Monthly Archive for September, 2009

Listening to God for Our Next Steps

Published
by
Kerry Mackey
on September 23, 2009
in B.E.L.O.N.G., Communication, Community, Connection, Contribution, Street to the Seat and Top 10 Things
. 1 Comment

This past week I spent several days in southern California with friends praying and talking about mine and Stephanie’s journey and listening for discerning words about our next steps in ministry.  You know that this isn’t always a comfortable place for me.  Being the tactical, church business administrator, developer that I have become to be over the years sometimes hinders my ability to hear God.  However, in the past week God has brought our friends, family, coaches, and mentors around us to hear from God.

Here is a run down of 6 days of God speaking … listening to God for our next steps… what do you hear?

Day 1: (September 18, 2009)

God wakes me up at 6:38 a.m. California time

Day 2: (September 19,2009)

God wakes me up at 6:38 a.m. again

Day 3: (September 20, 2009)

God once again wakes me at 6:38 a.m.

Day 4: (September 21, 2009)

Ok, this is crazy… four days in a row God wakes me at 6:38 a.m.  The reason I know it was 6:38 is when He woke me is because I immediately looked at my iPhone to see what time it was… The time 6:38 kept looking back at me.  On this day I immediately called Stephanie and the boys in Texas to make sure everything was OK.  Things were great with her, so I asked Stephanie what it might mean.  She had no idea, but knew God was revealing another sign to us about our next steps in ministry.

I thought for a minute… hmmm… 4 days in a row…. bible…. 4 gospels… Let’s go to the gospels and see what is there.

Book of Matthew - there is not a chapter 6 verse 38.  It ends at verse 34.

Book of Mark - now this is another story. Mark 6:38 reads:

How many loaves do you have?  Go look!”

May not be a sign for you, but it was for me.  I had just been praying over a financial need from the day before that will change the course of our life and ministry.

Book of Luke - chapter 6 verse 38

Give and it will be given to you.  They will pour into your lap a good measure–press down, shaken together, and running over.  For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”

Do you see where this is going?  God is calling us out to be so generous in our daily lives that He, with reckless abandonment will provide for our every need.

Book of John - chapter 6 verse 38

For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent me.”

Hello… God is speaking… He is saying don’t get in My way… I have a plan for you and Stephanie, and it is to do His will, not ours.  We must get out of His way so that He can do what He does best…  “Oh, God don’t let us screw this up.  Whatever “this” is?”

Day 5: (September 22, 2009)

God wakes me at 6:33 a.m.  - Go figure… He missed the book of Matthew and need to take me back.

Book of Matthew - chapter 6 verse 33

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

I can not fathom that God would wake me up five days in a row at specific times that had meaning… but then again He is God.

Day 6: (September 23, 2009)

Now if 5 days wasn’t enough God woke me up this morning… now back in Florida at 9:23 a.m. and this time I felt like I needed to go to the Book of Luke, so that is where I went.

Book of Luke - chapter 9 verse 23

If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”

Call it what you will, but I believe this is a prophetic and defining moment in mine and Stephanie’s ministry.  In all my years of being a pastor God has never chosen to reveal Himself to me in such a fashion.  I am beside myself in how He is choosing to speak to me in these days.

Wonder if He’ll rest on the 7th day???

Just a Thought…

What do some Pastors have against us?

Published
by
Kerry Mackey
on September 18, 2009
in Contribution
. 0 Comments

I was on the phone recently with a ministry partner at a church I have known for years who asked me the question, “What do some Pastors have against us?”  Not a question I hear every day.

Here is the conversation… the best I recall.

Ministry Partner = MP
Pastor Kerry = PK

MP - Pastor Kerry what do some pastors have against us?

PK - What do you mean?

MP - I mean for the past 10 years I have been serving in the local church and it appears to me that some pastors get in the way more than they serve along with us… and they are seldom satisfied with our service.

PK - Go on…

MP - Well, for example… there are several of us who had this idea that we were willing to lead, fund, and take charge of.  Everything was going fine until one of the the pastors stepped in and derailed the whole thing.  Seemed like he wanted to step in and make it his, take charge, run the show, call the shots, etc…

PK - So how does that make you feel.

MP - Makes me feel like if the pastor doesn’t think they are in control of every little thing at the church then it can’t happen.

MP - In fact, just the other weekend one of the pastors came by the Welcome Center and told me that their was just too much stuff on the tops of the counter and that it all needed to be cleaned off.

