The Search Part 1

Another church is searching for a minister today. Their previous minister has moved on to what he believes to be greener pastures or God has opened a door for his him to serve in another area, whatever the case, the church is without a minister today. Now the tedious work begins; who will be the next minister to lead the church?

In beginning to find a replacement, most churches will contact the Christian colleges, they will post an ad on their website. They will talk to a few trusted friends, hoping to find a man who is "moveable". They may come up with a profile of what they want their next minister look like. And then they will wait for the resumes to come in. There will be meetings to attend, messages by perspective candidates to be critiqued, references to be checked and advice to be heeded all in hopes of finding that one "perfect" minister to lead the church to the next phase, step or open door. 

The search for a new minister is not easy, however it can be rewarding when we allow God's leading and our wisdom to come together to find the right man to lead the church. I have served on several search teams for associate ministers and my present role at FCC has given me the opportunity to advise churches on how to conduct a search for a new minister, I thought it would be helpful to share some of my thoughts on how to conduct "The Search".

1. Pray for wisdom - searching for a man to lead the church is not an easy task, search committees should make prayer a priority as they meet top look over resumes, talk with candidates and narrow the search. Our prayer should be "God, make it perfectly clear, who you want to lead your church." I heard of one church who valued prayer so much, they informed the "prayer warriors" at their church when they were meeting and encouraged them to pray while they were meeting.
2. Listen to advice from trusted friends, Proverbs 27:18, plans succeed through good counsel.  There is wisdom in listening to trusted advisers.
3. Answer inquiries quickly, every resume received should receive acknowledgement from the search committee or church office. This can be a form letter if you wish, often time the candidate sends a resume and wonders did the church receive my information, remember communication is the key.
4. Consider one candidate at a time. We live in a world of choices, when we shop for a car or another product we think it is prudent to consider many options to make sure we are getting the best deal available. This is good advice for making a purchase, but it is not wise advice when selecting a minister. One of the dangers of considering a multiple of candidates at one time is a  popularity contest can result as part of the team likes one candidate and others like another. If you are not careful division can rise up within a meeting and hamper the process of the search. When a decision is made to contact a candidate make sure he is the search team's #1 choice. Consider him carefully and if he is not the man you believe God is leading you to call as your minister, move on to # 2, but do not leave the first candidate hanging. If you have eliminated him from your search, communicate with him quickly.

To be continued next time I post...

  

The Battle

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8

This past week I heard one of the best messages on conflict resolution. Here it is Tuesday and the message is still resonating in my mind. 

Conflict is a part of life, The N.T. writer James tells us the reason for our conflicts;

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. James 4:1-2

As fallen people, conflict is a part of life; conflicts are seen in our homes, in our churches and in our nation and the results are devastating. Fractured families, divided churches and government gridlock can all be traced back to conflict.

Jesus was right, If a house is divided against itself, it cannot stand. Mark 3:25 

For God's people, conflict is not the normal state of life. In fact the New Testament is clear how we are to handle conflict. 

Matthew 18 gives us steps for conflict resolution.

Romans 12:17-18 reminds us we are to be proactive when it comes to avoiding conflict.

Jesus said love, not conflict would be the true signal we were followers of Him.

Paul's words in Philippians 2, reminds us to look to the attitudes of Christ as the model for avoiding conflict.

With so much instruction from scripture why is conflict so common among God's people? I believe it is because of the battle we wage on a daily basis; the battle of the mind. We think incorrectly, we give in to irrational thoughts and question the motives of others. Thus conflict is inevitable. 

If we are going to have less conflict in our lives it is essential we win the battle of the mind. If we do not we are destined to face conflict frequently. 

Life is to short to be mired down in conflict. If you have a conflict with someone today, I would challenge you to deal with it quickly. If not you may face consequences you never expected. 

I hope you are battle ready!  

Sunday Night Reflections

A Few Thoughts From an Amazing Day...

• I heard one of the best messages on conflict resolution this morning. I know I say it from time to time, but Mr. Book, you hit it out of the park this morning. 
• If more people followed the advice Jim gave us from scripture this morning, it is hard to imagine the kind of harmony we would have in our homes and in our churches.
• The death of a family illustration was really powerful this morning.
• Listen up; if conflict can not be resolved it will destroy a family, a church and a nation. This is not my opinion; this comes from the teachings of Jesus. 
• Every day should be Mother's Day.
• As I reflect on how my 3 children have now graduated from high school, I am truly thankful for the wife, God brought into my life. Kathy truly lives out Proverbs 31.
• We will never understand the tremendous influence a mother has on a family; In the words of Abraham Lincoln, no man is poor, who has a godly mother.
• In light of the president's decision this week regarding gay marriage, it is easy to see how values are not only shifting in our culture they are caving in.
• I am not a prophet, but I do think there are some storm clouds on the horizon. 
• Bob Russell's blog post this week is very challenging for all of us in light of our President's decision.
• Something to Chew on; consider these quotes regarding mothers.

