How important is presentation?

We live in such a visual world that it is often hard to imagination a church service, awards banquet, town hall debate or other gathering that isn’t concerned with presentation.  Researchers tell us that people will make a first impression of your church that will largely determine whether or not they ever visit again.  If this is true, how important is presentation?

When it comes to communicating a message about your church it is important so that you are sure about who you are.  This starts with things like the outside of your building.  Is it nice?  Well maintained?  Are their people there to welcome those arriving?  This idea of presentation also needs attention on the inside.  These could include your style of worship.  Seeker driven?  Casual dress or Sunday best?

Where presentation gets tricky is that it often begins to overshadow the substance of the Gospel message.  So we now spend all of our time working on logos.  We pay ministers to come up with nifty slogans that will appeal to a lost world.  I mean seriously, do you really believe that lost people look at the logo and decide that you are soooo cool they should come to your church?  If we get caught seeing how innovative and savvy we can be it is easy to lose why we are actually here.

As with everything in life there needs to be balance.  You need to balance having a great presentation with worrying about it so much you don’t minister.  You have to craft a message of who you are as a church without letting that be the only thing that matters.  Get out of balance and you will spend all of your time working on things that never make an eternal difference.  Remember: God loves excellence, especially excellence in evangelism, discipleship, worship, ministry and fellowship.  And somewhere after that is excellence in presentation.  Start with souls and work your way to the peripheral parts of your ministry.

Assimilation Through Dodge Ball

Last night our church hosted its first annual dodge ball tournament after our Sunday night service.  We had 132 participants and a gym full of people that were enjoying watching the balls fly through the air and the welts rise on the skin.  All in all it was a great success.  Most of the players do not attend our church, but one team really caught my attention.

It was the smallest team on the court.  The mom and son joined our church on Wednesday night last week.  They brought a few friends with them and actually held their own against one of the better teams.  What was so great was to see them interacting with everyone having a great time.

I wanted to write this so that you know sometimes assimilation happens around a cause or an event.  It might be a food drive or dodge ball tournament, but it brings people into the church and makes them feel comfortable.  Don’t despise the things that seem unspiritual.  After all, it may be the thing that gets someone to find their place.

Working Your Parking Lot

One of the things that I hate dealing with on a regular basis is parking.  I have had some good parking lots, and some bad ones.  I have had asphalt, grass and gravel, but I have rarely had a good sense of how important a parking team is to the first impression we make on our visitors.

At Judson, we have recently had so many first time visitors that we are now asking all staff and deacons to park across the street at the local high school so that our visitors will have some of the prime spots when they arrive.  This is a slight inconvenience, but everyone of us knows that we have been guilty of getting to church early and taking a spot right by the door.  If you don’t have the luxury of a parking lot across the street, get the staff and deacons to park far away or in less than ideal spots.  This is just one more way to say to the visitors that they matter.

Get Them There

We recently had the great joy and headache of moving into a new building.  As you know there were many changes that needed to be addressed, and our congregation needed these things to run as smoothly as possible.  The move was tough because it involved all of our adult and children along with a new security system for our children.   We tried to prepare for any hang ups with extra greeters and a new thing we used called guides.

Guides were stationed at three different tables for children, youth and adult.  They were responsible to walk every person that inquired about the location of a class to that class.  We didn’t just want them to give a room number, but we wanted a personal interaction.  This proved to be one of the best insights we had for the day.  I wish I could claim it, but another staff member suggested it, and it worked so good that we have decided to keep them in place.

Our church has a welcome desk that is staffed during the services, but we really didn’t have enough people so that anyone could leave and escort a visitor or member to a class.  What we discovered was that there were many people who didn’t know where their classes were even though we had sent out listings for room numbers and had multiple tours given.  We also discovered that when a guide said come with me, it alleviated all of the burden from our visitors.  Saying, “take a right, two lefts and then go behind the children’s wing” really doesn’t help.  In fact it enhances the stress level.  A guide makes it so much easier.

