RIMFIRE'S ROOM

CBAmerica Summer Summit in Fort Collins, Colorado

2008-07-20T21:32:00.004-04:00

The CBAmerica Summer Summer Summit will be held at the First Baptist Church in Fort Collins, CO, from July 23 to 25. The Summer Summit will feature training in church assessment by Dr. Bill Hoyt, President of NexStep Coaching, and I will be attending with four others from our region. We look forward to this time of training, networking and building relationships. You can learn more about the Summer Summit at http://www.cbamerica.org/. Pray for God's blessing upon this time and that we would become better equipped to serve our churches.

~ Jim

The Family of God

2008-07-17T08:29:00.008-04:00

Last night I sat in the home of a couple in conflict with their church for several years. In this case, being in the family has proven difficult for both sides.

In The Peacemaking Pastor, Alfred observes that peacemaking is a challenge because the church experiences the same disunity and dysfunctions as our families. He also notes the following:

"Biblical peacemaking will only become firmly rooted in the church when we recover the meaning and practice of the church as the family of God" (Alfred Poirier, The Peacemaking Pastor, 91).

As I drove home last night and reflected upon this mediation effort still in its early stages, I could not help but think of what the metaphor of church as family brings to peacemaking efforts.

When I experience conflict with another member of my family, we have no other choice than to work it out. There is no running from the problem.

Alfred also explores the various family metaphors related to the church and what happens when we view church in this manner. When we see the church as a family, the people are no longer merely members, but brothers and sisters in the truest sense of the word. Therefore, we treat them differently.

As a result, Alfred notes: "we can begin to seek genuine peace when we learn to regard our people as our brothers and sisters in the Lord." (Pg. 105)

I pray that God will give birth to a deeper sense of community among and within our churches where a true sense of family is developed and peacemaking becomes a way of life.

What a powerful apologetic!

~ Jim

Ministry of Reconciliation

2008-07-14T09:48:00.005-04:00

While reading The Peacemaking Pastor this weekend, I was struck by one paragraph. Here is the quote:

"A ministry of reconciliation is not an appendage to real ministry. Peacemaking is not one skill among many that pastors keep in their ministry toolbox. Peacemaking is the embodiment fo pastoral ministry even as Christ is the embodiment (incarnation) of the God of peace. By word and by deed, every moment of a pastor's life is a moment wherein we call others to be reconciled to God. And every word we preach or counsel ought to be the Word (John 1:1) that is full of grace and truth - the Word of peace" (Alfred Poirier, The Peacemaking Pastor, 87).

To this I say a hearty amen! However, I also realize how difficult it is to pursue a ministry of reconciliation. When everyone desires the glory of God, then this has potential.

But, we all know that the glory of God is often far from our hearts, and it is the last thing we think about in our relational struggles.

Therefore, I believe a ministry of reconciliation includes modeling peacemaking in our personal lives. And, we must be willing to persevere at all costs. Only then will our congregations and the world be convinced that we truly desire a culture of peace be a reality in our churches, marriages and families.

~ Jim

Turnaround Information

2008-07-11T11:53:00.009-04:00

Pastor Joel MacDonald at Southwood Baptist Church (http://www.southwoodministries.org/) shares the following information regarding Turnaround Churches. They are currently working on assimilation and use a Swat Team approach.

Here are his links:

"Here is the link to the swat materials: http://webmail.macba.org/hwebmail/services/go.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.southwoodministries.org%2Fswat

I also have a number of Google Notebook resources that you can check out."

Have a great weekend.

~ Jim

Turnaround Resources

2008-07-11T10:00:00.004-04:00

I met with a pastor yesterday who passionately desires to see his church turnaround. We talked about how to do that, and about churches that have been successful in turning around. We agreed that Mission Mid-Atlantic exists to help churches move from merely existing to passionately winning others to Christ and making disciples.

In future blogs, I want to share some exciting news about what churches are doing to turn around. If you have stories of what has worked at your church, please send them to me at rimfire1@verizon.net. Please also pass along anything you might be aware of that other churches are doing related to turnaround churches, and I will incude that information in future blogs.

Let's pray together that God will do a great work in our region as we see new churches planted and turnaround churches that have a renewed passion to make disciples.

