http://gphillipsmith.com/index.htmlHot News!en2016-12-19T08:00:00-05:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 Sun, 18 Dec 2016 14:51:39 -0500Re-PlantingRevitalizationMissionalChurchpastors2016-12-19T08:00:00-05:00http://gphillipsmith.com/files/099ac281d5618926ccb3afc1a55938d3-30.html#unique-entry-id-30http://gphillipsmith.com/files/099ac281d5618926ccb3afc1a55938d3-30.html#unique-entry-id-30


Former missionaries would cast vision in two different ways. First as they would recruit supporters from the states to partner they would cast the vision of reaching a particular people group with the gospel. They would normally explain how great the need is for the gospel and then call people in churches to pray and partner in order to see that vision come to fruition. Second, the missionary would cast vision to new believers of how they can reach members of their own community and country with the gospel. A missionary on the field recently shared what he uses to cast vision among his new believers. “Our Vision is to see a church multiplying itself in every major city of our country.”

There are some pastors out there that can easily communicate the vision and direction that God gave them for a specific church. We are thankful for these men and the time and energy they put into listening from the Lord, asking for his direction. However, in revitalization contexts the church has lost vision and focus and need some help. As we have explained in previous posts, missionaries can easily see the needs in a specific community and how the church can assist with those needs. The former missionary and pastor can help show the congregation the needs and how they feel the church can help meet those needs.

Once the needs are explained the church staff and lay leaders can better understand how the church is going to meet the needs of a given community. Depending on the size of the church you might only be able to meet one need. And that is ok. It is going to be a great start in your community. The important thing about vision casting is that you have to do it often. In the church I now attend weekly I hear the vision of the church about three to four times in every service. It is important for us to remember our role in implementing the vision of the church that we attend locally.
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This week we are building off of last week when we talked about priorities. Once you have your priorities in place you can redirect your resources to meet those priorities. These resources can be money, staff, and lay volunteers.

I believe that churches are at the point now where they realize they must make a few changes in order to have its doors open and the ability to invest in the lost world around it. One thing missionaries that raise their own support, or are paid from a mission agency have in common is that funds are decreasing dramatically. To stay on the field, missionaries had to make certain changes and find out how to do more than they ever have, with less than they ever have. This is very useful to churches in the states because for most of them they have never done this before. Especially in this generation.

Churches have to figure out what is important to them and then make changes to the budget to reflect the goals you wish to meet. Lets look at a couple of examples of how missionaries can help the process.

We have to work smarter not harder. We have to take advantage of new free technologies that can help us accomplish our priorities and goals. I believe that people in the church are willing to go above and beyond the call of duty for their church. They just need to be made aware of the resources available and told what to do with them. One way to do more with less is if you are paying someone to clean the church. Ask volunteers to take turns cleaning the facilities. Almost every church has retired people looking for some way to serve their church during the week.

After you have reviewed your priorities and you feel that it is not cost effective to mail out a weekly newsletter through the postal service. You can create a newsletter with the help of a volunteer and then email the newsletter for free. You can still make a few copies available in hard copy for those who attend the services on Sunday and Wednesday. You could also have a volunteer hand deliver the newsletter to members that cannot get out of their house.

This last recommendation is something that the pastor can easily do. However, not all of them have experience in doing it. Missionaries are used to creating bible teaching and materials from scratch. This includes Bible studies and small group material. If your church is spending money on the latest Beth Moore Bible study every quarter then it might be a good use of financial resources to not spend the money and create your own.

This list is not the master list of ways a missionary can help your church do more with less, it is just a start. Your church might have a separate list of problems where they can help encourage the church to do more with less.
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Dying churches need to have a set of priorities or goals that will help guide them to be healthy reproducing churches. As missionaries we had to choose if we were going to focus on evangelism, working with existing churches, or translate scripture. We had to start with the most important at the time and move forward from there. As the saying goes, “You Cant Do Everything”. It’s true, churches that undergo revitalization are longer able to do all that they did in the past. They now need to focus on the future and the legacy they can leave behind to the next generation of followers of Jesus. Missionaries fresh off the field are able to quickly assess where a dying church is, look at the opportunities the church has, and then help the church put together a plan of goals or priorities in order to move towards being a healthy reproducing church.

