Tag: instagram

Five Ministry Ideas For Member Involvement

Five Ministry Ideas For Member Involvement

by preacherpollard ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Tuesday’s Column: Dale Mail

Dale Pollard

You must have a plan. If the leadership has no plan to grow, then the members don’t have a path to follow. According to one Gallup poll taken in 2020, 47% of adults are affiliated with a religious group of some kind in the U.S. Those numbers drop even lower after considering the amount of members that make up the Lord’s church. Of that remnant, the faithful are in the minority. Knowing that God is able to help His church grow is one thing, but creating an environment that encourages growth is another. According to Paul, the more streamlined and dynamic we can be in our service to Him, the more growth occurs. 

“…from the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual.” 

  • Ephesians 4.16

So let’s simplify it. 

A growing environment focuses on two areas: 

A. For Spiritual Growth…

  • Have an excellent customized Bible curriculum
  • Focus efforts on the worship service planning 
  • Emphasis on group focused programs (teens, young adult, & seniors) 

B. For Numerical Growth…

  • Plan to grow your staff (outreach minister, youth minister, co-minister/associate) 
  • Look for needs and create jobs/ministries to fulfill those needs by getting others involved. Churches are often stagnant because there aren’t enough outlets for all members to plug in. 

Five Job Ideas For Church Families 

  1. Social Tech Team: Perfect for a youth group looking to get involved in public communications. Facebook, Instagram, church websites, podcasts, YouTube channels, e-banners, PowerPoint slides, and numerous other lights to help your “city” (Mat. 5:14) become more visible. Online presence is crucial and a team of young people seem perfect for that job. 
  2. Scoop Squad: There are visitors who walk in the back door each Sunday and for some reason they aren’t all coming back. What if your congregation had a few folks who have taken it on themselves to seek them out in the crowd and invite them to lunch? To their home? A cup of coffee? These people are soul focused and they’re determined to keep visitors coming back to hear more about Jesus. 
  3. Conversion Crew: Appoint someone with a passion for soul winning to head up a group that’s passionate about training others in the art of conversion. The more capable teachers you have, the more likely your members will invite the lost.
  4. The Howdy Boys: There’s nothing better than a warm smile and a handshake to make your presence in the room feel appreciated. The Howdy Boys (or the Welcome Women?) excel in conversation. They’re extroverts who can make a visitor’s first experience a stress-free one. After all, they get more than a “howdy” from a stranger. They’ll get directions to the nearest child care room, bathroom, classroom, and coffee room. Side note, “Caffeinated Christianity” isn’t a bad Bible study group name. 
  5. Builder Brigade: The question, “where can I help?” isn’t bad unless there isn’t an answer because there aren’t any options. Having a person(s) to help others find where their talents can bring Him the most glory is invaluable. If one were to place membership and then their talents were quickly put to work, the chances that apathy set in go down. Remove that “checklist mentality” by removing the option to simply attend without any responsibility. A team designed to create jobs or help others find their job is an important job. 
“Killfies”

“Killfies”

by preacherpollard ♥ 2 Comments

Neal Pollard

What do high cliff ledges, train tracks, animal game parks, bridges and buildings have in common? They are apparently popular sites for people to take selfies, and places, among others, where over 200 people have died in the last 5 years in pursuit of that “perfect selfie.” The Economic Times of India, a country leading the world in deaths by selfies, reports that 86 people in 2016 and 73 people in 2017 died in this tragic, needless way. Since 2014, 128 have died in the course of taking selfies in this densely populated nation. But other countries are getting involved in trying to stem the tide of such tragedies. Irish doctors reported, “The consequences of poorer spatial awareness and a focus on getting a good or daring photo has lead to multiple traumas” (Indulekha Aravind, 2/18/18).  There are people in Russia that have become celebrities because of their daring self-centered photos (ibid.). Nowhere social media has gone is there an exemption from this trend, including here in our country.

Because I do not have a background in psychology, I freely admit I could be wrong about this. But, could these extraordinary lengths to capture oneself in these kinds of photos be an act of desperation for acceptance, friendship, or even love? Could the yearning for admiration, congratulations, and adulation drive people to disregard all restraint and precaution? I’m not sure I know the answer to that. 

I do know that, as Henry David Thoreau said in 1854, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation” (Walden, ch. 1, p. 8).  Perhaps these daring selfies are a symptom of that sensible observation. With selfies, we are able to project exactly the image or perception of ourselves that we want others to see of us. We don’t publish the unflattering nor do we want to show the boring. We want to be seen as valuable, relevant, and attractive. Why? Though we might lose our way in the process, human nature is to desire community and relationship (cf. Gen. 2:24). There are a great many destructive ways to do that, and being self-obsessed is certainly harmful.