A resource that has been recommended to me is Christianity Explored. Their website is http://www.christianityexplored.org/. We hope to use this resource in our community to introduce the Gospel to our neighbors.

~ Jim

Latest Dead Sea Scroll Controversy

2008-07-09T15:52:00.002-04:00

There is a new controversy developing over a recently discovered Dead Sea Scroll on stone that contains a vision of the apocalypse by Gabriel. According to the "experts", this scroll was written prior to the time of Jesus, and therefore casts doubt about Jesus as the Messiah. You can follow some very interesting discussions related to this controversy at the Prime Time Jesus blog (http://www.primetimejesus.com/). Let me know what you think.

~ Jim

The Heart of Conflict

2008-07-09T08:43:00.005-04:00

I continue to read The Peacemaking Pastor by Alfred Proirier. I believe the third chapter, The Heart of Conflict, is worth the price of the book. Here's why.

Alfred seeks to get to the heart of conflict in this chapter, and to know what rules people's hearts. To get at this is key to understanding conflict. In the process of doing so, he provides an excellent exegesis of James 4. James begins this chapter with the words, "What causes fights and quarrels among you?" James is also getting to the heart of conflict.

I encourage you to reach James 4 and ask the following questions:

1. How do our desires cause conflict?

2. How do our demanding desires cause conflict?

3. How do our judging desires cause conflict?

4. How do our distorted desires cause conflict?

5. How do our seemingly good desires cause conflict?

6. How do our idolatrous desires cause conflict?

In The Peacemaking Pastor, we find these questions explored in depth. Following this, there is encouragement to find the answers in the Gospel.

Needless to say, this chapter was very convicting.

~ Jim

Sunday at Calvary

2008-07-07T07:23:00.014-04:00

This past Sunday we had the privilege to share the Word and also the work of Mission Mid-Atlantic with the congregation at Calvary Baptist Church in Reading, PA., while Pastor Russ Weidel was away on vacation with his family. During our visit we met briefly with Dr. Sam and Louise Scales. They have been involved in the leadership of the Conservative Baptist family for a long time.

One of the recent developments at Calvary Baptist is the Calvary Community Center. Through the center, the congregation is able to offer a variety of services to meet the needs of the surrounding community. The Center Director is John Schlegel, former missionary to Spain.

33rd Anniversary!

2008-07-05T08:25:00.005-04:00

Lou Ann and I celebrate our 33rd Anniversary today! We were married on 7/5/75. That makes it really easy to remember! We head to Lancaster Co. today to visit some of our favorite places, then have dinner with some family members at Shady Maple Smorgasbord. We will visit Calvary Baptist Church in Reading tomorrow where I will preach both services while Pastor Russ Weidel is away on vacation.

Mid-Week Prayer: Ephesians 4.11-13

2008-07-02T08:53:00.005-04:00

I find myself led to pray today for our pastors and churches according to Ephesians 4.11-13:

"And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ."

Heavenly Father, I pray today for all our pastors and their wives and families. I ask that you will continue to encourage them and guard their ministries, marriages and families. I pray this as well for all who serve as pastoral staff.

May You enrich their ministries so that they will be freed up to equip the saints for the work of ministry. May our churches be filled with members who desire to serve willingly and freely.

May the members of all our churches be edified and built up through the excellent teaching and preaching of the Word of God, so that unity is manifest in our churches which allows the work of the Gospel to go forth in spirit and truth.

May our churches be filled with men and women who are growing in their knowledge of the Son of God so that they become more like Christ in every way.

And finally, may spiritual maturity be the ultimate goal in our churches and may the measure of maturity be Christ Himself.

~ Jim

Post Christian Church Planting Presentation

2008-07-01T15:49:00.003-04:00

I came across this brief church planting video presentation and thought I would share it with you. As I watched it, I was reminded of how hard it is to communicate how far behind the church is in reaching others for Christ.

Drew Goodmanson (www.churchplantingresources.com) has captured the essence of why the US is a mission field and also why planting new churches is so important. Check it out.

http://www.goodmanson.com/wp-content/Post-Christian-ChurchPlanting.html

~ Jim

The Peacemaking Pastor

2008-06-30T10:14:00.004-04:00

I began to read a new book this past weekend. It is The Peacemaking Pastor, by Alfred Poirier. Alfred is the Chairman of the Board for Peacemaker Ministries as well as the Senior Pastor of the Rocky Mountain Community Church in Billings, Montana.

