In Christ Alone

This past week we sang the hymn Before the Throne in corporate worship and you guys knocked it out of the park. The voices of God’s people singing such great theology to God and one another by memory was beautiful. Thanks for taking this exercise so seriously.

This month we’re gonna memorize In Christ Alone by Keith Getty and Stuart Townsend. I wish more current singer/songwriters would write songs of such depth and beauty. I’ve talked to folks who assume that this is a hymn written hundreds of years ago, but it was written in 2002. The reason it has that feel is that the songwriters wanted to create a “modern hymn”. Another one of Townsend’s songs we sing, that has that same feel and teaching depth, is How Deep the Father's Love for Us.

Stuart Townsend was the youngest of 4 kids and raised in West Yorkshire, England. His dad was a vicar in the Church of England. He desires to write songs that capture biblical truth in ways that prompt believers to worship in singing, but even more be built up in their living for Jesus. Getty, an Irish composer, shares that same passion for songwriting.

In 2002 with a melody in Townsend’s head, he and Getty, they started writing and in their words, “the theme of the life, death, resurrection of Christ, and the implications of that for us just began to tumble out”.

Townsend’s commitment to singing theology are reflected in this statement, “I think content is vitally important to our corporate worship, sometimes great melodies are let down by indifferent or clichéd words. It’s the writer’s job to dig deep into the meaning of Scripture and express in poetic and memorable ways the truth he or she finds there. Knowing the truth about God and who we are in Him is central to our lives as believers. Songs remain in the mind in a way sermons do not, so songwriters have an important role and a huge responsibility.”

Sounds like our kind of guy.

Sean, has prepared an mp3 for you to download and serve you as you memorize this classic: In Christ Alone

Here are the lyrics and they speak for themselves:

In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
this Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
when fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! who took on flesh
Fulness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied -
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave he rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine -
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath.
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.

Disaster Relief for Haiti

Hey guys. I’m posting to let you know how we can partner with some relief organizations to serve Haiti. Crew’s setting up a relief fund that we’ll distribute across 3 streams (Compassion International, Worldvision, and Samaritan's Purse). On Sunday, we’ll be collecting funds that Crew will match and send in the name of Christ. Pray about how much of our obscene wealth Jesus would have us give away to show His love to Haiti.

Video from Churcheshelpingchurches.org:

Next Coaching Network Month 3

I’m Minneapolis for month 3 of 6 with the EFCA. They’ve given me and 10 other pastors the opportunity to sit with some great leaders in order to evaluate where our churches are and how to effectively lead them into the future. A more exhaustive look can be found here, here,here, here, & here.

Alright, this session is called Breaking Growth Barriers. And it’s going to be long. So come back when you have time. I’ve tried to break it up under headers for easier reading in one sitting. Also, you can take it bite sized chunks. Now, I know, trust me I know, this topic can be controversial. I don’t want to go there in this blog. Feel free to push back in the comments and ask questions. I’d love to talk through this with ya’ll. But I’m going to resist to go into all of the nuances here. Instead, I’ll take on the role of reporter and simply summarize the discussion we’re having for you to follow. Fair?

A Foundational Assumption of the Session

The leaders of the session and the training is working on the assumption that healthy churches grow numerically. There are periods of plateau and decline, but the trend should be numerical growth.

Growth Barriers

With the evaluation of church history and of the experience of many church leaders has emerged this term called “growth barriers”. These are places, things, or season where churches get “stuck” or “stalled” in their numerical growth. These barriers can be anything from lack of effective systems, leadership, sin, meeting space, culture shift, and/or inward focus. The most common barrier is 200 people.

I personally have been aware of this term and way of thinking for a decade now. I’ve had tons of questions and dialogue with folks on both sides whether or not this is valid, biblical, or helpful. So, rest assured that I’ve thought deeply on this and continue to think about “growth barriers.” This isn’t  new revelation, but I share this with you in order to get you informed.

Next, we’ll address thoughts/tools that “experienced leaders”, who have broken through barriers, have discovered are helpful and useful to pass on those who come to the barriers.

Change Your Focus

Ed Stetzer, a missiologist, who I greatly respect, says that churches that break through growth barriers focused on two groups: leaders and folks who don’t know Jesus. In regards to leadership, if the growth barrier will be overcome, the leadership will either change or be replaced. So, focus your time, energy, and resources on developing godly leaders and reaching unbelievers with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Less time needs to go toward maintaining status quo.

Release Members

This brings with it the idea that every member needs to be engaged in the work of the ministry. Not just paid staff, not just visible leaders, but everyone. This is deeply rooted biblically. Eph 4 is a slam dunk teaching on this. Many leaders, don’t trust the membership do the ministry and put to much on a select few to do everything.

Hire Additional Staff

Crew is 150. The average size of the American church is 100 folks. Why? This seems to be the number of people one pastor can reasonably lead. Therefore a single staffed church is a bottleneck to growth. Now, obviously, the tension is that most churches of 100 can’t paid two dudes. A healthy rule of thumb is that 50% of the church’s budget should be invested in staff. I don’t know who’s rule or who’s thumb but that’s out there. Crew is just under that 50%. Crew invest about $4k into staff with a budget of a little over $8k.

Again, let me emphasize, there is debate over such things, but the materials and coaches here counsel that a church must take a plunge and hire staff rather than wait until you grow to need it. In their words, “You will never be able to afford additional staff for growth”. But you still staff for growth, not staff when there’s growth. The theory is that bringing on that staff will grow the number of the church that will increase the $$ and then pay for the staff. I think I just felt some of you shudder. Another option is to raise the money for the staff salary above and beyond your budget through saving or a campaign.

