The following article I read this week from a blog I keep up with. It just so happens to be the main speaker for our Pulse Conference this upcoming year. Dr. Thom Rainer, a church consultant researched and found a few reasons why Sunday school classes and small groups should be on the same page as the Pastoral staff, here is what he found:

The Five Dangers of Unaligned Small Groups

The first time I encountered this issue was in a church consultation nearly twenty years ago. I asked the pastor to tell me what was being taught in the church’s small groups. He seemed to be nonplused in his response: “I have no idea.”  I was taken aback.

I tried a different approach. “Tell me,” I said, “how the church decides what will be taught in the small groups.” Again, I was unprepared for his response: “The church leaders have no input into what small groups teach,” he said. “We let every class decide on its own. We don’t want to be like dictators telling them what they have to do. They decide according to what’s best in their own eyes.”

So, I continued, “I guess you let anybody teach or preach anything from the pulpit on Sunday mornings?”

“Of course not,” he said with some indignation. “We are very strict about the Sunday morning preaching. If I’m not teaching, then we have someone who is closely aligned to where we are going and what we believe.”

He did not get my attempt to connect the approach of the small groups with that of the Sunday morning teaching and preaching. How can you be so concerned about one and so nonchalant about the other?

Over the years I have been surprised to find out how many church leaders have a laissez faire attitude about what is being taught in small groups and Sunday school classes. Allow me to share five dangers of this “anything goes” approach.

1. Because preaching is held to a higher standard, the perception becomes that the small group teaching is just not that important. The reality is that most small groups or Sunday school classes spend more time in their groups than the time they take to listen to a sermon.
2. The vision of the church could be distracted or derailed. When the preaching and small group teaching are not aligned, the small groups can become alternative little churches with their own vision and priorities. Unfortunately, I have seen this reality a number of times.
3. It opens the door for heretical teaching. I know of one church that gave no thought to the content of the teaching in the small groups. They would soon discover that one group was studying a book that denied the deity of Christ.
4. It takes away from the unity of the church. The preaching is headed in one direction. The small group teaching is headed in another direction, or multiple directions. There is no unity in what the church is learning or how the members are growing spiritually.
5. It does not allow for strategic teaching. Indeed, the contrary may be true. The teaching in the small groups can negate the strategic intent of the preaching plan of the pastor.

Leaders in churches need not be autocratic in their desire to get small group teaching aligned with the ministry of the church. It can and should be a mutually agreed upon goal to move people toward greater maturity in Christ with clear and known material.

Indeed many churches are now moving to a uniform curriculum across all ages in all small groups and Sunday school classes. I see this development as a healthy trend. The leaders are making a statement that what is taught in every group is vitally important for the spiritual health of the members and for the church as a whole.

I found this article to be extremely relevant to our church and to what we are trying to accomplish here at Faith. I hope you do too. 

http://thomrainer.com/2013/06/24/five-dangers-of-unaligned-small-groups/ 

Fathers, as designed by the Heavenly Father

Have you ever noticed on the back of certain products, they label proudly where they were designed. Did you catch that? Not where the product was manufactured but in whose mind it was conceived. Pretty interesting concept as we near a Father’s Day holiday here in America. 

You see the pattern in Genesis, (the book of beginnings), God created things in order, with a sense of order, not in a haphazard manner. After God created the Earth and everything in it, then created man and woman, who with their offspring became the first family. He gave us, in this simple creative act, the ultimate illustration of how we can relate to an Almighty, Amazing, Holy God. The concept of a father was designed by God.

God showed us a father that had the responsibility to not only provide through the sweat of his brow, but also the direction of his worship, to lead them spiritually. God is not a god of chance, luck or circumstance, He is the God of Intentionality. He had a purpose when He created this father figure in a family setting. It is something that we can see, experience, and for the male portion of humanity, it is something we have the potential of being. 

