How to Keep Your Church More Safe and Secure

Some Preparations to Consider:

1. Put additional staff in te Sacctuary, one close to the front and one in the rear at minimum.

2. Do not allow unknown people to approach the podium or stage.

3. Keep security staff in the foyers and parking lots.

4. If you are not using radios for discrete communication, you need to start soon.

5. Be aware of your surroundings and the people in them.

6. Be on the look out for inappropriate conduct and suspicious activities such as people in unusual areas of the church, or sitting alone in a car in the church parking lot and surrounding streets.

7. Also, recognize the potential areas of concern such as the back parking lots, balconies, back stage areas or baptisteries.

8. Watch for people wearing unusual clothes that could hide weapons.

9. Watch for large packages such as duffle bags, music instrument cases that could hide a rifle or shotgun.

10. Watch for people that appear to be very emotional or distressed as well as displaying signs of unrest such as sweating or nervously glancing in all directions.

11. Watch for people entering after the start of the service.

12. Consider reducing the number of unlocked doors and funnel members and guests through one or two doors that are being watched by the greeters and security team members.

13. Make sure that you have medical staff available if possible.

Above All;

Know that God will watch over us and trust that He puts one of us in place if a wolf decides to attack our church.

Plan for the worst possible situation and Pray for Gods best for the church.

[from Church Security Member by Jack Justice]

Is Your Church’s Vision Too Small?

Why do people love to give time, money, energy, and love to parachurch organizations when they don't give time, energy and love to their home church?

Craig Groeschel suggests that it could be because the parachurch organization has a bigger vision than your church! Craig says: "Almost daily, I hear great church members excited about their 'outside the church' ministry."

Instead of complaining about why they don’t give, serve, or care about the ministry of the local church, why not ask why.

You might solve the dilemma by casting such a compelling vision for the power of the local church that the vision would draw their hearts back to the local church.

Celebrate and embrace whatever they are doing to make a difference.

[from MMI Weblog]

Stressful Jobs that Pay Badly: #10 Pastor; #5 Worship Pastor

According to an article from CNNMoney.com, two major church roles have the distinction of being the most stressful jobs that pay badly!

Coming in at #5: Music Ministry Director - Median pay: $40,800 - % who say their job is stressful: 67%

You may not think of people who plan, direct and conduct performances for religious services as being under a particularly high amount of stress. But they also choose the appropriate psalm or hymn for every wedding and funeral -- only some of the most important events in a family's life. And those stressful situations can create some demanding clients.

"Every now and then you'll get a strange request," said Dan Fenn, Music Ministry Director at St. John's Lutheran Church in Northfield, Minn. "A couple of years ago I got a request to play the Beer Barrel Polka at a funeral. You have to ask yourself, is this appropriate for a worship service?"

Coming in at #10: Minister/Pastor - Median pay: $45,300 - % who say their job is stressful: 71%

They may answer to a higher calling, but all that spirituality does not come stress free. It's a lot of responsibility being an authority on morality. Leading religious worship every week and providing spiritual and moral guidance can be a heavy cross to bear for those in the ministry.

"People who are deathly sick, people with substance abuse problems, things of that nature, that can be emotionally draining," said Father Dan Skvir of Princeton, N.J. "I've had calls at 2 or 3 in the morning to come and attend to someone, people in imminent danger of death."

You can read more here...

[from MMI Weblog]

Good Reading

Great editorial by Bishop Randall Howard: CLICK HERE to read.

Great article by Thomas Feltman: CLICK HERE to read.

Great article by Milton Gordon: CLICK HERE to read.

Great magazine with many additional great articles.

A Call to Christian Conscience

In a 4,700 word treatise they have entitled, the Manhattan Declaration - a manifesto citing scripture and signed by some 148 Orthodox, Catholic and evangelical leaders, a warning of Civil Disobedience has been sounded.

The document, released in a Washington, DC press conference, is what conservative religious leaders say is a "line drawn in the sand" across three key issues they decree are non-negotiable despite the law:

1. the sanctity of human life (against abortion),

2. the institution of marriage as being between a man and woman (against gay marriage and gay teachings in schools), and

3. religious freedom (against political correctness).

Click A Call to Christian Conscience to read the manifesto.

Tenn. pastor says church will present nativity scene despite objections from ACLU

A Tennessee pastor says his congregation will present its nativity scene in Clarksville despite objections from the American Civil Liberties Union.

Pastor Steve Estep tells The Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle that Grace Church of the Nazarene went through the proper channels to present the display and won't let the objection diminish their celebration.

ACLU attorney Tricia Herzfeld says the organization isn't asking the city do away with the riverfront Christmas observance, but rather implement an "equal-access" policy to allow other religious and non-religious groups to participate. She says the ACLU also wants the city to clearly state its non-endorsement and not provide funding for a religious display.

The display has not yet been constructed. City spokeswoman Christie Hill says the plan has been to present the display Dec. 11 and 12 when Grace Church is planning performances at the city's annual holiday festivities.

