First Church of Lake Wobegon

There's a little bit of Lake Wobegon in every church.

According to Garrison Keillor, Lake Wobegon is a place where:

• all the women are strong,
• all the men are good-looking, and
  
• all the children are above average.

And church people will tell you:

• Their pastor preaches better than average.
• Their teachers teach better than average.
• Their people love more than most.

What if we strove to become what we already imagine we are?

What if we strove to preach better, teach better, and love better?

Perhaps then we wouldn't have to say we're above average - it'd be obvious from our results!

Work on Strengths or Weaknesses?

I am a half-way decent musician, having played piano and bass for nearly twenty years. I also know a little about carpentry, from helping my grandpa roof houses for a few summers.

I am a better musician than I am a carpenter.

Now say I have a choice of two books to read. One is on music theory. The other is on carpentry. I have to read one or the other. Which do I choose?

Do I choose carpentry, because my carpentry skills are weaker?

Not if I want to become remarkable.

If all I do is work on my weaknesses, then eventually I will become average at everything.

But if I take time to hone my strengths, then my strengths will move from "half-way decent" to "pretty good" and then, perhaps, to "downright awesome".

If you're wondering what this has to do with disciplemaking, let me explain.

You, as a preacher or teacher, will choose which books you want to read this year, which conferences you want to attend, or which video curriculum to watch. If you're given a choice between communications skills and, say, end-time prophecy, which do you choose?

Put a TIGER in Your Classroom

Josh Hunt has an excellent method for doubling classes, which he teaches using the TIGER acronym:

Teach a halfway decent lesson each and every week; nothing less will do.

Invite every prospect to every fellowship every month.

Give Friday nights to Jesus.

Encourage members to ministry.

Reproduce new groups.

You can learn more by watching his videos or reading his book.

Lesson from a Ketchup Bottle

I'm a reader. If I don't have a book, I'll read whatever is handy.

I read a ketchup bottle once. It said:

To do a common thing uncommonly well brings success.
- Henry John Heinz

Teaching is one of those "common things".

Churches across the world meet every Sunday, and most of those churches have multiple teachers. There's a lot of teaching going on in this world, and most of it is common.

Note that "common" does not mean "bad". It just means "common," akin to "typical" or "average". Fortunately, we also get average results.

I am eager, however, for the next step -- better than common teaching that brings better than common results.

Teaching Ability Predicts Class Growth

Josh Hunt says, "The #1 predictor of the growth of any church is the preaching ability of the pastor. The #1 predictor of the growth of any class is the teaching ability of the teacher."

The better we teach, the more we reach.

I don't know about you, but I'm striving to preach better, to teach better.

Some say I'm already a good teacher, and I may be. Or, I may be just as good as most, which is another way of saying "average".

I know I can be better, which is why I'm reading Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath.

My goal: To be an awesome teacher with awesome reach.

Jesus was Famous!

2000 years ago, Jesus was an A-list celebrity. Time and again, the gospels mention his fame.

And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.
- Luke 4:14

His fame started in a region.

And the fame of him went out into every place of the country round about.
- Luke 4:37

Then it went through the whole country.

But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities.
- Luke 5:15

And it kept building as time went on.

What happened?

Has the church grown so accustomed to his blessings, his grace, his power, and his wonder that we've forgotten just how wonderful Jesus is?

Lord Jesus, let our hearts burn within us. May we never forget just how famous you are!

What is Remarkable?

Seth Godin defines remarkable better than anyone, including Webster... remarkable means people are going to make a remark.

Here's a snippet from his post How to be remarkable:

Remarkable doesn't mean remarkable to you. It means remarkable to me. Am I going to make a remark about it? If not, then you're average, and average is for losers.

This applies to churches, classes, preachers, teachers, and even members. Folks don't "go into the highways and byways and compel them" when their church, class, preacher, or teacher is average.

If people remark, then the church is remarkable. If not, it's average.

Somebody, somewhere may be thinking, "I need to tell my people to start remarking."

Wrong.

Understand that people naturally remark about the truly remarkable.

