20 LESSONS IN 20 YEARS: LESSON 15

Lesson 15: I have learned to maximize spiritual growth opportunities for our church

This may be one of those high on the list that I have a great deal of learning left to do. In fact, as soon as I wrote it, I began to doubt it because I can think of several times that I have missed opportunities. And I have no doubt that people who have attended the churches where I have pastored would have a list, as well, of missed or misused opportunities. If I were to give the longer version of this lesson, it would be this: I have learned to use the times of our culture and traditions of church life to maximize spiritual growth and meaningful worship.

Let me give you some examples of this, so you know what I am referring to. When there was a presidential election in 2012, and Christians were very upset about 1 of the candidates, I preached a message on: "Who Would Jesus Vote For". It was not pushing for people to vote for a particular candidate, but instead to get God's perspective on politics (which is really a perspective on God's sovereignty and purpose) from the Bible. When someone in our church committed suicide, I preached about this very sensitive topic. There have been times, because of circumstances in our church or world, I have taken the opportunity to allow God's Word to speak directly to them. This includes other topics such as homosexuality, Hell, worship music, and church leadership structure.

The opportunities that are more well known would be the seasons and days people normally celebrate, such as: Christmas, Easter, Good Friday, Mother's and Father's Day, Memorial Day, New Year's Day, etc. I actually have taken a little different approach with many of these, not preaching an entire message on the topic that connects with the day; but instead taking time in the worship service to recognize the significance of it. This includes videos, testimonies and times of prayer. My desire, in whatever we do, is to give a fresh perspective and point people's hearts and minds toward God in the context of the special season or day.

My most current examples come from this weekend. Tonight is Good Friday and we are marking it with a special worship service. Many churches celebrate Good Friday, or Maundy Thursday, or Holy Week, or Lent, or all of the above. Many others allow their people to celebrate these at home and just focus on Easter Sunday. To me, it is all about sensing God's direction and making it meaningful, whichever days we choose to focus on. Tonight, we will use a video, lots of music, a 2 part "message", and communion to give special meaning to Good Friday. The goal is to point everyone'e heart and mind to worship God for sending Jesus, over 2,000 years ago, to die for us. It is a good preparation for what will we celebrate on Sunday.

In my 2 part "message", I will be trying to get us in the thinking of what the original disciples may have remembered about that last supper and day of crucifixion, when they reflected on it in the days to come. I will use "first person" language to talk about those days, and support it with Scripture. The last thing we will do is celebrate communion and we will do it in a reflective, personal way. While the worship team plays a song about Jesus dying for us, the bread will be passed out and people can personally pray and partake of it when they are ready. While a second song plays, the cup will be passed out and we will do the same thing. When those songs end, music will play over the sound system, and when individuals are ready to leave, they can leave quietly. If they want to talk, they can go downstairs; but it will allow every person to remain as long as they would like; and it makes it a very personal worship time as we close the service.

On Sunday, Easter Sunday, Resurrection Sunday, we will be having a joint service at a nearby auditorium. Having 1 service instead of 3 in our tiny worship center will help with the environment of a celebratory Easter worship gathering. And to make it meaningful, we are doing something different this year. We will sing many songs, as usual, and we will use a video to get people's attention toward who and what we are worshiping on Sunday. The main different will be in the message time. Some years ago, I wrote a script that we used on Easter Sunday; and I re-wrote it for this year, to be used in my present ministry.

It is a courtroom setting and is entitled: The Verdict. It uses a judge, 2 attorneys, and 6 "eye witnesses", to look back 2,000 years and ago, in order to determine if Jesus really did rise from the dead. The audience is the jury, and at the end, they will be asked to mark their verdict cards and make their own decision. Their decision on the resurrection of Jesus can make a huge different as to whether or not they will follow Him and how they will live the rest of their lives. We expect to have guests present that have not yet made that decision; and we pray God might use this fresh approach to change their hearts and lives!

There is so much more for me to learn in this area; but these are some examples of how I am trying to take advantage, for spiritual growth purposes, of special events and seasons in the lives of our people.