Remembering on Father’s Day

As I looked through some old files on my computer, I ran across a letter that I had typed up for my Dad over ten years ago.  He was 83 at the time.  He did not know how much longer he would be on this earth so he wanted to send a letter of faith to his family.  I teared up as I read through this sweet letter.  Dad passed away a couple of years ago so I remember and honor him this Father’s Day. 

My new life began at age 31 in 1946 after completing two and a half years in the U. S. Navy in California. After arriving in Memphis, I immediately took my job back at Ford Motor Co. They were very nice as they promised my job would be there when I returned from service. I was a frustrated person and not happy with anything. I stayed there several months and then a friend left and went with Chicago Southern Airlines now, Delta Airlines. He encouraged me to come with him as they needed a payroll clerk. C & S was a new and aggressive company with a future. I worked there a couple of years then on to another job.

Then my life changed. Modelle and I were attending a meeting one evening, and the question was asked, “Have you ever accepted Christ as your personal Savior?” My answer was; I think I have. I’m not sure. I go to church and enjoy my friends and am active in every way. Then he asked, “Would you accept Him as your personal Savior and put your life in His hands and be sure?” My answer was yes. Modelle and I both bowed our heads and asked Jesus Christ to come into our lives and take control. Praise God from that day forward I know He lives within me and the spirit of God guides in all that I do.

When I was young and at home, we always attended church, but I can never remember personally accepting Christ. I was baptized at the age of 10 in Mobile and married a sweet girl in 1939, and we have been happily married for 58 years with 2 sons as ministers. Our life is full of happiness and joy. Our greatest times now are watching our grandchildren play basketball and enjoying life to the fullest.

With this note I am sending you a copy of 1^st John 5 from my Bible. When I accepted Christ, these Scriptures came to life and changed my life and gave me the assurance of my salvation. Praise God!

God’s Kingdom Not Hope’s Kingdom

Churches sure can get self absorbed in building their kingdom and forget the real importance of seeing God’s Kingdom built in this world. Being in a large church, the temptation can be even greater. We certainly know the struggle here at Hope.

We work hard a being the best we can be and desire to reach as many people as we can for the cause of Christ. We also have to work hard at remembering that Hope is not the only church on the block — that there are many great churches that reach certain people who would never and will never darken the doors of Hope. It is important to keep in good relationship with churches in our city. And to be willing to pass on the name of another church in the community who might be able to reach the needs of various people we come in contact with.

I received two letters this week that reflect this.

One Hope Visitor Said, “I was on your website and was impressed by your listings of churches. I was especially moved by the fact that there were churches listed that were in Memphis (your competitors). That said to me that Hope Church is interested in everyone finding the right church for them; whether or not it’s Hope, what’s really important if finding Christ.”

Craig wrote this in response to a couple who were leaving Hope to help with a church plant, “I was saddened to hear that you are leaving us to work with another local church.  However, I have always believed it is not about the Kingdom of Hope, but the Kingdom of God, so I am delighted to celebrate your new commitment.”

An Evangelical Manifesto Let the Dialog Begin

“Manifesto aims to make ‘evangelical’ less political” - USA Today

“‘An Evangelical Manifesto’ criticizes politics of faith” - CNN

“Christian Clerics Circulate ‘Evangelical Manifesto’ Urging Faithful to Avoid Single issue Politics” - Fox News

‘Evangelical Manifesto’ Aims to Depoliticize Religion - NPR

“‘Manifesto’ vexes evangelicals” - The Washington Times

“Evangelical leaders say their faith is too politicized” AP

These are the headlines reporting on a new document published and signed by various evangelicals entitled “An Evangelical Manifesto”. The purpose of the manifesto is stated as: “…. first to address the confusions and corruptions that attend the term Evangelical in the United States and much of the Western world today, and second to clarify where we stand on issues that have caused consternation over Evangelicals in public life.”

In the executive summary, it is stated: “First, we reaffirm our identity. Evangelicals are Christians who define themselves, their faith, and their lives according to the Good News of Jesus of Nazareth.”

