What Do The Scriptures Call For a Pastor To Be?

1 Timothy 3:1-7

1. Dictates a pastor’s “Relation to God” and “Relation to Self.”
2. The character of the man is of utmost importance.
3. Feels a powerful call of God to a particular people in a particular geography.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries Responds to Grassley Investigation

Eagle Mountain International Church/Kenneth Copeland Ministries was one of only two ministries that filed a timely response to Senator Grassley's initial request for information by the December 6, 2007 deadline. The Church's response reflected a sincere and good faith effort by the Church to provide answers to as many of the Senator's questions as possible without compromising the protections afforded to the Church by the United States Constitution and the Internal Revenue Code.

The Church provided responses to 17 of the 42 questions Senator Grassley posed. Where the Church provided a partial answer or response, or did not answer a question asked by Senator Grassley, the Church determined that the question raised constitutional and/or statutorily based privacy and confidentiality concerns.

In most cases, Senator Grassley's questions asked for information that other churches are not required to disclose publicly. The information sought by Senator Grassley is also the type of information that would be treated as confidential information, not subject to disclosure, if obtained by the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") from any other church.

In a letter the Church sent to Senator Grassley and Senator Baucus on March 31, 2008, the Church reiterated its position that it believes that the most timely and efficient manner for the Senators to obtain the requested information - without compromising the Church's, its members', partners', and friends' constitutional and statutorily based rights - is to request the information from the IRS. Such a request would be subject to longstanding church-audit procedures and confidentiality protections under the Internal Revenue Code.

Specifically, the IRS could obtain the information Senator Grassley is seeking from the Church through a "church tax inquiry" under section 7611 of the Internal Revenue Code. The Church Audit Procedures Act, the legislation that put section 7611 in the Internal Revenue Code, was introduced in 1983 by Senator Grassley himself, in recognition of the potential for government investigations into churches to infringe upon "the civil liberties of churches."

At the conclusion of a properly conducted church tax inquiry by the IRS Senator Grassley could request the IRS to send him the information obtained through the church tax inquiry.

Eagle Mountain International Church's CEO, John Copeland, stated that, "The Church would be willing to fully cooperate with the IRS to ensure that the requested information is provided in a timely and efficient manner. Our Church has always operated with financial integrity, submitted to and conducted independent ministry audits, and abided by all laws and tax statutes."

A request from Senator Grassley to the IRS would be covered by section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code, which protects information obtained from all taxpayers. Although Senator Grassley would not be able to use information obtained through such a request to subject the Church or its members to scrutiny by the public, he would be able to fully use the information to determine whether the Church is complying with federal tax laws. On the other hand, the protections afforded to the Church under section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code, do not apply to information that the Church provides directly to Senator Grassley and the Senate Finance Committee.

The Church has serious concerns that, without the protections from public disclosure that section 6103 affords, the information obtained by Senator Grassley could potentially be used in a manner that could harm or embarrass the Church, its preachers, members, partners, and friends. The six ministries under investigation all share a common theology that is centuries old. The "Word of Faith" message preached by these churches is based on the religious belief that God wants His children to be spiritually, physically, and financially blessed. Prosperity in all areas of one's life is an outward sign of the fulfillment of God's promises contained in the Bible.

Noted historian and Dean Emeritus of the School of Divinity at Regent University, Dr. Vinson Synan, believes the fact that Senator Grassley is only targeting those Pentecostal churches who preach the "Word of Faith" message and not any other churches, raises significant concerns. "It appears the inquiry is aimed at publicly questioning the religious beliefs of the targeted churches, their ministers, and their members while ignoring televangelists of other denominations. This violates the fundamental tenet of the First Amendment that the government should not single out any religion because of its beliefs. It also raises the question of religious bias against the Pentecostals and Charismatics who now number almost 70,000,000 Americans according to a recent Pew Survey."

In a statement issued yesterday to Church members, CEO John Copeland stated, "We look forward to further dialogue with Senator Grassley and Senator Baucus about these important matters."

