Church of God LifeBuilders

Just a reminder that we’ll be Atlanta next week on September 14-15, 2009, at the Mt. Paran North Church of God.

More information is here. See you there!

What do the Moonies believe? Here’s a thumbnail sketch:

• The Unification Church believes in a finite suffering God. God is not omniscient and, due to man’s “free will,” cannot know the future (though he usually can predict it). God is said to be in agony, suffering over the faithlessness and sins of mankind. The only way for God to know real peace is for man, His creation, to be loyal, true, and committed to Him continuously.
• Moonies reject the doctrine of the Trinity, and claim the Father alone is God, while Jesus and the Holy Spirit are merely created beings, a man and a female spirit, respectively. The Virgin Birth of Christ is rejected, and Jesus did not even preexist before being conceived by Mary and Joseph. (Earlier teaching said that Jesus was produced by adultery between Mary and Zacharias.)
• Jesus’ original mission, supposedly, was to be married, father “sinless” children, and be received as Messiah by the world. But because of the faithlessness of John the Baptist and the Israelites generally, His mission was thwarted and He was crucified. Moon claims Jesus was not resurrected bodily and is not coming back to earth.
• The Unification “secret” (although common knowledge even among most worldly people) is that the Rev. Moon is the Messiah, the Christ returned. What Jesus failed to do, Moon intends to accomplish. The “marriage supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:7) took place in 1960 at Moon’s own wedding, and he has already fathered 13 children. Moon paid for mankind’s sins with his own blood during a stay in a Korean prison camp, and he has “subjugated” all the angels, demons, and human spirits in the spirit world. Even Jesus, Moon says, has bowed down and “subjected himself” to him.
• Through Moon, mankind can be redeemed from sin both spiritually and physically. Accordingly, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and all other rituals which came from Jesus are passé. Instead of prayers being offered “in the name of Jesus,” Moonies pray, “in the name of the True Parents” (Rev. and Mrs. Moon). The Unification Church has a weekly “pledge service,” in which members bow down three times before photos of Moon and his wife. Their single parallel to Communion is the “Holy Wine Ceremony,” given only after a special marriage ceremony, in which the wine contains a small amount of Moon’s literal blood (in highly diluted form, of course). All that remains is for the world to receive him as Messiah, but this can be accomplished in stages, and may even wait for completion until after his death.
• The final restoration of the world is being accomplished through Moon’s well-publicized mass marriages. Moon teaches that the children of these “blessed” marriages are born without original sin, and have the potential of growing to sinless adulthood. The proliferation of these sinless offspring and their descendants will eventually overwhelm this planet, bringing about the “kingdom of Heaven on earth.

By Leonard C. Albert

In another article we looked at the process of writing a lay ministry purpose statement. Here is the one that was suggested: We, the people of the [insert church name] endeavour to encourage all believers to reach the lost people in our community with a credible offer of the gospel and teach them the doctrine that every believer is a minister and then strengthen the family by helping raise up godly men.

Now we need an action plan—we’ve got to get the ball rolling. Here are some simple steps to consider.

Find the will of God. The best way to begin is to get with a few people who want the laity to be trained and mobilized and begin to pray. You could have a prayer summit or just a few evenings together to really pray about the direction of ministry in your church. You will become kindred spirits with these people who want a vision, strategy, and plan for ministry. Ask God for a plan to create momentum among laity and how to sustain this momentum for the long haul.

Look at where you are now. Take a hard look at where your church is spiritually. What outreach ministries are taking place in the church? How many members? How many workers are in lay ministry? How are they gifted? Conduct a spiritual gifts survey. You will realize that there are different groups in the church. Some are uninvolved and plan to stay that way. Some are on the “fringe.” They know about God but are only “Sunday Christians.” They are either barely inside or just outside the door of the church. Lay ministry author Os Guiness calls these people “the undiscipled disciples.” What would it take to get these people involved? Don’t be upset with people because they are not more spiritually mature. Isn’t this the very purpose for your being a lay coordinator?