MP - So just for grins when the pastor walked away I shuffled the brochures around to different locations on the counter top; however, I didn’t remove any of them.

MP - 15 minutes later the pastor walked back by and said, “Now… that’s looks so much better.”

MP - and without taking a breathe the pastor said, “now can you get some more greeters at that other set of doors.”  I almost lost my cool, but I didn’t.

PK - I am so sorry for the way in which he treated you… it wasn’t right and I know how much that must have hurt you.  I am deeply sorry.
___________________

I wonder how often we as pastors and staff treat ministry partners this way.  I genuinely believe sometime we forget that we as pastors/staff are to be “equipping the saints for the work of the service”.  Now that doesn’t mean controlling their every move, nor does it mean treating them like throw away utensils.

It saddens me to think that we would treat our ministry partners in such a way that they would not feel valued, loved, and cared for… what a tragedy!

How is it that we have moved so far away from serving alongside of each other in ministry… we are all ministers… aren’t we?

Pastors…

No longer can we sit on the sidelines barking orders to “volunteers”… They are “partners” in ministry.  It is time we come out of the “green rooms”, “lofts”, “pits”, “boxes”, “bullpens” … or whatever else your church may call them, and serve alongside of ministry partners.

No Ministry Partner should ever say, “What do some pastors have against us?”

Something to chew on…

Grow with Me - a Ministry Partner orientation strategy that works

Published
by
Kerry Mackey
on September 17, 2009
in Contribution
. 0 Comments

Here is an simple idea for on boarding Ministry Partners that I’ve used for years that really works.  See if it works for you.

______________

Orientation/Training: “Grow With Me”

Upon completing a ministry application and interview, your next step will be to attend an orientation to learn more about your ministry and <name of church>.

<name of church> is a church with many components to learn about.  This is the reason that we developed our “Grow with me” orientation pathway.

At the orientation you will be issued a temporary I.D. and assigned a “Grow with Me” partner.  For the first 30 days, this partner will help you learn everything you need to know about your ministry.  At the end of the 30-day orientation period, you will be assigned a different I.D. and placed into ministry.

Here is the flow of ministry placement: Application, Interview, Orientation, Grow With Me (Interning), and Deployment.

________________

See, I told you it was simple… Don’t over complicate the on boarding environment for Minsitry Partners.

Relationships before Rules

Published
by
Kerry Mackey
on September 17, 2009
in Community
. 0 Comments

Ok… hang with me on this one.  It is 2:00 a.m. California time and 5:00 a.m. Florida time… on the 17th of September 2009 and I haven’t been to bed. My body is on Florida time, but I just had to share this thought with you.

For the past 5 hours a friend of mine and I have been talking life, church, first impressions, discipleship, small groups, Francis Chan, Crazy Love… you name it, we’ve covered it.

And in the middle of our discussion I mentioned that I thought that over the past 14 years of ministry I am sure I’ve create tools, resources, etc… that although good for the church organization (local church) they may have not been good for “the church”… In fact, I am sure I’ve posted blogs here on STTS that although good for moving persons in/out, through processes, into this and that, they might have missed the need of the person…

Have I created rules for first impressions or have I created relationships for first impressions?  Hmmm… something to ponder.  Where do you find yourself?

Case in point…

Over the past several years of doing church we have for the most part limited the recommended age of a child in worship services or we’ve shared with the parent as they walked in that we have a great children’s ministry and/or parents room available for them.  At one church we posted in the bulletin, “please no children under 5 in the worship center”.

Now why is that?  I’ve gone through it over and over in my head, but I just haven’t come to a resolve as to where we find that from the scriptures.  Where is it from scripture that we limit children from gathering to worship with their parents, as part of the larger fellowship?

I am seriously questioning my own design of first impressions around children in the worship gathering.

Matthew 18:5 “And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me…”

Wonder how it makes a non-believer feel when he/she comes to church for the first time and brings their children only to find that upon arrival they can’t enter because their child doesn’t meet the age requirement.  Hmmm…. wonder what Jesus thinks about that?

Mark 10: 13-16 just rips my heart out.  Look at what it says…

And they were bringing the children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them.  But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, Permit the Children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.  And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.

WOW…

  • disciples seemed to be holding up “no child under 5 signs”
  • Jesus became indignant
  • Jesus commands - permit… do not hinder
  • Jesus scorns - whoever does not receive…..will not enter it at all.

