Page 4452 – Christianity Today (2024)

Many things give a sense of rich privilege.

Some things are a privilege to see. I felt that way when I saw the original copy of the Constitution in Washington, D.C.

Some things are a privilege to hear. I will never forget sitting in the front row of Orchestra Hall to hear the Chicago Symphony under legendary conductor Sir Georg Solti.

Some things are a privilege to touch. My own sons fresh from the womb.

I feel that way supremely about simply proclaiming the name and gospel of Jesus Christ. While results are extremely important to me, when God gives me the chance to do nothing more than deliver the message to someone who needs it, I feel like Sammy Sosa springing out of the batter’s box after a homer.

Our worship service last Easter, for example, was overall not one of our best. Many of our people were away visiting family, so our attendance was half of normal, and the offering reflected that. What’s more, a few glitches beset the music. Even so, for the rest of the day I sailed on an emotional high.

My sermon had been a simple declaration of the good news of Jesus Christ, and in the service that day was at least one person who was not a Christian. That night on the phone my dad asked how I was doing; I replied, “Any day you can present the gospel for 30 minutes to even one unbeliever is a good day.”

I preach about Jesus with as much pride as a computer consultant speaks of meeting Bill Gates.

Not just a good day, a soul-enlarging day. Bench-pressing 150 pounds affects your soul in a different way than carrying a feather. You know you’ve done something. The name of Jesus Christ and the message about the gift of salvation through faith in him are the weightiest things I can utter, the most noble syllables my lips and tongue can form.

This is apparently what the early church felt. In Luke’s description of the apostles’ response to one episode of persecution, he writes, “The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name” (Acts 5:41).

The Name. Such was the intensity with which they hallowed the name of Jesus Christ. To say The Name was enough, for they preached there is “no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” This saving Name weighs more than all the mass of this far-stretching universe.

Because of the glory of this Name and good news, preaching affects me like boasting does an insecure teenage boy. “May I never boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal. 6:14).

I preach about Jesus with as much pride as a computer consultant speaks of having lunch with Bill Gates.

I’m a Namedropper.

Last fall I watched the game in which Mark McGwire broke Roger Maris’s home-run record. I was struck by how Cubs announcer Steve Stone spoke about his own role that night. With near reverence in his voice, he described the privilege of announcing the game, of just being in Busch Stadium for what many regard as the greatest record in sports.

Steve, I know how you feel, and more, for I am a servant of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That name is above every name. This preaching work above any work. I, like John, am unworthy to untie Christ’s sandals, but he has chosen me to bear his saving message to souls that never die.

Craig Brian Larson is editor of Preaching Todayand pastor of Lake Shore Assembly of GodP.O. Box 1456, Chicago IL 60690

Copyright © 1999 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal. For reprint information call 630-260-6200 or contact us.

When Leadership invited me to compare John Maxwell’s new book, 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership (Nelson, 1998) with Jesus on Leadership by Gene Wilkes (Tyndale, 1998), I jumped on the assignment eagerly. But when I opened them side by side, my enthusiasm faded. The books seemed seriously at odds. Since I greatly respect both men, I feared honest review might leave me “holding to John and despising Gene” or vice-versa!

That was at first glance. Once I hunkered down, the two volumes seemed less at odds and more “at apples and oranges.” Reviewing them is like comparing a ship’s blueprint with its operating manual.

Two Audiences. The two books address different audiences. This distinction is critical. Wilkes speaks to spiritual leaders. Maxwell speaks to leaders in general—not just believers. 21 Laws will appeal primarily to visionary, entrepreneurial leaders—the kind who launch movements or build large organizations. Jesus … will appeal more to those who are about building people—shaping individuals into the likeness of Christ and equipping them for servant leadership, primarily in their churches and families.

Two Sources. Wilkes draws his principles and most illustrations from the ministry of Jesus. “[Christian leaders must] decide if we will design our lives after the pattern of Jesus, or design our lives around the best thinking and experience the world has to offer.”

Maxwell, on the other hand, presents conventional wisdom on leadership, illustrating from business, athletics, politics, and the military. Of course, we Maxwell fans understand that John did not choose these resources because of a worldly mindset, but because his book addresses a wider circle than believers alone.

Two Styles. In his trademark fast moving, high impact style, Maxwell articulates 21 time-tested principles exciting to entrepreneurial spirits. Although none is new, he sets them so squarely on point that they strike the reader with fresh impact. And, as usual, Maxwell loads his action-packed pages with inspiring stories. While his laws are not in conflict with biblical theology, Maxwell does not thoroughly ground them in Scripture.

Wilkes is more reflective. He methodically unpacks an applied theology of servant leadership. Digging deeply into the Bible, Wilkes unearths seven principles from the ministry of Jesus. He artfully dusts them off and gently places them in the hands of today’s pastoral leaders. Jesus … carries heavy freight, but Wilkes moves the reader along. We wish he had used more stories to put contemporary wheels under Jesus’ timeless principles—and to keep us turning pages more eagerly. And, I wanted him to shape out differences between “big picture” visionary leadership and “relational, equipper” servant leadership.

Two Vulnerabilities. Like most useful books, these volumes could be misused. It would not surprise me if leadership models on the extremes play the authors against each other. As Wilkes points toward Jesus, some may hear him downplay leadership skills gained through experience. And as Maxwell points to secular enterprise, some may hear him ignore servant leadership. One godly pastor, after reading Maxwell, lamented, “What business do I have in ministry? I don’t feel gifted for visionary, entrepreneurial leadership.” And the carnally minded reader may turn the 21 Laws into tools of entrepreneurial ambition rather than a means of fulfilling the will of God.

Two Messages? The tone of 21 Laws does sometimes seem at odds with the spirit of Jesus. … Maxwell’s triumphant law 15, “the alternative to winning is totally unacceptable,” does not easily harmonize with Wilkes’s suffering servant. Wilkes says, “The true place of Christ-like leadership is out in the crowd rather than up at the head table. And he reminds us that “those who follow Jesus find themselves treated like Jesus.”

By contrast, Maxwell frequently pictures success in corporate terms. He cites the explosive growth of McDonald’s restaurants and Papa John’s Pizza. He retells Lee Iacocca’s dramatic turnaround of Chrysler, from near-bankruptcy to a $925 million profit in four years.

Maxwell’s emphasis on size plus his frequent use of the “personal pronoun” may lay stumbling blocks in the path of some of us who are already tempted more toward the “head table” than we are drawn to the “basin and towel.”

Two Valuable Books. Criticisms aside, both works offer immense help. Most of Maxwell’s 21 laws fit within Wilkes’s seven principles. I hope their juxtaposition will spark much needed dialogue over Christian leadership models.

I heartily recommend both volumes. Read Jesus on Leadership first. After you have thoroughly digested it, then read 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. This may help you selectively fit building blocks of practical wisdom to the foundation of divine principles.

Enduring books of substance I prefer in hardback. Only one of these books is hardback. Paperback will do in a popular volume that I may enjoy once then pass along. For me, Jesus on Leadership should have been the hardback.

—Lynn Anderson, Dallas, Texas, is the author ofThey Smell Like Sheep: Spiritual Leadership for the 21st Century.

Revival That Reforms: Making It Last by Bill Hull (Revell, 1998)

Big Idea: The church needs spiritual awakening, but real revival means making changes, sometimes big changes. Author of The Disciple-Making Pastor, Hull here describes a process for reshaping your church rather than prescribing a formula for fixing it.

Hull advocates doing what will work for your church. Still, he points to the cell model of small groups. His plan: redefine the mission, redesign the infrastructure, reassign the personnel.

Best Section: The second half depicts reformation as a board game. Hop 18 stepping stones past seven milestones, crossing major barriers like the River of Conflict and the Desert of Indecision, and you’re in lasting revival. It sounds trite, but he makes the process easily understood.

Quote: “When the thrilled pastor returns home (from a conference) to announce that ‘church’ will now be on Wednesday night and Sunday morning will be an outreach service, an unnecessary human sacrifice is offered on the twin altars of tradition and stupidity—the church’s tradition, the pastor’s stupidity.