(Source: Christian Newswire)

The Greatest Obsticles to Church Growth

1. Lack of vision. When the leader has no vision it is impossible to call people to radical sacrifice for a worthy goal. No one offers talent, time, energy, and support without good reason. The vision is the reason, and where there is no vision people won’t align their resources and collaborate. Confusion is a barrier to growth; clarity brings focus and ministry intensity, and that yields a great reward.
2. Weak leadership. When leaders think they can’t do the right thing because someone might become angry, they betray the mission. Our churches are surrounded by people living without Christ, and without hope. The pastor who won’t lead a congregation through a process to introduce a new song or a new teaching method (to reach new people) because some lady in the third row complains, “That’s not how we do things here,” has mistaken kindness for weakness. The kind thing to do is to offer Christ to the masses. The weak thing to do is to defer to a few critics and, in so doing, condemn their neighbors to an eternity without Christ.
3. Confused leadership. For too long pastors have believed they are appointed to a local church with the assignment to pray, pay, and get out of the way. The insidious belief that local churches lack the power and responsibility for transforming their surrounding communities makes congregations impotent. Some pastors are appointed “in charge” and when they degrade their responsibility to mere “fundraiser for the denomination,” the butterfly effect sends ripples across the entire church.

Do You Keep Church Hoppers?

[From MMI Weblog by Todd Rhoades]

Pastor Brian Jones recently wrote on his blog: "I call church hoppers “connoisseurs of fine churches” because they’re continually on a quest to find the church that is spiritual enough for them, will endlessly engorge themselves on the “services” of the churches they attend, and always have a critical word to say afterwards whenever “church” doesn’t meet their standards. Here are seven things we try to do to keep church hoppers from wearing out their welcome..."

#1 Ask church hoppers to commit to tithing and serving in your 101-201-301 classes That usually takes care of it right there. Because church hoppers are consumers by nature, anything that strikes them as sacrificial will surely turn them off. As a ministry friend of mine used to tell me, “At the first sign of trouble, raise the bar.”

#2 Tell your people to stop inviting their Christian friends to church This past Sunday I may have been one of the few pastors out there that stood up and said, “Please DO NOT invite your Christians friends to our Easter services. We want other churches in the area to know we have their back. Also, we want to grow this church through conversion growth, not transfer growth. Let’s pack this place out with people who are keeping God up at night because they are living far from him.” I strategically do that 3-4 times a year.

#3 Preach short sermons Howard Hendricks used to say, “Keep them longing, not loathing.” I buy into that philosophy. I try to speak anywhere between 21 and 26 minutes max. That drives church hoppers nuts because they want to “be fed.” I’m not interested in “feeding people” unless they are in the early stages of their spiritual journey. Church hoppers as well as Christians further along their spiritual journey need to be feeding themselves. Anything I provide on Sunday morning should be in addition to their own self-directed spiritual nourishment. One point, one scripture, 21-26 minutes, that’s enough.

#4 Don’t sing 9,345 worship songs - Church hoppers, 9 times out of 10, came from a church background where they were taught they needed 5-6 worship songs to really connect with God. That needs to be re-taught. Where did we get the idea that worship = singing anyway? That’s part of it, but only a small part of it. Every part of the service is worship. Every part of my life is worship. Limiting your worship songs except for occasions when you are led by God to expand the repertoire forces people to recognize this or leave.

(Brian lists three more, but you’ll have to read those over at his blog...)

QUESTION: How do YOU keep church hoppers from staying? Or, do you try to keep everyone, no matter what?

Steve Brock

Gary Player - A Gentleman

I guess professional golfer Gary Player made his 51st and final appearance at the Masters this week. It was an emotional moment as I watch him bend over and kiss the green as he exited for his final time.

His streak is older than Fred Couples. It predates the term "Amen Corner." It's been around longer than Barbie, hula hoops and audio cassettes.

To what does he owe such longevity? For a guy who boasts he can still do one-handed push-ups at age 72, it's no secret.

He says, "I've exercised diligently, profusely, for 64 years. And that's not easy; very few people go through their lives exercising for 64 years. So it's helped me to have longevity. Growing up and coming along in my career a lot of people ridiculed and thought I was a nut lifting weights and exercising and dieting the way I do. Now I'm sure there are many of them that wish they had done it."

Yvonne and I met Gary Player several years ago and found him to be a true gentleman. He often tells me, "This is the only game you can play all of your life." Or, "Believe it or not, I can still shoot my age. How many sport can you do that in?" If I didn't misunderstand him, he said his waist size has not changed in the past 30 years. Wow!

