JUST DO IT: More than an Athletic Prescription

At a recent talk at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, Nike vice president and CFO Don W. Blair compared establishing one's ability to lead in a new situation to riding a horse.

"To be effective, a leader must learn how to ride that particular horse and the horse must learn how to be ridden by that particular rider," Blair said. "If one tries to go too far too fast, it's easy to get thrown off. One has to build relationships by understanding what people are trying to accomplish and moving that agenda forward."

Blair did this himself when he joined Nike from PepsiCo about six years ago. According to a report in Knowledge@Wharton, the business school's e-zine, his first task upon being hired was to "do nothing for six months" so he could get acclimated to his new environment.

"Leadership is situational," he said. "What works in one company doesn't necessarily work in another."

Although Blair was at Wharton to discuss Nike's corporate leadership style, he also shared his own take on the topic. Here's a sampling of his advice to other leaders.

Concentrate on outcomes and don't get lost in the process. "In a large organization, it's easy to be working in an area that is urgent but not important," he said. "Don't get stuck on process and lose focus on the big issues."

Maintain objectivity. "One has to be willing, always, to have the objectivity to see and say that 'the emperor has no clothes,' " Blair said.

Learn from past experience. "Take time for explicit self-education," he said. "Make mistakes, codify them and learn."

Read the complete article.

"This article is used by permission from Dr. John C. Maxwell's free monthly e-newsletter 'Leadership Wired' available at www.MaximumImpact.com."

Christian Teens Theologically Shallow

(AgapePress) - Results from a recent survey conducted by a North Carolina researcher reveal that the majority of America's youth believe in God, yet there is a shallowness in their religious knowledge, and they have difficulty expressing their faith.

Christian Smith, a sociologist at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, led 133 researchers and consultants in conducting a project that involved telephone surveys of 3,370 English- and Spanish-speaking Americans and face-to-face interviews with 267 of the participants -- all ages 13 to 17. Protracted funding will allow the researchers to track these young people through 2007.

Thus far, telephone surveys reveal that young people have a broad fondness for religion, although their religious knowledge is labeled as "meager, nebulous and often fallacious" as found through the personal interview portion of the study.

In other words, teens were unable to coherently express their beliefs and the impact of faith on their lives. In addition, many participants appeared so separated from the traditions of their faith that they viewed God as a feel-good problem solver who merely existed for that purpose. There were no indications of an absolute, truth-based theology among the teens.

"God is something like a combination Divine Butler and Cosmic Therapist who is available when needed," Smith wrote in his new book titled Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers, co-authored with Melinda Lundquist Denton.

Smith credits parental tendencies of Baby Boomers, poor educational and youth programs, and responsibilities and activities that vie for teenagers' time as reasons for their skewed view of the Almighty.

Lasting Principles for Rural Churches

Doug Boyer says, "Every now and then, I hear someone argue that the purpose driven church process is simply an attempt to create Saddleback clones. As the senior pastor of a church that has transitioned to the purpose driven philosophy, I bristle with that assessment. One of the beauties of the PDC process is how transferable it is regardless of the setting -- urban or rural, white or blue collar, mega church or small church. That’s because the entire process is built on lasting principles, not temporary strategies.

I’ve experienced this firsthand. When I came to Christ Church 10 years ago, it was an ingrown family church of about 175 people. It had plateaued at that level for about five years, and the church needed to rediscover its purpose. We now average 650 people in two services each Sunday morning, and we’re planning to plant a daughter church in September 2005. Almost half that growth has come from conversions.

What’s exciting to me is that this isn’t happening in Southern California or suburban Chicago but in rural Pennsylvania. Our church is literally in the middle of a corn field just outside Strausstown -- population 350. Transitioning to the purpose driven philosophy has been key to the health and growth we have experienced. But we’re definitely not a mini-Saddleback."
Here are some things I have learned to become a purpose driven church in a rural setting:

Spotting New Leaders

Fred Smith gives eight signs of leadership potential.

The most gifted athletes rarely make good coaches. The best violinist will not necessarily make the best conductor. Nor will the best teacher necessarily make the best head of the department.