“We must break the mold to let churches and pastors seek new ways of doing church that are congruent with Scripture, their culture, and the abilities of pastoral leadership.”

Buy If: you want a good assessment of contemporary spirituality and church growth models, you want language to describe real revival, and your church needs to jump some big hurdles.

—Eric Reed, Associate EditorTactics of Innovation: How to Make It Easier for People to Accept New Ideas by Joel Barker (Star Thrower Distribution Corp., 1998; to order call 800-727-2344)

Big Idea: Barker’s first videotape, “The Business of Paradigms,” showed how our perceptions are based on patterns, many of which we are unaware. Now, in his eighth tape, Barker asks, what if there were a way to improve your ability to introduce new ideas so that people would not be afraid?

Barker provides ten simple tactics to accomplish this goal. The concluding section includes four key concepts for application which include analyzing the social climate and how crisis makes change palatable.

The tape comes with viewer workbooks and a leader’s guide.

Best Tactic: “Upside, Yes/Downside, No”—Does the user see a clear advantage on the upside of the idea and small failure consequences on the downside of the idea?

Quote: “You must use language your users are comfortable and familiar with. Do not create a new vocabulary for your new idea. Instead take old words and give them new meaning.”

Buy if: you liked “Paradigms” and you need help proposing new ideas or implementing change in your ministry.

—Charles L. Register,New Orleans Baptist Theological SeminaryTo order books reviewed in Leadership, call 1-800-266-5766, ext. 1250.

Wondrous Cross ReferencesSurvey of new libraries for preachers and worship planners

Copyright © 1999 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal. For reprint information call 630-260-6200 or contact us.

Law

Romans 7:5-13

At a 1997 Marketing and Public Policy conference in Boston, Iowa State University psychology professor Brad J. Bushman presented the results of a series of experiments on the potential of warning labels for attracting audience to violent programs. Results showed that warning labels increased interest in violent programs, especially when the label source or “authority” was to have been the U.S. Surgeon General and all viewers were the target instead of just “young viewers.”

Comparing labels that just provided information (“This film contains violence.”) vs. labels that also had a warning (“This film contains violence. Viewer discretion is advised.”) found that the warning labels, by telling people what to do, actually increased interest in violent programs.

—Herb Rotfeld, in Marketing News(Rebellion, Sinful nature)

Leadership

1 Peter 5:1-5

How college freshmen graded the leaders of these institutions:

—Louis Harris, in USA Today (10/28/98)(Example, Respect)

The Rising Price of Freedom

Hebrews 13:3

Two years ago, Christians were sold as slaves for as little as $15 in Southern Sudan.

This statement is no longer accurate, but not because the Khartoum regime has stopped trying to bomb, massacre, starve, rape, torture and kidnap Christians, animists and even other Muslims into submission. No, fluctuations in currency rates have simply raised the price to $50 or $75.

“When we go in to buy people’s freedom, we budget $100 per slave to pay for the whole operation, which includes transportation into places where the regime doesn’t want us to go,” said Jesse Sage of the Boston-based American Anti-Slavery Group. “But here’s the most sobering reality: you can still trade one human being for three cows, or the other way around.”

All of this is taking place far from most pews and news cameras. Thus, two years ago, an interfaith coalition organized the first International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. This year, worshipers in about 100,000 churches—from Southern Baptists to Catholics, from Pentecostals to the Orthodox—will pray for those who are living and dying as martyrs.

This past weekend, about 250 students from 60 colleges gathered at Georgetown University for a conference organized by Freedom House’s Center for Religious Freedom.

The keynote speaker was Baroness Caroline Cox, a British nurse who now serves as deputy speaker in the House of Lords. She has led numerous teams of doctors and journalists into Southern Sudan. She recently interviewed a Catholic leader who survived a raid on the village of Mayen Abun. Many were slaughtered, including his brother, and his sister was one of those taken as a slave. Santino Ring’s words were haunting: “We’re trying to hold a frontline of Christianity here, but we feel completely forgotten. … Doesn’t the church want us anymore?”

“That’s what our persecuted brothers and sisters feel,” said Cox. “They have no evidence the church wants them at all. … All of us who’ve worked with the persecuted church come back humbled, inspired, enriched, beyond anything we can describe. … If the day comes that they become martyrs, we must celebrate their martyrdom. But we must make sure it’s not in vain, because that martyrdom is for our faith.”

—Syndicated columnist Terry Mattingly(Caring, Martyrs)

Truth

Ephesians 5:8-14

Truth is synonymous with good. Truth is supposed to be good. Is it good to hurt people?

—Monica Lewinsky, in World (10/17/98)(Judgment, Light)

Honk If You Know

Luke 19:10

We’re not quite sure who it was, but someone spent a significant chunk to promote messages from God. On behalf of an anonymous client, The Smith Agency in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, launched the advertising campaign in September 1998.

“This individual simply appeared in our office one day last spring and hired us on the spot,” said Andrew Smith, the agency’s president. “However, our agreement prohibits us from releasing his name. I will say he is quite well known.”

More than a dozen different messages, all signed by God, appeared on area billboards and buses. Among the messages:

1. Let’s Meet at My House Sunday Before the Game.—God

2. C’mon Over and Bring the Kids.—God

3. What Part of “Thou Shalt Not … ” Didn’t You Understand?—God

4. We Need to Talk.—God

5. Keep Using My Name in Vain And I’ll Make Rush Hour Longer.—God

6. Loved the Wedding, Invite Me to the Marriage.—God

7. That “Love Thy Neighbor” Thing, I Meant It.—God

8. I Love You … I Love You … I Love You.—God

9. Will The Road You’re on Get You to My Place?—God

10. Follow Me.—God

11. My Way Is the Highway.—God

12. Need Directions?—God

13. You Think It’s Hot Here?—God

14. Tell the Kids I Love Them.—God

15. Have You Read My #1 Best Seller? There Will Be a Test.—God

The Life @ Work Journal (Nov/Dec 1998)(Testimony, Witness)

CURRENT QUOTES WORTH DISCUSSING

Choose your unifier

“There are two great unifying forces of our time—love of God and hatred of Him.”Rabbi Daniel Lapin, in a speech to the 106th Congressional Bipartisan Opening Ceremony, during which he noted the two forces are incompatible and the nation “must decide which is paramount” (quoted in World, 1/23/99).

Missing links

“America first proclaimed its independence on the basis of self-evident moral truths. America will remain a beacon of freedom for the world as long as it stands by those moral truths which are the very heart of its historical experience … And so America: if you want peace, work for justice. If you want justice, defend life. If you want life, embrace truth—truth revealed by God.”Pope John Paul II, during a prayer service in St. Louis, Missouri, January 26, 1999.

Faith from space

“Looking at the earth from this vantage point, looking at this kind of creation, and to not believe in God, to me, is impossible … to see [the earth] laid out like that only strengthens my beliefs.”Astronaut John Glenn after viewing the world from outer space for a second time (quoted in Internet for Christians Newsletter, Nov. 9, 1998)

What will others think?

“If Jesus Christ had taken a poll, he would never have preached the gospel.”U.S. Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL) on ABC-TV’s “This Week” (12/13/98)

Lost

“Somebody, somewhere, love me.”Madalyn Murray O’Hair, at least a half-dozen times in her diaries, which were auctioned off January 23, 1999, to satisfy Internal Revenue Service claims against her estate. O’Hair vanished in a still-unsolved mystery three years ago.

Goodness of God

1 Thessalonians 5:18

If we look for it, we can see the goodness of God no matter what our circ*mstances.

Baseball pitcher Dan Quisenberry was a three-time All-Star reliever in the 1980s. In the winter of ’96-’97 an aggressive form of brain cancer brought him low. Even so, he always emphasized the goodness of God. Following surgery to remove a tumor, Mr. Quisenberry spoke of his gratitude: “Every day I find things to be thankful for. … Sometimes it’s just seeing a little boy on a bicycle. Sometimes it’s the taste of water. It’s hard to explain.”

He died in the fall of 1997 at age 45.