In his Introduction, Alfred provides an excellent overview of conflict. He cites a study which revealed that 75% of congregations reported some type of conflict in the last five years. Another study identifies conflict and the stress it causes as the leading cause for pastors leaving local church ministry. In addition, pastors listed conflict management as the most needed training they lacked in their seminary or Bible College studies.

The first chapter of this book is aptly titled "Hope for a Heretic." Alfred calls himself a closet heretic and he confesses that he is guilty of Docetism. Docetism is the belief that Christ did not live in the flesh, or that He only appeared to be, or seemed to be, fully man. Please note that his heresy, as he calls it, is not theological but practical.

Alfred observes that we often confess that Christ came as a man and was fully human. He writes: "Consequently, when conflicts arise, we act as if Christ's person and work have little relevancy or hope to offer. We act as if Christ cannot relate or, perhaps, that our parishoners cannot relate to Christ" (Pg. 19 - 20).

In a similar manner, when we begin to feel the heat of conflict, we get caught up in the details and often act as described in this book. We forget that Jesus experienced the heat of conflict, knew its devastating power and can guide us through the steps of reconciliation. Thus, I believe we too act like closet heretics.

I still have much to read and process in this excellent resource, but I highly recommend it and believe it will be helpful to those who truly desire to shepherd people who experience conflict on a daily basis. It is helpful to be reminded that the faith we believe and affirm has relevance to the issues of life. And I appreciate leaders like Alfred who are not afraid to admit their struggles so that others can learn from them.

~ Jim

The Value of Assessment

2008-06-28T09:49:00.008-04:00

One of our churches just completed the Natural Church Development (NCD) Survey. Our office scored the results and the report has been returned to the church. I pray that the report will serve as a catalyst for change and increased effectiveness in ministry, and I look forward to coaching the church through the process of addressing their minimum factor. The NCD Survey provides valuable insights into ways churches can improve their quality of ministry.

The NCD Survey is one tool Mission Mid-Atlantic offers as a means of church assessment. In addition, we are sending five men from our region to Colorado in late July to be trained in church assessment. CBAmerica has secured the services of Bill Hoyt, a church consultant, to train CB leaders from throughout the US in this area.

Feel free to contact our office if you would like to learn more about the NCD Survey or other ways to assess your church's effectiveness.

~ Jim

Iowa Flooding Update

2008-06-25T11:06:00.003-04:00

We continue to follow the news regarding the devastating floods in the Mid-West.

We have many CB churches in that region, and Don Shaw, North Central CBA Executive Director, provides this update:

All of you are aware of the recent flooding that has occurred in Iowa. Cedar Rapids was one of the areas that has been devastated by flooding. We have four churches in the Cedar Rapids area. None of the church buildings were affected by the flooding, however, at least sixteen families in these churches cannot say the same. At this time there are two families that have lost everything, including their homes. As a family of churches we would like to be able to at least help these families financially. If you are led to do this, please send the funds to the Regional office with the memo marked "Flood Relief." Checks should be made out to NCCBA and mailed to: PO Box 568, Whitehall WI 54773.

An additional link for further information is included on the CBAmerica website: http://www.cbamerica.org/.

Releasing Your Church

2008-06-25T10:46:00.005-04:00

Last week I blogged some initial thoughts taken from a presentation I shared with the leadership of a local church. These church leaders desire to see their smaller church grow, and they requested that I visit with them and share some thoughts on this topic.

I began with a quote from John Kaiser. John makes the following observation in his book, Winning On Purpose.

"According to Lyle Shaller, in the United States there are over 300,000 Protestant congregations, all of them presumably going through the motions of "having church" in one form or another. How many of them are winning the hearts and minds of people in their communities for Jesus Christ? How many of them are even keeping score? How many of them are just enjoying their little volley as an end in itself?" (Abingdon Press, Nashville), 25

I think this struck a chord with these leaders. The reality is that many of our churches are doing just that....enjoying the little volley without really keeping score of how well we are doing in the task of engaging in our mission for the Gospel.

We at Mission Mid-Atlantic are passionate about assisting our pastors and churches in the process of reaching our communities with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am available to share Releasing Your Church with your leaders. We also have other assessment tools to help your church improve its health and increase effectiveness. Let us know how we can help you.