So it's critical to distinguish between the skill of performance and the skill of leading the performance, two entirely different skills.

It's also important to determine whether a person is capable of learning leadership. The natural leader will stand out. The trick is identifying those who are capable of learning leadership over time.

Here are several traits to help identify whether someone is capable of learning to lead.

1. Do I see a constructive spirit of discontent? Some people would call this criticism, but there's a big difference in being constructively discontent and being critical. If somebody says, "There's got to be a better way to do this," I see if there's leadership potential by asking, "Have you ever thought about what that better way might be?"

If he says no, he is being critical, not constructive.

But if he says yes, he's challenged by a constructive spirit of discontent. That's the unscratchable itch. It is always in the leader.

People locked in the status quo are not leaders. I ask of a potential leader, Does this person believe there is always a better way to do something?

You can read the complete article here.

Are You Dangerously Tired?

A hard-to-recognize hazard for Christian leaders

I was really tired yesterday after work. I had some errands to run, some housework to do, a friend to see, but I couldn't bring myself to do any of it.

Instead I went straight home and decided to spend the night reading and relaxing, and going to bed early. That's what I needed to reenergize. I woke up early this morning and actually got most of those errands done before work.

I hear people say they're tired a lot. I say it too. This issue Ruth Haley Barton shares the difference between a "good tired" and a “dangerous tired.” Your ministry can be maximized by realizing why you're tired and how you can seek God to help you make changes if they're needed.

Because we do not rest we lose our way.
Poisoned by this hypnotic belief that good things come only through unceasing
determination and tireless effort, we can never truly rest.
And for want of rest our lives are in danger.
—Wayne Muller

There are at least two kinds of tired in this world.

One is what I call "good tired." This is the tiredness we experience after a job well done, a task accomplished out of the best of who we are. This is a temporary condition, and when it comes, we know that after an appropriate period of rest and recuperation we will soon be back in the swing of things.

But there is another kind of tired that is more ominous; it is what I call "dangerous tired." This condition is deeper and more serious than the temporary exhaustion that follows times of periodic intensity in our schedules and workloads. The difference between "good tired" and "dangerous tired" is like the difference between the atmospheric conditions that produce harmless spring rain clouds and those that result in the eerie green tint of the sky that portends the possibility of a tornado. When the sky is an angry green, something doesn't feel right and you know you had better pay attention. One atmospheric condition is normal and predictable; the other is risky and volatile.

Read the rest of this article.

The Essentials

Throughout the 80's, the term was Church Growth. In the 90's, the phrase changed to church health. Today the emphasis is a combination of cultural relevance and postmodernism. Each evolution gets more complex. The more complex our work becomes, the simpler and clearer the answers must be.

Regardless of what emphasis you prefer, what era you identify with, or what style of ministry you relate to, there are basics that we all return to time and time again. They are the essentials that remind us that there is nothing new under the sun. The methods may be different, but are often a recurrence of something already done in the past. I was talking recently with a pastor who chose to light candles and incense in his worship service, saying it was the new, cutting-edge trend. I suggested that he go back several hundred years in church history to see that candles and incense were neither new nor cutting edge. We had a great conversation about the value of reaching people in relevant ways!

We must constantly study the culture to remain relevant, because methods will always change, even if they circle back to what has already been done. The current phrase "ancient-modern" says it well. But in our endeavor to be culturally relevant let's not forget the essentials that never change. In basketball, the coach will often take the team back to the basics of dribbling, shooting, and passing. So for the church, what are the basics? What are the essentials?

I believe they are leadership, prayer, and evangelism. Whether I'm coaching a young pastor planting a new church, or an established church of 5,000 people, at some point, I will challenge them to look at each of these things honestly and courageously. Ironically, I find that when I look at pastors’ and church leaders’ calendars, the three things I most often find missing are time for leadership development, prayer, and personal or relational evangelism.

The Leadership Essential.