Mr. Quisenberry’s minister, Ted Nissen of Colonial Presbyterian Church in Kansas City, recalled a post-surgery visit. “He was on such a high, talking about how good God had been to him,” he told the Kansas City Star. “He blessed me on that visit.”

World (10/10/98)(Attitude, Thankfulness)

Church

Matthew 16:18-19

Russ Blowers is a minister and active in the Indianapolis Rotary club. Each week at the club meetings a different member gives a brief statement about his job. When it was his turn, Russ said:“I’m with a global enterprise. We have branches in every country in the world. We have our representatives in nearly every parliament and board room on earth. We’re into motivation and behavior alteration.

“We run hospitals, feeding stations, crisis pregnancy centers, universities, publishing houses, and nursing homes. We care for our clients from birth to death.

“We are into life insurance and fire insurance. We perform spiritual heart transplants. Our original Organizer owns all the real estate on earth plus an assortment of galaxies and constellations. He knows everything and lives everywhere. Our product is free for the asking. (There’s not enough money to buy it.)

“Our CEO was born in a hick town, worked as a carpenter, didn’t own a home, was misunderstood by his family, hated by enemies, walked on water, was condemned to death without a trial, and arose from the dead—I talk with him everyday.”

The church is the most amazing organization in the world!

—Andy Mason,

amason@accs.net(Ministry, Pastors)

MEDITATION

We’re No Longer in Kansas …

Psalm 1:2

There was a farmer who lived in the middle of Kansas, and he raised two sons. Both of his sons joined the Navy. The farmer’s brother was a psychologist, and he came to visit. At dinner, the farmer said, “You’re a psychologist. I want you to tell me how a farmer living in the middle of Kansas, where there’s almost no water, can raise two sons who join the Navy and love it?”

The psychologist said, “That’s a good question. Let me think about it.”

That night he spent the night in those boys’ room. The next morning when he got up, he came downstairs and told his brother, “I think I’ve got an answer for you. Come up to this room with me.”

They walked into the boys’ room, and the first thing they saw was a picture on the wall. It was a beautiful picture of the sea, and in the middle of the sea was a ship. The psychologist told his brother, “I want you to lay down on the bed and tell me what you see when you get up from the bed.” The farmer said, “I see the picture.” The psychologist said, “The first thing you see when you walk into this room is this picture. The last thing you see at night is the picture. And the first thing you see in the morning when you get up is the picture of this ship on the sea. Did the boys have this picture for a long time?” The farmer said, “Yes, since they were about 3 years old.”

The brother said, “If you think about a picture like that long enough, you might become a sailor.”

If we think about Scripture long enough, we might become saints.

—Scott Wenig, Preaching Today #182(Scripture, Thoughts)

Security

Psalm 91

We spend all our time searching for security—and then we hate it when we get it.

—John Steinbeck(Challenge, Trust)

Surrender

Psalms 51:17

God can do wonders with a broken heart if you give him all the pieces.

—Victor Alfsen(Brokenness, Healing)

UnselfishnessPhilippians 2:4

In the 1998 baseball season, slugger Sammy Sosa was the first to reach 66 home runs, but Mark McGwire ended the season four ahead with a record setting 70 roundtrippers.

It’s conceivable that Sosa might have hit more. As the season wore on, McGwire’s St. Louis Cardinals were not in contention, so he had the freedom to swing for the fences at every bat. Sosa’s Cubs were contending for a play-off berth, so he needed to put the requirements of his team above his own goal. Often he attempted to reach first by getting a walk, or he would deliver a base hit to advance a runner. Sosa said, “My team’s desires are more important than my quest for a home run record.”

His attitude and hitting helped his Cubs make it to the playoffs, and Sosa went on to be voted Most Valuable Player of the National League.

Sosa’s unselfish attitude is what we are called to have as members of the church. We are to give ourselves away for the sake of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

—Greg Asimakoupoulos(Sacrifice, Team)

Heart

1 Corinthians 8:1-3

When God measures a man, he puts the tape measure around the heart, not the head.

Pulpit Helps (June 1998)

RevengeRomans 12:19

According to Edward Barnes in Time (3/14/94), a Sarajevo man named Pipo is a Bosnian Serb sniper who has shot down 325 individuals for the sake of revenge.Before becoming a sniper, Pipo was a partner in a Sarajevo restaurant with a Muslim man. The two were friends as well as partners—until Pipo’s mother was jailed and beaten by Muslims. Pipo recalls, “When she got out, she wouldn’t talk about it. That’s when I picked up a gun and began shooting Muslims. I hate them all.”

Killing for revenge has changed Pipo. “All I know how to do is kill,” he says. “I am not sure I am normal anymore. I can talk to people, but if someone pushes me, I will kill them. … In the beginning I was able to put my fear aside, and it was good. Then with the killings I was able to put my emotions aside, and it was good. But now they are gone.”

After shooting 325 people, Pipo has no more fear, no remorse, no feelings at all. He states plainly, “I have no feelings for what I do. I went to see my mother in Belgrade, and she hugged me, and I felt nothing.

“I have no life anymore. I go from day to day, but nothing means anything. I don’t want a wife and children. I don’t want to think.”

Vengeance consumes and destroys us.

—Tom Tripp,

tomtripp@syix.com(Hatred, Murder)

WORRY

Stop the World, I Want to Get Off!

Matthew 6:34

Percentage of Americans who believe that by the year 2025 there will be:

• A worldwide collapse of the economy: 49
• An environmental catastrophe: 66
• The emergence of a deadly new disease: 76
• A military strike or attack using nuclear weapons: 48

USA Today, CNN Gallup poll conducted Sept. 29 – Oct. 1, 1998.

FruitJames 2:14-26

In Living Faith Jimmy Carter writes:A group of Christian laymen involved in missionary work approached a small village near an Amish settlement. Seeking a possible convert, they confronted an Amish farmer and asked him, “Brother, are you a Christian?”The farmer thought for a moment and then said, “Wait just a few minutes.” He wrote down a list of names on a tablet and handed it to the lay evangelist. “Here is a list of people who know me best. Please ask them if I am a Christian.”

The evidence of faith is fruit.

—Phillip Gunter, phatherphil@juno.com(Faith, Works)

Fear

1 Peter 3:14-15

The percentage of teenagers worried about these things has risen significantly in the past decade:

Nickelodeon/Yankelovichas seen in USA Today (10/6/98)(Pressure, Teenagers)

Thanksgiving

Luke 17:11-19

Don Vicars, an Oregon police officer, was on his way to California for a Harley Davidson convention when a construction zone caused a group of motorcycles to stop suddenly. Don had to lay his motorcycle down at high speed and was left with a broken shoulder, broken ribs, and a collapsed lung.A passerby stopped to aid Vicars. She told him her name, Sally, and said she was a registered nurse. She cradled him in his pain and assured him that help was on the way. When paramedics arrived, Vicars was airlifted to a hospital where he spent 10 days.

Now he is intent on finding and thanking Sally.

“When I woke up [on the pavement],” he says, “she was holding my head. She very calmly talked to me and calmed me. Afterward, she just walked off . … It’s important to me to find her and thank her.”

Vicar’s wife says her husband’s need to find Sally is “almost an obsession.” In a newspaper article in The Oregonian (10/15/98), Vicars asked that anyone who knew Sally would contact him.

Thanksgiving is a good obsession.

—Curtis Buthe(Gratitude, Worship)

Credit cards

Proverbs 13:7

Number of credit-card solicitations mailed to Americans last year: 3,000,000,000

Harper’s Index (August 1998)(Debt, Money)

NEW CREATION

From Groan to Wow

Romans 8:18-30

There is at the center of reality a groan. And the closer to the center you live, the more you will hear it and the more you will share in it: the center of creation, the center of the church, the center of ministry, the center of those things that belong to the people of God, and the center of the human race. The closer you move there, the more you will hear the groan—the more you will share the groan. And you will recognize it. … Paul says that the groan in creation, in us, in God, is a groan not of death, not the death throes; but a groan of childbirth. God is giving birth to something new. God is doing something fresh. God is creating new heaven, new earth, and by the time I have mastered the groan, I will have to exchange it—for a WOW!