It’s very interesting that God planned the church from eternity (Eph. 3:9-11) as a place and a way for us to focus on others. Paul wrote, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others” (Phil. 2:3-4). So much about being Jesus’ disciples gets us outside ourselves and into the lives of others—not just other Christians but people from every walk of life outside of Christ. He wants our energy, effort, and focus to be turned outward. It’s not so much about projection, but about service. Through that, God will be glorified and others can be satisfied. It seems that such is why God has us here!

 

 

male-tourist-taking-selfie-1503402700syg

My Social Media Pledge

My Social Media Pledge

by preacherpollard ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Neal Pollard

  • I will try to use social media to encourage and edify others (1 Thess. 5:11; 1 Cor. 14:26b).
  • I will avoid the shocking, inflammatory, and divisive tactics increasingly characteristic of S.M. (cf. 1 Cor. 1:10; Prov. 12:18; Prov. 15:2,4; etc.).
  • I will ask, “Would I say this in the way I am saying this?,” if face to face with this person or this group of people (Prov. 23:7).
  • I will not use Social Media to pick fights or put people on the defensive (cf. 2 Tim. 3:1ff).
  • I will not be Nellie Nitpicker and Contrary Charlie. About. Every. Single. Little. Thing.
  • I will respect that my connections have connections that are not Christians and I want to be sure to say what I say in accordance with Ephesians 4:15 and 2 Timothy 2:24-26.
  • I will sever connections with individuals who consistently display a lack of self-control with their words and attitudes. Souls are too precious.
  • I will abhor the thought of doing what would put Christ to an open shame (cf. Heb. 10:29).
  • I will double-check myself to avoid bragging and self-promotion (1 Cor. 13:4-5).
  • I will conquer the desire to have the last word, pile on, or fight fire with fire (Mat. 5:39-42).
  • I will not let the false teaching, bad attitude, or meanness of another be my rationale for behaving in a way that brings Christ shame or jeopardizes my own soul (cf. 1 Cor. 9:24-27).
  • I will always be trying to set the table for productive evangelism or retrieving the wayward (Jas. 5:19-20; Col. 4:6).
  • I will always try to portray the doctrinal, moral, and ethical values of my Lord, thus avoiding reflecting and glorifying whatever values conflict with His (Mat. 5:14-16).
  • I will try to promote, not pummel, the bride of Jesus, appreciate, not attack, the elders, and unite, not untie, wherever possible.
  • I will shun passive aggression in myself first, but also in others.
  • I will deal with dirty laundry in its appropriate way, which is not on Social Media.
  • I will actively try to show grace to everyone, including cantankerous curmudgeons.
  • I will, foremost, realize my own imperfections and try every day I use Social Media to do so in the way Jesus would, if He had Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, a blog, LinkedIn, etc. In a way, through you and me, He does. I will let that sink in!

20080704_p070408jbweb-0279-515h

Please Hang Up Your Smartphone

Please Hang Up Your Smartphone

by preacherpollard ♥ 3 Comments

Neal Pollard

Prefatory note: I am writing as a guilty party rather than an innocent bystander.  The following words are directed inwardly at least as much as outwardly.

It is getting hard to remember what we did before we got our smartphones.  How did we keep from answering everyone’s texts immediately or looking up the minutest factoids about athletes, actors, and ancient history before we let another moment pass? What did husbands and wives, other family, and friends do at dinner and other public and private places?  Why did we ever engage in face to face conversations with the person in front of us when we could have been blowing them off to inbox or text a person hundreds or thousands of miles away from us?  Wasn’t good manners and courtesy way overrated?

It seems like an epidemic, whether an etiquette virus or relationship dementia.  Too often, we have become so absorbed with posting, tweeting, Facebooking, and like communicating with our cellular device that we have slowly started disconnecting with the real world and the moment.  Last Sunday, sitting at the airport, I was amazed to see rows and rows of future passengers glued to their seats with eyes glued to their laptops and phones.  The airlines have even modified their policy in recent times to allow one to never have to cut off their “handheld devices” so long as they are in airplane mode.  I’m no expert, but I wonder for how many of us our tools of technology have become avenues of addiction?  I have given a little thought to this, and now offer some totally unsolicited advice:

  • Choose the person in the room who can see whether you are paying attention to them over the one elsewhere who won’t know you didn’t answer their message immediately.
  • If you choose face-to-face interaction, try putting your phone away and even out of convenient reach.
  • Try to be self-aware of how much time you are spending with and how often you gravitate toward your phone.
  • If it is an urgent or emergency situation, consider excusing yourself (if possible without divulging that you are tending to your phone) until after you’ve completed the text, call, or message.
  • As much as possible, stow the phone when it’s family time, date time, double-date time, or social or spiritual fellowship time.
  • Realize that any excuse given for why you are answering that text or message will almost always sound lame.  Don’t excuse rudeness.  Eliminate it.

We can really help each other break this habit, and we need to do so with love and patience while realizing most of us are guilty of these things at least sometimes.  Let us not let the virtual and technological worlds interfere with and even hamper our “realtime relationships.”  May we all practice “hanging up” our smartphones more often!