I recognize that it is tremendously hard for historic churches to stop doing choir, or Wednesday night worship services. However, if one of our goals as a revitalizing church is to attract and invite members of the community to our worship services then we might need to change the style of music to something they are more familiar with such as a live band. I recognize that your cultural context might look different.

If one of our goals is to spend less money out of the budget, then not having prayer meeting in the church building on Wednesday night might be an option. Especially if there are only 12 people attending. Twelve people can easily fit into someone's home for a night of fellowship and prayer. We have to make the most important thing, the most important thing. The hard part is removing the items that are not the most important. This is when the members of the church need to come together in seasons of prayer and fasting in order to rally together to make the most important thing their number one priority.
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Many dying churches today have not experienced a baptism celebration in several years. We have to ask a couple questions when this happens. Are people no longer receptive to the gospel message? Have the people in the community changed the way they communicate and congregate? We also need to ask how church members are sharing the gospel. Taking a look at these questions can help the church going through revitalization reshape the way they share the gospel.



There are communities where the gospel message is no longer well received. People for whatever reason are leaving the church and not returning, unlike past generations. For some it is culture change in America and for others its younger generations disgust with un-authentic relationships. A recent study showed us that 40 percent of the greater Knoxville area is done with church. This means that they once upon a time went to church but now do not attend a church. In these communities missionaries can assist churches by developing new ways to share the gospel based on the changing culture in the community.

Another question we ask deals with how we communicate the gospel message. Former missionaries monitor the new ways people communicate with friends and family. The digital forms of communication have forever changed the way we interact with each other. After investigating how the church and members of the church are communicating we have to see if it matches with current forms of communications in order to make sure that people in the community are able to see and hear our messages of gospel proclamation.

The last question we need to ask church members deals with how they are sharing the gospel. One of the most effective forms of gospel proclamation is what we call mouth to ear evangelism. So from one speaking mouth to one listening ear. However, it is super important that we make sure that our members are sharing the gospel in a way that can be clearly understood by the members of the community. Even small town cultures in the South’s Bible Belt are changing. This is another great place for missionaries to assist because they have done this before. Some missionaries had to listen and study a new culture in order to find ways to bridge the gospel.

As a bonus question, we have to ask if our members are sharing the gospel at all. We assume that as followers of Jesus they regularly sharing the gospel with unbelievers but we have found that among dying churches, Christians are not sharing the gospel with anyone outside the church building and only inside the church building among children. We must find out why these members are not sharing the gospel. If it is fear, we need to address it and hold them accountable to sharing. If it is because they do not know a lost person we need to help them expand their sphere of influence. If it is out of not knowing what to say then we need to train them how to share the gospel and disciples new believers.

For those Replanting and Revitalizing churches, it is so important that to have a strong focus on Evangelism in the community and I believe returning missionaries can help us succeed as we look out into the community to make disciples that make disciples.
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When we look at re-planting churches we have to take a look at the culture of the church inside and out. Former missionaries can help replanting churches in two major ways. First, they are a new set of eyes trained in observing cultures in order to share the gospel with them. They see communities in ways different than a local pastor. This is a solid win win for a dying church. In the mission community we call this mapping a city or mapping a community. Churches need to know about the people and places around the church building that need assistance. They need to be able to invest back into the community, especially if the community is dying too.