John Maxwell says: "Everything rises and falls on leadership." It does. I know I will get flack for putting leadership before prayer, but stay with me. I realize that without God's power we can do nothing of eternal value. But without a leader God has no one though whom to use His power. God can accomplish His plan any way He wants, but He has chosen to work through people. God chose Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Joseph, David, Paul, and dozens of others. Jesus chose the twelve. God has chosen you and you choose your twelve. Leadership is how we get things done. Prayer is how we get things done that matter.

Questions on the Leadership Essential:
Is the senior pastor confident in the vision and direction for the church?
Is this vision communicated clearly, understood, and embraced by the congregation?
Are the paid pastoral / ministry staff members unified and productive?
Are the official, non-paid key leaders of the church unified and productive?
Are new leaders being cultivated and developed?
Are the current leaders being trained on a regular basis?
Are the primary leaders of the church open and receptive to change?
Are committees or teams well organized without any bottlenecking blockages from primary leadership?
Does the organizational structure allow the important issues to be resolved and implemented quickly?
Do the key leaders, paid and non-paid, place a heavy emphasis on prayer?
Does the primary leadership hold Biblical leadership as a top priority?
Does the primary leadership model servanthood with a joyful spirit?
Are the primary leaders trustworthy?
Are the primary leaders willing to take risks?
Does the pastoral / ministry staff communicate genuine care and concern for the people?
Are the primary leaders positive and full of faith?
Is there is an intentional effort to identify and include new leaders?
Do the primary leaders freely empower others to lead and do the work of ministry?

When you take time to prayerfully and honestly answer these questions, and take appropriate action, the process will serve you and your ministry well.

The following five components of leadership do not represent a comprehensive list of what is required to lead well. They are, however, the essentials of leadership that you must attend to if you want your long term leadership endeavors to be successful.

1. A compelling visionGood local church ministry must be driven by a God-sized vision. This is far more than a well crafted slogan. It is something you deeply believe that God has given you to do. It fuels the fire that brings life to your unique expression of the mission that all local churches share, found in Matthew 28:19-20. This common vision must burn bright in you and your key leaders before it will ignite within your congregation.

2. A clear strategyA compelling vision isn't enough. Far too many visions and dreams that are truly God-breathed never materialize because the leaders choose not to exercise the painstaking discipline to "plan their work and work their plan." The truth is that a strategy without vision is drudgery, but a vision without strategy is usually just hot air. Write a clear plan based on your strategy and stick to it.

3. A process for developing leadersThis is at the very core of what is needed to build a strong and vibrant church. There are several previous Pastor's Coach articles pertaining to developing leaders, but for now, let me simply encourage you to make this a priority. Dedicate regular time each month to invest in your leaders and set aside regular time each month to gather and invest into potential leaders. The future of your church and your personal ministry longevity depends on it. There is plenty of material available on leadership. You don't need to write your own. Find some you like and keep learning.

4. Healthy and productive relationshipsEven natural leaders can get stopped dead in the water if they have poor relational skills. But the issue of a leader's relationships goes much deeper than just learning how to get along with others. It involves core character issues such as honesty, trust, and integrity. We must all know our basic "Dale Carnegie", but Carnegie without character rings hollow and misses the mark. (By the way, Carnegie was a man of great personal character.)

5. Continued personal growth as a leaderIt is not enough to have a college degree from and have read a few leadership books. You must be a student of leadership your entire life. God has blessed me with the privilege of church leadership for twenty-five years and I have received training from some of the best in the world. Yet there isn't a week that goes by that I don't realize my need to continue growing as a leader. How about you? What are you doing to invest in yourself as a leader? What are you applying that is fresh and new for you in your practice of leadership?

"This article is used by permission from Dr. Dan Reiland's free monthly e-newsletter 'The Pastor's Coach' available at www.INJOY.com ."

Are You a Good Steward of Your Time

Dr. Thom Rainer says, "I find myself returning to 1 Corinthians 12-14 again and again in my ministry. These and the spiritual gifts passages in Ephesians 4:11-13 and Romans 12:6-8 are critical in our understanding of the proper stewardship of time."

Of all the contributions C. Peter Wagner made in the past, a major one was his discussion of the relationship between church growth and spiritual-gifts discovery.

