Last time we discussed biblical ministry partnerships, we focused on the kind of teamwork to avoid--namely those who are not centered on Christ as measured not by their rhetoric but by His Word. Now let's quickly look at a couple basic principles and examples of truly biblical partnerships through which God works to advance His kingdom and bring Himself glory. While the Scriptures abound with examples, for the sake of time we'll take our inspiration from Paul's letter to the Philippians.
Paul loved the Philippians. They shared in his suffering and his ministry. They even supported him financially when nobody else did. He wanted them to continue walking strong in the faith and to follow his example thereof. Paul and the Philippians' teamwork together for God's glory and Paul's comments about it, provide us with a solid model for working with other believers to fulfill Christ's Great Commission.
Again, because of the time limits imposed by a blog post, I'll focus now on Paul's instructions about spiritual purity & unity and following his example. Next time we'll look at Paul's kind words to the Philippians about his fellow laborers Epaphroditus, Tychicus and Timothy and how we should emulate their service and lifestyle.
In 1:9-11, Paul prays that the Philippians that they would have overflowing love based in knowledge from God and rightly discern between good and evil, with the endgame of approving the things that are morally excellent, that they may live truthfully and without blame until the return of Christ, bearing inner fruit coming from right standing with God which comes through Jesus Christ, to God's glory and praise.
That's a mouthful! As you consider this passage, ask yourself if you're personally striving to meet this standard. And consider if your current and prospective ministry partners are likewise endeavoring after Jesus Christ our Lord. If not, as hard as it may be, you shouldn't continue working together until you get it right. On the flip side, you should actively seek out those who meet Paul's Spirit-inspired standard for individual and community vitality.
Later Paul exhorts the Philippians to make his joy complete by, "being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent one purpose," (Phil. 2:2). The Philippians, and believers today, are to be of the same mind, that is, the mind of Christ, (1 Cor. 2:16). We are to actively preserve the same love--love for Christ and love for each other in Christ, (Matt. 22:37-40). We are to be united in spirit--joined in a community ethos bent on the things of God. And we are to be intent on one purpose. What purpose? For that let's look to Paul's words in Philippians 3: 13b-17:
"Forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as are complete, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained. Brethren, join in following my example and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us."
The goal is Christ Jesus. Earlier Paul told his readers that his goal was to lay hold of that which for Christ laid hold of him--eternal life in Christ.
Notice also in 3:13-17 that Paul encourages the Philippians to follow his example, as opposed to the wicked teaching and living of those "whose end is destruction." His example was one of unfettered, full-throttle following after Christ and teaming with other like-minded believers.
Do your ministry partners meet this standard? Or do they simply call themselves brothers and bail on biblical purity, goal-setting, and living? You'll know by measuring yourself and your co-laborers by the Spirit's words to the Philippians through Paul. Act accordingly and you will indeed set a great example for other ministry networks and churches to follow.
In the next post in this series, we'll look at the characteristics of Epaphroditus, Tychicus, and Timothy--three of Paul's Spirit-led co-bondservants in Christ Jesus. Until then, let me know about your experiences with ministry partnerships--good, bad, and otherwise.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Biblical Ministry Partnerships and Networking: Part Two - Ministry & Business Marketing, Media and Strategy Blog
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Theology Bleeds - Getting Serious about the Great Commission - Ministry & Business Marketing, Media and Strategy Blog
Later today I'll deliver the second part of my series on biblical ministry partnerships. In the meantime, check out this incredible communique from Dr. Russell Moore--Dean of the
Dr. Moore wrote this email to students and faculty at Southern Seminary--people who, along with us, are supposed to be busy fulfilling Christ's Great Commission. As you read, pray about how the Spirit might work in you and through you to heed Dr. Moore's battle cry...
"I’m concerned about something, and I’d like to ask you to join me in prayer and action about it.
It seems to me that too many of our churches—and too many of us—think of the Great Commission as little more than Jesus’ way of promoting a Christmas offering or of marketing an evangelistic video series.
Too many theologians—even pastor-theologians—tend sometimes to ignore the Great Commission. After all, isn’t it a “practical” exhortation, better left to denominational bureaucrats and women’s missionary auxiliary leaders? At the same time, too many missionaries and evangelists tend to ignore theology. After all, what does abstract theorizing have to do with Jesus’ ultimate church-wide missions emphasis—the Great Commission?
The problem, whenever the Great Commission is taken for granted, is the eclipse of Jesus.