__________________________________________

A Gift for Senior Pastors

[From Pastor Steven Furtick by sf]

Recently I recorded a discussion about protecting your pastor with 12 men in our church who mean a great deal to me. If you are a senior pastor and you’d like to have this resource on CD, we’ll send it to you for free. No strings attached. We’re not trying to get you on a mailing list. I just thought this would be a blessing to you.

Email us your mailing address, and we’ll send it out as soon as possible.

Send it by Tuesday, April 15. That date should make it easy to remember. After that, I’ll have to close the offer to make sure it’s not a looming headache administratively for our staff.

(I know several of you may prefer a link for download, but for this one, we’ll only be mailing out CDs. Thanks for understanding. Oh, and senior pastors only this time around, please.)

Click here to email us.

Thanks for reading the blog. We value you.

Leadership Development for Aspiring Leaders

Want to contribute? Want to make a difference? Want a good reputation? Want to be heard?

Practice the following:

1. Be Trustworthy: Trust is the first discipline and the foundation for a relationship between advisor and leader or boss.

2. Become a Verbal Visionary: The leader's greatest skill is verbal skill, and the leader’s advisor must also have powerful verbal skills.

3. Develop a Management Perspective: To be a management advisor is to be able to talk more about the boss’s goals and objectives than about whatever your staff function happens to be.

4. Think Strategically: One of the great realities of management is that the leader’s job is always about tomorrow, and almost never about yesterday.

5. Be a Window to Tomorrow: Understand and use the power of patterns. A sophisticated advisor is one who can forecast tomorrow with some level of accuracy.

6. Advise Constructively: Giving advice starts where the boss is and where he or she has to go (where the advisor is or has been).

7. Show the Boss How to Use Advice: If you want to see your recommendations come alive, teach the boss how to accept and use advice.
__________________________________

Vacation Time for the Pastor?

Every pastor needs to recharge from time to time. You must do this.

Total Church North America Conference

[From Goodmanson.com by D. Goodmanson]

Save the dates of August 12th-15th. I'd encourage you to attend the Total Church North America Conference in San Diego, hosted by Kaleo Church.

This will not be your typical conference and will radically benefit those who attend so they can walk away changed and refreshed to do mission.

Total church is a way of thinking about church and mission in the 21st century which sees the local Christian community as integral to Christian living and Christian mission. The Christian life is "total church" - our identity is communal.

The first Total Church was held in Sheffield, UK, in 2007 at the end of October, hosted by the Crowded House. The conference is named for the book, Total Church -A Radical Reshaping Around Gospel and Community which will be released in the Fall in the US.

Further Reading:
Total Church Post by Tim Chester (co-author)
Total Church quotes by Steve McCoy
Total Church review by Mark Moore
______________________________

Church Planting

[From Planting Space by Doug]

In our recent survey of new churches currently in years 2-5, we found that the healthiest new churches had launch teams of over 40 people. Click here to see the stats.

At Passion 4 Planting we work hard at staying up to date with church planting and have a nearly exhaustive list of tasks for planting a church. Its packaged nicely into our Converge software and online launch plan tool. If you are interested, we’ll be giving it away for free starting at the Exponential Conference.

Though building a launch team is the most important things you do in starting a church, it hard to develop a task list around it. People are not tasks. If you approach them as such, your launch team will not thrive. You need to create opportunities to connect with people in an authentic way in which you reach out to them with the love of Jesus rather than look at them as a number or how they can help you. Here are a few ideas:

1. Define what a launch team is.

A launch team has a singular goal: to help the church planter get the church started. Once you begin launch team meeting, you must communicate the goal of the team. The tendency will be for the team to form a tight bond during the pre-launch time and focus inward once public services begin. You must regularly communicate the message that they are to reach out to their lost friends and neighbors and serve them rather than hang out together.

2. Determine who you will allow to be on the launch team.

By the time you begin building this team, you should already know what your target group looks like. Your target group helps determine who should be on the launch team. For instance, if you are targeting young couples a launch team of retired adults will not work. When the young couples arrive for the church and all they see is gray heads, they will assume the church is not for them. It is advisable to have diversity on the launch team, but the majority should reflect the target group.