[The Leaf-Chronicle, http://www.theleafchronicle.com]

The Kind of Leader Others Want to Follow

The key to becoming an effective leader is not to focus on making other people follow, but on making yourself the kind of person they want to follow. You must become someone others can trust to take them where they want to go. As you prepare yourself to become a better leader, use the following guidelines to help you grow:

• Let go of your ego. The truly great leaders are not in leadership for personal gain. They lead in order to serve other people. Perhaps that is why Lawrence D. Bell remarked, "Show me a man who cannot bother to do little things, and I'll show you a man who cannot be trusted to do big things."
• Become a good follower first. Rare is the effective leader who didn't learn to become a good follower first. That is why a leadership institution such as the United States Military Academy teaches its officers to become effective followers first - and why West Point has produced more leaders than the Harvard Business School.
• Build positive relationships. Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less. That means it is by nature relational. Today's generation of leaders seem particularly aware of this because title and position mean so little to them. They know intuitively that people go along with people they get along with.
• Work with excellence. No one respects and follows mediocrity. Leaders who earn the right to lead give their all to what they do. They bring into play not only their skills and talents, but also great passion and hard work. They perform on the highest level of which they are capable.
• Rely on discipline, not emotion. Leadership is often easy during the good times. It's when everything seems to be against you - when you're out of energy, and you don't want to lead - that you earn your place as a leader. During every season of life, leaders face crucial moments when they must choose between gearing up or giving up. To make it through those times, rely on the rock of discipline, not the shifting sand of emotion.
• Make adding value your goal. When you look at the leaders whose names are revered long after they have finished leading, you find that they were men and women who helped people to live better lives and reach their potential. That is the highest calling of leadership - and its highest value.
• Give your power away. One of the ironies of leadership is that you become a better leader by sharing whatever power you have, not by saving it all for yourself. You're meant to be a river, not a reservoir. If you use your power to empower others, your leadership will extend far beyond your grasp.

(by John Maxwell)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Click HERE for your animated card.

Today's Quote

"The more we take pleasure in loving and serving God, the greater our capacity to take pleasure in loving and serving people. When we are secure in Christ, the rewards of investing our lives in people exceed the pains that people can cause." - Kenneth Boa via Larry Duncan

Today's Quote

"The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials." - Chinese proverb

Maine Churches Being Threatened

Gay activists in Maine are urging people to report churches that supported Question 1 — the initiative that restored the definition of marriage to one man and one woman — to the IRS.

According to the activists, these churches should be investigated with the possibility of losing their tax-exempt status.

The Alliance Defense Fund has offered free legal assistance to churches being singled out.

[CitizenLink.com]

Woman Pastor Rejected

The Georgia Baptist Convention has cut ties with the First Baptist Church of Decatur, Ga., — ending its 148-year-old relationship — over the congregation's 2007 vote to hire a woman as senior pastor, according to the Associated Baptist Press. The 2,700-member church is one of several historic congregations in what is now metropolitan Atlanta and one of the largest and most prominent churches traditionally affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention to be led by a woman pastor.

Pastor Julie Pennington-Russell read a letter at the end of both worship services Nov. 15 from Robert White, executive director of the 1.3 million-member state convention. It informed her that messengers to the group's recent annual meeting took action to declare them "not a cooperating church" because "a woman is serving as senior pastor." White said funds received from the First Baptist Church of Decatur during 2009 will be returned.

"Obviously, the severing of a relationship after so many years is unfortunate and gives the world-at-large another reason to conclude that Baptists care more about putting people out than gathering them in," Pennington-Russell said in an e-mail Nov. 16. "At the same time, I don't think this came as a surprise to many in our congregation and, to be honest, having a Southern Baptist affiliation has not been especially helpful when it comes to connecting with our largely unchurched community."

Last year, the Georgia Baptist Convention changed policies to decline funds sent by churches "not in cooperation and harmony with the approved work and purpose" of the convention, largely "as a result of questions raised regarding First Baptist Church of Decatur" and their female senior pastor, said convention leaders.

Kentucky has a state "Holiday" Tree

Here we go again. Why does America want to take Christ out of Christmas?

Last week, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear's administration referred to the Christmas tree on the state capitol lawn as a "holiday" tree.

Many people called in unhappy about the decision and within days of hearing these complaints, Gov. Beshear issued a statement declaring that the tree officially would be considered a Christmas tree.

Thank you Gov. Beshear!

Dr. James Dobson to Leave Focus on the Family

Focus on the Family founder and chairman emeritus James C. Dobson, Ph.D., will leave the ministry as its primary radio voice at the end of February.

Dr. Dobson's departure from the radio program and from official affiliation with the organization he founded in 1977 is just the "third chapter in a transition that began in 2003," when Dr. Dobson stepped down as Focus president, said Jim Daly, the ministry's president and CEO. It was a mutual decision between Dr. Dobson and the ministry's board of directors, which Dr. Dobson left in February of this year, Daly added.

"The Bible tells us that to everything there is a season — and Dr. Dobson's season at Focus on the Family has been remarkable," Daly said. "He has done a superlative job in modeling the graceful transition of leadership from one generation to the next.

"We're excited about continuing the work he began, and following the biblical principles he's always followed, to reach today's families."

Dobson, who will continue to record new radio broadcasts between now and the end of February, remains "a man of health and vigor" and will continue to make his voice heard in the public square, Daly said.

"Dr. Dobson is a wordsmith, but one word I don't suspect we'll hear him using is 'retirement,'" Daly explained. "We wish him great success in whatever he decides to tackle next."

"Focus on the Family has never been about one man," he added. "That's why Dr. Dobson has always refused to have his name put on any building here. It's about doing the Lord's work in helping families."

[For more on this story, read H.B. London's latest blog entry on "The Heart of a Pastor."]

Today's Quote

"Be as much troubled by unjust praise, as by unjust slander" - Puritan Philip Henry