Concerning time management and spiritual gifts, Wagner says, "While the church is subject to many principles of human organizational management, it is much more than a mere human organization. It is the Body of Christ. It is an organism with Jesus Christ as the Head and every member functioning with one or more spiritual gifts." Read the rest of the article.

___________

"If our chief end is to glorify God, then we can find purpose and meaning in a life that society deems a mere existence. God can be glorified even through our suffering." - Lindsey O'Connor, who in 2002 awoke from a coma after two months on life support.

"This life, therefore, is not godliness but the process of becoming godly, not health but getting well, not being but becoming, not rest but exercise. We are not now what we shall be, but we are on the way. The process is not yet finished, but it is actively going on. This is not the goal, but it is the right road. At present, everything does not gleam and sparkle, but everything is being cleansed." - Martin Luther

How to Present Your Body as a Living Sacrifice

Presenting your body to God can be the most freeing, gratifying, and joyful feeling in the world. With the Holy Spirit's help, you can change harmful habits and yield all of your life, not just part of it, to the Master. Let me explain in practical terms how to present your body as a living sacrifice and let Christ master your total personality. Read more here.

Mid-flight Refueling of Your Life

During the Cold War, the Strategic Air Command operated 24 hours a day as a shield of protection for our nation. This meant that at any point in a given day there were fully combat-configured bombers flying to assure the safety of our nation. Since these planes flew constantly, how did they keep them full of gas? They did what’s called mid-flight refueling. A re-fueling plane actually flew up next to the Strategic Air Command plane, docked in, and filled the plane with gas.

As a pastor, you need to learn how to refuel your life in mid-flight. You can’t just hop off to Tahiti every time you get tired and discouraged. You have to keep going. You have to learn how to recharge yourself in the middle of your hectic lifestyle. Follow this link for the rest of the article.

Pastors Gagged and Silenced!

The fact is, since a law was pushed through in 1954, the IRS has had the authority to censor our churches and our pastors! This gag order has caused many pastors to shrink from sharing a biblical viewpoint on political issues.

It's time to lift the gag order!

+ + Next 14 days are crucial

The next few weeks are crucial. The Center for Reclaiming America has been leading this fight. Dr. D. James Kennedy was among the first national leaders to draw attention to this issue. Dr. Gary Cass, Executive Director for the Center for Reclaiming America has already presented petitions to Congress and just published a book called "Gag Order" which strongly makes the case.

But the only way this issue will move forward is for grass roots citizens to demand that our leaders lift the gag order!

That is why we want to rally 100,000 citizens right away. Follow this link.

Please help. Forward this message to your friends and send a copy to your pastor.

Help restore free speech to our churches and synagogues.

Administrative Professional's Week is April 25-29

Show your assistant that you are grateful for all their hard work throughout the year by send flowers fresh from the grower.

Send 18 Long Stemmed Red Roses for the amazing low price of @29.95, and we will include a free glass vase. These striking Long Stem Premium Roses will take their breath away.

UPGRADE TO 24 LONG STEMMED RED ROSES FOR ONLY $10 MORE! Take advantage of our current special and receive FREE STANDARD SHIPPING on our 24 Grower Fresh Red Roses if delivered on or before April 29, 2005.

All Love Those Flowers bouquets are shipped direct from our growers by overnight courier for the ultimate freshness and longevity. Our growers have over 30 years experience in providing quality cut flowers direct from the greenhouse.

Visit www.lovethoseflowers.com

Adrian Rogers - When Stress Snaps the String

Warning: The snapping you hear could be the sound of stress pulling your family apart! Too much stress is dangerous to our happiness, our health, and our homes. I want to give you four instructions taken from Proverbs 15:13-22 to help relieve stress in your home.

Learn to Laugh
"A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken" (Proverbs 15:13).

Cultivate Contentment
"Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith. Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith" (Proverbs 15:16-17).

Alleviate Anger
"A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife" (Proverbs 15:18).

Walk in Wisdom
"Folly is joy to him that is destitute of wisdom: but a man of understanding walketh uprightly. Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established" (Proverbs 15:21-22).

Read the full article here.