The core of the Evangelical faith is stated with these basic beliefs:

1. Jesus, fully divine and fully human, as the only full and complete revelation of God and therefore the only Savior.
2. The death of Jesus on the cross, in which he took the penalty for our sins and reconciled us to God.
3. Salvation as God’s gift grasped through faith. We contribute nothing to our salvation.
4. New life in the Holy Spirit, who brings us spiritual rebirth and power to live as Jesus did, reaching out to the poor, sick, and oppressed.
5. The Bible as God’s Word written, fully trustworthy as our final guide to faith and practice.
6. The future personal return of Jesus to establish the reign of God.
7. The importance of sharing these beliefs so that others may experience God’s salvation and may walk in Jesus’ way.

With this core theological understanding in place, they state that: “Second, we wish to reposition ourselves in public life. To be Evangelical is to be faithful to the freedom, justice, peace, and well-being that are at the heart of the good news of Jesus.”

I love this statement from the Evangelical Manifesto web site:

“As an open declaration, An Evangelical Manifesto addresses not only Evangelicals and other Christians but other American citizens and people of all other faiths in America, including those who say they have no faith. It therefore stands as an example of how different faith communities may address each other in public life, without any compromise of their own faith but with a clear commitment to the common good of the societies in which we all live together.”

This seems to be pretty solid and an important statement to be made to the culture. Those who have signed it are making a statement that the way the world sees Evangelicals is not necessarily a clear representation of ALL Evangelicals. It recognizes that the Evangelical movement has lost it’s way in some ways and needs to be redirected and redefined.

I look forward to reading the complete 20 page document. To do the same, and to see who has and has not signed the manifesto, check out their web site here.

Externally Focused Church Webinar

Listened to a great webinar the other day from Leadership Network.  It was entitled “Breaking into the Kingdom w/ Rick McKinley”  Rick McKinley the pastor of Imago Dei in Portland talked about Four Paradigm Shifts a Church must make to become Missional.  Check out a good summary of this webinar at Robert Grisham’s blog - …this remarkable new opportunity.

Or if you want to listen to the teaching click on the following link:  www.leadnet.org/webinar-externallyfocusedkingdom

Good Stuff!

Over 14,000 Celebrate Easter at Hope

 

I also pray the you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in the high place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 1:19-20

It was an amazing weekend at Hope with the parking lot pressed to the limit and people walking into our sanctuary looking for some answers and a chance to walk through a door of transformation. There was nothing magical about the doors but their IS something powerful about a resurrected life in Christ. Over 14,000 people came to hear this message this weekend with two services on Saturday and three on Sunday. The 10 AM service was packed with over 5,000. What an amazing sight and the energy in the room was electric.

I talked with a woman visiting from Boston who was struck by the friendliness that she experienced. It caught her off guard. She thought Big = Impersonal. She was so happy to be wrong and so am I. Way to Go Volunteers. Way to Go all Hope Members. Way to Go God!

Christmas Eve at Hope - WOW!

Just finished our 9th Christmas Eve Service at Hope Church and what a wonderful last few days it was. I just heard that we had 18,000 people come through our doors!!!

Having the chance to share Christ with all those folks in our new sanctuary was just amazing. Everyone from Craig preaching all services to Bruce leading the worship to the hundreds of volunteers really made all these services work. I am worn out but joyful over this season and for the opportunity to minister at this incredible place.

Volunteer Evangelist

I just received this brief article from Group Publishing, and it points to the importance of the positive buzz that can come from your excited volunteers.  We need to tap into that excitement and encourage them to be evangelists for recruiting other volunteers.  Also, check out an earlier post on the Power of the People.

Volunteer ‘Evangelists’

Amy Dolan

Recently I read Creating Customer Evangelists by Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba. The authors describe how great companies have found success by creating customer evangelists.

