How to Measure Maturity?

I can remember clearly my first forays into the realm of comparing church successes and by analogy, pastoral leadership success. As a 30 year old volunteer campus minister I was invited to the monthly meetings of the local denominational gatherings with all the local ministers and various denominational officials. I was excited to be with these mature spiritual leaders.

I wanted to learn how to be a "real man of God" and I assumed that I could see them up close and personal here. I must admit that I was sorely disappointed. I discovered that almost all the talk was about numbers, noses and nickels. The number of baptisms, the noses that showed up at the various church meetings and then how many nickels the congregation had contributed to the church.

Whey did they do this? I am sure there are many reasons but the easiest and most direct ways are numbers, noses and nickels. Attendance, giving and commitments are the quickest and most "reliable" ways to communicate how well we are doing in the ministry. Let's face it, measuring spirituality is like catching mercury or measuring the humidity. We only see people at public meetings so we don't really know what people are doing in private.

And, the model of ministry most churches have chosen is preaching and teaching by the ministers. It is not related to the inner spiritual development of believers but the outer, easily counted things like giving and attendance.

Here I am over forty years later and I still do not see many Pastors with different ideas about how to measure maturity of their members. Take a look at the brief article by Dallas Willard to see what you think of his ideas about measuring maturity. I like it a lot and have spent a lot of my ministry trying to foster Christian maturity. But let me say quickly, it is not easy to do.

I mistakenly posted on this blog rather than my other one, Spiritual Healing and Growth. Take a look at it there as well if you wish.

I strongly urge you to read a great book, The Critical Journey, by Janet Hagberg on this topic. It is shown at the top of the page. You can purchase it at amazon.com

Spiritual Healing Blog

I have started a new blog. You can find it under
Spiritual Healing and Growth I think you will find it enormously helpful if you are a counselor, educator, minister or volunteer. I am placing research, insights on ways people grow and change and practical things I have learned over the past thirty years of ministry.

Take a look and keep coming back.

Crisis in America

Jesus Calms The Storm

I must admit that I am very sad and even somewhat depressed. The way Obama and the Democrats are tearing America apart is unprecedented. I normally do not get down but see things in God's perspective but reading that the Dem's are going to pass the health care take over left me with a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.

But it is more than that. The EPA has declared CO2 to be a dangerous gas and are dedicated to bullying, bludgeoning anyone who breathes to be a danger to the planet.

The bullying is one of the things about Obama that really concerns me. The Left is mean, cold blooded and hard hearted when it comes to disagreements. The have no commitment to freedom of speech or freedom of conscience. All Christian hospitals will be forced to do abortions. All Christian charities will be forced to hire sexual deviants.

The leftist obsession with sexual deviancy and abortion are oppressive. They will bully people into compliance. I saw it in the mainline denominations and we can see it in judicial rulings now. In Scandinavia the left insists that homosexuals be hired on every church staff. The insist that all kinds of extremely dysfunctional sexual obsessions be funded by tax dollars and will persecute Christians who disagree.

Read this article about Massachusetts if you do not believe me.

I do not know what to do but pray. I urge my readers to pray. But, as Romans 8 says, "We do not know how to pray as we ought..."

Lord, teach us to pray.

My Jesus Movement Story on Revival

When I first read the review of Nobel Prize winner Robert Fogel's book, The Fourth Great Awakening, I experienced a range of emotions from stunned, excited, frustrated and fascinated to saddened. Here was an expert in economics from the University of Chicago whose studies convinced him that revivals and awakenings in American history were having an amazingly high impact on our economy, the ways we work and how we see life. That is the exciting part.

I was frustrated because it took my over ten years to even hear of Dr. Fogel and I think I am well read about such things. Even more frustrating was the fact that I have never even met another Christian leader or scholar who has heard of Fogel or the Fourth Great Awakening. Wow! No wonder the church is losing its impact on the culture. We are unaware of one of the most important works about contemporary society that has ever been written.

Here is the third reason for my sadness and frustration. I am a product of the Jesus Movement and it was that national and international move of the Holy Spirit that spawned The Fourth Great Awakening. For many years I had a hunch that the move of God among Baby Boomer college students and young adults was a significant event in God's overall plan to redeem the world but Fogel gave me a historic perspective as well as economic insight into how God moves nations and their institutions.