Determine where you want to go. Your vision statement says, “Our members are ministers and we are to reach the lost.” All right, but how do we do it? What will it take to make lay ministry a reality in our church? Set some realistic goals for ministry. What would you like to do? Think about “inside” and “outside.” Think about what you want to do inside the church. Maybe you could begin a greeters ministry, train altar workers or teach an evangelism class. You could begin a LifeBuilders men’s ministry. Then consider what you would like to do outside the church. You will need a visitation program. We now have the WIN 2000 Challenge which involves starting “Lighthouses,” where two or three are asked to map their neighbourhood and begin to pray for and minister to each home in their immediate area. (For more details, see our Let’s Do It action page in this issue.) Write down some realistic goals and get started. Remember: If you do what you’ve always done, you will get what you always got!

Create momentum for ministry. To get people in motion we need an event that creates “church-scale” momentum. We sometimes call these “catalytic events.” Consider hosting events such as:

• Lay Witness Week. Schedule a week of preaching and teaching on lay ministry opportunities.
• Lay Ministry Appreciation Sunday. Use this opportunity to share the testimonies of some of the great lay workers that are involved in your church.
• Parade Of Ministries. This would be during a main worship service. Use this opportunity to highlight the ministries that are currently working in the church. Let the different groups join you on the platform. Then let a few people who were saved share a testimony of how they were blessed by that ministry.
• A Lay Ministry Seminar. This would be a Friday night, Saturday teaching seminar and Sunday celebration on lay ministry issues and opportunities. Bring in a special speaker from outside the area.
• An Evangelism Festival. Call a one-day celebration to take a look at every kind of ministry and outreach program that is feasible for your church to adopt.

Momentum events are motivational. They create excitement, interest, converts and they get the message out. They will help you give people what they need in the context of what they want. They will give you a quantum leap forward. Plan to hold at least two each year.

Maintain the momentum. Remember it takes a long time to make a disciple. People will stay with your leadership if they really believe that you and the other leaders care about them personally. The question here is “How do you keep people involved after the novelty wears off?” Create a variety of opportunities for involvement. The most meaningful change takes place in the context of church-based relationships. One of the best ways to foster their relationship is to get people involved in small groups. They can be in Bible or book study groups, accountability groups, issue oriented study (divorce, grief, depression etc.) and prayer groups. Your ultimate goal is to keep people in the Word and in the work.

As you build the lay ministry action plan remember that truth flows through our heads to our hearts and out through our hands. People have to first understand what God wants to do in their lives, and then they need a change of heart and to make a fresh commitment to service for Christ and then put it into practice. Someone has well said: God moves mountains—people carry the stones. (Joshua 14:12). Begin your plan of involving laity today!

By Leonard Albert

Someone once said, “If you don’t know where you are going then any road will get you there.” All effective leaders ask themselves this question: “Why am I here and what am I to do?”

A dynamic local church lay ministry program begins with a clear understanding of the purpose of the laity. The first step in building the right strategy is to formulate your purpose. This purpose needs to be in line with Christ’s mission for us and the particular purpose of your church. God desires for the church to reach people with the gospel of Christ and help them grow to maturity. In the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), Jesus calls us to make disciples by sharing His message. In Ephesians 4:11-13, Paul teaches that God gives some people special abilities to equip other for works of service. Leaders, then, are called to disciple and equip people so they can do the actual work of the ministry and mature to become all God is calling them to be.

There are two foundational principles to remember as you think about the purpose of your lay ministry program in the local church. First, it takes a long time to make a disciple. Have a long-term perspective. Richard Foster said, “Our tendency is to overestimate what we can accomplish in one year, but underestimate what we can accomplish in 10 years.” Don’t look for a quick fix in a few months. Instead, pray and plan for what God wants to do over the next several years. Second, most meaningful change takes place in the context of relationships. People change as they live in interaction with other believers. Your lay ministry program should help people develop meaningful relationships with each other.

The next step is to ask your fellow members some tough questions:

• If your church could do one thing for you, what would you want it to be?
• What is the most valuable experience you had at the church in the last year?
• What is the worst experience you’ve had at church in the last year?

Now, prayerfully combine the thoughts and ideas generated by this material into a purpose statement for the laity of your church. As a guideline, here is what a sample statement looks like:

We, the people of the [insert church name] endeavor to encourage all believers to reach the lost people in our community with a credible offer of the gospel, and to teach them the doctrine that every believer is a minister and then strengthen the family by helping raise up godly men.