Pastor and Parent - Four Ways to Win

Attempting to balance your role as a parent with your role as a pastor is one of the most difficult tasks you face. How do you balance these roles and truly be a biblical leader for your family?

Here are some solid principles that have guided many pastors who also have the privilege of being parents:

1. Love your children more than your church.
2. Let your daily parenting speak louder than your sermons.
3. Involve your children in your ministry and help them understand the family's responsibility.
4. When in doubt, refer to Principle #1.

Read "4 Ways to Win as Pastor and Parent."

What Are The Top 10 Issues Facing Today's Church?

What are the most pressing challenges impacting the local church? More than 1,300 ministry leaders from Europe, North America and elsewhere provided input into their most important issues.

Analysis of approximately 3,700 issues revealed 20 of the most frequently submitted challenges. The original survey participants then ranked from among those 20 the 10 most critical to them.

Download the free PDF Summary Report of the "Top 10 Issues Facing Today's Church. " Learn what ministry leaders indicate are the top issues their churches face. Plus, discover recommened resources to address these issues in your church. To view the Top 10 Issues and download a free report follow this link.

Let's Show Them God's Love

Our mission is not to prove everyone wrong, but to share the love of Christ with everyone we meet through the reality of our own relationship with God. We are on a mission -- not to shoot everybody down or to straighten everybody out -- but to simply love people and point them toward the truth. To read this testimony just follow this link.

Servanthood Evangelism Defined and Described

Servanthood evangelism is intentionally sharing Christ by modeling biblical servanthood. It is the simplest, most transferable, and yes, most fun approach for moving believers closer to a biblical lifestyle marked by consistent witnessing.

Servanthood evangelism is a combination of simple acts of kindness and intentional personal evangelism. The concept is as old as the New Testament. Like so many profound truths, this one is so simple it is easily missed. Here's the concept: Get a group of believers, say for instance at a local church, and begin practicing simple acts of kindness with an intentional aim toward evangelism. In many cases, such acts of kindness open the door for the greatest act of kindness a Christian can give: the Gospel.

Read the complete Servanthood Evangelism article including ten ideas you can put into action to reach people for Christ.

Prayer and a Powerful Witness

Have you ever desperately wanted to share the life-changing message of the Gospel but were stricken with fear instead?

It is worth noting that the first-century Christians did not out-debate the pagans. They out-lived them. They sought to reach people one by one. They prayed and preached and proclaimed the message of Christ—on the Cross, risen from the dead and ready to change lives. They backed up their message with actions to match.

As we look at the problems in our culture today, we need to recognize that "the weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds" (2 Corinthians 10:4, NIV). We need to use the weapons God has given us, and one of them is prayer. Follow this link to read the complete article.

Megachurch Pastor Faces Megadespair

In January 2002, Walt Kallestad appeared to “have it all” as senior pastor of Community Church of Joy (CCOJ), one of the largest and most vibrant congregations in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. In his mid-50s, he was successful by most standards and could have “coasted” to retirement. He’d earned a doctorate in church growth from Fuller Theological Seminary, authored several well-received books, established a respected conference center, and was sought after as a guest preacher and seminar leader. Yet despite outward appearances of success, he knew something was terribly wrong with both his life and the congregation he served in Glendale, Arizona.

For more than 20 years, Kallestad had poured himself into building CCOJ from a struggling 200-member church into a megachurch of about 12,000. The church had acquired a prime 127-acre parcel of land within view of a new highway, and built modern and multifunctional facilities, including a large worship center, bell tower, conference center, school, and various offices. Big plans were in the works for additional buildings, all intended to meet the program needs of the church.

Then on January 7, 2002, Kallestad’s heart gave out. He suffered a massive heart attack and required six-way bypass surgery. Everyone was shocked at the news, because Kallestad was a tall and lanky man who exercised regularly. Now, three years later, Kallestad realizes that his heart attack was symbolic of what was happening at CCOJ. “I was burned out, overworked, overwhelmed, and near to death, but didn’t know it.” Read the complete article about this megachurch pastor.

Spring Into Action: Servant Outreach Ideas for Spring

Post-Easter is typically a time for church events designed to connect with your Easter guests. But while we normally think of events and ministries that draw people to the church building, this year consider ways your church can go out into the community to make an even more meaningful connection.