I am a microcosm of how God works and how God did work to change millions in the Jesus Movement. Reading that book gave me an understanding how God used organizations, movements, governments and churches to push a larger agenda in the world and how long it takes to move all the pieces around on the chess board to accomplish His will. (For example, how many generations it took to rid America of slavery through revivals, education, books, magazines, marches and awakenings.)

I came to Cincinnati as an Associate Dean in 1967. God's Spirit was moving on me but I was so young and unlearned that the inspiration He offered me was not focused or wisely released. I was asked to leave my church because I was actually but unknowingly practising one of the most important tenets of an awakening.

I started Bible study groups in homes and that radical step of independence from church authority scared the leaders who gave me "the left foot of fellowship". These groups focused on encouraging members to 1. Seek God directly in prayer; 2. Hear God directly through the Bible. 3. Take actions directly o witness, serve, care for each other, etc because all Christians are called to be ministers.

These are the primary marks of the Fourth Great Awakening and they were great threats to the clergy and religious power brokers. They still are. Especially in the large mega churches and the mainline churches.

Unleashing God's people to do God's work in the world led to the most powerful and far reaching Awakening in history and I was excited to be part of it. I still am.

On October 2 Equipping Ministries International had a big reunion weekend with a time of honoring me and others who were involved in founding the organization in 1979 at College Hill Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati. I left EMI in 1994 to found Sweeten Life Systems but the ministry keeps moving along and says that over 500,000 people have graduated from our programs. Every class, groups and talk is based on what I learned in the Jesus Movement. We must "Equip the saints to do the work of ministry."

The church is sometimes gathered but it is most powerful when it is dispersed. When ordinary Christians realize they have an extraordinary God and take Him at His word to do His works. This is the essence of The Fourth Great Awakening and why Fogel won that prize in Economics.

Pass these articles on to you family and friends. Thy need to know what God is up to. If you know of a non-defensive, open to learn clergy person also ask them to read up on these things. If you are really brave, read Fogel's book. It will blow your mind.

First American Awakening 1730-1830

1730-60: Weakening of predestination doctrine; recognition that many sinners may be predestined for salvation; introduction of revival meetings emphasizing spiritual rebirth; rise of ethic of benevolence.

1760-90: Attack on British corruption; American Revolution; equality of opportunity (accepted inequality of income & circumstances of life as natural, held that persons of low rank could raise themselves up—by industry, talent, perseverance, and right behavior—to top of the economic/social order); established egalitarian ethic.

1790-1830: Breakup of revolutionary coalition

What I have Learned about Healing in 30 Years

I have been involved in an active healing ministry for about 30 years. That is a long time and a lot of prayer. But it was worth it. Here are some of my insights.

1. Everyone has someone who needs healing. All of us have a problem, are a problem or make problems. This means that the original intent of Jesus role as "The Great Physician" and the Bible He inspired are still relevant today.

2. There is not condition or disease that cannot be substantially improved by the love, power and truth of Christians.

3. Very few churches or church leaders believe in or practice the kinds of healing ministries that Jesus ordered us to pursue. Pastors and leaders need to ask for courage to do what Jesus commanded when He said: "Go into the world and make good students of every language and ethnic group. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Make sure that they actually practice very thing I said and did. Do not forget that I will be with you."

4. Practicing the healing ministries of Jesus will win people to faith in God. Read Luke 10 if you want to see what Jesus designed as a "Missional" evangelistic ministry. Read Acts if you want to see how the early church evangelized.

5. It is time for all Christians to share God's love, His truth and His power so others can be healed.

Citizen Revolutions

For several years I have been advancing the notion that we are in the midst of The Fourth Great Awakening. Awakenings occur when revivals of spiritual life mature into a social, cultural movement.

The Sixties and Seventies saw a huge international revival. Millions came to faith in Christ and were deeply touched by the Holy Spirit in many streams of living water. These revivals were interdenominational, ethnic, various ages and explosive.

The people who came to faith almost immediately decided to live out their new spiritual desires in small groups, house meetings, choirs, quartets, communes para church gatherings and Bible studies. The primary emphasis was on individual and Small group responsibility to lea God's word and live them out every day.

