By Barney Wells

After four decades of church leadership as a minister, elder, and lately as a church consultant, I have come to see the importance of a simple rule that is too often overlooked. But if it were followed, it would make life for elders, church staff, and congregations more harmonious. And very likely it would lead the watching world to take a higher view of the church.

By Ronald G. Davis

Because of varying details in the four Gospel accounts, scholars disagree over whether Judas was still present in the upper room when Jesus called for a new bread-and-cup occasion, a new Passover meaning. But we know Judas was there long enough to be given one last, gracious opportunity to repent (see John 13:18-30).

When Jesus said, “The one to whom I will give . . . ,” it was Judas’s fingers and thumb that grasped the sop, a grasping motion that characterized his lifestyle controlled by greed, not grace. Each who comes to this table with Jesus has the Judas choice: to repent and say, “Lord, I am deeply sorry for my sin,” or to say, “Excuse me, while I go out to sin some more!”

Judas cared so little for Jesus’ well being, he saw only money signs—“What is he worth?” Well, that is the question that is answered here at this table. “What is he worth?” Is he worthy of devotion? Worthy of obedience? Worthy of repentance? Will we sit quietly, repentantly, or are we in a hurry to “get out and get on with life”? Do we make the Judas choice? He repented . . . but too late. Jesus died because of Judas’s sin, and he died for Judas’s sin. Then, sadly, Judas died unnecessarily for his own sin, at his own hand.

Those are the choices: die for one’s own sin or allow Christ’s death to be a personal atonement for one’s sin.

Judas sits here at this table. And Satan stands ready to jump in as lord of the unrepentant life. Which Lord will you choose here as your own?

When Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me” (Mark 14:18), the only question I can ask, the only one you can ask: “Is it I?” For Judas the answer rang clearly, “Yes, it is!” What is Jesus’ answer to me? He is my Lord . . . or he is not. Here, I give my confession; here I give my answer.

_________________

Ron Davis, former professor of Christian education at Cincinnati Bible Seminary, resides in North College Hill, Ohio, and serves with Lifespring Christian Church.

QUESTION: Some members of our group want to keep meeting as usual through the summer, while others want to take a break. What do you think?

ANSWER: Most groups do one of two things over the summer, stop meeting until September or keep going even if attendance is inconsistent. But perhaps these aren’t the only options!

Before discussing various other possibilities, let’s look first at the pros and cons of meeting over the summer:

Pros

A great small group is like family. A family does not stop being a family over the summer. I won’t take the summer off from my wife or kids!

I also won’t take a break from my close friends over the summer months. Healthy small groups are friends who encourage, pray for, and build up one another year-round, not just September through May.

If your group takes a break, what will happen when someone deals with difficulties or times of suffering? We all need friends to be there for us no matter the time of year.

A person’s need for spiritual growth does not end when the weather gets warmer!

Summer may be the best time to reach out to neighbors and friends who do not know Christ.

Cons

Vacations.

Outdoor activities.

Kids are out of school, playing sports, going to camps, and much more.

There are lots of other things group members would like to be doing when it’s warm outside and the days are long.

As the leader of the group, perhaps you need a rest.

The question is really about values and philosophy of small group ministry. If you see small groups as a church program, then taking a break is no big deal. But if you see these groups as a vital way we carry out the New Testament values of living in community together—how we are the church, how we make and mature disciples—then the cons sound more like excuses. Or perhaps the cons are not so much excuses, but indicators of more serious issues to work through, such as idolatry or priorities and the need to share leadership.

I believe summer can actually be the best time for small groups! It’s a great time to be outside together, serve together, reach out together, play together, and learn new things together. What’s the key word here? That’s right . . . together!

Here are some ideas:

• Pull out your calendars now to plan when you will and won’t meet over the summer. Look at your regular meeting nights each week and cross out any dates that most of the people in the group will be out of town. Plan to meet the rest of the time.

• Meet on a different night from normal, or maybe Saturday mornings will work better during the summer.

• Commit to one another to be there whenever possible. Make this part of your covenant or small group agreement throughout the summer months.

• Lighten up the Bible study for the summer and use some devotional materials instead.

• Meet on the deck, back porch, at a park, at the community pool, or anywhere outside.

• Plan fun summertime activities together to which you can easily invite neighbors, especially those who don’t know Christ. Here are a few ideas (you can brainstorm some of your own with your group): backyard picnics; games of Pictionary using a white board; go to a baseball game or another sporting activity; go to open-air concerts in the park, or a July fireworks show, or to a beach or lake.