—Fred B. Craddock, in Journal for Preachers(Groan, Future)

Copyright © 1999 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal. For reprint information call 630-260-6200 or contact us.

Several hundred of us are eavesdropping on a heated discussion.

Once again a husband and wife are using strong words to describe the broken-down state of their marriage. As the anger subsides, they find themselves asking, “Is it enough to stay together just for the kids?”

We feel their pain. We sense their dilemma. Their question isn’t simply theoretical, it’s personal. We know it’s a question countless couples have asked. Maybe we’ve asked it ourselves.

This scene from the movie Mrs. Doubtfire led our congregation into a biblical presentation of the proper “glue” for a lasting marriage. It’s one reason we use video regularly in our church.

The visual advantage

We use video in five primary ways.

Education. Recently our congregation made the transition from a smaller multi-purpose room to a larger auditorium. To prepare people for this adjustment, a change-management expert in our congregation prepared a video illustrating the three stages of transition.

The first stage, grieving the loss of the way things are, was recorded at a funeral home. The second stage, the “neutral zone,” where you feel you’re going in circles, was taped at a race track. The final stage, the blossoming of the future, was taped at a botanical garden.

The variety of settings strengthened his presentation and equipped us, not only for the changes precipitated by our new facility, but also for transitions we face in life.

Transformation. Video testimonials from people whose lives have been changed by the power of Christ or through a particular ministry can prompt others to new steps of faith. We film these life stories in people’s homes or other comfortable settings. Using video allows us to manage the content and length of their presentation and to include the story in all of our weekend services.

Information. When building our new auditorium, our youth pastor would present, via video, humorous on-site updates of the construction progress. This kept people informed of activity within the hardhats-only work area. Also, the humor eased the tension often present during building programs.

Introduction. We often introduce a time of worship through a professionally produced worship video. We also can use video to unveil the theme of a service. For instance, a service on “creativity in ministry” began with scenes from Sister Act. An Advent series, “What the Bible Says about Angels,” included a recent tv news clip featuring individuals who claimed to have been “touched by an angel.” A sermon on “Integrity or Hypocrisy?” followed a scene from the movie Leap of Faith.

Illustration. Concepts from a message can be illustrated with a clip from a movie or television news program. But those we’ve created ourselves make the most lasting impact.

Several years ago, I shared a message on “The Tentacles of Temptation,” which included a scene taped at a local restaurant. In the video, I entered fully intending to order a fat-free salad but fell victim to a large piece of carrot cake. I still have people stop by my table when I’m eating out to ask if I’m planning to have carrot cake!

To video or not to video?

It’s helpful to ask some questions to provide guidelines for utilizing media.

Can we show it better than we can say it? When preaching a message on the relationship of money and fulfillment, I wanted to make the point that no amount of money will buy happiness. Since I’m less than independently wealthy, it might be hard for a business leader to take my word for it. But a video clip from 20/20 showed David Geffen, the billionaire entertainment mogul, telling Barbara Walters, “Happy is harder than money. Anybody who thinks money will make you happy doesn’t have money.” That captured people’s attention.

Do we have permission? Unless it’s “home use,” commercial videos cannot legally be shown in worship or other church gatherings. Fortunately, it’s becoming simpler to get permission, through copyright licenses similar to ones for song lyrics. But we’ve had to jettison plans for a wonderful presentation because we couldn’t get permission to use copyrighted material. Before you invest significant time and energy, it’s best to investigate. Check with the Motion Picture Licensing Corporation, 1-310-822-8855 or 800-462-8855.

Have we considered our audience? We pay attention to the ratings of the movies from which we take clips. For instance, some churches have shown a scene from the end of Schindler’s List in which the star laments that he could have saved additional lives if he had simplified his lifestyle and given more. It’s a powerful scene with many applications, but the film’s R rating for nudity and sexual and violent content makes it unacceptable for us.

As a general rule, younger people relate more readily to media in church than do older people. Our Saturday night service attracts a younger crowd, while our Sunday morning services draw a wider range of ages. Media clips that are effective on Saturday night are not always appropriate on Sunday morning.

Are we appealing to different learning styles? Auditory learners process information primarily through listening; these people naturally respond to preaching. If I provide fill-in-the-blank sermon notes and prompt people to verbally or physically respond at certain points in the message, I also engage the kinetic learners, who learn by doing. By utilizing the video screen, I also reach a larger percentage of people who are visual learners.

Don’t try this at your church

We’ve learned from mistakes along the way.

Illustrations that distract. An obscure or deficient illustration leaves people scratching their heads. It may entertain but do little to further the message. I identify sermon topics and service themes weeks in advance to give time to create relevant media presentations. On occasions I fail to update the worship planning team when I refine my ideas. One series I preached on an overview of the Bible concluded with a video. The last picture was of the crucifixion. Unfortunately, my series ended with the new heaven and the new earth. Verbally we made it all the way to the Book of Revelation, but visually we didn’t even get through the Gospels!

Technical difficulties. We’ve experienced sound without the picture, and picture without the sound. A few times each year I end up saying, “That clip made a powerful point, if only you could have seen (or heard) it.” While not entirely unavoidable, technical difficulties tend to increase when we fail to adequately train volunteers or attempt too much at the last minute.

Material that offends. Some movie scenes we’ve used are immediately preceded or followed by offensive scenes. Words best left unsaid and sights best left unseen have been shown to our congregation when our technicians started the clip too early or let it play too long. The apostle Paul’s commitment to “This one thing I do” corresponds beautifully to a scene in City Slickers that discusses finding that “one thing.” Unfortunately, that scene is immediately followed by the vulgar expression that “Everything else is—.” We missed the cutoff; consequently the congregation missed the point!

Lasting impact

The use of video adds a dimension of persuasion that strengthens the impact on both the head and the heart.

While our church family views the video, I view their faces. I’ve seen the eyes of an unchurched father mist up when he sees a video of his child in a Sunday school class. I’ve seen the light of understanding brighten the face of a young woman “forced” to go to church as she watches a visual overview of Revelation—and considers how prepared she is for eternity.

Then there’s that slouching, sleepy young man whose attention is captured by the testimony of an athlete he admires and later tells his parents that maybe being a Christian isn’t dumb after all.

Video has its risks, but they pale in comparison to the rewards.

Wayne Schmidt is pastor of Kentwood Community Church 1200 60th StreetKentwood MI 49508Ken Davies/Masterfile

Copyright © 1999 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal. For reprint information call 630-260-6200 or contact us.

Kevin and Sue had just moved from another state. Seeking a church, they had to rely on their own impressions rather than a friend’s invitation.

After visiting one church, Kevin was enthusiastic. “The worship style is just like we enjoyed back home,” he told Sue. “The message really spoke to me. And did you see the calendar? They have an active young couples group.”

“Yeah,” Sue agreed. “But didn’t you notice that people hardly spoke to each other? I felt tension in the air. The message was good, but the pastor appeared strained. Only the ushers greeted us, and they were pretty grim. I’m not sure they really want new members right now.”

Once she pointed out the signs, Kevin recognized them. He took seriously Sue’s knack for discerning substantial issues through observation. Their search continued.

Churches that plan to attract and keep visitors must consider how women’s perceptions and priorities differ from men’s. A couple’s decision to join a church is often based on the wife’s impressions, instincts, and intuitions. Here are some key areas that you may not be monitoring—but should.

Do they care for each other?

While men may focus on the relevance of the message and the quality of programing, women often assess the emotional climate of a congregation. They notice body language. Are people greeting one another with hugs, handshakes, or barely a nod? Is there interaction during the service, or is everyone rigidly staring straight ahead? Are arms crossed across the chest or stretched across the back of the pew? Are facial expressions open and warm or closed and cautious? Bodies say what lips won’t.

Notice the level of interaction between the pastor and congregation. Is the pastor making eye contact, smiling occasionally, referring to members in a positive way? Is the congregation responsive, laughing when appropriate, or open to shedding a tear? Do people look engaged and ready to learn?

Interplay between members is also a tip-off. Do they chat before the service? Afterward, do people linger, or is the place empty in 15 minutes?

Do they care about us?