Sunday Night Reflections

A Few Thoughts from an Amazing Day...

• Great day of worship!
• Watched a young man ordained into the ministry - this is always exciting.
• Also had an opportunity to reconnect with a good friend who will be moving soon; thanks for the kind words Tony!
• Attended my daughter's graduation Friday night - Remember, "Don't Blink"
• Another church closed this week - this is disturbing. 
• Shared a meal with some real good friends this week - I am blessed by the number of friends I have through ministry endeavors.
• Wisdom is a much needed gift today.
• Something to chew on; I am crucified with Christ ~ The apostle Paul. Can we say the same?   

Sunday Night Reflections

A Few Thoughts from an Amazing Day...

• Worshiped with the church at Northside Lakeland Christian today. 
• Spoke on the topic of "making ripples" or how to influence others.
• Everyone make ripples in the lives of others, the only question you must ask; are my ripples positive or negative?
• One of the choices we must make if we are going to make ripples in the lives of others, are we willing to be a risk taker to influence others?
• Anytime you take a risk, you will eventually find the reward.
• Too many people would rather be passive when it comes to making ripples, thus they never see the joy of influencing people in a positive way. 
• We sang some old choruses this morning in worship, several brought back some precious memories. 
• Attended graduation at Florida Christian College Friday evening, once again we launched a group of life changers and world shapers into the world - cannot not wait to hear how this group of young men and women will influence the world.
• My daughter is graduating from High School Friday night, I am so excited for her.
• Something to chew on; The only guarantee for failure its to stop trying ~ John Maxwell.   

Sunday Night Reflections

A Few Thoughts from an Amazing Day...

• Great worship today led by the children's ministry of FCC Kissimmee.
• As I watched the worship I was amazed how much graded worship has changed over the years.
• Churches with a future are churches that make children's ministry a priority. 
• Back in the pulpit next Sunday, looking forward to preaching again!
• Hard to believe Florida Christian College is celebrating another commencement this Friday evening, it seems like yesterday I was receiving my diploma from CFBC. Truth be known it was 31 years ago! Where does the time go?
• Reconnected with some good friends today, albeit briefly, I wish I could see them more often. Gotta fix that!
• The recent secret service scandal is a reminder we live in a time where personal responsibility is lacking.
• Whatever happened to honor?
• Chuck Colson's life was a wonderful testimony of how redemption can transform a person.
• REDEMPTION is one of those Biblical words we do not hear about, yet it is a word that truly gives the vilest sinner hope.
• Something to Chew on: we feel unhappy and confused about our life when we don't do the focus or calling that God has on our life. ~ John Maxwell 

It is now how you start...

I read today that Chuck Colson passed away today. Mr. Colson was one of my favorite authors. Every since I read Loving God, I was hooked! Colson's books had a way of writing that made his books both inspiring as well as thought provoking. Besides Loving God, my favorite books of his are;

• The Body
• The Faith
• Why America Doesn't Work 

In addition to his books, his ministry "Prison Fellowship Ministries" has touched thousands of inmates, families of inmates and society as a whole. The world was a better place because of the influence Chuck Colson. 

However, it did not start out that way, dubbed as the evil genius of the Nixon administration, he discovered how power has the ability to corrupt the soul and character of a person. During the Nixon years in the White House, he was one of the most powerful presidential aides and Nixon's number 1 troubleshooter. Yet with all that power, he soon found himself on the inside of prison for what is forever known by a one word scandal; Watergate. Realizing he had no place to turn, Colson turned to God and he was never the same again. In 1993 Colson said "I shudder to think what I'd been if I had not gone to prison. Lying on on the rotten floor of of a cell, you know it's not prosperity or pleasure that's important, but the maturing of the soul."**

Once he gave his life over to God he discovered a life that was truly abundant, just as Christ had promised. The last 35 years, he has given his life to making a difference in the lives of people, to be honest. many of us would rather forget or ignore.

If one was to look at Colson's life in the 70's he would have simply been a footnote in history, but by turning his life over to God he is no longer just a footnote in history, he is also noted for all eternity as a child of God. 

Like the apostle Paul he has finished the race and now has heard the words "well done good and faith servant." Colson is a reminder it is not how we start out in life that makes the difference, it is how we finish. May we all finish well.  

** Some of the Information from this post came from the USA TODAY for iphone.