          Take a look at the table of contents, and consider whether it will be valuable with the men's ministry program in your church. Before it goes into full publication, 2t2 Ministries would like to have a men's group volunteer to try the book on.  Will your men's ministry be the one to take the Gut Checks For Guys challenge?

Chapter 1      Feeling It Down Deep

            Compassion, Not Particularly A Manly Topic

            Opinions Define Religion, Passion Shapes It

            What Is Manliness

           

Chapter 2      Check Your Priorities

            How Hobbies Become Obsessions

            Knowing When to Slow Down

            Making sure the main thing stays the main thing

Chapter 3      Fantastic at Faking It

            The Fake It till you Make It Syndrome

            Don’t let others see Our weakness

            A Call For Integrity

Chapter 4      Keep It Real

            The Freeing Effect of Truth

            Honesty Does not Equal Failure

            My Weakness may be Your Strength- That makes us Both Better

Chapter 5      I Don’t Want To Talk About It

            Stress

            The Need For Relationship

            Doctors are for Men Too

            Mortality and Estate Planning

           

Chapter 6      The Real Difference Between Men And Women

            Men Talk Results, Women Talk Process

            Men Want Action, Women Want Attention

            Men Gather Things, Women Gather Relationships

Chapter 7      Real Men Don't Ignore, They Adapt

            Listening to Our Bodies

            Changing Careers

            Altering the Way We Do Things

            Pacing Ourselves    

Chapter 8      Yes, We’re Open

            The Freeing Effect of Openness

            Openness with your spouse (Don’t keep her guessing)

            Finding others with similar needs

                       

Chapter 9      Where Will You Be On Father’s Day?

            Man Up

            Show Jesus to Our Kids

            Representing Jesus in the Workplace

            Making Time for Ministry

The Art of Worship- On Baptism

The following is a small excerpt from my book, The Art of Worship (2t2 Ministries). A friend raised the question about baptism in Linked4Ministry, a discussion page for church leaders. I posted this excerpt and decided to post it on this blog as well. The book is available on line, and in all ebook formats.

In Exodus 12 God spoke to Moses to reveal that he had one more plague to bring on the people. He had already turned water to blood, sent gnats, flies, locusts, and frogs, turned the skies dark, killed livestock, rained hail and fire, and gave people boils. But now this last plague was an important one. In this plague, God revealed that he was going to kill the firstborn of every family. This was the beginning of what came to be known as the Passover. They were told to take an unblemished lamb and kill it at twilight. “Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it” (v. 7). Then in verse 12–13, God explains why. “For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—it is the Lord’s Passover. And the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.”

         There was nothing special about the blood they used. It did not have any special powers. It was only a “sign.” One might have said, “Look I am a Jew; that should be enough. Putting blood on my doorpost sounds to me like we are being saved by our works. God saves me, not the blood on the doorpost, so if I don’t apply the blood to my doorpost, God will still save me.”

            What would have happened to anyone who did not apply the blood as directed? They would have died! But the blood was only a sign. Why would they have died? Ah, we come down to the real issue of what God was asking of his people. The blood on the doorpost was an act of obedience for all who believed in the Lord. Their faithful obedience provided their salvation.

            We honor those who were obedient during the Passover. We praise their faith, and we recognize that the blood was simply a sign of their submission. Yet, so many fail to make the connection that baptism is an act of faithful obedience as well. Are we so willing to throw baptism out and risk the consequences when Jesus makes his final “pass” over us?

            Baptism is the believer’s act of faithful obedience—a willingness to publically share the grave with Jesus, and be raised with him that we may share his resurrection and walk in a new life. This act of faithful obedience is also a powerful act of worship.

            Baptism was not a new idea born in the church. The Jews baptized non-Jewish peoples who came to the Jewish faith. They did so by immersion, and by rule, baptism (mikveh) had to be done in at least 40 sa’ah”, which is about two hundred gallons. That was enough water to bury the repentant person fully.

            The baptism of Jesus showed his obedience to his own father. An act of worship caused Jesus to go under the water and come back up out of the water. The result of his worship was that the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove. As the dove landed on Jesus, the Father spoke from heaven saying, “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well-pleased” (Matthew 3:13–17).

            Before the baptism of Jesus, when was the last time that the entire Trinity was involved in a single event with their individual roles described? The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were all involved in creation. You would be hard pressed to find any other passages in Scripture between creation and baptism (the picture of re-creation). The important point here is that this act of worship, the baptism of Jesus, was a very important event in the ministry of Jesus.

            Water baptism was not the only baptism described in the New Testament. In Mark 10, Jesus described a baptism of suffering. Jesus was referring to his obedience to the cross. He mentioned it again in Luke 12:49–50.

            The phrase, “baptize . . . with the Holy Spirit and fire” is also used in Matthew 3:11–12. Those words were spoken by John, who described his baptism as being of water, but that Jesus would unleash fire when the Holy Spirit was given—which was fulfilled at the beginning of Acts.

            So many New Testament passages speak of baptism. It is our blood on the doorpost, the act of obedience before we are ushered into the land of promise. But how is baptism an act of worship? When we are baptized, our worship is being expressed on three levels: 

Lost Inhibitions

            Getting lost in the fantasy world of musicals has always been a source of relaxation and enjoyment.  While coasting through theater announcements I was thrilled to discover that Mary Poppins, the musical was coming to our city. In the world of Mary Poppins, being a chimney sweep, or a nanny becoming desirable careers, and a spoon full of sugar makes everything better. We booked tickets as close to the stage as we could and waited for the day when we could learn more about those 19 consonants and 19 vowels placed together in one crazy word.