The husband may wonder, “How close is my car?” The wife will ask, “What does this congregation care about?” Nothing answers her question quicker than a trip to the nursery.

Mothers consciously evaluate the children’s facilities, programing, staff, and level of care.

On a church visit, one mother began to sign her infant into the nursery but found only two workers for 11 babies. She also noticed peeling paint near the baseboards. When she pointed out this danger, the worker replied, “Oh well, we’re watching the kids all the time so no one is going to be eating paint.”

Had the worker responded with sincere concern, the family would likely have returned. This woman expected to hear, “Oh, thank you. We’ll get on that. These things become invisible after a while.” She was willing to attend a church that needed improvement, but not if the congregation dismissed her concerns. In that moment, the mother decided her family would not be back.

Her decision is likely to stick. Because mothers usually spend more time with the children than fathers do, a man will often defer to his wife’s opinion regarding a church’s ability to meet their children’s physical and spiritual needs.

For those with teenagers, youth ministry is often the determining factor in whether or not to join a church. These are tough times to be a teen. Parents are looking for support from youth leaders and for the potential of positive peer relationships for their teens.

While a visiting man may barely notice the pastor’s wife, a woman often searches her out, taking keen interest in her personality and style. She looks for clues to the ways women interact in the church. She assesses “friendship potential” among women.

Many women are dissatisfied in their relationships with parents or siblings. They’re looking for a church family that offers more than surface friendships, that can provide a mentor in the faith.

No amount of catchy advertising, superior building design, or premier programing can make up for a cold spiritual and emotional climate.

Actions, speaking loudly

Many visitors enter the church looking only for God’s love. They want help experiencing that love. They want to return love to God and to others.

Women will notice if the church is neat and tidy, if they are greeted or ignored, if it is difficult to find their way through the building. But no flaws in our facilities or holes in our programing will keep people away if God’s welcoming love is warmly demonstrated.

Pastor’s wife Linda Riley writes from20820 Avis Ave.Torrance CA 92377

Copyright © 1999 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal. For reprint information call 630-260-6200 or contact us.

How is radical obedience to God kindled, and what kind of preaching is needed to help kindle it? I mean obedience like the obedience of the early Christians described in Hebrews 10 who heard that their friends were in prison and went to visit them even though it cost them the plundering of their property.

The answer may surprise you.

A few years ago, I reread some portions of David Brainerd’s diary. I recalled that he had seen great repentance and contrition among the Indians at several times in his preaching. In 1745 he preached to the Indians of Crossweeksung, New Jersey, and made this observation: “It was surprising to see how their hearts seemed to be pierced with the tender and melting invitations of the Gospel, when there was not a word of terror spoken to them.

He preached on Luke 16 concerning the rich man and Lazarus. “The Word made powerful impressions upon many in the assembly, especially while I discoursed of the blessedness of Lazarus in Abraham’s bosom. This, I could perceive, affected them much more than what I spoke of the rich Spring 1999 man’s misery and torments. And thus it has been usually with them … They have almost always appeared much more affected with the comfortable than the dreadful truths of God’s Word. And that which has distressed many of them under convictions, is that they found they wanted, and could not obtain, the happiness of the godly.

The same dynamic seems to occur in Luke 5. After teaching the crowds from a boat on the lake of Gennesaret, Jesus told the fishermen to push out into the deep and let down their nets.

Simon protested, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” When the nets went down they filled with so many fish that the nets started to break. Both boats were filled and started to sink.

Peter’s response was very unlike our modern self-esteeming response to grace. “When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knee and said, ‘Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!’ For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken.

Graceful conviction

What is remarkable here is that a miracle of grace, not a word of judgment, broke Peter’s heart and brought him to contrite, evangelical repentance. It was the same with the Indians of Crossweeksung and the fishermen of Galilee.

Why is that? Genuine contrition for sin is a sorrow for not having holiness. However, we must be careful here. Many a criminal will weep when his sentence is read, not because he has come to love righteousness, but because his freedom to do more unrighteousness is being taken away. To cry over the punishment for wrongdoing is no sign of hating wrong, but only hating pain. This is not true repentance, and does not lead to radical Christian obedience.

To truly weep over your sin, you must long for holiness. Genuine sorrow over un-holiness comes only from a love for holiness. True evangelical contrition, true repentance, must be preceded by a falling in love with God.

What kind of preaching produces this kind of repentance? Not only the needed biblical warnings, but even more the preaching that makes His holiness look so alluring that, by the grace of regeneration and illumination, people come to love it so much that they feel intensely its absence. Until God is our treasure, we will not grieve over falling short of Him.

The most powerful and painful acts of obedience are motivated by a supreme passion for pleasure in God. The preaching that kindles this must constantly portray God as supremely and everlastingly satisfying.

Preaching supreme pleasure

The calling of every preacher is to make the supremacy of God the theme of all his preaching so it will become the theme of his people’s lives, which shows up as radical obedience to Jesus. The source of that obedience is not a raw exertion of willpower or a sense of duty, but a passion for pleasure in God.

Why does faith produce obedience? To answer this we need to draw out the essential meaning of saving faith. Here is my working definition of the essence of faith: “being satisfied with all that God is for us in Christ, especially what He promises to be for us in the age to come.

This statement emphasizes two things. One is the God-centeredness of faith. It is not merely the promises of God, but God himself that satisfies us. The other is satisfaction. Faith is not just a belief of facts about God. Faith is quenching the soul’s thirst at the fountain of God.

Growing in satisfaction with all that God is for us in Christ is the power that breaks the allurement of sin. Obedience comes from being satisfied that the pleasures of God’s right hand are better than the pleasures in the bosom of sin.

Therefore we lure people to God by portraying him week in and week out as infinitely superior to all the fleeting pleasures of sin. We cultivate in our people’s souls a thirst for God, and then satisfy it each week with refreshment from His Word.

This will make Him supreme, and this will make our people holy.

John Piper is senior pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church 720 13th Avenue S, Minneapolis, MN 55415www.desiringGod.org

Leadership Spring 1999 p. 41-2

Most pastors work hard. We try to be competent at many things. We go to hospitals to care for those whose bodies, and perhaps spirits, are broken.

We counsel church members who wonder what strange thing God is doing in their lives. We spend hours in meetings, trying our best to guide the church, supervise staff, balance budgets, and raise money.

Then there is the sermon. Our church has a pulpit that's two stories tall. Guess what's considered important in our tradition? It's an overwhelming responsibility to climb those steps Sunday after Sunday and utter, "Hear the Word of the Lord." I work on the sermon every morning, and I still go to bed every Saturday night fretting that I have not worked hard enough.

Facing my twentieth anniversary in the pastorate, I have about decided that none of this is the most important thing I do. Not even the preaching. These days, I'm thinking that the most important thing I do for my congregation is to pray. Specifically, leading prayer in worship.

When I pray for the church, I place it back in God's hands. Now, what else was I going to do this week that was more powerful than that? But I am ashamed to admit that most weeks I spend a whole lot more time doing everything else. I've started to wonder if I am taking my prayers for the congregation seriously enough. You sure couldn't tell it by my preparation.

The choir has spent hours and hours rehearsing the anthems. The janitors and altar guild have groomed the sanctuary. It takes a small committee in our church just to get the bulletin right. Even the florist has spent hours on the flowers. But when it comes to the prayers in worship, I was just hammering them out Saturday night, in the time that was left over after my sermon preparation.

Whether one reads written prayers or prays "from the heart" is really beside the point. Some ministers preach from manuscripts and some don't take a note into the pulpit. But I don't know anyone who steps up to preach unprepared, hoping God will provide something to say at the moment. No, we knock ourselves out parsing verbs and studying commentaries so we can honor God as faithful expositors of his Word. But the sermon is only part of the sacred conversation. These days, I'm trying to be just as faithful in voicing the words of the people to God.

By leading prayer in worship, my job is simply to keep the conversation going between the people and their only Savior. That means the people must recognize themselves in these prayers. When the prayer is done, they need to be thinking,Yes, that is what I wanted to tell God, but I didn't know how to say it.