• Try a “dive-in” movie. Check to see if someone in your small group has a pool at their home or access to one in their community. Get a projector and set up a movie screen or a white sheet, and watch a fun, family-friendly movie.

• Do what it says! Study James 1:22-25 and then spend the rest of the summer doing more Bible dos rather than Bible studies.

• Study the “one-another” passages from the New Testament over the summer and do each of them in a creative way. A group I led did this one year. We rotated homes and whoever hosted planned the “one another” study and application. One week we served one another by washing each others’ cars. Another week we encouraged one another by doing a fun affirmation exercise. Another week we spoke to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs by having a creative worship time at a park. Every week we offered hospitality to one another without grumbling!

• Serve together. There are lots of great serving projects you can do, especially outside, over the summer. Hand out cold water or Popsicles at a park. Take stocked bird feeders to a convalescent home. Clean out gutters, mow lawns, or do other yard work for people struggling with physical or financial problems. Look around and be creative!

• Go fishing together . . . or biking, hiking, swimming, rock climbing, skydiving, whatever is outdoors and fun!

Michael Mack is the author of 14 small group books and discussion guides, including I’m a Leader . . . Now What? (Standard Publishing) and his latest book, Small Group Vital Signs: Seven Indicators of Health that Make Groups Flourish (Touch Publication). E-mail your questions to mike@smallgroupleadership.com.

________

In Our Own Backyards

One summer, our small group didn’t study the Bible. We didn’t pray or worship much together either. Instead, we had picnics, played Pictionary in the backyard, washed cars, played with kids, and threw some parties.

We began planning these summer activities in May. The idea was to invite neighbors to join us in our fun and get to know them better. We also did service projects around the neighborhood—nonthreatening activities, such as holding a free car wash on the cul-de-sac near our house and providing free babysitting for the young couples in our neighborhood so they could have a night out.

In the fall we got back to our usual small group schedule. We used a marriage study, since a number of our neighbors were young couples. We invited all our newfound friends to join us. Later that autumn, after they had a chance to see that the Bible is relevant to real life, we planned a study of the book of John.

By then our group had grown. And we prayed the kingdom would grow too, as these neighbors met Jesus—first through our lives, then through our actions, then through a study of a relevant topic like their marriages, and then through God’s Word.

Come to think of it, our group did pray that summer. We all committed to praying individually for each other and for the people in our neighborhood who didn’t know Jesus. We worshipped too, offering ourselves as living sacrifices to people so that they could see God through us (Romans 12:1).

Other Christians went on short-term missionary trips to places all over the world last summer. Our group took the gospel to people in our own backyard—literally.

—M.C.M.

In his excellent book Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics, Ross Douthat identifies five reasons for the decline of Christianity over the past half-century. Douthat, a respected writer for The New York Times, has done excellent research, and his insights have drawn significant praise from the cultural elite.

The book begins by tracing the roots of political polarization. In the 1960s there were as many Christian Democrats as Christian Republicans. He does not believe the Evangelical community’s drift to the right has served the church or the Republican Party well. We have reached an impasse in which bipartisan politics seems an ancient dream, never again to be realized.

His second explanation for the decline of Christianity has been the sexual revolution, taking in everything from birth control to premarital sex to the definition of marriage. He believes the church was not prepared for so much change so fast, and did a poor job adapting to this new age, and often reacted severely instead of thoughtfully.

The dawn of globalization has also increased Christianity’s decline. Lesslie Newbigin predicted this decades ago in his book The Gospel in a Pluralist Society. How do you stand firm in faith while working hand in hand with those who share some of your beliefs, but not all? We have had 50 years with plenty of debate and empty dialogue, but little shoulder-to-shoulder conversation. As the world gets smaller, we need to understand when boundaries must be established and when more porous borders can be embraced. Knowing the difference is never easy.

The fourth problem is America’s ever-growing wealth and its impact on Christianity. Douthat writes that 60 of the 250 largest churches in America preach a health and wealth gospel, in which God sounds more like your broker than your Savior. In every culture and every age, Christianity has declined during good times and thrived during lean times. The ancient Christian prayer is needed: “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

The fifth reason for the waning influence of Christianity is its decline among the cultural elite. With the sideshow that has become the health and wealth gospel, or Oprah Winfrey’s ubiquitous “God Within” movement, it is no wonder serious intellectuals have abandoned Christianity. Douthat does see signs of hope. Many new churches are celebrating the Lord’s Supper weekly and following the liturgical calendar. To use Robert Webber’s language, they are embracing an “ancient-future faith.”