Allow your ministry to be purpose-driven rather than event-driven. Every event that you schedule as a part of your program should serve your overall purpose. When you schedule events make sure to tell the participants the “big picture” of lay ministry and how this event helps achieve it. People want to be a part of something going somewhere.

As mentioned earlier, the ministry must be relationship-oriented rather than task-oriented.

Without real and deep relationships, people will feel no sense of community. If we only call the laity together to “do” there will be no glue to hold them together when the planned event is over. Events attract the people, relationships make them stick. The Bible calls us to make “disciples” and pray for “workers.” Our goal is to equip them to do the work of ministry. Here’s a key idea: If your church focuses on getting its people to do “works” rather than “make disciples” it will burn them out. The purpose of our ministry, then, is to make disciples, and true disciples will become workers out of the overflow of their growing relationship with Jesus Christ.

Spend some time in pray and set a date and time to think about, create, and write your mission statement. Submit it to the pastor and other church leaders in order to secure their approval and acceptance.

by John Campbell

This title causes most of us to recall a scene of discipline or correction, and yes, we are on the receiving end of that correction. Because of that flashback or recollection, the image is not usually one of our most treasured memories. In contrast, however, when speaking with a new Christian it is imperative that eye contact be made. It is important for new Christians to hear in our words, as well as see in our eyes, a genuine concern for their understanding of the issue being addressed. In many cases, I believe the eyes are as good a tool of communication, if not better, than the words we speak.

Studies have shown that we give 25 times more attention to what we see than what we hear. Why is this so important, you ask? Sometimes, I think we are caught up in the world’s standard of success, where numbers or volume are the important measures of our labor. We live in a secular world of sales quotas, monthly goals and increased production. More is always better and quality may have to take a back seat to quantity. We can get by with that standard if it is limited to things, but it falls woefully short when applied to new Christians. Leading them to the point of praying the salvation prayer and then letting them find their own nurturing will not measure up to God’s will for their efforts.

A salvation message tells them how important they are. Discipling proves it. The new Christian does not care about being one of the many hands that were raised. They do care deeply that someone cares enough to spend whatever time it takes to bring them to a point of assurance and understanding. This has been done with some success in Newcomer classes, but the strongest soulwinners are those who have had a one-on-one mentoring experience. They realize that help and support are always there for them as they labor in the harvest field. If we are to build strong relevant churches, we need to assume the responsibility and blessings that accompany the one-on-one mentoring.

Looking back on my years as a Christian, I recall the many opportunities I have had to testify to the power of the gospel, and the decisions that were made as God blessed my testimony. It was only after a closer look that I realized there were only a few of those converts active in sharing their story. My experience had become just that—my experience. Not only was it no longer as rewarding as it had been, but it was not Scriptural, and also not very smart. A scripture I had read many times jumped out at me again: “two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work” (Ecclesiastes 4:9).

I immediately set out to attempt to reproduce a soulwinner. This effort came about the same time the Promise Keepers held their mega event at the Minneapolis Metrodome. I took a longtime friend and athlete to this event, and he gave his heart to the Lord. We started the process of small-group (two) ministry stressing personal accountability. For one year, we have been meeting on Wednesdays at 6 a.m.

On November 17, 1996, our church, in conjunction with the National Lay Witness Week, had an Outreach Sunday stressing salvation, and I was able to share my testimony. My friend was responsible for five of the many first-time visitors in attendance who heard the gospel. Two made decisions for Christ that day. Why? Because “two are better than one.” Currently, three mornings a week are set aside for one-on-one sessions with other men. Why? Because maybe four are better than two!

I must share with you that this desire did not just appear at that large gathering of men. For years, through many presentations of the Department of Lay Ministries, I knew this was how God wanted men to get active for Him and involved with other men. I put off this call because the Holy Spirit seemed to be saying to me, “Before you enter into this activity, I want you to look at Me when I’m talking to you.” I was expecting the stern correction I had experienced as a youth when encountering that phrase.

