Maintaining Our Focus

Remember Dug, the talking dog from the movie “Up”? He had a device that allowed his master to hear and understand him. What we discover is that as much as Dug wants to focus intently on his master, he is constantly distracted by squirrels. Dug’s hilarious distraction has become part of our vernacular. We now call them “squirrel” moments.

Brothers and sisters, I think that we might be in potential squirrel moment. As much as we desire to stay focused on the Master, I fear our focus is being tempted to shift to other things, even important things. We are now approaching month seven of the COVID 19 pandemic. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined how life would be so radically altered and how we do church to pivot constantly. We are entering a presidential election cycle that once again is dividing our country into differing ideologies, and according to some, who I vote for makes some sort of statement as to my spiritual maturity. Our cities are literally blowing up with unrest and we wonder if it will ever “settle down” again. If there was ever a potential for distraction, this would be it.

Recently, I read Psalm 63 and I was struck with my desperate need to re-focus on the Master. “God, you are my God; I eagerly seek you. I thirst for you; my body faints for you in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water. So, I gaze on you in the sanctuary to see your strength and your glory.” (Ps. 63:1-2)

Do you see it? Our focus must always be on Him. Our desire must always be for Him. Our gaze must always be fixed on Him. Pastor, is this your truth today? Are you pursuing Him above all the other things that swirl around us? Are you preaching and teaching and sharing on your social media ways to help your people eagerly focus on the only One who satisfies? Are you reminding your people that in the midst of living in a dry, desolate land without water, the only hope we have is to maintain our gaze on the Source of living water? Pastor, if we are not focused on the Master, how will be able to lead our congregations to do the same? The tendency toward distraction is real and this distraction will not only affect us, but our congregations as well.

Verses 3-5 are most striking and convicting to me. “My lips will glorify you because your faithful love is better than life. So, I will bless you as long as I live; at your name, I will lift up my hands. You satisfy me as with rich food; my mouth will praise you with joyful lips.” Is He better than life? Do you really believe it? Do the people in your church really believe it?

Losing our focus on the Master will manifest itself in fear. It is only when we fix our gaze on Him that we will experience joy that transcends fear, and allows us, even in the midst of distraction to lift our hands in joyful praise. This is what pastoral leadership demands. This should be our focus in every conversation.

My prayer is that the churches of Converge MidAmerica will focus, in the midst of these difficult days, on earnestly seeking the Master. I pray that we would encourage each other to keep our eyes fixed on the Master. And finally, I pray that we would continue to press into a better together that shows everyone around us what it means to live in the joy of the Master!

We love you!

The Importance of a Regular Check-up

Every year my wife makes me go to the doctor for a check-up. It’s not my favorite thing, but I do it anyway, even though I feel fine. Why? I do it because I want to make sure that I’m ACTUALLY fine. No news is not necessarily good news, so doing preventative medicine helps me to deal with any issues that might come up before it gets too serious. The church is often referred to as the body of Christ because it is a living organism, and it too needs regular “check-ups” to make sure it is healthy.

For the month of June, we are encouraging all of our churches to do a “check-up” by doing the church health assessment Natural Church Development (NCD). Why do we think it is so important to take this assessment? Because we believe that healthy churches take an honest assessment of their current health, and diligently plan to improve. As a matter of fact, we think a check-up like NCD is so important, that we are offering a discount to our churches. Normally, an NCD costs $400. During the month of June we provide a NCD for $300. If you’ve never taken a NCD before, or can’t remember when you did, we will provide a NCD for $200.

So what’s stopping you from taking your church to the doctor for a check-up? No matter the diagnosis, we are here to walk you through you a treatment plan that will move your church to increased health for your good and for the glory of Christ and His kingdom.

Contact Kirsten at kirsten@convergemidamerica.org or 847-655-6841 to schedule your NCD.

Lessons We’re Learning During the Coronavirus Quarantine

It is surreal to think that we are approaching the end of the fifth week of the Covid-19 quarantine. In fact, some of us have been in this longer than that, and some a bit shorter. I think we can all agree that we want this to be over! I’ve heard this many times, “I just want to get back to normal!” I have certainly found myself resonating with that thought. However, what if God is challenging us to NOT get back to normal? What if He’s calling us to a “new normal?”

I am firmly convinced that God wants to use the Covid-19 pandemic to wake up His church to be His bride in ways we have not been as the church in America. Might this even be part of His answer to our prayers for revival and spiritual awakening that we have so longed for? I remember Pastor John Piper writing during his bout with cancer several years ago, telling us that he didn’t want to “waste his cancer.” He saw his cancer as a “gift” that God was giving him to reach new levels of devotion and commitment to Christ and the gospel message. Brothers and sisters, what if we each committed to saying, “I don’t want to waste the Covid-19 pandemic.” What lessons does God want to teach us as leaders and churches, so that we too will reach new levels of devotion and commitment to Christ and the gospel message? I for one, don’t want to ever go back to normal again! This week, I have attended several of the breakout calls, and I am hearing this same desire shared by so many of you. It has been such a blessing to hear your hearts, and to begin the process with you of discerning what God is saying.