            When the day arrived, we settled into our seats and enjoyed every minute of the performance.  At the conclusion of the play, everybody cheered with joyous applause as the cast took their bows. The play concluded with one more rendition of Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. As the song began, a little girl, of no more than three years, could hold herself back no longer.  She pushed her way into the isle, where she sang and dance to the best of her ability. Though the cast was singing their swan song, hundreds of eyes were on this precious little girl who could not contain her joy.

           As I watched this little girl, I forgot that I was at the theater, and my mind transitioned to my faith in Jesus.  The Bible tells us that Jesus is a source of great joy. He produced boldness in the apostles, vibrancy in the church, and the conviction that a spoon full of grace made everything better.  I thought about today’s perfectly choreographed church services, practiced and timed to the minute to insure that everything flows perfectly. But, God’s swan song should have us dancing in the isles with unbridled joy.  Jesus Christ has died for our sin, freed us from bondage, and offered us life with him in the glory of a city paved with streets of gold. He has given us a new name, a new family, and a new purpose. He has made us heirs, and priests.

           How can we be so casual about our faith when we have been given so much? Is it any wonder that Jesus took a child, like that little three year old girl, dancing in the isle, and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3).

            If you took this passage seriously, what would change in your behavior, your witness, and your faith? If we were so filled with joy that we could not contain ourselves, how would our world change? The world will not be won through casual observances by restrained believers. But, it will be won through people who cannot be silenced, people who say, “one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see” (John 9:25). It was unbridled joy that caused the woman at the well to leave her pots, run back to her own city and proclaim, “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?” Oh, how we need to be like that woman today.

Making Your Own Shift

          Jerry Harris preaches to a remarkable church in Quincy, Illinois.  In addition, the church has a number of satellite Churches; each one is successful and growing. But, something hit Jerry one day.  He writes about it in his book Shifted: The Crossing Story.

            “If we look out on the faces of our congregations, how many actual disciples do we see? How many are personally convinced that they are disciples but are sorely mistaken? How many of them believe this fallacy because of the bar we have set them? Real Life (Real Life Ministries, led by Jim Putman) chose Matthew 4:19 as their definition of discipleship seeing Jesus calling His own disciples. “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” There are three criteria that help define discipleship in this divine statement. Am I genuinely following Christ? (follow me...), being changed by Christ ?(...and I will make you), and living life on mission for Christ ?(...fishers of men.) _This is the question I honestly wasn’t asking myself or confronting others with until this point. ”Are we making disciples”? The difficult truth for me was that with all my education, experience, and success, I really didn’t know how to mobilize a church to make disciples of Jesus Christ. The best I was providing was an environment for them to figure it out for themselves.” Jerry goes on to explain how they developed a Relational Discipleship approach at The Crossing.

            The statement that caught my attention was, “The best I was providing was an environment for them to figure it out for themselves.”

Is the development of a spiritual life solely the job of our preachers and the leadership at our church? Can we blame others because we are not growing?

Churches are constantly exploring new ways to maximize the growth of their members. But you don’t need to wait for the next great program to come along. The reality is that the body of Christ does create an environment where you can develop into a mature believer. There is no reason to sit back and wait for the next program to come along. Take hold of your own spiritual growth. Make the most of every worship opportunity and grow.  How?

            Worship is an art. It takes practice, and an understanding of how to worship is essential. The Art of Worship helps you understand how to make the most of your worship experience. This book is a must read for every believer.

            If you have ever been board with church, wondered if you were missing something, or felt like your faith has gone stale, then The Art of Worship is for you.

            Look for The Art of Worship, at the beginning April from your favorite book seller, and begin to make sense of your worship.

Worship is an Art

            What does it mean when we use the word worship? The answer seems to mean something different depending upon who is using the word. On Sunday mornings in sanctuaries and auditoriums all across America believers gathered for what they called worship. But worship was also taking place in schoolhouses, in the back of biker bars, and in storefronts. Worship services take place on horseback, and in empty fields.  The word worship is often used interchangeably with singing. But there is so much more to worship than just music. Worship is not confined to a single place, or accomplished in a single style. Worship includes so many different elements, and all of them are important.

            The last year of my life has been invested in studying all that the scripture has to say about worship. What things fit into the concept of worship? What behaviors are important to be able to say that worship is taking place? Does worship happen on Sunday only? Can our job be called worship if we aren’t in the ministry? These questions have resulted in a new book, due out early May, called The Art of Worship.

            Those who have previewed the book have called it an essential read for every believer, a textbook for those involved in worship ministry, keys to opening hearts. One of my readers has already assembled a list of people that they are buying this book for.

            Have you ever wondered if something is missing in your relationship with God? Are you putting yourself in the place where God can bless you? The Art of Worship will explain the total worship experience in ways that are easily applied.

           Worship is an art, which takes practice. With practice we grow in our understanding of worship, sharpen our ability to experience worship, and broaden our understanding of what worship means. As a result, our relationship with God grows and we discover deeper aspects of his love.

           What is your worship like? Is it possible that The Art of Worship might make your worship even better? The Art of Worship is coming. Watch for a great pre-order offer coming next week.