Begin Multiple Worship Services

Not sure this applies to Crew and our massive space right now. The corporate worship gathering is the front door for many folks into the church community. So, the space in which corporate worship happens can hinder growth.

A church should consider doing an additional worship service when the following things are 80% full: (1) seating capacity, (2) parking space, (3) kids space. If that’s happening then start another gathering. Also, this should follow hiring additional staff. And both service should have at least 100 in each of them. A great benefit to your current members who serve in kid’s ministry will be that they can serve the church and never miss worship. They can serve in one service and worship in the other.

Manage the Room 

Now we’re really going to jack some of you out. This is the layout of the gathering space. I told you this is a pragmatic session. So relax. This greatly affects the “mood” or “vibe” of the room. Here are the tips:

• Set up fewer chairs than you need. You want it to feel full regardless of size. This also can build morale and excitement when you add chairs.
• Curved rows with plenty of space between. This adds warmth and avoids a feeling of institutionalization. It also allows space to move. You don’t want folks squeeze and bump into one another.

Walk through the Facility

Over time, members will become accustomed to negatives about the space. We don’t even notice, the smell, the burned out lights, and the dirty carpet. Newbies will notice and it can communicate poor values.

Pay Attention to the Kid’s Ministry

Families will struggle being a part of a church that doesn’t value their kids. Parents and kids want a worship environment and community that kids want to participate in, equips parents/kids to grow, and are safe. If you reach kids, you reach parents. It’s a exponential investment into people.

Well, there you go. That’s what’s been going on here. We’ll continue to pray, talk through, and plan with this information in front of us. Feel free to comment and give a take. I’d love to know.

Time to Hymn Again

Well, we’re entering month 3 of our blatant knock off of the idea of memorizing hymns as a church. You can get caught up here as to why we’re doing this.

This month we’ve come to one of my favorite songs we sing in worship at Crew and probably the one that I get the most comments of God bringing folks to tears, for what that’s worth. It’s Before the Throne by Charitie Lee Smith, later to become Charitie Lee Bancroft. She got married. Good for her.

First a bit about the author. Smith was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1841. She was a pastor’s kid. She wrote this hymn, her only well known one, at age 22. Other than her dad, this song, and who she married, not much is known about her. How encouraging to know that cultural unknowns can have such a legacy in the gospel. By the way songwriters so you can you. We need you to write music of depth and glory. We want to use the local gifts and the talent that God has given to our body. Write stuff that moves our affections for Christ for us, will you?

Now, the song itself. The song was originally titled “The Advocate” because of it’s teaching on the doctrine of Christ’s role as the believers advocate. We see :

Verse First

• Christ at the right hand of the throne of his father praying and pleading and interceding for those he died for.
• He is our priest and our advocate before God.
• He knows us intimately and deeply
• But our sin cannot accuse us. Through his blood we have bold confidence to approach God with our prayers and praise.  He will never tell us to get out.

Verse Second

• Satan, the accuser, has no power with our advocate, nor should he with us.
• Guilt and despair in the inner part of our being are attacked not with shallow self esteem, but a right view of our sinfulness and the forgiveness that is offered through the satisfying (propitiating) death of Christ for us.
• We are pardoned.

Verse Third

• Look on Christ, who has conquered death and sin through the gospel
• He never stops forgiving, he’s unchanging and eternal
• Our identity and destiny is tied to Christ through faith in what he has done. To reject us is to reject himself.

Great song. The tune to which we sing it was added in 1997 by Vikki Cook. Sean’s going to load a demo for you to download, listen to, and memorize this month. Buy in with us. Great theology like this needs to be sung to ourselves constantly.

Before the Throne

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea,
A great High Priest whose name is love
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart;
I know that while in heav’n He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart,
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free,
For God, the Just, is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me,
To look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there! the risen Lamb,
My perfect, spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of Glory and of Grace.
One with Himself I cannot die;
My soul is purchased by His blood,
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ my Savior and my God,
With Christ my Savior and my God.

Text: Charitie Lees Bancroft, 1863
Tune: Vikki Cook, 1997
Copyright © 1997 Sovereign Grace Worship

Two-Year Bible Reading Plan

Several years ago I came up with a two-year Bible reading plan. There are two reasons I did this. First, I always seemed to drop the ball on the one year plans, usually around Deuteronomy. A two-year plan is more manageable for me in my busyness, because I have smaller daily readings. Second, because a two-year allows me to read through the Bible a little more slowly, it also allows me more time to meditate and reflect on what I'm reading rather than rushing to get my chapters done.

The plan basically, with a few exceptions, has you read two Old Testament chapters a day for the first year and about three months; the final 9 months or so have you read one New Testament chapter a day. There are also some make-up days built into the last part of December. I thought I'd share this with the Crew family, in case anyone else finds it helpful. Go here to download the whole TWO-YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN. Print it off and keep it with you in your Bible.

Whether it's this plan or another, I hope we all commit to regularly reading through the Word. Reading through the whole Bible gives us a "big picture" view of God's message to us. Especially in light of Josh's message Sunday, I encourage you to look for how God unfolds His plan to redeem fallen mankind through the Savior Jesus Christ. This is the main storyline of the Bible, and if you look for it you'll see it everywhere. Whether it's through God's slaughtering of an animal to cover Adam and Eve's shame, or Abraham's willingness to not spare His own Son, or the Messianic Psalms, or prophecies of men like Isaiah (see chapter 53)-- the whole book is this: God saving undeserving people by sending His Son to die in their place. May we all be caused to worship the Savior with greater fervor as we read through the Scriptures!

-phil

Post Xmas Blues and Teaching Moment

Feeling sad after the big day? Good. That’s a teachable moment for you and your kids.

Are We Enjoying Christmas Rightly?

C.J. Mahaney reminds us that we must be disturbed before we're delighted by Christmas.