If Their House is on Fire

If we see our neighbor's house on fire, we:

• Call 911
• Knock on the door to alert them
• Knock on windows to alert them

And if we know they're home but not hearing us, we become more desperate in our actions:

• Call 911 again, with more urgency in our voice
• Break down a door
• Break through a window
• Use a bullhorn if we had one
  

If they answer the door, but don't believe us, we would:

• Plead
• Cry
• Drag them outside and show them the fire

We know this. We understand it. And we would do it.

Yet, most of our neighbors live in danger of hell fire every day.

And most Christians do nothing about it.

Why?

Extra credit: Read what God told Ezekiel about warning your neighbors. Ezekiel 33:7-9

In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day - ch 2

I just finished chapter two of Mark Batterson's In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day.

One chapter. Three fresh insights to God's nature.

Insight #1 - God is incomprehensibly smarter than I am.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. - Isaiah 55:9

Looking back, I think have taken this verse at its shallowest meaning - like the air is above the earth, God's thoughts are above mine. Batterson, however, takes the verse to its ultimate meaning -- as far as the farthest galaxy is from the earth, so are God's thoughts from mine.

But light from the furthest galaxy takes 12.3 billion years to get here.... And God says that is about the distance between his thoughts and our thoughts. [page 28]

Insight #2 - God is more excited about my destiny than I am.

God wants you to get where God wants you to go more than you want to get where God wants you to go. [page 30]

I don't know why, but I hadn't ever thought of that. I think I assumed God was too busy with other projects to worry much about mine, let alone be even more concerned than I am.

Why didn't I get this sooner? After all, he's even counted the hairs on my head, while I have hard enough time counting the ones that fall off in the shower [five just this morning].

Insight #3 - There are no "big" or "little" prayer requests.

To the infinite, all finites are equal. There is no big or small, easy or difficult, possible or impossible. When it comes to God, there are no degrees of difficulty. [page 33]

Wow! We keep thinking, "this is big" or "this is small", but to God, all prayer requests are the same. He can raise the dead just as easily as he can heal a headache.

Jesus asked if it was easier to say, "Thy sins be forgiven thee" or to say "Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk." The answer? To the infinite, omnipotent, omniscient God, the difference is too small to be measured.

In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day - ch 1

A week or so ago, I started reading Mark Batterson's new book In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day.

Before I dive into the book, let me start off by saying that I've had my fill of happy-go-lucky theology. I'm tired of the TV preachers that act as if the normal Christian life has no hardship whatsoever and that the presence of discomfort or hardship indicates a lack of faith. I'm also tired of some whining, complaining Christians who are convinced that God must not love them; otherwise they would not have the problems they have.

That said, I am looking forward to Batterson's book. It appears that Batterson is leaning opposite of popular teaching by pointing out that hardship or discomfort is sometimes inherent to a God-ordained opportunity. In fact, he states that "the right place often seems like the wrong place, and the right time often seems like the wrong time."

Batterson goes on to say that God's calling for us is "much higher than simply running away from what's wrong" that we are to "look for opportunities in our problems and obstacles". Batterson further states, "When we don't have the guts to step out in faith and chase lions, then God is robbed of the glory that rightfully belongs to Him."

It occurs to me that our scriptures may have more to say about slaying lions than it does slaying giants. David and Samson join Benaiah in the ranks of lion-killers. Daniel survived a den of lions. Satan is compared to a roaring lion. Yet, I think many Christians identify with the man in Proverbs who refused to leave the house because "there is a lion in the streets."

Has God indeed called us to a life of comfort and ease? Does God intend for Christians to be modern-day Noah's -- completely sheltered from the world's storms?

Or, has God called us to draw our weapons, confront the enemy, seize opportunities, and, as Paul told Timothy, "endure hardship as a good soldier."

Lyrics from an old Kirk Tally tune, Step Into the Water, come to mind:

It is time we the people
stand up for what is right.
It is time we squared our shoulders back,
raised our swords to fight.

In the chapters ahead, Mark Batterson promises to highlight seven skills that will assist in chasing lions:

• Defying odds
• Facing fears
• Reframing problems
• Embracing uncertainty
• Taking risks
• Seizing opportunities
• Looking foolish

I plan to post more thoughts from the book as I read through it. Until then, God Speed!