What if volunteers in your ministry loved the experience so much that they told all their friends—who then wanted to serve? Volunteer evangelists hear the buzz about your ministry, sign up, then pass on their awesome experience to friends and encourage them to sign up too. The friends trust your volunteer and want to share in this amazing experience. And a volunteer evangelist is born.

Create Buzz
If you want volunteers to talk about your ministry, you’ve got to create a great volunteer experience. Here are two key components:
• Give volunteers a voice. Volunteers need to be heard. Ask weekly about their experiences and how to improve. Let them know when their suggestion or request makes a difference.
• Honor your volunteers. Invest in them through training and recognition. Empower volunteers to do their very best, and when they’re successful, celebrate them like crazy!

Identify Volunteer Evangelists
Find your ministry’s biggest fans and enlist their help by asking them to share what they love about your ministry. Here are suggestions for finding people with the greatest impact.
• I’ve done it. Key volunteer evangelists are already recruiting and talking up your ministry. Ask them to tell friends, family, and colleagues about your program. No fancy presentation necessary: The volunteer’s role is simply to share great experiences.
• My kids love it. Parents with kids who’ve had a great experience on your team will be very quick to tell other parents. Encourage parents to think about other parents who might be interested in serving.
• I love what you do. Other leaders who support your ministry make great cheerleaders. Ask these leaders to consider serving once in your ministry. Then ask them to share their experience with the people in their ministries.

This article is adapted from Children’s Ministry Magazine, the leading resource for those who minister to children. The complete article is available to CVC members in our Idea Depot.

Branding Hope

When I pulled into our parking lot the other day, I noticed this brand new sign telling the community who we are. What’s significant about this sign? The funky design? No. The LED display? No. Is it that a word is missing from our name? That is correct!! That word would be “Presbyterian”. And it is not because there was no room on the sign or that we have defected from our denomination.

No, but it is strategic. It is a barrier busting decision. Being a church for the unchurched, we are always looking for ways to remove barriers that might come between people and their desire to come visit Hope and hear the good news. The past few years we have been publicly referring to ourselves as Hope Church from up front, but this is a huge step in changing our “brand”.

Again, we are not anti-Presbyterian. During our new member class, we still talk about our denomination and what it means to be a Presbyterian church. That is who we are, but we also say that we are much bigger than a denomination. We are a church that is committed to Christ and committed to reach into our community as effectively as possible. Any comments? Is this defecting? Is is being disingenuous?

Power of the People

In our new member class - Introducing Hope - we begin our second session with an ice breaker. We ask folks to answer three questions:

1. What is your name?
2. How did you hear about Hope?
3. What is one interesting thing about your spouse if you are married or yourself if you are single?

That last question brings some strange responses. One time after I stated those questions, a woman then proceeded to share that the most interesting thing about her husband was that he was worthless and presently involved with another woman. It was a tad awkward but, thank goodness he was NOT there — with the other woman!!!

That second question is one we track around here, and it has proven to point to one conclusion. The best marketing is happy and talkative customers. I can say that over the past 5 years when I have asked that question, the answer has pointed to other Hope members or attendees who have spread the word to friends and family.

This was reiterated to me today when I read Church of the Customer blog. They pointed to a Nielsen study that stated that seventy-eight percent of the people Nielsen polled trust the recommendation of a friend. Here is how the results came down:

To What Extent Do You Trust the Following Forms of Advertising?

Recommendations from Consumers	78%
Newspapers	63%
Consumer opinions posted online	61%
Brand websites	60%
Television	56%
Magazines	56%
Radio	54%
Brand sponsorships	49%
Email I signed up for	49%
Ads before movies	38%
Search engine ads	34%
Online banner ads	26%
Text ads on mobile phones	18%

Source: Nielsen Online Global Consumer Study April 2007

That is about right — it has been my experience that around 80% say that they have come to Hope via an invitation from a family member or a friend.

How have I applied this information? For one thing, one of the last things I say at our Introducing Hope class is that they are our best evangelist. They are all in an incredible position that none of us as Pastors can touch. They are the hands and feet —- and mouths who bring people through our doors to hear the message of Christ.