Only as we tell the truth about ourselves are we made ready to hear the even deeper truth of God's Word. Conversely, after hearing God's truth, we are compelled to respond and tell him even more. So by the end of the hour, we leave believing that we have not just listened and watched but actually communed with the Sacred One.

Prayer hurts

Gregory the Great left the refuge of the monastery to help bring spiritual renewal to the church in sixth-century Rome. Eventually he became one of the greatest popes the church has known.

Gregory taught that prayer is always a journey from humility in misery to humility in gratitude.

We begin by telling the humble truth that our lives are wracked by sin, disease, confusion, and deep spiritual loneliness, he said. Sometimes we bring the world with us into these prayers, for it is but an illustration of the misery in our hearts, now writ large. Gregory claimed that as we focus on these prayers, feeling all the pangs and compunction of the things we have done and the things we have left undone, the Holy Spirit lifts us above our distress to encounter the grace of God. If we are paying attention as we pray, we are overwhelmed by this mercy. Thus, we are led into humility in gratitude.

I have wondered if that happens in my parishioners' hearts when I pray. For a while, I worried too much about what my parishioners were thinking during prayer. I have given that worry back to the Spirit, where it belongs. Now I think more about what is going on in me as I pray. Am I really telling the truth? If I am, it ought to break my heart. Am I open to the activity of the Holy Spirit? If I am, I will always be drawn back to the grace of Jesus Christ. When that happens, I leave worship so thankful. So will my parishioners if they have truly joined me in prayer.

Prayer helps

There is no shortage of teachers for any worship leader who wants to learn how to pray. Fortunately, the Protestant church is developing the humility to learn from the centuries of monastic and mystical spirituality that preceded us. In more recent years, Pietist and renewal authors have also written eloquently about the dynamics and theology of prayer.

Here are a few of the borrowed insights I have employed in public prayer:

Use silence to tell the truth. We live in a world of half-truths and secrets. I assume that when people come into worship, this is the first opportunity they have had all week to be honest. Some of them may not be good at that. The pastor is called to help them.

In our church, we always include a written prayer of confession, which is followed by a time of silent prayer. The power of that silence amazes me. It is hard for the pastor to keep from breaking silence too early. With all those people telling the truth, I feel as if we have wandered into the Holy of Holies and may get creamed for our offenses. When we can't stand it anymore, the pastor announces the Declaration of Pardon: "In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven." That is such good news, the congregation has to jump to its feet and sing a song of gratitude.

Name names. I have learned the importance of naming people specifically. Some of these are in grief. Some are in the thick of their battle with terrible diseases. Some are thrilled because they just had a baby or celebrated a fiftieth anniversary. All of them have come to church to tell God the truth about their joys and concerns.

In medium to large churches, many of those in the congregation don't know the people named in the prayers. And I am sure I have always forgotten somebody. But that can't prevent us making the pastoral prayers real and specific. We are not praying abstractions. We are praying for flesh and blood people who are searching for the God who is searching for them. I've been doing this for many years. No one has ever said that they were offended that I prayed for them in public. To the contrary, they are always grateful.

Pray their gratitude. We sometimes focus our prayers on gratitude. I often include a time for people to pray in silence. Afterward I lead them in a prayer of thanksgiving for all of life's blessings. I have found it most helpful to place this prayer after a sermon that has called people to live their whole lives as an expression of gratitude for all the grace they have received. I'm struck by how frequently our people ask for this element in worship. They seem to know that we were created for this purpose, and they miss it when we do not express thanks often enough.

Gratitude may be the measure of our spirituality. I often tell the congregation that their gratitude, more than anything else, will make them distinctive. They are about to return to a world that is obsessed with achieving more and more. But in worship we learn to receive what we really need—grace. You can't earn grace. You can only receive it, and be thankful.

Pray Scripture. Some of the passages of the Bible seem to have been written as an outline for prayer. I like to pray through a Scripture text, weaving in our petitions and praises. This has the obvious benefit of using words that were already inspired by the Holy Spirit. What can I write that could possibly provide a better means for helping people approach their God?

The Psalms are particularly helpful guides for public prayer. (See on page 52 the pastoral prayer drawn from Psalm 23.) So are the writings of the prophets and even some of the rich theological statements of the apostles.

Commission everyone. Like most churches we regularly pray for our missionaries. We pray for church leaders and political leaders. But everyone has a calling, and it is important that we find some way to lay hands upon those with "secular" vocations. We try to commission almost everyone in the course of the year.

In September, when we bring our Sunday school teachers into the chancel, we also ask all the teachers to stand who serve God in public and private schools, colleges, and preschools. Then we pray that all of them will find the presence of Christ in their classrooms in the year ahead.

If I am preaching from one of the healing texts, we will do the same thing for those in the medical professions. There are enough biblical texts about people in their workplaces to lead naturally to prayers for most every vocation from homemakers to lawmakers. There are even texts for attorneys. Really.

The benefit of these commissioning prayers is that they build a bridge from the workplace, where our people spend most of their time, to the place where for one hour each week they search for God's calling. If we pray only for those with church jobs, we imply that they have to serve on a committee to be worthy of our prayers.

Prayer heals

One final word about the growing edge of my own public prayers. In recent years, I've noticed that the theme of surrender has been emerging. I'm not sure why, but I am sure it is more present in my public prayer life than in any other part of my ministry. So I take it seriously as a pastoral issue.

Most people are struggling with something. Some are struggling with relationships, others are struggling to find a job they will love. Every congregation has a few people who are struggling just to stay alive. Typically even the pastor has a struggle. Maybe it's about being the pastor.

Prayer is a safe place where we can surrender the struggle. If worship is supposed to renew our identity as a people who follow the Savior, then prayer in worship reminds us just how much we need this Savior. (And sometimes we don't know his resurrection power until we give up trying to avoid the cross.)

So in worship, I pray that those who are determined to save a marriage would give it back to Jesus. I pray that others would give God the dream they think they deserve. I even pray that those who are fighting their way through cancer would find the courage to go ahead and die—today. Because it is only as we give our relationships, our dreams, and our very lives to the Savior that we will find any peace. It all belongs to him anyway. We own nothing. And what we deserve is actually the last thing we want from God. That may be the hardest truth we tell in prayer.

The sermon proclaims the grace of Christ. The music and the sacraments help us perceive that gift. I've even heard announcements given so that they conveyed grace. But we dare not minimize the ways in which pastoral prayer allows parched souls to draw this living water.

M. Craig Barnes is pastor of The National Presbyterian Church.

Copyright © 1999 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal. For reprint information call 630-260-6200 or contact us.

We tell our attenders, "Before you worship, worship!" Become a private as well as a public worshiper:

• Meditate on Scripture the day before.
• Spend time in prayer before the service.
• Confess any sin that could hinder your fellowship with God.
• Reflect on what you want to give thanks for.
• Pray for our corporate worship each time you think of it.
• Play a worship tape on the way to church.

Copyright © 1999 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal. For reprint information call 630-260-6200 or contact us.

I came to the ministry from a background in radio—for many years I played the hits. Lo and behold, Rockin’ Randy winds up pastoring and forming worship bands in two different Presbyterian churches. God has a sense of humor.

It would take an entire issue of Leadership to detail the lame-brained mistakes I have made. Here’s a distillation of what I have learned about worship team development.

What sound are you after?

Don’t start putting a team together until you have a vision and “feel” for the sort of service you are going to develop. The first time I attempted the worship team enterprise, I was in a large, very traditional Presbyterian church. Our vision was to gently move the church toward new ways of worshiping. We wanted more singing than in a typical service and a wider range of songs, not just hymns.

We wanted a montage of songs strung together for an experiential worship event, not with a rock beat, a smoother sound like the music of Mariah Carey or Michael Bolton. The team we assembled was very “soft rock,” keyboard driven, and pretty inviting to traditional church goers.

Several years later, I found myself planting a church in the heart of the arts community, in the city that birthed Jimi Hendrix, Heart, Pearl Jam, and Nirvana. Seattle’s rock isn’t for wimps!

In this setting our vision was to be much more “edgy.” We wanted a lot of beat, a lot of drive, and pretty high volume. We desired 15 to 20 minutes of non-stop singing that ranged from the nearly-frenetic to the sublime. We wanted to include hymns, choruses, and praise music delivered by a guitar-driven band.