Follow this link for some ideas of ways to connect with what may be going on in the lives of people in your community this spring.

What Is The Spiritual State of the Union?

Among highly-developed countries, the United States stands apart as a nation whose citizens have a high degree of education and a high degree of religious commitment. Americans attend church more regularly and attest to the importance of their faith with greater fervor than nearly every other nation in the world. It’s appropriate, therefore, to examine the spiritual state of our union.

The Gallup Organization, in conjunction with a national team of religious advisors and under the sponsorship of the Program for Research on Religion and Urban Civil Society at the University of Pennsylvania, has produced a groundbreaking index on the breadth and depth of religious commitment in the United States. This Spiritual State of the Union Index has been in development for nearly 10 years, seeking to identify the most important indicators of spiritual health at the individual level. To read about the Gallup study just follow this link.

Liberty Counsel Sees Progress in Multiple Marriage Defense Cases

By Allie Martin, AgapePress
New York's highest court has declined to hear two appeals involving separate same-sex marriage cases. In Hernandez v. Robles, a Manhattan judge struck down the state's marriage laws; however, state marriage laws were upheld in the case of Samuels v. New York State Department of Health.

Following the conflicting rulings in the lower courts, both of the same-sex marriage-related cases were appealed directly to the Court of Appeals, the state's supreme judicial body. However, that high court declined to take jurisdiction over the two appeals and sent them back to the Appellate Division.

Liberty Counsel, a pro-family legal group, filed briefs in both cases in defense of marriage laws. Attorney Mat Staver, president of Liberty Counsel, says the Court of Appeals' decision not to hear the appeals was the correct one. "This means that we'll have another shot at the appellate court level," he says, "to make sure that the [marriage] laws in New York are preserved as the union of one man and one woman."

Next, Staver says, two appellate courts will be asked to affirm marriage laws already on the books in New York. The good news in the latest developments, he explains, is that "instead of fast-tracking the marriage cases to the state's highest court for a final decision, these cases will now go a slower track -- first through the appeals court, and then possibly, eventually, to the state's highest court."

In the meantime, the attorney adds, "New York's marriage laws continue to preserve marriage as the union of one man and one woman." He says Liberty Counsel's objective in asking the appellate courts to affirm New York's marriage laws in the disparate cases is to eliminate any conflict among the courts regarding the constitutionality of the state's marriage laws.

Staver contends that marriage, as a fundamental social policy, must be established by the people and not reengineered by the courts. Liberty Counsel will be filing briefs in support of New York's marriage laws in both of the lower appellate courts. The Hernandez ruling, which struck down New York's marriage laws, is stayed pending the appeal.

Meanwhile in Florida, same-sex marriage advocates have now dismissed seven of eight lawsuits filed in the state in challenge of its marriage laws. The dismissal of these cases follows on the heels of a federal court ruling in the case of Wilson v. Ake, in which Florida's marriage laws were upheld earlier this year.

Liberty Counsel filed motions to intervene in each of the eight cases to defend the marriage laws of Florida. Of these cases, Staver notes, "Although seven of the eight court challenges have been dismissed, Florida voters can only take comfort in protecting marriage through the passage of a state constitutional amendment."

A large coalition of Florida groups is promoting a citizen initiative to pass a state constitutional amendment. The proposed measure, planned for a statewide vote in 2006, states that, "inasmuch as marriage is the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife, no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized." The petition in support of the amendment is accessible at Liberty Counsel's website.

2005 - The State Of The Church - How Are We Doing?

In this week’s Barna Update they release the annual tracking data regarding the faith of Americans. Drawn from a new report by George Barna – The State of the Church: 2005 – the new research compares people’s religious beliefs and practices to levels measured through identical national surveys conducted by Barna since 1991. Measures studied range from church attendance and Bible reading to beliefs regarding the holiness of Christ and how many adults are born again. In general, the report shows there has been amazingly little change in most measures during the past 15 years. One dimension where change is noteworthy, though, is in the percentage of people reading the Bible. To find out more about the changes in America’s faith, check out this week’s Barna Update, now posted on our website. Click on the link below or go to the Barna Group home page at www.barna.org.