When I finally did seek direction in this outreach attempt, I did not see or experience the correction I had anticipated. What I saw was the compassion God has for all of us, and the support and guidance available whenever it is needed. Men, go ahead and “look at Him when He’s talking to you.” It will change your life!

Laity Ministries will be there in Atlanta, September 14-15, 2009.

From Jason Althoff in Terre Haute, Indiana, following the 2009 LifeBuilders Indiana State Conference:

FYI, an amazing testimony of the work of the Lord in our church and specifically our men: By the Holy Ghost, Pastor Sanders called an altar call on Sunday night after worship for men and over 25 men, I lost count, came up for ministry and 2 were filled will the Holy Ghost with manifestation of speaking in tongues for the first time!  Not to mention the Essentials class on Sunday (prior to this altar call) we were in Lesson 4 on the “Holy Ghost/Walking in the Spirit” and we had a guest speaker who gave multiple words of knowledge relating to our lesson, specifically Acts 1:8 and how we “don’t use the gift of the Holy Ghost for its intended purpose, soul-winning, witnessing and testifying of Jesus Christ outside the 4 walls of the church”….WOW, CONFIRMATION!!!!  Praise God!  He is a wonderful and marvelous God!!! Our discipleship class has entered into strategic prayer for the men of the State of Indiana as well…

LifeBuilders Essentials can be ordered here.

Leonard C. Albert

Someone said that a leader is an ordinary person with extraordinary determination. The best definition that I have found is perhaps also the briefest: leadership is the activity of influencing people to cooperate toward some goal which they come to find desirable. In short: leadership is influence. How do we identify a leader? What are the qualities that effective leaders possess?

For the last 35 years I have observed hundreds of leaders representing every level of church administration. Here are some of the qualities that they all seem to possess:

Focused Objective

When I say “Henry Ford” what comes to mind? Hamburgers? No! We remember Henry Ford for automobiles. He was focused on producing a quality car that people could afford. Leaders have one-track minds. Paul had this. In Philippians 3:13 he said, “. . . this one thing I do.” There was one all-absorbing, burning, consuming compassion in his life. Nothing meant anything to Paul but getting out the gospel and getting people saved.

No Confidence in the Flesh

All great Christian leaders realize that their ability is a God-given blessing. They know that human effort cannot accomplish God’s divine plan. The truth is that God uses us, but it is His anointing in us that really makes the difference. I have a friend who always says, “You have to realize that you can’t so that when you do, you’ll know you didn’t!”

Cooperative Spirit

Effective leaders know that they must learn to work with others. I hear so many people say, “I don’t care what people think of me.” The truth is that if God sets us apart as leaders, we must care about what others think. A good leader never does anything he can give someone else the privilege of doing!

Loves People

Leadership in the Christian realm demands a love for people as a basic prerequisite. People are the main product of the church. People are not used to reach our goal . . . they are the goal! I once heard a well-known speaker say, “I love to speak, I just can’t stand the people!” Ezekiel could weep for the souls of men. I wonder if that is done a lot today in the church. When you look around and see the hopelessness, the sadness, the despair of this world it should cause you to have a love for the lost.

No Root of Bitterness

We find that leaders always draw opposition from others. Your ministry gifts will attract controversy. This causes misunderstanding, confusion and if you are not careful, bitterness. A bitter spirit has neutralized the effectiveness of many great people. They somehow could not overcome their personal feelings against those who opposed them in ministry. I have learned a great lesson from successful leaders: get over it! Don’t let the pain of your past affect the possibilities of your future.

Disciplined Life

It has been well said that victory in the Christian life is a “long obedience in the same direction.” Leaders must possess that sterling quality of consecration. Paul said, in Romans 12:1, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Great leaders walk in holiness, humility and love.

A leader is one who sees what ought to be done, what can be done and how to do it. Thus leadership is the ability to see—awareness; the faith to believe—attitude; and the courage to do—action. Let’s allow the Lord to help us cultivate these qualities in our lives.

God Is Looking for Leaders!

Are you available? Could you honestly say, ” God, if You’re looking for a willing vessel, You have just found one here?!”