Another benefit of the guides was that we had one more personal interaction.  People were greeted in the parking lot, at the front door and then by the guide before they ever got into their classroom.  This allows visitors to feel the personal efforts of your church, and tells them that they are important.  Remember, people are beginning to move away from the metropolis churches to find personal interactions again.  If you are a growing church, you can change perception by making people feel welcomed.

One final thought.  Make sure you grab guides from all age groups.  I used a college student, young married couple, man in his 50’s and a senior adult couple.  Move away from the old men as greeter mentality.  It lets people immediately identify with someone in their age group.

Two Impressions

I had the opportunity this week to meet with two different couples that have visited our church in the last few weeks.  I am always interested to hear their impressions and insights even though I realize that they may be holding some of that back because I am a pastor at the church.  Even still, I thought you might be interested in what was on their minds because two themes popped up with both visits.

1. Community. If your church doesn’t offer a sense of community to visitors they are less likely to stick.  Both of these couples are young, and they both expressed how they liked the sense of community. Your church must be a place where the members have a sense of bond with each other.  When this takes place it flows over to the visitors, and they seem to be thirsty for this.  Perhaps it’s because we live in a digital age, or maybe it’s that people simply don’t have a lot of time to build relationships.  Whatever the case, your church needs to offer this.

2. Kids.  What are you doing for the children?  You may be surprised, but it doesn’t have to be much.  Our children’s pastor may be the most popular guy on staff because he knows the kids by name.  Actually he knows the kids names before the parents.  The know that there is someone who cares about their children.  The other thing we do is that we have real Sunday school classes, including lessons, for everyone including the earliest.  This isn’t babysitting.  Parents pick up on these these little lessons and they know that the people who teach their children care.  Last week my 3 month old son received a card from his teacher because he was on vacation.  Believe, it made an impression on his mother and me.

Don’t Forget About Prayer

“Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation.” Romans 10:1

I often wonder if Paul’s heart’s desire is truly our heart’s desire. I often wonder if our prayer life is as focused on those who do not know Christ as Paul’s was for the Jews. I have often heard the question, “If God suddenly allowed everyone that you had been praying for that was lost to be saved, what kind of impact would that have on His kingdom?” Unfortunately, for many of us as individuals and for many of our churches few to none would be saved, and there would be very little impact on God’s kingdom. Many times we do a great job of organizing, a great job of creative outreach ideas, we put unbelievable effort into evangelism training, we spend enormous amounts of energy into mobilization, but we totally miss the great big boat of prayer. We are quick to do all these well meaning and sometimes effective techniques we learn about at conferences and in seminary, but we are reluctant to spend time asking God to send workers into the harvest, and we are shy about getting on our faces before the Lord and consistently and persistently begging Him to bring people to faith in Him.

Most outreach ministries, including ours, need constant evaluation and tweaking. Over a year ago we were convicted and encouraged that if we were to reach the lost of our community and around the globe we needed to start with prayer instead of tacking it on to the end as some sort of good luck charm. We began small groups that meet twice a month to specifically pray for lost friends, neighbors, family members, etc…We started other specific times during the week to pray specifically for the lost and our outreach endeavors. All of our prayer times at church and at home by our members were encouraged to be filled with intentional prayer for the lost folks in their lives. This past year our baptisms more than doubled. I believe God blessed this major tweak because we prayed.

“I am now, in 1864 waiting upon God for certain blessings, for which I have daily besought Him for 19 years and 6 months, without one day’s intermission. Still the full answer is not yet given concerning the conversion of certain individuals. In the meantime, I have received many thousands of answers to prayer. I have also prayed daily, without intermission, for the conversion of other individuals about ten years, for others six or seven years, for others four, three and two years, for others about eighteen months; and still the answer is not yet granted, concerning these person for whom I have prayed for nineteen years and six months… Yet I am daily continuing in prayer and expecting the answer… Be encouraged, dear Christian reader, with fresh earnestness to give yourself to prayer, if you can only be sure that you ask for things which are for the glory of God.” –George Mueller

I cannot thing of many things that give God more glory than when we diligently and intentionally pray that God would draw those that do not know Him to be worshipers of their creator.