~ Jim

Random Thoughts on the Church

2008-06-23T16:19:00.007-04:00

I just finished teaching a course in the Advance program at PBU on Saturdays. The final class deals with the church, and I always like to share a few thoughts about the character of the church during this session.

Millard Erickson, in Christian Theology (Pages 1067 - 1068), makes the following points about the church.

Erickson observes first that the church must be characterized by a willingness to serve. He observes the following in relation to Matthew 20:28. Jesus stated that his purpose was not to be served, but to serve. Erickson goes on to note: “In becoming incarnate he took upon himself the form of a servant (Phil 2.7). The church must display a similar willingness to serve. It has been placed in the world to serve its Lord and the world, not to be exalted and have its own needs and desires satisfied. Jesus did not associate with people for what they could in turn do for him. If he had, he never would have visited Zacchaeus….Jesus was not interested in exploiting people. ….be willing to go to the undesirables and helpless, to those who cannot give anything in return to the church. A true representative of the church will even be willing to give his or her life, if necessary, for the sake of its ministry.

Erickson also makes the following observation regarding adaptability: The church must also be versatile and flexible in adjusting its methods and procedures to the changing situations of the world in which it finds itself. It must go to where needy persons are to be found, even if that means a geographical or cultural change. It must not cling to all its old ways. As the world to which it is trying to minister changes, the church will have to adapt its ministry accordingly, but without altering its basic direction. If a church has a sense of mission like that if its Lord, it will find ways to reach people wherever they are.

My prayer for our churches is that there would be a willingness to serve and to learn to be versatile and flexible. In other words, that we would not cling to the old ways but constantly find new ways to reach people wherever they are.

~ Jim

Braydon's First Phillies Game!

2008-06-22T08:37:00.014-04:00

Braydon, our grandson, attended his first Phillies game last night with some of his family. Please allow a little grandfatherly indulgence as I share a few pictures. After arriving at Citizens Bank Park, he ate a little before the game began. Maybe he can have a hot dog next season!
Braydon hears the lineup announced. "What do you mean Chase Utley isn't playing tonight?"

It was a pitcher's duel in the early innings, so Braydon got bored and tried to get a wave going.

He couldn't get a wave going, so he grabbed his favorite beverage and settled in to watch the game.

It was a beautiful night for Braydon's first game. The Phillies lost, but he didn't mind. He sang most of the way home. Can't wait to take him again!

Peacemaking Church Resource Set

2008-06-20T12:43:00.006-04:00

Check out this valuable resource from Peacemaker Ministries as a way to create a culture of peace within your church. There are three component parts to this resource and each are explained in detail at this link via video and text.

http://www.peacemaker.net/site/c.aqKFLTOBIpH/b.2837365/k.65C1/The_Peacemaking_Church.htm

Building A Culture Of Peace

2008-06-20T12:00:00.005-04:00

Lou Ann and I had the privilege of hosting Rick Friesen last night in our home. Rick is the Director of Ministry Relations for Peacemaker Ministries and we talked about how their ministry might help Mission Mid-Atlantic build a culture of peace in the churches throughout our region. The process of creating this culture includes assisting conflicted churches, scheduling training for mediators as well as identifying people to lead peacemaking efforts in their local churches. We are glad that Peacemaker Ministries desires to assist churches in this manner, and we will keep you informed as this strategic relationship is developed. Visit http://www.peacemaker.net/ to learn more about Peacemaker Ministries.

"Releasing Your Church" Presentation

2008-06-18T09:44:00.003-04:00

Last night I visited with a pastor and church leaders who want to see their church grow. In my presentation, "Releasing Your Church", I addressed two critical issues for smaller churches that want to grow. I heard Bill Hoyt describe these issues while attending a RED's meeting several months ago.

According to Hoyt, a culture of empowerment, not control, must be established. In addition, a smaller church must become extremely outward, not inward, focused.

This church is already doing some great things through outreach events such as "Community Days." However, they like many churches have difficulty seeing those people actually attending their services and becoming assimilated into the life of the church.

One church leader asked about what kind of events they should have that would reflect an outward focused church. I admitted that this was a hard question for me to answer because I am not familiar with their local culture. Instead, I suggested that it was important to lead their congregation through a process of understanding the difference between inward and outward focus and why this shift is so important.