Zoom Schedule

In light of that, we are shaking our Zoom schedule up again. I want to keep you on your toes! We will be returning to our full group Zoom meeting on Tuesday, April 21 at 2pm CST. Here is the link: https://zoom.us/j/613566293. We are also going to provide breakout rooms during that call as we did a few weeks ago. This will allow us to gather initially for some encouragement, and then break out to share together in smaller groups our responses to the following questions:

As a church:

• What were you doing before this all started that you can’t wait to get back to when this is all over?
• What were you doing before this all started that you can’t wait to NEVER get back to when this is all over?
• What are you doing currently that you want to make sure to continue doing when this is all over?
• What are you doing right now out of necessity, that you can’t wait to NEVER do again?

As a leader:

• What has God been teaching you during the Covid-19 quarantine that will forever change the way you lead?

 

I am trusting that God will use this time of sharing together in smaller groups to speak to us His answers to these questions. I also pray that we will find affirmation, confidence, and even be challenged by each other. In light of this format, we will NOT be offering the small group breakouts during the week as we have done up to this point. So please don’t miss out on this amazing opportunity to share together. As has been our pattern, we will keep the call to one hour in length.

“Dear Lord, we continue to pray that you would heal, restore and protect your people and your church during this pandemic. We also pray that you would speak to our hearts through your Holy Spirit, that You will encourage us to follow you with more passion and obedience. We ask that you would use us to lead your church more effectively for the sake of the name of Jesus. We pray this in His matchless name, Amen.”

As always, we love you, and stand ready to serve you in any way we can.

Top Ideas from Week Four of Coronavirus Quarantine

In just a few days, we will be celebrating our first “virtual” Easter Sunday in our churches. I’m pretty sure it is accurate to say that none of us have ever done this before.  It will no doubt be a day filled with mixed emotions. I like the quote my boss shared, “This is The Superbowl of Christianity”. It is the day we all come together to worship and celebrate the risen Savior! It is the Sunday that reminds us in an amazing way what our faith in Christ is all about. So, it will for sure be weird to not be together to shout in unison “He is Risen! He is risen indeed!”

I know you know this, but please don’t forget to remind yourself over and over that the tomb is still empty, and Christ’s church is still full, just in a scattered sort of way. Please know that you are being prayed for as you embark on Easter. We pray that through your message of the Resurrection, that many will not only tune in, but will accept the Gospel for the first time. Wouldn’t it all be worth it to see hundreds come to Christ because of your faithfulness to the Gospel message this Sunday? May it be so Lord!

Webinars and Zoom Calls

On Tuesday, we had another wonderful Zoom call with a presentation by Pastor Nate Wagner on the “Psychology of Crisis”. For many of us, it was like drinking out of a firehose of amazing information. My “ideas” for this week will be resources that came out of that talk, including a recording of the call and Nate’s slides.     

This next Tuesday, we will NOT be having our full group Zoom call. Instead, we are focusing heavily on the breakout calls throughout the week so that you might have an opportunity to debrief with one other about how your Easter Sunday went and help each other answer the question “Now what?”

I know that one of the breakout Zoom codes has not been working and I apologize for that. I trust that this week, they will all work as advertised. Please be encouraged to join any call. You might even choose to join more than one during the week to glean from others. 

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Resources from Tuesday’s Webinar

CMA Webinar “Psychology of Crisis” Zoom Call Recording

CMA Webinar Psychology of Crisis Webinar Slides by Nate Wagner 

Henry Cloud’s Webinar “The Psychology of Crisis”

Tim Keller’s Zoom Webinar

“Congregational Leadership In Anxious Times – Being Calm and Courageous No Matter What ” by Peter Steinke – This is a book I have recommended for quite a while. The principles in this book are very helpful, not only through this particular crisis, but during any difficult season in a church.

 

We love you all and stand ready to serve you during this time! 

Top Ideas from Week Three of Coronavirus Quarantine

It is surreal to think that we are finishing up week three of the Covid-19 quarantine. Nothing is normal for any of us. To be honest, I’m starting to forget what “normal” even looked like. Our work week has changed, our sleep patterns have changed. I even had someone share the loss of a commute to and from work each day. Here’s what I know hasn’t changed. We still serve the same God today as we did yesterday. We still have the greatest message to share that has ever existed on our planet. And we still know the end of the story! Please know that you are loved by the team at Converge MidAmerica and we are praying for you.