Douthat’s words are a clarion call for the church. If we do not find a way to reverse course, the leaders of tomorrow will continue to find the church passé and our impact on culture will slide even further into the abyss. While there are hopeful signs, much work remains.

MAY POSTINGS

On June 18, Mike and Teresa Beauregard will begin their seventh year as homeparents at Shiloh Christian Children’s Ranch, Clarence, MO.

On June 22, Wayne and Peggy Ledbetter will begin their second year as homeparents at Shiloh Christian Children’s Ranch, Kahoka, MO.

Marge Craig will soon begin her 34th year as stewardship associate at Shiloh Christian Children’s Ranch, Shelbina, MO.

APRIL POSTINGS

On April 25, Jon and Joy Bethel began their second year as relief homeparents at Shiloh Christian Children’s Ranch in Kahoka, MO.

On April 16, Angie Hays began her fourth year as executive administration associate at Shiloh Christian Children’s Ranch in Shelbina, MO. On May 15, Tim Craig will begin his 14th year there.

Greencastle (IN) Christian Church committed $89,000 through Faith Promise to Adam and Jennifer Hayes as missionaries to South Africa. The Hayeses and their two children leave in July for Vaalwater (Limpopo), South Africa, to work with The Fold, a ministry caring for orphans and vulnerable children in the area. This is the fifth partnership GCC has with 14 of its “home-grown” church family members.

E-mail church news to christianstandard@standardpub.com.

MAY POSTINGS

Greencastle (IN) Christian Church committed $89,000 through Faith Promise to Adam and Jennifer Hayes as missionaries to South Africa. The Hayeses and their two children leave in July for Vaalwater (Limpopo), South Africa, to work with The Fold, a ministry caring for orphans and vulnerable children in the area. This is the fifth partnership GCC has with 14 of its “home-grown” church family members.

E-mail mission news to  christianstandard@standardpub.com.

By Mark A. Taylor 

Beginning this week, CHRISTIAN STANDARD is offering a new, free monthly radio program available to you via the web at BlogTalkRadio.com.

Log on and listen in to “Beyond the Standard” this Thursday, May 23, at 11 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time to see what I mean.

Listeners that day will hear and interact with three contributors to our website. (Each of them also wrote for the May issue of our monthly print magazine.)

George Ross, North Vernon, Indiana, talks about developing disciples, regardless of their past or the challenges of their current situation. He’s demonstrating a refreshing mixture of grace and truth as he discusses the relationship between sin and discipleship.

Tim Harlow, Orland Park, Illinois, has a new answer to “What Would Jesus Do?” It’s in the example of Dan Cathy, who reached out to gay activist Shane Windmeyer in the midst of the Chick-fil-A gay marriage flap. We’ll talk with Tim about how and why all of us might follow Cathy’s example.

Brian Mavis, Longmont, Colorado, proposes a new way to evaluate the ministries we lead. His question: are our activities, programs, and initiatives transactional or transformational? He offers a simple chart that can help every church leader move ministry to a new level. He wrote about this at our website. We’ll talk with him about it Thursday!

This hour-long program is just another way CHRISTIAN STANDARD hopes to help you. Every month we’ll go “beyond” what’s posted at our site or published in our magazine in our ongoing mission to serve the church and encourage church leaders. Added comments, unvarnished opinions, and the chance for you to ask your questions—that’s what we’ll offer in these monthly web-based dialogues.

Remember, the program is free, so encourage others to listen. You might decide to get together with other leaders and continue the discussion after our program is finished.

Follow this link, this Thursday, May 23, 11 a.m., Eastern Daylight Time.

We look forward to welcoming many of our readers to go “Beyond the Standard” with us.

Dan Cathy is the president of Chick-fil-A and has borne the brunt of a great deal of criticism in the gay marriage debate because of a statement he made affirming biblical marriage values. That is NOT why I think he represents “What Would Jesus Do?” I know Jesus would affirm his Father’s plan for human sexuality, but he would never stop there.

Shane Windmeyer (left), director of Campus Pride, which works to create a safer campus environment for LGBT students, accepted Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy’s invitation to be his guest at the Chick-fil-A Bowl on December 31, 2012. (Photo courtesy of Shane Windmeyer)

This Chick-fil-A debate was very unfortunate, in my opinion, because of the polarization it caused between the two sides. Cathy became the whipping boy for the gay lobby, representing all things evil about Christianity. I thought it had all gone away until I read a column written by the director of Campus Pride, the gay action group that had called for the boycott in the first place. Shane Windmeyer is a strong gay advocate and a practicing homosexual. Windmeyer’s article was titled “Dan and Me: My Coming Out as a Friend of Dan Cathy and Chick-fil-A.”