Church Public Relations - A Biblical Guide

Pastor Rick Warren has learned that the press and public don't always walk to our drummer, so we're bound to encounter one public relations challenge after another. At one point Rick decided to see what the Bible had to teach us about public relations.

He came up with a few observations that can be supported with the Bible:

1. Tell only the truth
2. Report God's power at work
3. Expect opposition
4. Make room for ceremony and display
5. Be alert to teachable publics
6. Appreciate non-Christian help
7. Consider silence
8. Question some questioners
9. Don't be too smooth
10. Watch for traps

Of course, Christian public relations is not a field apart from normal Christian living. In all of it, we're to present the gospel, love our enemies, walk in faith, edify the church and to pray without ceasing. And that's not "just PR." It's anointed PR. To read the complete article follow this link.

Free publicity waiting for you - Effective church press releases

Wouldn't you love to have free advertising for your next event that doesn't look like advertising? Well, that's what a well-written press release can provide. Of course, the key here is "well-written". Many people send out press releases only to have them discarded by the local media. This isn't because the editor didn't like the organization or didn't want to print the release. Rather it was because in order to fix the release enough for publication would just take too much time.

Editors actually like press releases. They have all this white space to fill each day or every week and they have just a few hours in which to fill it. Press releases provide them with valuable leads for in-house features as well as community-oriented stories providing basic information about local events.

Unfortunately, too many non-profit publicists write poor press releases. And this is sad, because a good basic press release is easy to write. In this article you will find some tips for writing an editor-friendly press release.

Press releases are an under-utilized method of presenting the life of your church fellowship to the local community.

Church Web Sites - What Makes Them Work?

A discussion on the Churchsite Chat Yahoo! Group was quite thought provoking. It started when a webmaster for a small church noted that not much traffic was going past his home page, and asked how to get people to go deeper. The resulting discussion tells me there are three basic things that we don't know regarding church websites:

1. How Christians (and people interested in Christianity) Use the Web.

2.What a Church Web Site Should Be.

3.How To Measure the Success of a Church site.

For some of the thought-provoking comments and snippets from the discussion follow this link.

It's All About Leadership

Dan Southerland says After seven years of teaching 200+ Transitions Conferences, I have found several definite patterns that are common in all settings:

1) I am long winded and always struggle to get the material covered.
2) People everywhere are hungry for change.
3) Most of the questions we get are about leadership.

Since I cannot seem to do much about changing #1, and I do not want to change #2--let me address #3!!! Read the complete article.

For more information about the Rethinking Leadership Conference or to register for this conference visit www.futurelead.com

Five Moral Fences: What one pastor does to protect himself from himself.

FACT: Some kids like to play "near the edge," and some kids don't. I always did! Whether the "edge" was rock jumping into a cool mountain lake or "bumper jumping" moving cars to slide along an icy winter street, the potential of peril invigorated me.

But "when I became a man, I put away childish things" (1 Cor. 13:11). I was a pastor and in seminary when the moral failures of the late '80's hit the news. In addition to the big names, I heard a shocking number of similar tragedies from my own circle of pastor/friends.

One Sunday night in 1987 I remember crying all the way to church. I was terrified. I asked over and over, "How does this happen? Could this happen to me? How can I protect myself, my family, and my ministry from the devastation a moral failure would cause? How can I keep myself pure when men better than me are falling like flies?"

Sexual temptation is

where we are held least

accountable and where

we can fall fastest.

Five Moral Fences -

1. I will not, under any circumstances, ride alone in a car with a female other than my wife or an immediate family member.

2. I do not counsel a woman in a closed room or more than once.

3. I do not stay alone in a hotel overnight.

4. I speak often and publicly of my affection for my wife, when she's present and when she's not.

5. Compliment the character or the conduct, not the coiffure or the clothing.

Follow this link to read James MacDonald's complete article.

Survey Shows Religious Polarization in U.S.