These groups tended to be egalitarian, open to everyone and under no specific authority structure, denomination or theological tradition. I was Associate dean at University of Cincinnati and we saw a wave of kids who were touched by the Holy spirit and who wanted to live daily by God's truth, grace, love and power.

One of my student friends came to UC from Cleveland where he had attended a Roman Catholic high school. On a retreat with father Jim Tommy was brought to faith in Christ and was born again. He was also "Baptized into the Holy Spirit" and started to witness to his friends and spend hours in prayer, fellowship and worship.

That was the genesis of the Jesus Movement and the revival precursor to the Fourth Great Awakening we are experiencing today.

Being a Religious Minority is Good

It is important for us who follow Christ to remember this fact: We are in the minority and we have always been in the minority. Unfortunately, we have thought we were a majority religion in America and that led us to adopt a laissez faire attitude toward sharing our faith in the power of the Holy Spirit and the healing grace of His love.

I have enjoyed my many trips to Asia, Africa and Europe where my minority faith is obvious. The Christ Followers are very much aware of their need to share the good news and to witness in love and good works. Humility is demanded in such places.

It is also obvious in most of those places that life in a society without Christ and Christian values is harsher for its citizens. Family relations are less wholesome and an attitude of "love thy neighbor" is rare. We tend to think that Socialism's impact will be primarily economic but in Russia and Eastern Europe the loss of love and mutual caring have been the greatest losses.

When the USSR started to cataclysmic fail in the late Eighties, Mr. Gorbachev sent his ambassador to Norway a message. "Ask the Norwegian Bible Society to print a million Bibles in Russian and send them to us." Why would he,a confirmed atheist, do such a thing? The ambassador said, "We have discovered that without a biblical and Christian foundation the people will not be motivated to care for each other. We need the Bible again."

Is the USA ready to not only lose our economic freedom but also our tradition of "Love one another"?

Gary Sweeten

All Materialsm-No Heart

I am in my second week among the Socialist Scandinavians and have some reflections. First, living here is comfortable. Everything that the government does is designed to make sure that the streets, public services and environment are clean, tidy and orderly. The trains run on time and many creature comforts are available to the masses.

There are few material differences between the rich and poor. Most homes are the same size small apartments and most cars are newer models from Japan and Germany or Sweden. Most people dress informally in jeans and few seem obviously poor.

Young people are placed in clean, orderly schools and old people into clean orderly retirement homes. Not many people seem to work hard or break a sweat about anything.

The pay is low and the taxes are high. Good producers are punished with even higher taxes so no matter how smart, how clever or successful you are the government makes sure you do not have much conspicuous wealth.

Everyone pays at least 40% taxes to the Federal Government. Then, everyone pays 25% Value Added Tax or VAT on everything that is purchased. A Coke is about $3.00 as is a bottle of water and 25% of that is tax. So, poor people must pay 1/4 of their income on sales' tax when they purchase food, clothing, train tickets, etc.

Is this the future of America? Probably. It seems to have created a huge "leisure class" of bored, tired, robots with little excitement, drive or energy. People are isolated from close interaction and the secular humanistic ideals do not seem to lead people to lives of anything but quite desperation.

Few are involved in caring for others of caring for anything outside themselves. Selfishness and narcissism are rampant and many are bored with too much stuff. I am constantly reminded of the passage that says, "Give and it shall be given unto you; pressed down, shaken together and placed into your lap."

Many of the older, retired pensioners are engaging in drunken orgies with films of themselves on Facebook throwing up and having sex. Anything for a momentary thrill to break out of boredom.

The last part of I CO 13 ends like this: "These three remain; faith, hope and love and the greatest is love."

Here it seems to be: "Faith in the government, hope that the economy stays strong and love the technology".

This society might be summarized as "Clean, orderly and technically healthy with no heart, no soul and no love". Thank God the committed Christians here are praying, witnessing and reaching out to others to they can find a reason to live for something other than food, clothing, shelter and public transportation.

Gary Sweeten
Randers, Denmark

A Joke in Danish

Pardon my weird sense of humor. I posted in Danish that I cannot read as a way to get some attention. Here in English about my upcoming trip back to Scandinavia.