We in the
The Great Commission points to faith in Christ and the forgiveness of sins as the vehicle for cosmic restoration and the salvation of the world. Those reconciled to God through Christ are receiving more than personal freedom from guilt—they are becoming “sons of God” who share with Jesus in an inheritance that includes the entire created order (Ps 89; Rom 4:13, 8:15-17; Gal 3:27-4:7).
The Great Commission is a theology of cosmic warfare—a theology centering on the unveiling of the long-hidden mystery of Christ and his church. It means the overthrow of the ancient powers that have long held the creation captive through sin and death. It means the triumph of a resurrected Messiah over every principality and power hostile to the reign of the Creator. It means that God is keeping his promises to his anointed King.
It means war.
In the end, demonic powers don’t tremble before denominational programs or bureaucratic public relations campaigns. What they fear is something more ancient, more mysterious, and more personal. What they fear is not a program, but a person—with a name, an authority, and an inheritance. Since the church bears the Spirit of the Anointed One (1 Pet 4:14), the satanic powers lash out violently against it (John 15:25-16:11).
Their question to the missionary advance of the church is the same question they once voiced to the church’s King in his hometown synagogue: “Have you come to destroy us?” When the church is faithful to the commission of its Warrior-King, the answer is heard by an expectant creation even when it is not voiced—“The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Rom 16:20). And that is what Jesus would call “good news.”
In the year 2008, I am challenging all of us in the
Soon you will be receiving in the mail a card to help you join with me in prayer and action. I am asking all of you to commit to pray for the lost—specific lost people that you know. I am asking all of you to share the gospel with at least one lost person at least once a week. And I am asking us to do this not just as individuals but also as a community of scholar-preachers.
Take a look at the card. Pray about it. And enlist in this battle. Let me know of your commitment to renew your efforts at Great Commission warfare. Join with a small group of other students—a Great Commission Group—to hold one another accountable, and to pray with one another about sharing the gospel.
These Great Commission groups will not meet at a formal time assigned by me. You decide with the people you enlist to join with you when and how often to pray together and to talk together.
Go door-to-door witnessing together. Organize an evangelistic block party. The possibilities are endless. Let me know how it is going in your battalion, and let me know of ways we can be even more effective in equipping Great Commission warriors.
Additionally, check the
Above all, let your affections be broken for the lost. And let’s join with our God in pleading with sinners to be reconciled to God’s Kingdom through the shed blood and the empty tomb of Jesus. Let’s join in the unseen battle with our tears, our feet, our voices, and our hearts.
And remember, theology means a word about God. Scripture tells us that the definitive Logos about our Theos is not a systematic theology text or a Hebrew grammar, as important as these are. He is not a “what,” but a “Who.” He is our brother, and our Lord. He cries for sinners, loves them, warns them of the wrath to come, and promises them the ends of the universe if they turn to him.
Theology doesn’t just think. Theology walks. Theology weeps. Theology bleeds.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Biblical Ministry Partnerships and Networking: Part One - Ministry & Business Marketing, Media and Strategy Blog
Sorry for the delay in posting again. An aging truck and dental repairs kept me away from my keyboard...
As I search high and low across the web for networks of believers seeking to partner together for the glory of God, I'm struck by a hard reality. Many believers want to team with other Christians, but missing from most of these partnerships is a grounding in "the truth [that] is in Jesus," (Eph. 4:21).
The Holy Spirit clearly commands us to "keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." This exhortation naturally extends to our ministry partnerships. At the same time, the end goal of the Spirit's giving apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers is "unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God" which leads to a "mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ." In other words, unity in the Spirit is rooted in the knowledge of the Son of God and living according to the truth of the Spirit as measured by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Therefore, we are not to pursue unity for unity's sake. We are to continually maintain the unity of the Spirit based in the truth of Jesus Christ our Lord.
So how should this play out in our ministry partnerships? Should we team with those whose theology is relatively weak or who make room for sin? What about those we simply disagree with on certain non-essential truths?
Thankfully, our Lord has provided us with clear examples of biblical cooperation, both in the sense of what sort of partnerships to avoid and in regard to legitimate working relationships for God's glory. For more insight, let's quickly look at the lives/teachings of the Apostle Paul and the Apostle Peter.
Paul, called out of an uber self-righteous Pharisaical life, carried a Spirit-given hatred for false teaching and sheer disdain for false teachers. When God removed the scales from Paul's eyes (literally and figuratively), He berthed in Paul an extreme passion for the Spirit-revealed truth of God and seeing the church grow in that truth. Anyone or anything that "exalted itself against the knowledge of God" was completely unacceptable.