The nation appears to be split along religious lines -- even among faith traditions -- according to a recent poll sponsored by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

The polling data came from the Fourth National Survey of Religion and Politics, in November and December 2004 by the Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron.

"Both President Bush and Sen. Kerry benefited from strong support among key religious constituencies," said Dr. John Green, director of the Bliss Institute, in analyzing Election 2004. "Yet there was strong polarization not only between different religions as was common in the past, but also within the major religious traditions, a relatively new phenomenon."

In fact, the survey showed a stark ideological split between conservative and liberal Christians -- or traditionalist and modernist, as the Pew Forum called them. For example, while traditionalist evangelical Protestants were solidly for Bush by an 88 percent to12 percent margin, modernist evangelical Protestants went for Kerry, although by a narrower 52 percent to 48 percent gap. The same was true among Catholics: traditionalists went strongly for Bush (72%-28%), while modernist Catholics were solidly in Kerry's corner (69%-31%).

Not only was Bush support among these traditionalists extremely strong in 2004, but according to the study, more of them went to the polls in the most recent election. Seven percent more traditionalist evangelical Protestants voted in 2004 than in 2000, and traditionalist Catholic turnout was larger too -- 12 percent more in 2004.

(Source: Agapepress)

3 Basic Steps for Getting in Shape

John Powers says that one day it was like the Holy Spirit said to him, "John, your body is a temple ... not an amusement park." After repentance, he realized it was time to surrender his body as a place of worship.

"Do you not know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body." (1 Cor. 6:19-20, HCSB)

In context, Paul was talking about sexual purity to Corinthians who were offering two arguments to defend their sensuality.

"Everything is permissible for me" (6:12) This was a popular attitude in Corinth, based on an incorrect view of freedom in Christ. Jesus did not set any believer free to become enslaved in bondage of any type again.

"Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods" (6:13) They treated sex as an appetite to be satisfied and not as a gift to be treasured. In a word, their sensuality was to sex what gluttony was to eating. Both are wrong and both bring devastating consequences.

Read John's three steps for getting in shape.

Top Evangelistic Web Sites - Check Them Out!

Power to Change from Campus Crusade Canada is an excellent general-purpose evangelistic site, combining a clear explanation of the Gospel, questions and answers on particular problems, and testimony. It is available in a number of languages, and the team is looking for help to translate it into new languages. Consider linking to it, rather than attempting to write your own explanations of the Gospel.

CCC has partnered with other ministries and groups of churches to promote the site using secular advertising on buses (for a regional church-based campaign) and TV advertising. This approach is very successful.

Using the 'Bridge' approach

There are many good evangelistic pages using the 'Bridge' concept:
a. Sport, hobbies and special interestsSports have a worldwide following - there are even Chinese-language Manchester United sites! An evangelistic site can be built around a particular sport, team, event, or sports-people. The Goal and To the Next Level use testimony in a very effective way. Doug Reese, webmaster of To the Next Level, shares recent encouraging feedback.
Jason Stephens is built round an individual Christian sportsman. But there are few other such sport pages.

Hobby pages and affinity-group interests represent a major evangelistic opportunity.

The Ragamuffin Group believes that the Web is no longer just a Western toy. It has become a medium for outreach to unreached people around the world, including the 10-40 Window. There is a big need to create evangelistic sites to target these people in an effective and contextualized way, in both English and other languages. This is an opportunity for individual Christians and Christian organizations to reach people in our world though the Web and email contacts.

Please pray for The Ragamuffin Group that we can be effective in Web outreach.

View the Web Evangelism Guide which focuses on: news, ideas and strategies about online evangelism, other issues relating to effective evangelism, understanding the world and culture around us, promoting Christian web pages and webmaster tips

Christian Books Change Lives . . . Christian Music Restores The Soul

Quality Christian Products! Since 1949 the James Family has been involved in the printing, publishing and distribution of Christian materials and we are very pleased to carry on that tradition. By partnering with several Christian book distributors our web site brings you the broadest depth of product in the industry. Products from over 1000 vendors delivering more than 150,000 Christian titles are now available on one web site. The site is easy to navigate and search for the author or title you want. Enter the W. E. James Bookseller Christian Superstore.