Ok… so I’ve said my peace.

Just a Thought!

First Impressions Team Covenant - idea

Published
by
Kerry Mackey
on September 16, 2009
in Street to the Seat
. 0 Comments

I have had several persons ask for a sample First Impressions Team Covenant so here is an idea for you to consider.  Feel free to use this one or modify and make your own.

Team Covenant

In order to assure that our team is healthy and that we are accomplishing our ministry in a manner that honors God and serves the church, we commit to each other:

  • Pray for one another and to commit our ministry to prayer, knowing that we can accomplish nothing without God’s help.
  • Attend gatherings, notify the team leader within 12 hours of the gathering if we are unable to attend. (Phone/email)
  • Honor each other in our gatherings through open communication, respectful disagreement, honest feedback and confidentiality.  We commit to avoid gossip and triangulated communication at all times. Every opinion is needed and should be regarded with respect.
  • Be prepared for each gathering and completing individual assignments.
  • Track next steps and hold each other accountable for decisions made at gatherings.
  • Take time in each gathering to reflect on our individual and collective understandings, and to seek opportunities to share needed information with the broader congregation, always asking, “Where do we see God working?”
  • Maintain a positive attitude of joy and to enjoy the opportunity to serve together. We commit to have FUN in the process!
  • Commit to the schedule and time frame designated for my position after which, I may assess with my leader regarding committing again for a subsequent season of ministry.

Signature: ____________________________________________    Date: _________________

Imbalance in the Sacred Space

Published
by
Kerry Mackey
on September 6, 2009
in Street to the Seat
. 1 Comment

I am processing through a continuum that combines two different ideas, Street to the Seat and from the Seat back to the Street, that shows the balance of connecting persons to Jesus and the church, and at the same time understanding the need to be other focused.

There is definitely an imbalance in the sacred space of the general evangelical world.  Let me unpack what I mean by this.  Remember, this is coming from the guy who loves first impressions and helping persons find Jesus and the Church. Not to mention, spending time working with pastors and churches on communication strategies, connection ideas, growing ministry partners, and leading toward biblical community; as well as, consulting, coaching, speaking, etc…

However, I would be the first to tell you that if our heart isn’t broken for those who Jesus misses most… we are missing it!  The Christian world isn’t lived in the walls of the church building… it is lived out there in the streets.  The imbalance in the sacred space that I am referring to is our self centered internal focus.  I recall years ago a preacher saying to me, “Kerry, some people are so heavenly minded… they are no earthly good.”  That old saying has resonated with me for over 20 years.  I would go on to say that we spend as much or more time within our church walls discussing, debating, deliberating on “things” that have no eternal significance.  I know so… I have been guilty of doing that myself.

It begs a few questions:

  • How can we do a better job of helping persons take spiritual next steps?  You’ll recall the things we have written on “Grow to Go” over the past year and a half… these are the type of ideas I am referring to.
  • What are you doing as a church to stay “other focused”… what are you doing in your community?
  • Are you ready to lay down the internal “stuff” of the church and be externally focused? … how willing are you to show up, palms up to every ministry encounter?

In resent weeks God has continually reminded me that to be internally healthy as a church we have to be externally focused.  We have to be mission minded, selfless works of godly art that He is using in our community to complete the portrait that He is painting.

Just a Thought!

Journeying with Jesus often takes the road less traveled.

Published
by
Kerry Mackey
on September 1, 2009
in B.E.L.O.N.G., Communication, Community, Connection, Contribution, Street to the Seat and Top 10 Things
. 0 Comments

Over the summer months Stephanie and I have been on a ministry growth journey with the Christ Fellowship team, our mentors, our coaches, and family about life and ministry.

We have come to a place in resent days where we believe God is leading us to transition from our position as Director of Adult Ministries at Christ Fellowship Church in Palm Beach Gardens Florida.

As we pray through our next steps in ministry we ask that you join us for an adventure with Jesus.  We are so excited about our next steps… even when we can’t see them clearly.  Dependency is a great place to live.

Street to the Seat (STS) has been close to our hearts for the past several years so we will continue this ministry as we move forward. Please click on the Services tab to see how we can better serve you, your denomination, association, and/or church.

Please CONTACT US to begin a conversation.

Street to the Seat
17172 Brian Way
Jupiter, Florida 33478
561-972-4316
kerry@streettotheseat.com