The Lord took me to Kenya, East Africa in 1983 to meet Jens-Petter Jorgensen, one of the founders and leaders of the Holy Spirit renewal in Norway. We became friends and he invited me to speak at a conference for Pastors, Missionaries and Church Leaders in 1986. I along with Larry Chrouch, Ellen Chrouch, Steve Griebling and Hal Schell traveled to Oslo for a conference on healing, counseling and love in the church. God showed up in a very powerful and life changing manner.

That small beginning led Jens-Petter and his organization, OASE (Oasis) to invite us back for leadership training retreats. We met annually at Vats, a ski center high in the mountains of Norway for worship, teaching, small groups and great skiing. Leaders from Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland came for healing and growth.

One of the Danish Leaders was Peder Paulsen. We became friends and he took our materials back home where I visited many times and now Peder is doing family healing and bringing renewal to the nation.

Here we are over twenty years later and I am returning to Norway and Denmark to see my friends, experience God's presence and share what it means to be a healing community filled with the Spirit's truth, power and love. I will also focus on following God as a Seasoned Believer.

Pray for my trip and our gatherings. I arrive in Oslo March 9 and will be ministering there for a week before going on to Denmark and back to the USA on March 19.

I injured both shoulders on the last trip to Russia and I need God's healing grace to take luggage on this trip. Also pray for the necessary financial support.

Thanks,

Gary Sweeten

What Empowers Christian Growth?

I hear a lot of people talking about Christian growth but few that do much about it. Every week I receive a quote about God's grace from a great ministry that works hard to facilitate individual and church growth.

I normally enjoy it because I agree with it. (I'm funny that way.) The one I received today did not quite agree with my understanding of the ways to enable and empower Christian growth.Read it and see what you think. I would love to hear your insights.

"Conversion is the lifelong transformational process of being remade into the image of God. It is so much more than simply trying to avoid sin. The focus of repentance and conversion is Jesus, not my sin nor my self. My attachment to sinful ways of being is much too strong to ever be undone by mere willpower. There is no substitute for surrender to divine love as the fuel to propel such undoing. Divine love transforms both my heart and my will. Divine love enables me to choose God’s will over mine. Without this, repentance will be nothing more than a self-help scheme based on effort and resolve." David Benner, Surrender to love.

Graced again is compiled by Tom Wood, Church Multiplication Ministries, a non-profit, whose mission is starting, strengthening, multiplying grace-centered churches through consults and coaching church planting pastors, leaders and emerging leaders. Sign up on the web at Graced Again.

Do you agree with Benner? Why? Why not?

Gary Sweeten

http://www.sweetenlife.com/

Russia is Progressing

I called Galina a few days ago to wish her a very happy birthday. She had just returned from the graduation ceremony for the school Liferoute has set up to train Peer Helpers for the Christian Community.

The school is called, "School for the Care and Cure of Souls and this is the Module for teaching Power Thinking or how to renew the mind according to the scripture.

Galina was feeling great because the students showed such high retention and application of knowledge and skills. Let's face it; the Bolsheviks left Russia in a terrible state of irrational thinking. The Communists filled the heads and hearts of the people from childhood onward with lies, myths, misunderstandings, fears and reactivity that it will very likely take generations for the culture to recover.

The Liferoute School for the Care and Cure of Souls will serve as a beacon of light in an otherwise dreary and hopeless culture. Pray for Galina, her team and the wonderful Russian people. Pray also about ways you can support the Liferoute Ministry.

Why Our Culture is Superior to Other Cultures

A great article in the Wall Street Journal by James Taranto who writes about a brave Dutch politician examines why it is important for Americans to really understand the strengths of our democracy so we can keep it strong. Taranto starts his article this way: "By his own description, Geert Wilders is not a typical Dutch politician. "We are a country of consensus," he tells me on a recent Saturday morning at his midtown Manhattan hotel. "I hate consensus. I like confrontation. I am not a consensus politician. . . . This is something that is really very un-Dutch."

It seems to me that the same kind of Politically Correct (PC) thinking is currently gaining a foothold in America and is a very dangerous thing. A strong democracy is built upon freedom of speech and an open dialogue among all parties. It demands that we all look honestly at the truth not just cover up uncomfortable facts.