This responsibility was not only shown by God but also lived out, fulfilled by the Heavenly Father, when He by the sending of His Son showed us how to live, love, and pass on to the next generation how to do the same. It ultimately cost God his only son to save us. John 3:16, “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (NLT) You can’t say that our Heavenly Father doesn’t know the cost of being a parent to His children.

As for us, the Bible is overflowing with people coming to know the Lord through the Holy Spirit, through the preaching and teaching of the Word, but it is also full of Deut. 6’s and Psalm 78‘s, where it talks about the faith of a father being passed down to his children. For example in Acts 16:33-34 where it says, “And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. 34 Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.” (ESV) Along with countless other examples.

Here at Faith, we want to strengthen fathers and their ability to lead in love, not oppressive force. We want to strengthen mothers and their ability to teach, lead and guide their children by loving their husbands and supporting them as spiritual leaders of the family. We want to show children how not just to obey their parents like a boss at work, but as people who have a vested interest in them, not just their career, but in their eternal welfare. We want to lift up the family structure here at Faith so those from broken homes or who have no family structure to model can see how to break the mold, get out of the cycle, and ultimately see the Heavenly Father for who He is, how He loves,  how He leads His children, and how He sets the example for His original design.

Does it matter how we run the race?

About October last year I had a chance to sign up to run a race for a good cause. There are a lot of races for a lot of good causes that I don't sign up for, but I was particularly motivated for this race which was supposed to take place in March; and as with most people I procrastinated the training portion of the actual race part until January. It was just a 10K right no big deal.
As I hit the gym in January I remembered why I wasn't a distance runner in high school. However, like most motivated people the process begins to change you. What started as a miserable sound at 4:30 telling me to get up and get to the gym, started to become a way of life. I started seeing results, I lost 30 lbs., I was lifting my body weight again in the gym and feeling better about myself.
The March race was quickly approaching and my stamina and endurance were increasing and I was starting to get a little nervous too. 3 Weeks prior to race day I grabbed a good friend who was a real runner, and I said, "Push me, don't let me quit." After 1 hour and 5.1 miles we wrapped up that day, and surprisingly I was still alive. I was tired, yes, and sore, yes, but alive. I continued training leading up to the event.

The Big Day

Here it was race day, and there was quite a crowd. People from everywhere, some I knew and some I didn't. Some I trained with and some who had obviously been training a long time for this. I was mentally prepared, physically could have been better but getting to the end wasn't my goal, fulfilling the  goals I had set before me were what was motivating me that day. As the crowds starting moving and we crossed that starting line, I knew I would finish, there was too much energy around me, too much fight within me to stop me at this point, as I surged past the walkers, and the talkers I attempted set the pace I planned and worked toward. Mile 1 check, things were going well, a little faster than I planned but that happens with the excitement and the crowds around you. Mile 2, check, brought about the pace that I had worked for. Mile 3 getting into a rhythm, controlling my breathing, and then bam something happened, something unexpected. Pain shooting through my right hip and down the side of right leg. I stopped and walked and started again and again and again. To no avail, I couldn't run it out. I had to walk the remaining 3.2 miles. 

So What!? 

After the Race I was so upset with myself, my body, and several other mistakes I made leading up to that day. However, person after person continued to say to me, "At least you finished". Those words were haunting me. Over and over they ran through me. As if all that I had done was for nothing just crossing the finish line was all that counted, not what happened from the beginning to the end. 


Sometimes, I see this thought process correlating across the board in our Christian walk and that's what prompted me to write this. At times Christianity is consumed and content with just getting across the finish line. The Bible says clearly after trusting in Jesus Christ as a personal savior you are "Signed, Sealed, and Delivered" (John 3:36; John 5:24; John 10:27-30; Rom. 8:35-39; Heb. 10:39; 1 Peter 1:5). Once you start the race, you will finish because it's not dependent upon you the blood, sweat and tears belong to Jesus for that....