As is still true today, false teachers and deceptive teaching in the first century presented a very real threat to the Body of Christ. Thus the Holy Spirit led Paul to crusade against them. In fact, based on Paul's teachings in Ephesians 4-5 and the Pastoral Epistles (1 & 2 Timothy, Titus), we realize that perhaps the primary role of overseers is that of encouraging sound doctrine and defending biblical truth.
Paul's Spirit-led stand for the truth of Christ took some interesting turns. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul declares that if anyone--apostle, angel, or otherwise--comes declaring a good news of Jesus Christ other than what the Galatians initially received, let that person or angel be damned to hell forever! Pretty strong words, indeed. But they were a natural outgrowth of shepherding the Body of Christ according to the truth of Christ. Elsewhere, Paul opposed even the Apostle Peter, when Peter hypocritically picked sides between the Jews and Gentiles in Antioch, (Galatians 2:11-21).
But contrary to his mis-steps in Antioch, Peter habitually stood for truth and opposed false teachers. Especially notice the significant time Peter spends in his second epistle warning his readers against coming false teachers and notice his blunt description of such wicked wolves: "who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves," (2 Peter 2:1).
Also in Ephesians, the Spirit declares that the church has been built upon the apostles and prophets (in context the New Testament prophets such as Agabus), with Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone." The foundation of the apostles and prophets includes their example, as Paul said, "Imitate me as I imitate Christ."
Not only did Paul and Peter refuse to team with people simply claiming to be Christians or even those who named Christ but failed to do so according to Scriptural truth that is in Christ Jesus. No, Paul and Peter (and the other apostles with them) opposed unbiblical teaching and deceptive schemers publicly, with great regularity, and filled with Spirit-led indignation for "arrogant obstacles to the obedience of Christ" and those who dare build such barriers.
As we consider whom to partner with, we should avoid relationships with those who have strayed from the truth in Christ Jesus and "even expose" the unfruitful deeds of darkness, (Eph. 5:11). We should also avoid partnerships with non-believers which would in any way reduce their perception of their guilt before God. The sons of disobedience should never get the impression that we (much less God) are okay with their sin or that they're not that bad off spiritually. In fact, the Holy Spirit commands us through Paul to "not be partakers with them, for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light," (Eph 5:7-8).
The impulse to partner with other believers is a godly one. But we must "be careful how (we) walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of (our) time, because the days are evil," (Eph. 4:15). We must not team with those who are not living and preaching according to the truth that is in Jesus.
The standard for our lives and our locking arms with other believers is the eternal word of the living God. Paul and Peter and John and others took on false teaching and false teachers; they did not let core doctrines and dedication to wholeheartedly seeking Christ Jesus according to His revealed truth slide.
Then who should we partner with and what Scriptural examples of godly partnerships should we emulate? That's the subject of my next post...
Friday, February 15, 2008
Why You Should Care About Big News from Google at the Mobile World Congress - Ministry & Business Marketing, Media and Strategy Blog
As I watched to this morning to a video featuring Google's VP of Mobile, my wife asked me why I'm interested in what's happening in emerging mobile markets. So why should we, as those seeking God's glory and to advance His kingdom, care about what's happening with techno growth? I'll get to that question in a second...
One oversized piece of news from Google out of this week's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona is that IPhone users are accessing Google's web searches 50 times as much as those without the IPhone! Google's VP of Mobile explains why in the clip linked above. Also in the clip is news that Google anticipates mobile search to overtake PC-based search in the next several years. The takeaway for ministries: mobile is and will be a huge mission field/equipping territory going forward and you should plan your ministry accordingly (including subscribe by cell phone, Blue Tooth alerts, handheld bible study tools, and more).
Back to my wife's question...Why should we care about what's happening in emerging technologies? Because knowing what's coming & getting ahead of the curve should afford us an incredible opportunity to plan and successfully execute ministry, for God' glory!
You may be thinking, "I'm the pastor of a small church in the middle of Indiana. What does a Chinese mobile provider have to do with me?" Let me answer your question with a few questions of my own.
Do you support missionaries? Do you pray for & give to overseas ministries, or plan to do so in the near future? Wouldn't it be in keeping with Jesus' command to be "wise as serpents" for you to be able to better evaluate ministries in China, India, Africa, and beyond, based on their use of mobile technologies that are exploding in those locales?