The second way they can assist is inside the church. Like I was saying church culture changes. Missionaries just returning from the field are aware of the clear differences in church members now and the time that moved away from America. Trust me on this one, they are studying this group closely because they are trying to fit in with it. Missionaries are well aware of changes made in the attitude of members of local churches experiencing decline. As missionaries assess the followers in the pews they can quickly survey which ones are making disciples and which members just fill their pew every week. The way we communicate the gospel today is very different because of the culture in the community. Missionaries can help train church members to share the gospel in a new way. Most people don’t think they can share the gospel at their place of employment, but they can share stories of life that can assist people who struggle with life and their current situation. Most church members just need a little coaching on the best way to form Jesus centered stories to communicate the gospel. Missionaries who have done this before in another language can quickly find creative ways to share the gospel in any context.
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As churches have been dying off, a new passion has arrived from young and old pastors to revitalize or re-plant these dying churches. However, as you know in the church world, everything has to move super slow. So as state conventions and local church networks strive to find new ways to help dying churches thrive alive again it really is a very new process in the church world.



As we look for people who will knowingly walk into a dying situation we really need some of the people in the world to revive these churches. I have spent the past few weeks reading and listening to those in the re-planting community as they talk about the characteristics needed for church re-planters. They talk about them as though they need to have the desire of a new church planter and that of a pastor. However, they go on to say that it is more complicated than church planting because you have those in the church who want to keep all of their baggage from the other pastors who have served over the past few years at a church.

So now that I have looked over the characteristics needed for ministers who desire to re-plant a dying church, I looked up and saw something incredible. About the same time, we see a large need for people to walk into dying churches, we see a massive flood of missionaries returning from the mission field. I often thought that there would come a day in my lifetime where missionaries would be called back to the states to help churches. Now, I am not claiming this is what happened. Many of our missionaries retired and felt that the lord was telling them it was time to move back to the states.

So as I continued to read about Re-planting I saw similarities in missionaries that I had worked with for years. About that time a light bulb went off. What if we placed some of these seasoned church planters in dying churches? The more I thought about this the more excited I got. If you know anything about missionaries, they never really retire. They have a large untapped wealth of knowledge when it comes to serving an unreached community. Over the next few weeks we will look at 5 different ways former missionaries can help re-plant existing churches in order to Engage A Changing American Culture, Focus On Evangelism & Discipleship, Cast A New Vision For The Church, Know How To Do More With Less, and Develop Partnerships With Volunteers.
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In Galatians 6 we see that Paul is instructing the believers to do good to those in the community. Paul also says to do this as we have an opportunity to do so. As believers we should have more opportunities to assist people of every race and ethnicity that we encounter. And we do this not for our betterment, but for Him and His name.

We all have the opportunity to do good for others. Recently I noticed that Starbucks has caught on to how contagious generosity can be in the drive thru line. A month ago I pulled up to the drive thru window and the wonderful barista said that the person in the car in front of me paid for my order and wanted to know if I want to pay for the order of the car behind me. I said of course I would love to do that. Generosity is so contagious. Paul ends this letter by encouraging us to do good for all people but especially those of the household of faith, meaning all believers. I challenge you this week to do something good, something random for a stranger, or a member of your church community from a different background than you.
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So how does this affect our views of racial problems in the church. Well first things first, we have to examine our own hearts to see what racial prejudices we have hidden there.. Each of us have them. Some of us have been hurt or rejected by members of another race. This can cause us to develop false emotions towards that race. So we have to check our hearts and attitudes towards these children that are His. Because I lived in the Middle East for several years good Christian people would ask me how can you love Arab Muslims who want to destroy America? I would laugh a little and say simply for two reasons. First, we are commanded to love them. Second, as human being, they bear the image of God. We, humans are his image bearers and so if we start looking at them like they bear the image of God maybe we will not look at them like they are undeserving of our love or grace.