Weekly Webinar

On March 31, we had another wonderful Zoom call with 44 people who got some clarity around our online streaming presence. This week, our topic is “The Psychology of Crisis.” It has been eye opening to learn the real psychological effects this season is having not only on our church members, but on us as pastors as well. Pastor Nate Wagner, pastor of Sparta Baptist Church in Sparta, Michigan is our presenter. Not only is Nate a fabulous pastor, he is a licensed counselor, and I know you will be blessed by what he brings to us.

Click here to watch a recording of the “Psychology of Crisis” webinar.

Psychology of Crisis Webinar Presentation Slides by Nate Wagner

 

Once again, we are offering 6 different breakout opportunities throughout the week.

You can jump in on any of these Zoom calls for an opportunity to encourage each other, share ideas and most importantly, pray together. All times are central time zone. I know last week a couple of the numbers weren’t correct. I trust that this week we have resolved that issue. Sorry about that.

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This week, I thought we’d change it up a bit.

I have been hearing amazing ideas coming out of our office staff in relation to how churches can minister to and help families enjoy their kids during these days. Following is a “best of” list of those ideas. I trust you will be able to use them personally and share them with those in your circle. Special thanks to Kirsten Andreson, Eileen Herrera and Yahaira Landaverry for the ideas.

If your church has a RightNow Media account, share the login with your congregants. 

Encourage Christ-centered cartoons for downtime.  Encourage family devotional and worship time using included resources such as Theo and Seeds Worship (for elementary-aged kids). If your church does not have a RightNow Media account, the church can enroll in a free trial that is shareable with your congregants. 

Host a weekly storytime over Zoom.

You can very easily read a book that you have a copy of while sharing the digital download onscreen, providing a good quality story experience.  Check out The Good Book Company, as they have some Gospel-focused storybooks and are currently offering free digital downloads of the illustrations.  Also include a music video for worship (look up Yancy, she’s great for young kids!) and ask the kids for their prayer requests.

Host a watch party of the new Pilgrim’s Progress. 

This new animated version of the movie is free to watch online, just sign-in here to watch.  Take it a step further and challenge your youth to read through the book with you over the course of the next three weeks, hosting a weekly mid-day gathering to discuss, share what you are learning and pray.  There are a number of free modern-English Kindle versions of the classic by Paul Bunyan or you can recommend your students listen on Audible using their free 30-day trial.

Encourage the entire family to “attend service” by providing ways to engage the kids that may be accustomed to attending children’s church instead of the main service.

Parents may all too easily allow their kids to disengage and go play during service time.  Send out an email with a simple Bible-themed craft or activity for younger children to work on while their parents participate in your streamed Sunday service.  It need only be a simple attachment that parents can either print off or create on their own with supplies that many have on hand at home.  Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Plan unified Easter lessons for all age groups utilizing The Gospel Project curriculum.

It’s currently free when you start a free Ministry Grid account. There is age-specific content so the entire family can learn at their age/reading level.  They provide two weeks of Easter lessons, so it is perfect for use this weekend (Palm Sunday) and next (Easter)! Click here to sign-up.

There’s another really dynamic youth Easter curriculum available for free download from The Action Bible (just scroll to the very bottom of the page to download a Zip file). 

Create an online art gallery on your church Facebook page where families can share photos of their kids’ artwork created during this time at home.

Each week, you can post a “schedule of art themes” for them to follow along with. This will encourage a sense of community and allow kids to see photos of their friends that they are likely missing.

Utilizing their preferred social media platform, provide your youth with a challenge or talking point each day to keep them engaged and in fellowship.

Give them a question to ask of a specific person, to keep them engaged with their family and to ensure they have to come back to post their answer.  Maybe you can all start memorizing a passage of scripture together, each student assigned a verse to creatively record and post on their assigned day. Check out a posting site like FlipGrid which is great for elementary-age students. 

Host an online game night for your students.

It could be a virtual nerf gun fight, online games (ask them, they know which platforms to utilize), or turn them onto the simple joys of charades or Pictionary over Zoom!

Host or encourage a family worship night, a hymn-sing or a family dance party.

Provide the playlists by recommending music such as this kid’s playlist put together by The Gospel Coalition, available on Spotify. 

Start introducing a new online-based curriculum package.

Free trials are available for all age groups at Think Orange. 

Commence an evangelism and missions focus, instilling an understanding of the global Church and the reality that this pandemic is affecting each corner of the globe.

Teach your students about different cultures, contexts and ways to share the Gospel.  Create a daily prayer schedule for specific Converge missionaries, highlighting the countries, cultures and church partners they each serve. 

Here are some more great missions and evangelism resources by age group:

  • Elementary Aged Kids – Compassion International has a number of online devotionals, lessons and activities to help you learn about “the least of these.”  Maybe come together and sponsor a child during this unprecedented time. 
  • Youth/Students – Dare2Share has free resources for both the youth pastor and the teens, including free apps for both.

 

We love you all and stand ready to serve you during this time!