But the Bible also tells us there is some importance in how we run. Hebrews 12:1b-2a "let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith"How we run makes a difference, with endurance, having trained and prepared everyday for the struggles in life which will make us pull up and walk. Always keeping an eye at the finish line where Jesus stands as the "founder and perfecter of our faith". 
 One of my favorite visual images in all of the Bible is one given in Revelation that tells us, when all is said and done all the crowns that we earned on this earth, not in order to get there but as a result of how we ran the race, are given so that we might fall at the feet of Jesus and turned them over to Him, who is worthy of all the honor, glory and praise. 

So, Does it matter how we run the race? If you know Jesus, you are already guaranteed a spot at the finish line, but part of how I run that race determines how honored and glorified HE will be at the end. Makes a difference how we approach each day if thats true. Consider this as you approach your race each day.


God Bless, 

Grant A. Murray
Pastor of Family Ministries
Faith Baptist Church
gmurray@faithnlr.org
faithnlr.org

How do we worship together as a family?

I recently read an interesting article on Some Practical Suggestions For Worshipping Together as a Family. There are some seemingly insurmountable obstacles when one says, “We are going to sit together as a family for church this week!” In her article Noel Piper says, “We discovered that the very earliest school for worship is in the home, when we help a baby be quiet for just a moment while we ask God’s blessing on our meal; when a toddler is sitting still to listen to a Bible story book; when a child is learning to pay attention to God’s Word and to pray during family devotional times.”

The author of the article suggests starting early, and instilling in your children at even the earliest of ages, that church is not boring, it is not where you go once a week to be entertained and it is certainly not an “escape route for easy childcare”.  It is our responsibility to promote these concepts early on as parents; to instill in our children early on in life a genuine love for God, His Word, His Son, and His will for our lives and not that of our own. 

The author also suggests some simple practical things we can all do:

1.) If you know what the scripture passage will be for the coming Sunday, read it together several times during the week. A little one’s face really lights up when he/she hears familiar words from the pulpit. 

2.) Have a worship folder for each service. It helps a child feel like a participant in the service. (Include paper and writing device)

3.) Make sure and take a restroom break prior to service (leaving the service is distracting and discouraged). 

4.) Pray for the understanding of those around you, as you attempt to “train up a child”. 

One might ask the question, Why would we bring our children into the service? Here are two goals for training your children to worship together: 

1.) So that children learn early and as well as they can to worship God Heartily

2.) So that parents are able to worship.

Be sure and encourage good behavior at the completion of every service. Make sure that no good deed goes unnoticed. Conversely make sure to promptly address any and all behavioral issues. If possible discreetly during service, if not sometimes a trip to the restroom post service will suffice.  Prov. 13:24 “He who spares his rod hates his son,
But he who loves him disciplines him promptly.” (NKJV)

If we want our families to “Fear God and keep His Commandments” there is no better time to start than now. Begin praying about bringing your family together for worship and pray for the understanding of those around you as we try to worship with, One Heart, One Mind, and One Voice. 

God Bless, 

Grant A. Murray

Pastor of Family Ministries 

Excerpts taken from: Noel Piper, Equipping the Generations: Some Practical Suggestions for Worshipping Together as a Family. 

http://www.sbts.edu/family/blog/equipping-the-generations-some-practical-suggestions-for-worshipping-together-as-a-family/

Reconciliation, God's call on the christian lifestyle, this is evident from 2 Corinthians 5:17-21.
God is calling each and everyone to something. Do you believe that? It may or may not be ministry. It may or may not be missions. However, God wants to use you. Do you remember or have you seen the poster of Uncle Sam? You know the one where he is there pointing that finger at you and saying, "Uncle Sam wants you!" Can you imagine the Creator of the Universe, of all Heaven and Earth, saying that to you?
God wants you on His team. 2 Cor. 5:17 says, "¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." Have you seen the basketball team where the one teammate sits on the end of the bench, never gets in the game, never cheers on their team? You ask yourself why? They made the team, they endured the practice, they need to be happy, excited, prepared to get in the game.  Are you getting the picture? If you are "in" Christ, it's time to be happy, excited, and prepared to get in the game of life.