One of the best ways for us as believers to check our hearts is in community or in a one on one relationship with one another. Just yesterday I sat with a 62 year old man who started opening his heart on matters of faith and racial prejudices. He told me that he had not shared this with his pastor because he felt like he could not talk to him about his sin. So we have to find someone that we can share the secret hidden motives that spark our hearts to put words in our mouth. Please find someone that you can share life with. Find someone that will agree to ask you hard questions that will help you grow in your maturity with Christ.
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Paul is telling the Galatian believers that they must restore each other in this process. How do we restore our friends and family that make racial comments in the church? How do we restore years of cultural bias that has passed down over the generations? The best way to start is by being gentle and loving. As verse one says, “Brothers, if someone is caught in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual should restore such a person with a gentle spirit.” Correction is hard enough but restoring them is another step in the wonderful process of righteousness. You might have to ask small group teachers to step down over comments they make and after a time of correction they can be restored to leading a small group again.

As leaders in the church, you can set the example of how members of the flock are corrected and restored. You have the chance to model to staff and lay leaders how this process will flow in the future. This is another command that we see in Galatians that can easily apply to our lives today. This is a perfect example of how Christ wants us to live out our lives in front of a culture that expects us to live double lives by not obeying truth.
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What is interesting is this is a quote Paul is using from the Old Testament. If we take a look at Leviticus 19:18 we see something that will also help us as we strive to end racial issues in the church. This verse goes further by commanding us not to hold a grudge or seek revenge on members of our community, but to love them as ourselves.

We know what the Bible says about love. We know what the Bible says about loving all peoples and those from various backgrounds. We know what the Bible says about loving our neighbors, but are we going to do it? I am asking what it will take for you this month to show love to those of a different color. I know that most of you reading this are from the same ethnic background so I can challenge you to make an effort this week to start loving a person of a different race. Treat them in the ways that you want to be treated. Now get ready for the bonus part.

Do not treat this as a project that you are going to do once a quarter. You need to integrate this into your everyday life. If there is a minority that you encounter on a regular basis, make it a point to strike up a friendship with them. Learn about them. Love them and treat them as you want to be treated.
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So what is our natural response when someone tries to correct us? We tend to respond with something like, “I don’t know”, or “I didn’t really mean it”. The fact is we need correction from time to time. We need people who will help keep us on course with loving all peoples of the earth.



Most of the time we have an item, or a person, who is keeping us from obeying the truth. We know what the Bible says about how we are to treat people from another background, but for some odd reason we don’t want to treat them according to what the Bible instructs. This is exactly what Paul was talking about here in Galatians 5. We have to be bold as Christians who want to strive for truth so we must ask our fellow believers what is causing you to speak in that way? This will help us find constructive ways to help believers combat racial issues in the church.

Strive to get to the bottom of the issue individually. In everyone’s past there is a story about why they feel a certain way about people of various colors. By discovering reasons why believers have racial issues in the church we can move forward by looking at what Paul is trying to get the Galatians to understand about loving your neighbor.
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If we were all to recognize and try our best to treat each other as we would like to be treated we wouldn’t have this problem. I am pretty sure that Paul was trying to explain to the Galatians believers that if treating any person different on the purposes of race or gender or any other difference does not accomplish any good.

So if it doesn’t accomplish anything what are we to do about it? Paul says what matters here is faith working through love. Paul says this exact phrase again in the final chapter of Galatians so we know that it is super important for the Galatians to get this right. It is equally important for us as Christians to get this right as well. We have to treat everyone with love expressed by our faith. So what does our faith say to do to strangers, widows, the hungry and homeless. We have to love them regardless of their skin, country of origin or current status in this life. We must love them.
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So as Christians who are free how do we act in that freedom. I personally think we do treat others the same as we want to be treated. We will see Paul teaches on that very topic later in this letter to the Galatian believers.



I have been treated in a negative way because of both my skin color, my religion, and my country of origin. All of these were in countries that claimed freedom for all people. It is so important that we not treat anyone different but that we strive to teach our children not to have those same negative thoughts against people of a different race. I am sure we all have friends that talk about how their grandparents used to tell them to watch out for certain people in school because they did not come from good stock. Please do not let your children hear such junk. Our kids worldview comes directly from us as parents as we watch TV and react and say things.