It is a shock to read what Mr. Wilders says about Western Democracies. Is it possible to say this in America, even when it is true? "... the West suffers from an excess of toleration for those who do not share its tradition of tolerance. "We believe that -- 'we' means the political elite -- that all cultures are equal," he says. "I believe this is the biggest disease today facing Europe. . . . We should wake up and tell ourselves: You're not a xenophobe, you're not a racist, you're not a crazy guy if you say, 'My culture is better than yours.' A culture based on Christianity, Judaism, humanism is better. Look at how we treat women, look at how we treat apostates, look at how we go with the separation of church and state. I can give you 500 examples why our culture is better."

Christian Growth and Healing

For the last thirty years or so I have been busily engaged in helping Christians grow into mature, healthy individuals and families. This includes church and small group growth.

One of the books I have found to be most interesting and informative was written by a Puritan Pastor named John Owen and is titled, Sin and Temptation. In it, Owen strongly focuses on 'indwelling sin" as a theme that is essential to Christian growth and healing. By recognizing that sinful tendencies are basic to our nature after knowing Christ, I can deal with temptation, failures and immaturity without lapsing into morbid self condemnation and shameful self hatred.

A pervasive problem faced by serious, pious Christians is the notion that I could be and should be living above sin, sickness and sadness. When that ideal fails, I am thrust into the bog of despair and hopelessness. Such beliefs keep me focused on my PERFORMANCE rather than the finished work of Christ.

The popularity of sermons and books on working harder to obey God, please Jesus and do more to be a "godly person" shows how prevalent this false idea is. People really love to discuss their own works, even if they are defective. Listen to how often people say such things as:

"I know I should do more to please God and be a better Christian, but..."

"I should pray more, read the Bible more and love Jesus better."

And Preachers point at us and say, "You should be doing more, sharing more, giving more, reading more, attending more..."

Then we sing, "Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain; He washed it white as snow." Such obvious contradictions leave Believers dazed and confused. How are they supposed to enjoy the fruit of the Spirit when we think such thoughts? It is almost impossible to think clearly and feel the joy of the Lord.

When I realize that I have a disease dwelling deep within my heart, mind and body called "The Old Man" it helps me see that anything I do for God and in righteousness comes form the Holy Spirit. Left to my own devices I will fail every time. But, because the Spirit is with me and in me I can occasionally do something right and godly.

We have a habit of thinking, talking and feeling irrationally. We say to a child that just spilled his milk, "Clean that milk up. It shouldn't be on the floor." But rationally speaking, it "should" be on the floor because he tripped and the milk came out of the glass and gravity pulled it to the carpet.

By saying such crazy things to ourselves and others we bring confusion, false guilt and even shame into our lives. It is rational and reasonable to say, "I wish you hadn't spilled the milk. Now it needs to be cleaned up."

Now transfer this to our self talk about morals and ethics. Instead of saying, " I should be a better Christian" I can think, "I want to read the Bible and pray more so I can understand God and His way better." My performance does not change my relationship with God as His child but it can enhance my understanding of my heavenly Father.

God does not command us to do the impossible. He does not say, "You must live above sin, sickness and sadness." He does promise that we can increase our joy, love and peace by walking and talking with Him on a daily basis.

I can also increase my spiritual growth by thinking reasonably and rationally about myself and the fact that it is God who works in us to produce all good things because there is nothing good in me without Him.

A Growing Influence

After the resurrection of Jesus, His acension and outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, there was a powerful movement of Christian growth as people came to faith and passed the word from household to household and person to person. In the Book of Acts we can see how God used a few committed believers to spread the gospel.

The strategy of Jesus was simple, send the best trained leaders out from Jerusalem to various cities and preach the good news then disciple or equip them to reproduce themselves in that region. It proved to be a remarkably successful approach. In about 300 years the Roman Empire was afire with Christians despite persecution and oppression.

What is generally overlooked by modern Christians is how slow but steady that method proved to be. We truly love a quick fix. We want to preach a few sermons, preferably on radio and TV, and let the newly converted babies rear themselves. That approach in Russia and Eastern Europe has proved disasterous. Many of the new churches planted by this method after Perestroika have closed and others are very weak.