For you parachurch leaders, what are you doing to tap the burgeoning mobile market? Are you delivering ministry alerts to members' cell phones? Are you Blue Tooth broadcasting at major events and on Sunday mornings?
The bottom line for this blog and the Lucky Rock ministry is to bring glory to God by "equipping the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the Body of Christ," primarily through better ministry strategy, with a special focus on staying ahead of the technology/marketing game and directing ministry accordingly. Don't let your ministry lag and don't fool yourself into thinking it's too hard to keep up. God will supply all the wisdom & insight you need and He will provide the human resources (including yours truly) to capitalize on the incredible tools at our disposal to spread the good news of our great God and King, Jesus Christ.
Try reading your Bible with forward thinking in mind and start praying about how to revamp your ministry to more efficiently build people in Christ and make new disciples. Then subscribe to our blog, link to us, and tell others about how they too can "get 'er done" for Jesus Christ.
PS: One more Blue Tooth broadcasting idea...For major evangelistic events such as Luis Palau Festival or other mass gatherings, why not broadcast Blue Tooth invites to the surrounding community throughout your activity? If you really want to go nuts, you could set up Blue Tooth units at large participating churches, which would help spread the word beyond the immediate vicinity of your venue. This would be especially strategic if your conference spans several days.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Your Website - Is It The Taj Mahal Nobody Knows About? - Ministry & Business Marketing, Media and Strategy Blog
One of my biggest frustrations as a sometime web designer and full-time ministry consultant is the near-universal tendency of ministries to spend all of their web budget on a killer-looking site that nobody outside of their members/friends ever sees. Ministries usually don't realize that optimizing their sites to be picked up by the major search engines, especially Google, is just as important as building a fabulous web home.
Before I dive into quick fixes for your website search rankings, let me say that search engine optimization (SEO) is not just about adding a couple of things to your site and watching it zoom. You must feature a solid amount of content people actually want, organized in a way that's easy to navigate and keeps people coming back for more. That said, and no offense to the SEO pros reading this, you can make some simple changes to your website that will make it pop in search engines. How do I know? Because these changes have done wonders for me.
1) Page title. Check out the top navigation bar in Internet Explorer or Firefox the next time you visit one of your favorite websites. It doesn't just list the organization name; it describes the ministry. Churches should include their geographical area, ministry distinctives, and denomination. Parachurches should detail their location (if pertinent) and ministry focus, in general terms like "Evangelize Africa," or "Feed America's Poor". Keep your title to just two or three key phrases that people are most likely to use when searching for your kind of website, then list your ministry name.
2) Description and meta tags. For those of you who don't know, meta tags, often in the form of keywords, feed information about your website content to all the search engines and crawlers that visit you.
I can't tell you how many times SEO experts have declared, "Meta tags are dead!" If that's the case, why do all of the best-optimized websites still use them? List the keywords that describe your ministry, such as "Orange County Baptist Church, biblical teaching, poor ministry, financial ministry, web ministry, web outreach, free plumber, free auto repairs." As with your page title, the trick is to use keywords and phrases that people are most likely to punch in when searching for your website.
3) Label all your photos. You do have lots of high-quality photos that tell your ministry story, don't you? Use alt tags to label all of your ministry photos.
Search engines don't read photos, they read text. And alt tags give Google and friends something to chew on and will pop up if your photos don't load. Consider tags such as "Heights Calvary Chapel in Chicago city-wide baptism," or "new Northpoint Atlanta community center opening."
4) Make your site contagious. Offer ways for people to subscribe by email, mobile, rss reader, and whatever else and be sure to include means for people to forward your page to friends by email, text message, etc. "Viral" websites get linked to more often, which leads to hire search engine rankings. Which brings me too...
5) You like me. You really like me! Links are a great way to boost your search engine ranking. In search engine-think, if other sites like you, you must be important. If you support or partner with other ministries, be sure to swap links with them. And if you have a blog, list it on all the major blog search engines (put in a Google search to find them).
Hopefully these tips will greatly improve your site's visibility and ministry reach. (For quick fixes to your website itself, check out this recent post.)
If you implement these changes and they work for you, I'd love to hear about it. In that event, I'd also love for you to send a few bucks our way so we can help other ministries.
I freely invite any SEO pros to add their suggestions/corrections via commenting on this blog. Let's work together to improve ministry websites, to bring God glory and advance His Kingdom...
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Blue Tooth Marketing for Christian Businesses...Make Some Money, Give to Ministry - Ministry & Business Marketing, Media and Strategy Blog
I promised you I'd post another round yesterday, but seminary reading and company coming to town proved too formidable a duo. I digress...