It is hard for us to remember that because we are free, we have a choice. We have a choice to treat others with respect and kindness. We have a choice to be different, now I can say that those of us that are followers of Christ we do not have a choice. We are commanded to treat people from different races and ethnicities with love and respect. Just as we want to be treated. We are commanded to love one another. Because we believe that Jesus expects this out of us then once again, we are called to a higher standard. We are called to live different lives in order to treat all peoples, even those of a different color with love and respect. This is what Paul was teaching the Galatian believers and mirrors what Christ taught the disciples. We can have an impact on racism in our communities if we show others this awesome love and kindness.
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When we see our brothers and sisters in Christ not acting as Christ teaches, we must correct such actions. Here is how this works in biblical community. First, you correct the person in a one on one setting. If that doesn’t work then you and another member of your community need to go and try to correct that person. I know what you are thinking. Phil, I have never seen this in my church. If that is the case I am so sorry. Correction must happen. Church leaders need to speak to members of congregations they lead in order to correct false actions. It is the responsibility of the church to correct members of the church and when that does not happen accountability cannot exist and pretty much anyone can do anything he or she wants and still call themselves Christians. I am not saying this is the main reason the church is in such bad shape today, but I am saying it is a contributing factor to poor church health all across America.

I want to go one step further. What if members in the church are corrected for their actions. But lets say that people not connected to your church or any church for that matter do not correct their actions and still discriminate people based on skin color. Will we make a difference? Oh course we will. We will treat others with respect. We will treat those that might be hostile against us with love. Why will we do this, because Jesus commands us to, and it is how we want to be treated.

I want to add one little piece to this even though it doesn’t feel like it from Paul’s tone in this passage. We must correct one another in love. This is one of the most difficult things to do in the body of Christ.
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This is why it is important for us to share stories of our journey in life with people of another race. It helps build relationships and allows us to see more of who we are. It is a whole lot harder to get angry with someone if you know and understand more of their background and where they come from when they express hurt over an incident in your community.

Paul shared a part of his journey so the believers in Galatia would have a better understanding of Paul’s motives in encouraging them not to listen to false teachers. As you develop friendships with people from other backgrounds share your story. Share parts of your spiritual journey in order to better bridge the gap and encourage everyone to treat each other as you want to be treated.
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Paul in his letter to the Galatian believers talked a great deal about race. In the beginning of the letter he was shocked at how quickly the believers turned their backs on one another and really on Christ. He was shocked at how quick they turned their back on the teachings of Christ. When racial tensions start to flare we as believers must not be quick to turn our backs on what Christ teaches us and how He instructs us to treat one another.

In the original language of the New Testament this phrase turning away is more complex than just forgetting what someone taught you. Its meaning is more filled with trading sides in a game or better switching allegiances of a country. We must remember that we are human. We must remember that as believers we must care for all peoples of this earth. When my girls leave the house I remind them of who they are, and whose they are. When we remember whose we are it helps us to remember who we are and how we are supposed to treat others. In a future post we will talk about the importance of the Golden Rule but as for now let me remind you that Jesus expects, instructs, and commands every person that claims to be a believer to treat one another in the same way that we want to be treated. As Paul was saying in the first chapter of Galatians, we cannot turn our backs on the teachings of Christ because an individual or group with a different skin color does something harsh to another. We must stand for the teachings of Christ remembering that His teachings are for all peoples.
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In order to live missional, we need the desire to live this way. It is a behavior shift as well as a lifestyle change for most people. My concern is that most of us are happy to take time out of our summer or year and go on a mission trip spending thousands of dollars but we have no desire to live that same life daily in front of our neighbors. Hey Phil you better watch it, I know my neighbors and they go to church. If that is true, then great. You are lucky, but you still have to treat them the same way you want to be treated. The sad part is most of us want to be left alone. But Christ did not design us to live alone. He designed us to live and be in community with others. When we are in biblical community it is easier to live a missional lifestyle because you are not doing it alone. You are a missional group encouraging each other and holding each other accountable for missional living.