Do these issues resonate with you? I will write more about these issues in a future post. In the meantime, I welcome your thoughts and reflections.

By the way, two excellent books that address the issues mentioned above:

Winning on Purpose, by John Edmund Kaiser (Great resource about church governance)

Effectiveness By the Numbers, by William R. Hoyt (Valuable resource about how to measure results)

~ Jim

Baby Grand Piano Available

2008-06-17T09:52:00.004-04:00

I received this email today from Bill Ohnsorg, Director of Administration at Millingon Baptist Church. If interested in the piano, please contact him directly.

Bill writes:

We have a surplus piano at MBC that we would be happy to give away to anyone (or any church) that would like it. The only cost would be coming to pick it up.

Here is the ad I placed on Freecycle last week:

68" baby grand piano, Aeolian/Weber, medium mahogany case. Case needs some work, and sounding board may be cracked. Action seems good, and holds tune well. Has been in church, and tuned every year.

Thanks, and God bless,

Bill Ohnsorg
Director of Administration
Millington Baptist Church
908-647-0594, X12

Summary of Activity

2008-06-16T07:13:00.005-04:00

I visited our Western PA Pastor's Fellowship last Tuesday in Monroeville, PA. These pastors are planning a number of activities their churches can share together, including a marriage enrichment event sometime this fall or early winter. Dr. Fred McCloskey is the moderator of this area fellowship.

Following this meeting, I travelled to WV for a brief visit with my brothers to go through some more of our father's things. On my trip home Thursday, I stopped by Huntingtown, MD to visit Pastor Phil Van Wart. Phil gave me a tour of the facilities of Calvert Community Church, and we also had a good time of fellowship over lunch.

This Tuesday evening I will visit with the leadership of a local church to discuss how a smaller church can grow. I will post some ideas from that presentation later this week.

~ Jim

New Identity Work Continues

2008-06-09T09:21:00.007-04:00

As our churches move into the summer mode, with VBS and other special programs launched, we at Mission Mid-Atlantic continue to work on the infrastructure needed to support our churches as related to our new identity.

For example, later in July, several of us will travel to the CBAmerica Summer Summit in Fort Collins, CO, to receive Assessment Training. This training is being offered by CBAmerica to our REDS and other pastors who desire to offer assessments to churches in our regions. This training helps us in our region to fulfill one of the four action steps we outlined at our Annual Conference at Sandy Cove.

Here are the four action steps we outlined at Sandy Cove:

1. Develop new churches.
2. Cultivate church leaders.
3. Build healthy churches.
4. Assist pastors and churches in crisis.

We are excited that CBAmerica is offering this training so that we can be better equipped to meet with churches who desire an extensive assessment accompanied by suggestions and guidance to improve their quality of ministry.

I will continue to reflect on the steps we are taking as we move in this new direction and appreciate your thoughts and suggestions, so feel free to add comments to the blogs. I look forward to interacting with you.

By the way, you can visit the CBAmerica website at www.cbamerica.org to learn more about the Summer Summit and assessment training.

~ Jim

Surprise Silver Wedding Anniversary Celebration for Bill and Patty Holmes!

2008-06-06T16:34:00.003-04:00

Last night Lou Ann and I travelled to the Old Mill in Media, PA to attend a surprise anniversary celebration for Bill and Patty Holmes. Bill is our Urban/Ethnic Associate and he also pastors Maranatha Tabernacle in Darby, PA. The celebration was planned by their children and some of their family members even drove in from New York state to celebrate with them.

Peacemaker Ministries Trip Review

2008-06-03T08:42:00.009-04:00

I had a great time at the Peacemaker Ministries Focus Group last week. Three focus group panelists, including me, arrived a day early and several guys from the PM office who are great fly fishermen took time off from work to float down the Bighorn River with us. After a great day of fly fishing the Bighorn, we spent two days in the Focus Group. Peacemaker Ministries has a wonderful team that really desires to create resources to assist church leadership in the ministry of reconciliation. I left Montana with a deep sense of gratitude for their ministry and look forward to finding ways for Mission Mid-Atlantic to use their resources. By the way, here is a picture of the first of three fish I caught on the Bighorn!