This post is for all you Christian business owners. I just can't resist "tearing the roof off" of your techno-understanding, (sorry to steal your term, Francis Schaefer). Christian business owners need to wake up to new Blue Tooth revenue streams and use the excess cash to fund ministry.
A few Blue Tooth broadcasting possibilities...
1) Radio stations. We've all heard remote broadcasts at car dealerships. Imagine a radio station booking additional revenue by offering to broadcast on-site Blue Tooth alerts about the hottest vehicles. Suddenly the dealership is generating leads that they otherwise may not get, because most folks don't want to talk to a salesperson and just want the info on the car(s) they're interested in.
2) Grocery stores, coffee shops, bookstores (basically any retail outlet). Why aren't you using Blue Tooth to broadcast coupons, new merchandise, this week's specials, and so much more? Get a long-range dongle, buy some software, and amaze your nearby customers with your technical prowess and with the deals you're advertising.
3) Got an oil change yesterday. Now wondering why they're not setting themselves apart from the other oil change joint right across the street, by using Blue Tooth to broadcast their car repair specials.
4) Concerts. Use Blue Tooth to sell band merchandise right over the phone, to be mailed or picked up at the table in the back. Blue Tooth broadcast fan club subscriptions, album info, upcoming events, etc.
5) Movie theaters. Blue Tooth snack bar specials and opt-ins for your frequent movie watcher club.
The list goes on. The possibilities are endless. Praise the Lord! Make some cash and give it to ministry, (maybe the Lucky Rock).
By the way, if you're not sure how to manage your business or your money God's way, check out Crown Financial Ministries' great website and buy a copy of the classic CD series God's Principles for Operating a Business.
Internet Evangelism Day - Ministry & Business Marketing, Media and Strategy Blog
Quickly...Check out the Internet Evangelism Day website. Though they obviously focus on a once-a-year push for web-based ministry, IED also offers great resources on all sorts of ways to use technology in ministry. Enjoy.
I'll post another column later today...
Monday, February 11, 2008
Follow-up to Blue Tooth, Location-Based, Mobile Ministry - Ministry & Business Marketing, Media and Strategy Blog
In my last post I mentioned the incredible potential of Blue Tooth marketing. Again, the range of at least one low-cost device is purported to be 900 feet (600 feet from dongle to phones)!
As you consider Blue Tooth broadcasting (for which the Spirit-led possibilities for helping people know and grow in Christ are pretty much endless), please be sure of the following:
1) Supplemental signage is key. Don't just broadcast into oblivion; put notice of Blue Tooth alerts on your church sign and on billboards. Also put adverts in your church bulletin. And if you use video monitors to show the worship service, add a small graphic letting folks know about your Blue Tooth content. Such signage will also help you reach folks who've turned off their Blue Tooth devices, who obviously would not otherwise be reached by your Blue Toothing.
2) Less is more. Even though Blue Tooth is opt-in, don't just constantly stream a thousand different ads to see what sticks. Certainly some experimentation will help refine your messaging, but don't go nuts. Whether you're a church or parachurch ministry, keeping it to simple ministry info and interest surveys is probably best.
3) Keep file sizes to 10K or less (unless you're located in Europe or Japan). Most phones simply can't process big files efficiently, thus your latest super cool church video will just be annoying and likely off-putting. A slick graphic with links will fit within a 10K limit.
Alright, I can't resist giving you a couple more Blue Tooth ministry ideas...
1) Set up a short-range (150 feet) Blue Tooth dongle in your Sunday school/education wing. Broadcast a simple listing of the various classes available with links to more info.
2) Youth/college events. I know, I know youth and college are worlds apart. But they use Blue Tooth like it's hardwired into them (HA!), therefore Blue Toothing them should work better than other groups. Send out evangelistic info, news of upcoming Bible studies/discipleship opportunities, and a calendar of upcoming events.
3) PRAYER!!!! Inspired by the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul commanded, "With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints," (Eph. 6:18). Send out Blue Tooth invites to submit prayer needs to everyone who walks through your doors and to your community. The goal is not to let folks know that the "great genie in the sky" is now granting wishes. Rather, we're proactively fulfilling the Spirit's exhortation to pray at all times for the saints and we're presenting God as sovereign, able, and loving to the lost. Praying for lost and found according to God's will is absolutely biblical and I quite frankly can't think of many better ways to use Blue Tooth than to efficiently collect prayer needs.
Nuff said for now. Feedback?