For years, many of my friends in the church have experienced lives that for the most part have been silos. We would have our church life, work life, and then our extracurricular life which could be camping or sports. These Christians would act different in each group. They did this because it is easier on the mind to be able to turn off one compartment and turn on another. So back in the 90s we started asking people to merge the church life with the work life and it didn’t really work because we never taught them how to do it. We didn’t take the time to show them how, based on their job, and skill set how they can best be light among the darkness at their place of employment. Most of the time church members do not realize that God has already placed them to love and minister to others. I believe that this is one of the most fundamental problems with the church today. We don’t know how to live our lives for Jesus all the time. After thinking about this for several weeks I believe that if we do not act as missional Christians in our communities, if our churches do not send out its members into the community the be light, then it is the same as not sending missionaries to the nations. Romans 10 gives us a super clear picture of how this works. The church sends, missionaries preach, the lost hear, then they believe and its awesome. But there is only one place for all of that to get messed up and it has to deal with the church. Because if we stop sending people to our communities, if we stop sending missionaries to the nations then they won’t preach and the lost will not hear and if that’s the case they will not believe and they will spend an eternity in hell because we as the church stopped sending.
]]>MoneyChurch ObservationsChurch Budget2016-08-08T15:52:29-04:00http://gphillipsmith.com/files/c62ed2135aaae024f8aa5f89249f05ed-13.html#unique-entry-id-13http://gphillipsmith.com/files/c62ed2135aaae024f8aa5f89249f05ed-13.html#unique-entry-id-13

Where did it go?
For the most part the cost of action and activity has steadily increased over the past decade. The cost of living continues to increase and items just cost more than it used to. But that would mean that as people receive cost of living increases their tithe should increase as well. For the most part people are tithing but not full amounts. Now it doesn't matter which side of the fence you rest on, ten percent before or after taxes, most church members today are not tithing anywhere close to ten percent. I know a pastor who on more than one occasion has asked the leaders in the church if they are tithing and most of them said no. This is where church discipline has lost its place in the church. No one should ever hold any leadership position in the church if he or she is not regularly tithing. One quick word related to missions and tithing. Only Southern Baptist churches as a whole, take portions of the tithe money and pass it on to denominational mission endeavors. When mission agencies have to cut budgets dramatically do not just give to them and be done. So let me clear, if you choose to directly support a missionary you need to never compromise your tithe in light of the support to the missionary. Tithing to the local church is a command and we need to make sure that we are giving back to God what is really already his in the first place.

Are We Spending Money on The Right Things?
The church programs and what I like to call “extra biblical” items have not been cut and so therefore money is not going to the most important aspects of the church and her mission. We have to learn how to do more with less. This is a new concept for those who have experienced large church budgets with paid staff. We have to prioritize the most important things and spend the limited resources on those items. The problem with this is most people do not agree with what are the most strategic items related to the church. This is where missionaries and church planters can really take a look at where churches are spending money and make recommendations on what changes can be made to make the most impact on making disciples of all nations. However, how often do you see churches taking advice from church planters and missionaries.