Church In the Political Arena and Assimilation

The following post was written by Matt Martin who is our newest contributor to the blog. We will have more information about him soon.

With the election season coming to it’s climax, questions have arisen in the church about how much can a church legally be involved in the political arena without stepping outside of the legal limits of the IRS, how much should the church be involved from a Biblical standpoint, and how can you communicate that to the newest members of your congregation.

It seems that each time election season roles around there are stories in the news of pastors and/or churches endorsing some candidates, attacking others, giving money to this political organization, and a whole array of other endeavors, many times leading to trouble with the IRS. Although, your church might not take one of these extreme actions, it is sometimes still difficult to decipher what is permissible by law. I have included a few charts at the conclusion of this article that give clear specifics on what a pastor and a church can and cannot do to be involved in politics. These charts come from a web-site that takes up this and other topics related to church and politics called ivotevalues.org. These charts, developed by the James Madison Center For Free Speech, indicate that churches can legally be more involved in politics than maybe you thought they could; but still, how much involvement is wise as the body of Christ, and how does this relate to assimilation?

According to Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2, to walk with Christ involves being a good citizen. We are to be involved in civil affairs, stand against sin, and be involved in the political process. All of this, while at the same time understanding that our purpose as a New Testament church is to worship our creator and to share the good news of Christ with those who have not heard. We must make sure that we filter whatever we do, whether in the political arena or somewhere else, through the Word of God and our purpose as the church. Anything that negatively affects our worship (on Sunday morning or in our daily lives) or anything that might hinder someone coming to know Christ is to be avoided. Just because it is permissible by law, does not mean that all legal involvement in the political arena by the church is wise. Even though some political action is allowed by the IRS, any action that might hinder the church from its main purpose of worship and evangelism should be avoided.

It is also very important to note the necessity of communicating your church’s boundaries in the political arena to new believers or new church members that you desire to assimilate into the body. During election season, especially, it is not uncommon for a church member who is very passionate about their candidate or party to use the church as a place to stump for their candidate or to even desire that the church as a whole jump into the political arena for their cause. This time of year can be a great opportunity to offer discipleship classes, sermons on, discussions in small groups, or prayer services that focus on the subject of what it means to be a faithful follower of Christ and a good citizen. These venues are also great opportunities to discuss do’s and don’ts as non-profit organizations, as well as voter guides, moral and social issues, or other topics that lay out for the congregation appropriate boundaries for the church and the individual believer when it comes to politics. You might even consider making this a small aspect of your new member’s class, or making it a part of your policies and procedures manual, how your church does or does not involve itself in civic affairs. This will protect the body from overstepping its bounds, but also make clear the freedom of the church to be responsible yet bold, Christ-like citizens.

Legal Do’s and Don’ts for the Church	Church
Sermons on moral and social issues and civic involvement	Yes
Endorsing or opposing political candidates	No
Educate on political process and political/social/legislative issues	Yes
Contributions to Political Action Committees	No
Distribution of candidate surveys and incumbent voting records (avoid editorial opinions and make sure they cover a wide range of issues)	Yes
Church bulletin editorial where the pastor or staff member endorses or opposes a candidate	No
Encourage members to voice their opinions in favor or in opposition to certain legislation	Yes
Campaigning for candidates	No
Discuss biblical instruction pertaining to moral and cultural issues such as abortion, same-sex marriage, etc.	Yes
Fundraising for candidates	No
Support or oppose judicial, department, or cabinet appointments	Yes
Granting use of name to support a political candidate	No
Support or oppose other political appointments of non-elected officials	Yes
Support or oppose judicial candidates	No
Use of church facilities by political candidates (as long as all other candidates are allowed or invited)	Yes
Contributions to political candidates	No
In-kind and independent expenditures for or against political candidates	No
Petition drives supporting or opposing legislation	Yes
Support or oppose legislation unrelated to the church organization	Yes
Support or oppose legislation that directly relates to the organization	Yes
Engage in voter registration activities that avoid promoting any one candidate or particular political party.	Yes