Our approach is different. First, we do not plant new churches but support the churches and leaders already here. They know the culture, spiritual needs and the best ways to share the gospel and follow up with discipleship. It is a slow bu powerful model much like that Jesus suggested.

In this part of the world, almost eveyone has been traumatized and, as a result, suffers from emotional and relational problems. Addictive behavior has been rampant ever since Peter The Great promoted alcohol as an essential part of government. The Soviets exacerbated that problem and cigarrettes have become a partner to alcohol as an agent of death, destruction and depression.

We have introduced the 12 Step Groups here and find that when they are cobined with prayer, scripture and worship they provide a wonderful process for getting and staying sober. As many as 75 to 80% of all men are alcoholics! Read Isaiah 28 for the reasons why.

The 12 Steps are a wonderful summary of basic Christianity. The local Christians have added several "Group Rules" that assist in training the people to listen, care and break the patterns of co-dependency. Pray for the leaders. Next week some of them will travel to cities far from Moscow to train more leaders. They are literally "Going into all the world and making disciples" by "teaching them to do everything that Jesus did."

If you can support one of the Russian leaders, let us know.

Gary Sweeten

My last letter from Moscow this trip

Thanks for the Memories

The Norwegian Flag

We launched a new ministry focus this week, and it was a great success. Two friends came from Oslo, Norway and assisted us in casting a vision for ways Seasoned Believers can be of great benefit to younger men and women. It was awesome.

Our friends have had distinguished careers in public service and health care for many years in Norway. That, along with servant leadership in church and community groups allows them to challenge Americans to invest our lives in passing the baton to the next generations of servant leaders.

Their talk hit just the right spot for us and I am looking forward to learning more from them. Norwegians have much to teach us.

For Such a Time as This

George Whitfield First Great Awakening & Mother Teresa-International Heroine in the Fourth Great Awakening

When Believers are in the midst of a revival, a reformation or an awakening they often miss it. One reason is that humans get so caught up in the affairs of daily life that they miss God’s Spirit moving. It is easy to get confused about when God is on the march when we do not see any evidence of revival in the culture. We are surrounded by so much junk in the media and so much trauma in society that it appears as if God's Spirit has been removed from our country.

But make no mistake about it, God is moving in a big way. In my view, He has a plan to make some great changes. In fact, revivals and awakenings are all about change so conflict rather than peace is the hall mark of the Spirit. Think back about the stories in the Bible. Every time God was about to make a big move we hear about the debauchery and evil in the society.

I am sure you remember the stories about the conflict between David and King Saul. David was chosen and anointed by God to be the future King of Israel. This made the current King Saul very jealous. The result was an all out war by Saul and his troops on God's anointed successor. They were out to murder him.

The times were desperate. It looked pretty grim for David. We know how the story ends but David and his friends did not know the final chapter during those terrible times. David had no army to fight against the overwhelming odds of Saul’s mighty army but he believed God's word and set out to fight Saul.

David was able to recruit some mighty warriors to fight with him. In I Chron 12:32 we can read how one group called, "The men of Issachar" threw their lot in with the future King. They took a huge risk. Had they lost the fight, everyone who supported David would have been killed.

Why would they take such a risk? A verse in I Chronicles tells us why.

"The men of Issachar were people who understood the times and knew what Israel should do." This is what is always needed for God's people to succeed. They must understand the times and the seasons. They need discernment. God inspires those people we call entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurs understand the times and know what it is that the church should do. They know what to do and how to do it at the right time in the right way. Now is the right time for Seasoned Believers to rise up and change the world. We live in a unique time with unique opportunities to make a difference in media, politics, business, education, family life, medicine and the arts.

There are millions of Seasoned Believers who are followers of Christ and filled with His Spirit. These men and women are wise in their professions and skilled in the Word of God. All they need is an opportunity to join with other like minded Believers and release their talents and gifts.

See my web page for more information.

http://www.sweetenlife.com/

Is The Church Dead in America?

A lot of people are pessimistic about the church of Jesus surviving. I am concerned about the state of Christian leadership in America but frankly I am not too worried about the church.