How do we do more with less?
That is a loaded question. First we need to start thinking smarter. But, not from a business standpoint. We need to look at where we are falling short and make plans and goals to take immediate action. The author of Socialnomics said of businesses that do not have a social media presence will die in less than five years. I believe that if churches do not take advantage of new and emerging technologies they too will die in less than five years. I am reminded of the recent changes with the international mission board and those same drastic cuts need to take place in every church, association and church planting network in order to prepare for the future. We need to look to creating realistic sustainability. We have to take more advantage of our biggest asset, the members that sit in the pews on a weekly basis and never do anything. We need to make sure we are calling people to action every time we stand before them to remind them of the mission, of Jesus, and of making disciples of all nations.
]]>Church ObservationsChurch Health2016-08-05T09:00:00-04:00http://gphillipsmith.com/files/782414d5b7913e67144c0025086612ab-12.html#unique-entry-id-12http://gphillipsmith.com/files/782414d5b7913e67144c0025086612ab-12.html#unique-entry-id-12
Observations:
Churches are closing. Now more than ever before in the history of the church. It is hard to miss how churches are no longer able to function. Don’t get me wrong I have a list of churches that I think need to close. I truly believe that the people that attend the church will draw closer and deeper in their walk with the Father if they attend another church. Another observation I have noticed is that churches are still doing the same things, the same strategies as they did when I was a boy. In my ten years as a missionary with the imb we changed our mission strategy based off of our target culture every three years. The church missed the fact that even though some of the family names in their churches are the same, they are different people. Their values and priorities have shifted dramatically. So we have to shift the way we interact, love, teach, train, and disciple these wonderful families.

Assumptions:
I made a huge mistake after returning from the mission field and making the observations above. I thought that the church and those inside it saw things as I saw them. Surly they see how bad it is and how much they need to change in order to have an impact on the members and the surrounding community. Man, I was way off. I assumed that churches and sometimes pastors would take notice of the time, money, and resources used every week in order to make the necessary changes to make disciples in their own backyard. Forget the nations for a sec. I just want you to talk to your neighbor about Jesus. I assumed that over the past ten years I was gone discipleship would have a greater priority in the church. But I am not sure that has taken place either.

Conversations:
I have had several conversations with church members, pastors, lay leaders, and various church staff from large and small churches in the South. I am curious to a fault and a strong strategic thinker so in asking questions I am trying to wrap my odd brain around church activity and it can come across mean. But if you are still reading this post I am going to assume that you don’t care and want to hear what I have to say. I think the most frustrating question I ask people is one little word that causes the conversation to shift. I ask “Why”, it is a simple question that helps me get to the strategic importance of whatever activity we are talking about. My follow-up question usually digs a little deeper when I ask, “Is it working? Are you seeing the results you want to see?” The answer is almost always “no” so I ask then why do it. It feels like so many of our churches have absolutely no strategy to share the gospel and disciple new believers. Every church can have a strategy to reach lost persons to Christ. I hope that we can stop having Sunday just to have Sunday and start producing disciples that disciple.

My conversations, observations and assumptions have lead me to be very be concerned about the future health of our churches in America. We have to change, we have to act now, we have to be about the task He has commanded us to be about… until He returns.
]]>Church HealthChurch Observations2016-08-04T08:53:04-04:00http://gphillipsmith.com/files/e4d02c1f4b52614f509b18f290bb5631-11.html#unique-entry-id-11http://gphillipsmith.com/files/e4d02c1f4b52614f509b18f290bb5631-11.html#unique-entry-id-11]]>DigitalCommunicationChurch2016-06-03T08:52:37-04:00http://gphillipsmith.com/files/adbd9ab91e99b09ea936cd2690453a51-10.html#unique-entry-id-10http://gphillipsmith.com/files/adbd9ab91e99b09ea936cd2690453a51-10.html#unique-entry-id-10
The second digital resource is social media itself. Facebook alone has numerous groups of church social media managers or church visual communication. Members of the group range from lay leaders who want to help their church to full-time communication directors at large churches. Within these “closed groups” people share ideas and get feedback. I have even seen some give away photos, sermon slides, and social media templates. For me personally, when I cannot figure something out I post inside these groups asking for help.

The last digital resource is graphic design related. This part seriously intimidates lay leaders but I am going to talk about two resources that will help you out. The first is called Canva. Canva is a web-based program that has several templates already laid out for you. You just replace the text and the picture and you are good to go. If you want to get fancy you can pay for the pro version and easily add your church logo and color scheme. The second is an Adobe product called Spark Post. This is another web-based program that allows you to create a variety of social media graphics. The templates are pre-formatted for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, & Tumbler. This App also is compatible with all mobile devices. So if you create content on the go this might be a better App for you.