It included this picture of Windmeyer and Cathy at the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

Windmeyer said, “It was among the most unexpected moments of my life. . . . Like most LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender] people, I was provoked by Dan’s public opposition to marriage equality and his company’s problematic giving history. I had the background and history on him, so I thought, and had my own preconceived notions about who he was. I knew this character. No way did he know me. That was my view. But it was flawed.”

Windmeyer went on to tell how Cathy had reached out to him in the middle of the controversy, wanting nothing more than to understand and to be his friend. This led to meetings, again, not for debate but for understanding. Windmeyer wrote that we’ve all seen the failure to sit and listen to the other side in our own government, and both men decided they would do better.

Cathy never asked Campus Pride to stop protesting; he just listened and tried to grasp the impact on the safety of LGBT students.

Throughout the conversations Dan expressed a sincere interest in my life, wanting to get to know me on a personal level. He wanted to know about where I grew up, my faith, my family, even my husband, Tommy. In return, I learned about his wife and kids and gained an appreciation for his devout belief in Jesus Christ and his commitment to being “a follower of Christ” more than a “Christian.” Cathy expressed regret and genuine sadness when he heard of people being treated unkindly in the name of Chick-fil-A—but he offered no apologies for his genuine beliefs about marriage.

Cathy went on to invite Windmeyer to be his guest at the Chick-fil-A Bowl on New Year’s Eve and asked him to sit with his family at the event his chicken empire was sponsoring. Thankfully, Windmeyer said yes and they had a fantastic time getting to share in each other’s lives.

Ladies and Gentlemen: I give you a model of Jesus. This is it. I’m not saying that you should eat chicken or not eat chicken. I don’t know Dan Cathy; I wish he went to my church. I don’t know his theology; we might not agree on everything. But he is the best example of Jesus I’ve seen in a long time!

Jesus Christ was always the approachable, loving, noncombative, relationship builder with those who were living lives outside the boundaries of what God intended (which, of course, is all of us in some way). They always felt comfortable with Jesus, even though they knew where he stood. Jesus didn’t feel needed by the “healthy,” so he came for the “sick.”

This is a just a simple, modern-day example of Jesus purposefully traveling through Samaria and stopping at the well to talk to a woman with a storied past. It’s Jesus calling to a thief and traitor named Zacchaeus who is in a tree, asking him if he could come to his house to eat. This is where you always found Jesus—with those whom the “church” didn’t want to associate. And Jesus usually initiated it. WWJD?

I realize some readers will react the same way as my friend, who disagreed with me and Dan Cathy and believed we should be “OUTRAGED that anyone would dignify the gay debate and give this gay ‘cause’ any kind of legitimacy.”

I’ve been in that camp before. Not just about this issue, but many moral issues that plague our times. Hey, I once picketed an Alice Cooper concert with a merry band of Ozark Christian College students. As I stood with a group protesting this preacher’s son who should have known better than to cross-dress and sing about the devil, the people in line shouted back at us. There was a profound moment when I asked myself, How is this helping anyone?

Paul taught us we could have all the right answers, but they would do no good without love (1 Corinthians 13).

Former lesbian Rosemarie Butterfield wrote about her experience of coming to Christ, through the love of a pastor, his wife, and their church, in spite of the protests of other Christians. She said her conversion was a “train wreck,” but the “voice of God sang a love song in the rubble of my world.” Now she is married to a male pastor and helping spread the love of Jesus.

I don’t know if Shane Windmeyer will ever find Christ, but I know that if it happens, it will never be because someone “picketed” him, but maybe because Dan Cathy was like Jesus to him.

Jesus said, “Everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher” (Luke 6:40).

Dan Cathy = WWJD?

 

Tim Harlow serves as senior pastor at Parkview Christian Church in Orland Park, Illinois.

Shane Windmeyer’s column is available at www.huffingtonpost.com/shane-l-windmeyer/dan-cathy-chick-fil-a_b_2564379.html.

By Paul Boatman

George Ross is in his 13th year as senior pastor of Northside Christian Church in New Albany, Indiana. The church has grown from 1,200 to 5,000 during his ministry. His previous ministries have been directed to children, youth, small groups, music, and preaching. We spoke with him about reaching sinners, watching repentance, and creating a culture of redemption.