Will you accept non-Christians on the launch team? I hope so. You are starting a church for lost people, so they should be a large part of the team. They may not yet fully understand church, but your relational connection will be enough for them to help get things started.
Don’t aim to recruit Christians from other churches. That’s not why you are starting the church. You will likely encounter Christians who want to be on the launch team. Be very clear up front what the vision of the church is and make sure they are on board 110%. Unity is essential. Find out why they want to be a part of the team. If they have left a church, call the pastor and ask. The last thing you need is a cantankerous Christian on your launch team. Avoid the temptation to begin holding “services”. Their will be many clamoring for this. Keep them outward focused and attend other church plants in your area together.

3. Define the commitment.

Ask people to commit to serving for the first 3-6 months of the church. You will need that commitment to have adequate volunteers the first few months. Hopefully they will continue to serve long after that. But remember the goal is to get the church started. If they do not see themselves as a permanent fixture at the new church, they are more likely to stay through their committed time.

4. Don’t get attached.

You will build close relationships with the people on your launch team. You will tell stories for years about the things you did together. You will think that they will be a part of the church forever. They won’t. Most church planters see about half of the launch team leave in the first two years. Part of that of that will be natural. The ones that will hurt are the those that never really got it and leave to go somewhere else.

5. Start with Prayer.

You cannot start a church out of your own strengths and talents. You should have the feeling of “I can’t do this.” Starting a church is a God thing. Pray for divine connections. Ask God to help you connect with the right people at the right time. God is already at work in your target area. Long before you arrived, God was working in the hearts of people and preparing the ground for your launch team. If the task of building a launch team of 40+ people sounds too big, then you are in the right place. Go to God.

6. Get out of the office/house.

You won’t meet to many people sitting in your office at the computer. Get out! If you need a place to work, go find a coffee shop with wi-fi and camp out daily. You’ll get to know the employees and regulars and through those relationships will have a chance to share your story.

7. Network, Network, and Network some more.

Make an exhaustive list of who you want to network with and intentionally spend time meeting with them. Meet with principals, business owners, other church leaders, politicians, land developers, real estate agents, etc. If you need help identifying who to meet with, we’ve created a Community Targeting Tool, to do the job for you. If you need an excuse to talk to people, start planning an outreach event and ask for businesses to partner with you.

8. Do Things You Enjoy in Public (ex. sit in a jacuzzi).

My wife and I met lots of people sitting at our neighborhood pool and jacuzzi. What else are you going to do besides talk (That’s rhetorical, no comments please). I’ve known lots of pastors that join gyms as ways to meet new people. My wife and I met a launch team couple and long time friend by walking our dog in the neighborhood. If you don’t have dogs or kids, get one or the other. Its the easiest way to break the ice and you will automatically have lots of things in common. Take your kids to the park and hang out with the other parents who have nothing to do while their kids play.

9. Plan outreach events.

Plan several outreach events to connect with and meet new people. Whenever you do, be sure to issue a press release. Partner with other events that are going on in the community for maximum impact.

10. Plan a Matthew Dinner.

When you connect with someone its natural to get together. If they have captured the vision of the new church, ask them to host a cookout at their house and invite all of their friends (including you). This will rapidly expand your connections. It is also how the church most naturally grows. Most people come because they are invited. Build this into the DNA of the launch team early. At dinner time, ask the host to introduce you as the pastor of a new church and have them ask you to pray. No need for lectures about the church. If people, are interested they will ask. As you meet new people, invite them to your house as well. Be strategic and invite people that you think will naturally connect with each other. I hosted a dinner group for friends and then asked if they would like to do it regularly and have discussion about spirituality afterward. Each person wrote down one question they would like to ask God. Each week we talked about a different question. This wasn’t bible study time. Everyone contributed their own thoughts. But I always shared Scripture and God’s point of view. The discussions were amazing.

11. Host informational cookouts and dinners.

Plan some launch team events where those you have connected with can bring their friends. These are crowd gathering events. If you plan to vision cast, make sure that people know that ahead of time. Remember the time you were hoodwinked into an Amway presentation. No one wants that experience.

12. Share your story and don’t be afraid to ask.

Don’t be shy about what God has called you to do. Most non-Christians will find it fascinating that you are starting a church and ask questions. I found that being a pastor is not the leprosy disease we make it out to be. People are interested in spirituality and your story is the most powerful tool you have. Look for opportunities to share it and ask them to share their stories of spirituality as well. Finally, don’t be afraid to ask. When you have an event our when you need volunteers to serve at the church, be sure to ask. Many won’t serve out of love for God YET, but they will serve because you’ve taken the time to be their friend.