Get a vision. You need a predominant sound. Are you pop, hard rock, alternative, folk, R&B? You pick. But do pick. You can’t do it all.

Players: some assembly required

With patience, you can assemble a team. Unless you live in Hollywood or Nashville, though, you’ll have to pay, but you can do well with a team of “stipended” musicians ($25-$100 per week). Many musicians subsist by piecing together small gigs. Playing for free can be next to impossible. And I find that people with artistic temperaments are much easier to direct when they are paid than when they are not.

Musicians emit some strange hormonal scent that only they can pick up from each other

Advertise for talent in church bulletins, local music magazines, or newspapers. Here’s a typical ad:

Innovative Protestant church forming a worship team. Must read charts. Need guitar, bass, keys, drums, vocals. Experience is good, passion and willingness to be a team player is better. Call Randy @ ________.

Get applications and begin interviewing. I look for those who are spiritually open, will take direction, and can play by ear and transpose on the fly. A band member must be a quick study.

Tall order? You bet. It takes time to build a team like this, but these criteria are essential, as you’ll see. Now you’re probably saying, “How do I know where they’re at spiritually?”

My answer: “You won’t right away. Relax.” In a four to six-person band, you need at least one member with church experience and three who are committed Christians. If you have up to three who are non-converted but at least spiritually open, don’t panic. Think of it as a relational evangelism opportunity.

Develop a rhythm for the life of the band. It’s important as a service grows that you try to have enough players at each instrument that no one plays more than three times per month. Without the week off, musicians get stale, feisty, and will eventually quit.

Establish the work pattern

Determine when to rehearse the band. This is harder than you might think, but notice I said “when” not “if” you rehearse. Our worship team is very good musically, but they still have to rehearse. If your Sunday service is at 9 a.m., when does the worship team rehearse?

Professional musicians who can deliver what you need don’t like rehearsing for free or booking rehearsals on weeknights when they might have a paying gig. Plus, you still need a set up, equipment check, and run-through on Sunday morning.

We decided to mail charts and cassette tapes to each player early in the week and ask them to learn their parts well. Then we gather Sunday morning at 7 a.m., pray, plug-in, and rehearse the service start to finish. We adjust on the fly. We change keys if something is not easily sung, and we work on delivering the music sensitive to the context of that week’s theme. We rehearse about six worship songs, a version of the Doxology, and a couple of special music pieces each week. Normally we can be ready by 8:45. It works, but pulling it off takes strong leadership.

We organize our band so that there is an overall band leader who coordinates everything. A musical director calls the shots on musical technicalities. An administrator makes tapes, charts, selects each week’s worship songs, and keeps records. And the worship leader actually leads the congregation in worship. We do all this, with outstanding musicians, for about what you budget for a full-time music minister.

Prepare the “worship leader”

The worship leader will connect the band and the congregation with the music being offered to God as worship. This is a key role. The person must be a leader and passionate about worship. And it doesn’t hurt, though not essential, if the person is musically talented.

Start your team with one leader and several backup singers and then, as time goes by, develop one or more of the backup singers into a skilled worship leader.

Here’s what a worship leader needs to know:

• It’s not about you, it’s about God. Be strong, but don’t let your ego, your personality, or your presence up front distract people from connecting with God.
• Help people know where the music is going. Give visual and verbal cues.
• Stay on the melody and make it easy for folks to sing. Keep the band accountable to deliver songs that the average 40-year-old male can sing. These are the most musically challenged attenders, and we must not lose them.
• Don’t preach. I, Mr. Pastor, will be preaching later. Worship leaders lead worship; pastors preach. I make this clear to my leaders by threatening to sing!
• Be non-directive. Let the music talk and the Spirit speak. Don’t do the “let’s all lift our hands and tell him we love him” bit. Let God do his work in individual hearts.

Be prepared for …

As you assemble your team, realize that several things are going to happen.

• Some people you pick are going to turn out to be a bad fit personality-wise, flaky in their work habits, or simply not able to grow in skill level with the worship team. If you are afraid to let people go, don’t form a worship team.
• Musicians emit some strange hormonal scent that only they can pick up from each other. If you start doing a particular music style, musicians will flock to your church.
• You will find that many musicians have been hurt by the church because their music was viewed as evil somewhere else. One guy who sings in a famous punk band in Seattle did a special song in our church. Afterwards, he came up to me crying, hugged me and said, “I have been in music since I was a teenager, and this is the first time any pastor ever let me do any music in church.”
• Musical excellence will increase weekly. Be patient and let it happen. Good things take time. Bands and music are “organic,” not mechanical. They take a growing season.

From band to a community

Musicians desire community. Our band meets about once a month outside of Sunday morning to do a Bible Study, pray, share needs, cover schedules and band business, and rehearse new music.

Our band also has an annual overnight retreat to build community, do some planning, and jam. We have an annual Christmas dinner with members’ families or significant others, and several spontaneous dinners at players’ houses.

What commitments do we expect? A covenant or job description is helpful. Our band covenant talks about the commitment to be team players, to show up on time for band meetings and rehearsals for worship services. The church covenants to listen to band members’ concerns, review their performances annually, and pay them in a fair and timely fashion.

Some closing tips. Don’t be cowed by the artistic temperament. The pastor is in charge of worship. At the same time, love and cherish your pioneer band members. Be patient with mistakes without lowering expectations for continuous quality improvement.

And finally, wear out the knees in your pants praying that God will guide your leadership, and that he will use the ragtag bunch of players you assemble to enable your congregation to offer him the worship he is due.

Randy L. Rowland is pastor ofChurch at the Center100 HarrisonSeattle WA 98119Rrowland@interserv.com

Copyright © 1999 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal. For reprint information call 630-260-6200 or contact us.

Something else must be going on, thought Pastor Seth Johnson. My most trusted elder certainly is no wife abuser.

For weeks he had stewed over the news Marge, Don’s wife, had dumped on him before she left the hospital after a hysterectomy. Marge said Don had never hit her, but the way he treated her during their marriage was emotionally abusive.

She must have simply been emotional, Seth thought. She and Don had probably argued about something. That, plus the stress of cancer, probably pushed her over the edge—Don didn’t seem like the person who would call his wife “hippo” and “double-butt” and make her document every detail of her day, as Marge had reported.

Seth hated confrontation, but he knew Don well enough to bring up the issue. He met Don at the Original Pancake House, their regular haunt.

“Sorry I’m late,” said Don as he slid into the booth. He ordered the standard: Swedish pancakes with coffee, black.

“Is Marge doing okay after her surgery?”

“I think so,” Don said. “The prognosis is good, and she seems to be gaining strength.”

Seth paused. “She said something strange to me before she left the hospital. I think you need to know what it was. She said that during most of your marriage you’ve been emotionally abusive to her.”

“She was probably referring to some lovers’ quarrel we had long ago. Every couple has them.”

“Uh, yeah, you’re probably right,” said Seth, “but she talked about name calling and your forcing her to keep a log. She sounded as if that was recent.”

“The log is nothing,” Don said. “I ask her to keep track of what she does during the day. I take a leadership role at home. I’m the head of my wife just as Christ is the head of the church, right? I’ve always treated Marge like a delicate flower.”

Seth changed the subject. Don had a point, and he didn’t seem defensive. In the eight years Seth had known Don, he had always seemed loving toward his wife. Seth felt torn. He wanted to drop the issue and toyed with treating the whole situation with benign neglect.

Picture imperfect marriage

Seth had been caught off guard at the hospital when Marge burst into tears and began to unload on him about her 25-year marriage. Marge said Don told her she was too stupid to manage money. At one point he took away her credit cards and checkbook and forced her to keep a daily log of her activities, including what she fed their four children and whom she spoke to on the telephone. He made snide comments about her weight. And that was “only the tip of the iceberg,” Marge said.

Taken back, Seth asked her, “Why haven’t you said something before now?” Marge said she no longer feared Don’s constant threat to punish her if she exposed his behavior. “When you’re facing death,” she said, “you just stop caring about some things.”

