What Is God Up To In The Presbytery Of The Northern Plains?”

What Is God Up To In The Presbytery Of The Northern Plains? May 2008

Evangelism Season April 2008

The Shift From “Need” To “Mission” March 2008

Shared Ministry, Video Conferencing, and Other Forms of 21^st Century Ministry February 2008

 

Some Things Are Not Negotiable January 2008

 

Reclaiming Evangelism in Testimony to Epiphany December 2007

 

Letter To A Remnant People On The Edge Of God’s New Frontier November 2007

 

Deep Change Begins With ME October 2007

 

So, What You Gonna DO September 2007 September 2007

 

Clergy As A Model Of Stewardship August 2007

 

A Mission Opportunity With Life, And Death, In The Balance July 2007

 

A Break From the Ordinary Pastors and CLPs on a Mission Trip! June 2007

 

ACTS of Apostles: On the Edge of a New Frontier May 2007

 

How Do We Stop Solving Problems and Start Adapting To Challenges? Part II April 2007

How Do We Stop Solving Problems and Start Adapting To Challenges? March 2007

Visioning From the Congregations UP February 2007

Beginning a Year of Prayer January 2007

     Author, pastor, and academic Leonard Sweet asked, “Do we know God well enough to know what God is up to in the world?”

     This question was directed to the folks attending “Clearwater 2008: Rebooting the Church for the 21st Century,” April 18-20 at Presbyterian Clearwater Forest, a group that included 13 elders, pastors (and me) from the Presbytery of the Northern Plains.

     That question has haunted me since the conference ended. Do I know God well enough to know what God is up to in the part of the world in which God has placed me? Do we, the Presbytery of the Northern Plains, know what God is doing in our midst? (Read more)

Evangelism Season

     One of the things I try to do when I am traveling around the Presbytery preaching or attending meetings is to arrive at a community a little early. This allows me some “get lost” time, but it also affords me an opportunity to check out the community.

     Typically, I look for two things when I arrive in a new community: Children’s playthings – bikes, swing sets, basketball goals - and For Sale signs in yards. This goes back to the days when I was organizing new churches and I, along with the fledgling congregation members, were constantly on the look out for potential new members. The evidence of children means there is a potential Sunday School member living in that house. A For Sale sign means that a potential new member family will, at some point, be moving into that house.

     Which brings us to the title of this month’s Chat, “Evangelism Season.” Now that Lent and Easter have passed, the Class B basketball tournament has ended, and it’s not quite time to get into the fields to till and plant, the time is perfect for members of all of our churches to engage in “Evangelism Season.” (Read more . . .)

The Shift From “Need” To “Mission”

     Many of our churches are entering into periods of transition. Pastors are moving to new ministries. Other pastors are retiring. As a result, many of our congregations are experiencing the angst that goes along with the reality of facing an unknown future.

     The first impulse of congregations, of course, is to alleviate the anxiety, which means to have another pastor in place immediately if not sooner. For those congregations that are federated, or yoked with United Methodist congregations, the immediate impulse is to have the Methodist District Superintendent appoint a pastor to that particular church or parish. For Presbyterian congregations the impulse is to find the first person available who is breathing, ambulatory, and has a Bible to come on board to do the ministerial functions of the church. (Read more)