Legal Do’s and Don’ts for the Pastor	Pastor
Preach on moral and social issues and encourage civic involvement.	Yes
Endorse candidates on behalf of the church.	No
Engage in voter registration activities that avoid promoting any one candidate or particular political party.	Yes
Use church funds or services (such as mailing lists or office equipment) to contribute directly to candidates or political committees.	No
Distribute educational materials to voters (such as voter guides), but only those that do not favor a particular candidate or party and that cover a wide range of issues.	Yes
Permit the distribution of material on church premises that favors any one candidate or political party.	No
Conduct candidate or issues forums where each duly qualified candidate invited and provided an equal opportunity to address the congregation.	Yes
Use church funds to pay fees for political events.	No
Set up a political committee that would contribute funds directly to political candidates.	No
Allow candidates to solicit funds while speaking in a church.	No

People really matter.

I just got back from the post office in Brentwood, TN, and it caused me to think about all of us in ministry.  I needed to mail one item and buy some stamps.  This took 20 minutes.  Now it’s not like I didn’t have 20 minutes. After all, it is Monday, and every pastor knows what I mean by that statement.  You are brain fried and need to recover from the weekend, but I found a few lessons that might be valuable for you.

1. Streamline your processes.  The USPS makes it nearly impossible to get anything right.  You have the wrong envelope sir.  That needs a different label.  You can’t mail it packaged like this.  There is no one who can make it easy for you at the post office.  Your church can be just as frustrating for people.  For instance, I tried to register for my church’s golf tournament online , but when I clicked the hyper-link registration was unavailable.  If it is hard for people to give, they won’t.  If it is hard to register, they won’t come.  You must make it easy for people to access your organization.
2. Make sure you are staffed.  15 people in line, only two people working, and they had no sense of urgency.  The attitude of “we are here, and you must use us” won’t make you successful.  The fact that someone came to your church unsolicited is amazing!  Don’t forget that it is amazing!  Don’t blow it by not having your nursery workers ready, or your greeters in place.  Be ready for them.
3. Treat them like they matter.  The government says you matter.  Obama and McCain want you to think you matter, but at the USPS you very rarely matter.  The post office will be there whether you use them or not, so they have some of the worst customer service around.  Before you harp on that statement let me agree that they are understaffed and often neglected.  However, it is quite a difference when you are trying to get business.  You work harder.  You make it easy for the customer.  Your parishioners matter.  Every single one of them.  Treat them that way.  Make yourself available to them.  Answer their emails quickly.  Take their phone calls.  Show them that they matter.

If you don’t do these simple things you may end up like the USPS; delapidated buildings full of exasperated people.  Sound like fun?

Bill Bright’s Legacy

If you are looking for a tool to use for new believers who need a basic foundation of Christian faith, you should check out 10 Basic Steps Toward Christian Maturity.  Bright worked hard to form Campus Crusade For Christ, an organization that targeted college students for discipleship.  The 10 Step book works to build in a foundation of these basic principles on Bible Study, Prayer, Witnessing etc.

We have been using this book for new believer discipleship with good results.  The thing that is most compelling is that it points the students to the Bible.  Each lesson is filled with Bible reading followed by questions about the passages.  What happens is transformation by the Word.  You can buy the steps individually or in one book.

Will it matter?

Will it matter if you wore a suit to church?

Will it matter if you wore a Hawaiian shirt while you preach?

Will it matter how big your church was?

Will it matter what your salary was?

Will it matter what books you wrote?

Will it matter what conferences you headlined?

Will it matter if you were SBC, AG, or PCUSA?

It will only matter what you did for eternity. After going to a funeral today,  I am reminded that there are only a few things that get to go with me to heaven.  My soul, the souls of those we win, and our praise.  Everything else just won’t matter.