Oh, yeah, I agree that the church as we have known it for the past few centuries will not likely survive. However, that might be great for spiritual growth.

I don't see very many Christian leaders who really want to lead. Oh, I see a lot of people who want folks to conform to their programs and preaching but not many really want folks to get fired up, get on board with Jesus and get going into the world to make a difference.

What is it about Christians that they are ferociously into control? Why do so many leaders complain about the lack of motivation among their members? I learned from Steve Griebling the truth that everyone is motivated. But, they are not very motivated to do what we want. This makes preachers pretty uncomfortable because they have a wonderful plan for others.

When I was assigned to oversee the small groups at College Hill Church I jumped at the opportunity. I had a wonderful plan for how the groups needed to operate and what they should do. I quickly discovered that certain groups had been going for years and they had no intention of changing just because I came on staff. These people told me in no uncertain terms that they liked what they were already doing and had every intention to stay the course.

The church women had run "circles" for a long time and they liked them just the way they were. This was my baptism into church power structures. I learned from these people a very, very important lesson. Here it is. "If it ain't broke, don't change it!"

I suddenly became a great and successful ministry leader. I stumbled into what was working and I affirmed it and blessed it and marketed it. I blew the horn for women's circles and all kinds of small groups that were considered old fashioned and out of tune by "the experts". I mentioned them in the announcements, listed them in the bulletins and wrote glowing reports for the annual meetings.

The experts were missing what their "customers" wanted and I was forced to acknowledge that these men and women actually loved their old fashioned styles and were learning to follow Jesus more fervently be being in them. And, over time some of them caught the wave of innovation and tried some of my new ideas.

Find what works and affirm it.
Find what is broke and fix it.
Find people that want to do things and support them.

God is at work and He has given us the church but it has many forms. Get fired up and get going.

Comments or brick bats?

Need a coach? Call me! 513-697-6494

Discernment of the Times

My mother in law is almost 92 years old. She was born in 1916 into a family steeped in poverty and stuck in dysfunction. The large family lived in a tiny house making a hard scrabble living in southern Illinois and barely made it through WWI, the great flu epidemic of 1918, The Great Depression, WWII, outliving four husbands and rearing two girls almost alone.

Because of her grit, hard work, faith in God and the blessing of living in America Hazel has lived a wonderful life. Last week I asked her how many times she had been overseas and we counted five trips to Hawaii, two to Israel, several to various places in Europe and all around the USA. In some ways Hazel is a poster girl for American exceptional ism, upward social mobility and how a rising tide raises all boats, even the desperately poor in origin.

We are living in a unique time. About 100 million Americans have lived through the past five or so decades and have also benefited from the material, spiritual, educational and economic tide. Robert Fogel won the Nobel Prize in 1993 for writing about the dramatic changes in the lives of Americans over the last century and the implications for a giant spiritual awakening.

Go to Amazon.com and look up Fogel's book, The Fourth Great Awakening and get it with Lindsay's Faith in the Halls of Power to see what God is up to in the 21st Century.

The Pope is Here! PTL

Pope Benedict is here in the USA and his visit is making quite a splash. I am happy to see him and I wish him the very best success in igniting a revival of spiritual life in his church.

I am not a Roman Catholic, of course, but we Evangelicals need many good friends in the battle to bring light into the darkness. The current Pope, as was the last, is a good man who preaches many aspects of the Bible that are helpful and healthy. His theology, while imperfect, is better than the nihilism and materialism most often seen in our public life.

One comment caught my eye about the strength of spiritual life in America. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican secretary of state, notes that "religion is deeply rooted in American life despite the separation of church and state."

I would correct his statement to be, "Religion is deeply rooted in American life BECAUSE of the separation of church and state." When Christians came across the sea from Europe and left the state churches in Germany, Ireland, England and Scandinavia they wanted to be free to worship as they wished. It was the Believers who insisted on the separation of church and state and that has not changed since the colonial days.

Free people in free churches led to a competition for converts and members. This meant that lazy ministers and cold, dead congregations did not fare well. People vote with their feet in America. In Europe churches are still funded by tax monies and that has led to large buildings with small congregations.

Lord send revivals and awakenings to America. We need everything you have. And, bless the Pope and his people.