[Featured on newchurches.com]

Today's Quote

"Without vision, people will define their own vision and the loudest voice will prevail."

Church Leadership Book

A CHURCH LEADERSHIP book has been written which is privately produced in the USA and can be previewed /purchased at http://www.albertsferguson.com/.

This book unveils various “leadership gaps” within today’s churches, without regard to denomination. It pinpoints the root causes why so many leaders of churches (of all sizes) are failing so miserably in their leadership. The matter-of-fact and straight-talking style of the author is balanced by the sound advice he gives from his international background in religious and corporate leadership. Use this volume to audit the state of the leadership within your local church.

You might also be interested in an article this author wrote in yesterday's NASSAU GUARDIAN newspaper. The On-line version can be accessed from the following link - http://www.thenassauguardian.com/religion/318187693176408.php

These are excellent resources.
______________________________

Network Formed to Plant Churches in U.S.

A group of charismatic pastors has teamed up to launch a church-planting movement whose goal is to expand God's kingdom through evangelism and prayer.

The International Center for Evangelism, Church-Planting and Prayer (ICE-CAP) launched last summer in Nashville, Tenn., as an extension of Every Nation, an international network comprising more than 400 churches in 50 countries.

The organization was formed in response to declining U.S. church attendance, specifically among young adults, said ICE-CAP founder Rice Broocks, pastor of Bethel World Outreach Center in Nashville.

"You have this growing concern that the rate of people becoming Christians in America is not even keeping up with the population growth" said Broocks, who with pastors Steve Murrell and Phil Bonasso co-founded Every Nation in 1994 under the name Morning Star International. "I see a lot of church planting around the world but, when we come back to America, churches, according to statistics, are closing more than opening."

He noted that The Barna Group released a study last year showing church attendance declining, most prevalently among 16- to 29-year-olds. The report revealed that this age group tended to be "more skeptical of, and resistant to, Christianity" than the same demographic a decade earlier.

Broocks also noted the "4 percent theory" put forward by Ron Luce, founder of Texas-based Teen Mania Ministries and a proponent of the view that only 4 percent of today's children will become "Bible-believing" adults. In comparison, Broocks said, 65 percent of the World War II generation, 35 percent of the baby boomer generation and 17 percent of the current millennial generation are considered "Bible-believing."

"Think about all the things that took place under the watch of the baby boomer generation—abortion, prayer taken out of schools," Broocks said. "Think about what America's going to be like when this '4 percent generation' takes over. If we don't do something within the next five years, what is America going to look like?"

Hoping to play a part in changing those statistics, Broocks teamed up with author and pastor Larry Tomczak, who once headed People of Destiny International. Renamed Sovereign Grace Ministries in 2003, it's a pioneering church-planting movement that has established more than 60 churches in the U.S. and abroad.

Broocks also brought on board Dale Evrist, author and pastor of New Song Christian Fellowship in Brentwood, Tenn.

The team united to form ICE-CAP with a goal to contribute to world evangelism, beginning at home. "We've all planted a lot of churches, but the key for us is not about my church or Dale's church succeeding," Broocks said. "A key phrase for us is that 'it's going to take the whole church to reach the whole world.'"

It also takes leaders, stressed ICE-CAP director Tomczak. "A strong percentage of people in churches are not sharing their faith and have never led anybody to Christ," Tomczak said. "A lot of people are apologetic, fearful; they don't know how to present the gospel."

With that in mind, ICE-CAP launched its Leadership Training Institute in October. More than 80 students converged in its first semester to learn about leadership through evangelism and prayer. Currently, the institute is wrapping up its second semester.

The group is also connecting with religious leaders nationwide to help develop strategies for church planting. But without evangelism rooted in relationship, little will change, Tomczak said. "Things have become too institutional, mechanical," he explained. "We've got to get back to the relational aspect, and that's critical in reaching this next generation. There's been a real disconnect there."

Tomczak said ICE-CAP is following a simple, foolproof model. "Our model for evangelism is Jesus," he said. "We've got to get out into the marketplace, into the highways and byways, and do like Jesus did—love people, engage people, befriend people, find ways to serve people."

--By Suzy A. Richardson (Source: Charisma online)

_________________________________________________

Building Fund

(From ChristianityToday.com)