• God is looking for leaders like Moses, who refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, but was willing to go with God.
• Generals like Joshua, who knew God and could pray and shout things to pass rather than blow them to pieces.
• Administrators like Joseph, who knew God and had the answer to famine.
• Preachers like Peter, who would not be afraid to look people in the eye and say, “Repent or perish,” and tell them to denounce their personal as well as national sins.
• Mothers like Hannah, who would pray for a child that she might give him to God, rather than women who are delinquent mothers of delinquent children.
• Children like Samuel, who would talk to God in the night hours as a child, grow to maturity and accept the call for full-time service.

Where are these people? Are you one? My dear brother or sister you could be if you would only allow God to direct your path. We have the greatest example of leadership in Jesus who could and did save from the uttermost to the uttermost. He never wrote a book but became the greatest leader of all time. Think of it! Millions follow Him today and He was only here on earth for 33 years and only three of those years as an incredible leader. His one goal? He came to “seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).

By Ray H. Hughes Jr.

I never shall forget my first prayer partner’s retreat. At the end of the day, the pastor was sharing with us from his heart. He related that on one particular Sunday, because of schedules, none of the men had reported to his office on time to pray with him. He said the longer he waited, the more nervous he had gotten about facing the congregation without his usual prayer cover. Mind you, this was not a novice pastor, but one who was a well-seasoned preacher-extraordinaire and a student of the Word. He then shared how relieved he was when, one by one, the men came through the door and gathered to pray with him. His statement was powerful, it helped me understand the significance of the prayer partners to him, but what he said next overwhelmed me. He said, “When I came here as pastor I wasn’t sure how I felt about the people of this church, but after having shared with you men in this ministry, I feel that if necessary, I would die for each of you.” He then fell to his knees and wept as the men gathered around him, laid hands on him, and prayed. That is loving like Jesus loved, and it had come about through prayer.

At that moment, I felt closer to my pastor, and more a part of his ministry than I had ever felt in my life. All the partners have developed close relationships with the pastor. I have seen critical spirits melt into words of encouragement and support. Put simply, it is extremely difficult to be critical of someone you pray for daily as you share their burdens, and understand their heart for ministry. Pastors today really need to feel the support of the people in order to properly proclaim the Word of God. Perhaps the apostle Paul put it best when he tells us in Ephesians 6:19-20, “Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.” (NIV)

In 1995, a group of us decided to make an organized effort to systematically pray for our pastor. With the pastor’s permission, we recruited 40 men who would commit to pray for our pastor on a regular schedule. We divided into teams and committed to pray as a team one week each month, culminating on Sunday when we gathered with the pastor in his office. First, we had a time of sharing from the pastor as he related what God had laid on his heart for the service that day, including pertinent scriptures. Then we laid hands on him and asked for God’s anointing before he went to the pulpit. A group of five or six men remained behind in the office and surrounding classrooms, and continued praying for the pastor during the entire service. We are still praying for our current pastor, with many of the original prayer group still intact.

Although Sunday is a big day for the prayer partners, our prayers for the pastor do not end there. We have pledged to pray for every aspect of his life throughout the week. We pray for his private, personal life, his professional life, his family life, his preaching life, and his prayer life. We want to cover him whenever and wherever he goes. Why? Because we want him to be able to fight the good fight of faith as spelled out in 1 Timothy 6:12. I read recently that, “The number one fear among pastors today is that their congregation and peers will not perceive them as an effective leader.” We want our pastor to know as our spiritual leader we are holding him up in prayer. We want to be a constant source of encouragement.

Praying for your pastor sounds like a given on the surface. You might think, “who doesn’t pray for their pastor?” Until just a few years ago, praying for my pastor, I’m sad to say, was just a hit and miss proposition. Sure, during my prayer time I would ask God to bless the pastor, and then move on to more important things to pray about. After all, pastors spend so much time with God, my little prayer can’t be all that meaningful, can it? Yes it can! It can be so meaningful it can change the entire life of a church, and influence everything that occurs in and around church, especially church growth and outreach. But more importantly, it will change your life, as it has mine, and your relationship with your pastor will never be the same.

If you wish to establish an exciting Pastor’s Prayer Partners Ministry in your church, simply click here.