While Don didn’t seem like an emotionally abusive husband, Marge didn’t seem like a liar.

The dilemma Seth faced is typical of pastors who take seriously the issue of emotional abuse within marriage and who desire to care pastorally for both the victim and the perpetrator.

Calm surface, violent deeps

Rarely is the issue of emotional abuse brought up to outsiders, and when it is, it can quickly degenerate into a he-said, she-said situation. Complicating the matter further, men who emotionally abuse their wives don’t looklike abusers; they often are regarded as outstanding citizens in church and community.

Emotional abuse, a form of domestic violence, does not usually occur in view of others. If witnessed, it’s generally by children living in the house who may have been threatened by the perpetrator with loss of safety and security should they tell anyone. What makes emotional abuse even more messy, in contrast to physical abuse, is that it never leaves physical marks. But there are some characteristics of men who emotionally abuse their wives:

• He belittles his wife in the company of others. He makes snide comments about her intellectual abilities or physical appearance, calling her “dumb,” “fat,” “ignorant,” “naive,” “stupid,” or “ugly.”
• He comments negatively about females in general: less intelligent, more emotional, or inferior to males. Sometimes, he’ll use derogatory or vulgar terms for women. When challenged about this, the husband will often say he is only joking.
• He does all the talking for the family even in public settings. His wife may defer to her husband before responding to inquiries.
• He quotes biblical passages to support his ordering of the sexes, especially whenever anyone suggests that females are equal to males.
• The wife seems to have no adult relationships or support system outside her husband. Domestic violence flourishes when a woman is isolated from the outside world. An emotionally abusive husband will make every effort to control all aspects of his wife’s existence. He’ll often force her to keep an account of all her activities, withhold finances, and dictate her relationships.
• The pastor is continually rebuffed when trying to establish a relationship with the family.

It’s important to remember that not every husband who manifests these qualities is a perpetrator of emotional abuse.

Trying to bring the wife and husbandtogether to “get at the truth” can be dangerous for the woman.

Care for the victim

The agonizing pastoral issue, though, is when and how to get involved when we suspect emotional abuse in a marriage. The great strength of a pastor is that he or she cares for people in a context and over a long period of time. Given that unique position, here are some suggestions about caring for the victim.

These are for dealing with emotional abuse, not physical abuse. Emotional abuse may also signal or lead to physical abuse, or it may not. In instances of physical abuse, much more drastic action may be necessary to protect children and the wife.

If a woman says she is emotionally abused, the best course is to believe her. What does that mean? A woman who is emotionally abused by her husband will rarely exaggerate claims of abuse. On the contrary, out of fear, shame, and for many other reasons, she will usually minimize the abusive episodes. The way a pastor believes a victim’s stories is to reassure her. Often the victim will blame herself for the abuse, saying the abuse would not be occurring if she were a better Christian, wife, mother, sexual partner, etc. That belief is enforced by the perpetrator and, at times, by other people as well.

Pastors can say, “You are not the cause of the abuse that’s happening to you,” “No one deserves to be addressed by the degrading and vile names your husband has called you,” and “Your husband’s actions are in clear violation of how the Scripture instructs a man to treat his wife. His behavior is sinful and in no way condoned by God.”

Here are some things not to say, for they discourage rather than encourage a victim to be forthright:

• “Are you submitting totally to your husband?”
• “Marriage is sacred, you have to do everything to keep your family together.”
• “Perhaps your husband was just kidding. Are you sure you’re not overreacting?”
• “Your husband is such a great guy. He wouldn’t harm a flea.”
• “Why did you wait so long to disclose this story?”

Someone who says she has been emotionally abused will likely feel ambivalent. At one moment she may talk about leaving her husband, and, in the next breath, state her undying love for him. Most women do not want their marriages to end, they simply want the abuse to stop.

Trying to bring the wife and husband together to “get at the truth” can be dangerous for the woman. A perpetrator often is deceitful and manipulative. He may behave appropriately (even charmingly) in the pastor’s office, but then further punish his wife when they get home.

Just as it is impossible to discover “the truth” in a situation, it is impossible for a pastor to invest large amounts of counseling time with any one person, so it is critical to encourage victims to seek support from other resources. Support groups, shelters for abused and battered women, and clinically trained professionals can offer comfort, knowledge, and safety. Such support helps victims break the isolation and provides them with options for achieving safety in their lives.

One specific way a pastor can help a victim of abuse is to help her establish a safety plan that can be implemented quickly should her husband’s abuse continue or escalate. Include in this plan a safety kit, kept in a place where the perpetrator will not discover it, that contains items such as cash, a change of clothing, toiletries, an extra photo i.d. and a list of important phone numbers: counselors, friends, pastors, shelters.

Care for the abuser

Intervening in such a situation is a delicate issue, but at some point, a pastor will have to confront the abuser. That will require a well thought-out approach with a team of people. Much has been written about how to conduct an intervention, so I won’t go into that here, except to say no pastor should intervene in a situation alone.

Ultimately, there are no foolproof plans to keep a wife totally safe from her abusive husband—whether or not that husband is confronted. Still, here are two things pastors can do to enhance a wife’s safety:

1. Never confront an abusive husband without thoroughly discussing with the wife both the benefits and the potential risks that such confrontation could bring. Get the wife’s full permission before confronting the husband.

2. Make sure the wife has a safety plan (see above) that can be implemented quickly should her husband’s abuse continue or escalate.

Often, once a perpetrator is confronted, he will not stay in the church. In the above story, Don lingered a while after confronted by Pastor Seth, but in the end, because he refused to see his behavior as wrong, he left the church.

But some may stay, and that’s why over time, pastors may be in the best position to help a marriage with emotional abuse issues. Here are several reminders when caring spiritually for someone who emotionally abuses his wife.

1. Give him tough love. Redemption involves showing remorse over our sins, taking full responsibility for the damage, and being willing to work on correcting any inappropriate behavior. Perpetrators of domestic abuse usually fall short of that, however; they rarely take responsibility for the destruction they’ve caused, blaming instead alcohol, children, drugs, job stresses, mood swings, and especially their victims.

Thus, while it is important for pastors to affirm the love, forgiveness, and healing that Christ offers, it is vital to challenge the perpetrator to take responsibility for his abuse and to encourage him to get treatment. That will require a pastor to bring up regularly and gently with the perpetrator how he plans to get better: “What step have you taken recently to get help for how you treat your wife? Have you seen a counselor? Have you joined a support group?”

2. Be wary of the “I’m a changed man” claim. That’s especially true if his alleged change occurred in a short period of time. Let’s say, for example, he attends only a few support group meetings for abusive and violent men. Or he suddenly confesses his sins in front of the congregation, apologizing to his wife and children, and promising never to abuse anyone again.

Don’t be fooled. My caution isn’t because I doubt God’s ability to change humans instantaneously. Often, though, such claims of change are simply another manifestation of the cycle of violence—the abuser violates his wife, expresses deep remorse to her in letters, with flowers, and over fancy dinners, and then makes an ostensibly sincere promise to change. But he refuses to seek (or stay in) treatment, and, within weeks, months, and sometimes even years, the cycle begins again. Lasting change, both spiritual and psychological, takes time and hard work.

3. Redirect his Scripture reading. For ongoing spiritual care, I recommend pastors set up with the abuser a reading schedule of passages from Scripture that teach equal value and dignity of husband and wife. Then pastor and abuser can discuss the larger theological dimensions of how God views men and women. That can counterbalance the tendency by abusers to misquote biblical texts to support male dominance. Here are a few passages that I’ve found helpful: Genesis 1:26-28, 1 Corinthians 7:3-4 and 11:11-12, Galatians 5:13, Ephesians 5:21 and 5:25-33, and Philippians 2:3

4. Hold out hope. That means simply saying that if the abuser wants to change and will do the hard work, he can change, that with God anything is possible. That’s the promise of the gospel. Through prayer, Scripture reading, spiritual counseling, and psychological treatment, a wife abuser can become whole.

Al Miles coordinates Interfaith Ministries at The Queen’s Medical Center 1301 Punchbowl StreetHonolulu HI 96813

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