To Recap:
1. Reach out for help directly with other social experts
2. Join Facebook Groups
3. Use tools to help save time with design
]]>SocialMediaTechnology2016-05-20T08:02:20-04:00http://gphillipsmith.com/files/f4157d600d97683ac2277e4f689413cc-9.html#unique-entry-id-9http://gphillipsmith.com/files/f4157d600d97683ac2277e4f689413cc-9.html#unique-entry-id-9
The first thing I want you to understand about social media is, it is all about relationships. It helps you to build and maintain relationships with old and new friends. That is why I think it is a great tool for us, in the church, to stay in touch with people we want to lift up and encourage. It is also a place to find new people and start new relationships. Starting new relationships is a part of our command from Christ, himself. Social media just makes it a little easier for people all over the world to connect, and last time I checked it’s all free.

Second, promote and talk about other people, in a positive way of course. An argument we hear often is that people on social media take too many selfies and talk about themselves all the time. A real quick way to work around that is always encouraging others. Thank people for serving in various roles in the church. Tell someone that you are praying for them. Promote other ministries. Encouraging others in your small group is another great way to make sure the focus of your posts stay on others first.

Third, when you post, make sure that every post has a purpose. When I see people post a scripture verse, and only the verse I often ask the question, “Why did you post that verse?” Most people don’t randomly post a verse they find. If you explain to people “why” you are sharing that particular scripture verse it gives it more purpose and reach. Having a purpose for your posts helps keep things in check and helps you guard against posting constantly about yourself. This way you can intentionally share a few specific things each week. Having a purpose with your posts allows others to see more of who you are, especially in the social media world. As you post you can also ask questions related to your life. These might be questions that other people, even people that do not have a relationship with Jesus need to hear about.

I think we should post about four specific things every week not in any specific order.
1. Share what God is teaching you through scripture.
2. Encourage someone you do not see regularly.
3. Promote a church, ministry, or non-profit. (If you are in the business world promote another business)
4. Share how God is moving in your life.

]]>Website2016-04-29T08:15:00-04:00http://gphillipsmith.com/files/ac45bf75fbb0fad8dbb47324909260de-8.html#unique-entry-id-8http://gphillipsmith.com/files/ac45bf75fbb0fad8dbb47324909260de-8.html#unique-entry-id-8


We know that most first time guest will visit your website at least once before attending for the first time. This means that your web presence is the first contact for an unchurched person. First impressions are important so we want to make sure that our website reflects our church identity. For each church this will look different.

Let’s look at three things that all church home pages need to have. First, in the main screen window of the home page we need to see the worship service times. It is important that you place them in times that are clear and easy to read. Remember they are checking out your church via the website prior to their first time setting a foot on campus. Second, the home page must have the church location. You would be surprised how many churches do not have their location on the website. The third item that you need to have on your home page is a “what to expect” button. This is the place to express what the music is like as well as majority dress. Having a specific place for them to gain a better picture into your worship service style will help them understand if they want to take the next step and attending in person.

The last thing I want to mention about church websites is the maintenance. If you have skilled professionals in your congregation, ask them for help. Most churches do not, and even if they volunteer their time remember that you need to keep maintenance to a minimum. This is why I recommend having stable information on the church website and push all current and upcoming information to social media channels that are easier and cheaper to keep and maintain. At this point I only recommend low cost, low maintenance, websites for churches.

If you have any questions about church websites or would like me to recommend a church website specialist let me know.
]]>TechnologyMinistryChurchTransition2016-04-13T08:05:00-04:00http://gphillipsmith.com/files/8d141fddf51eea197f977d3fa98d5dde-7.html#unique-entry-id-7http://gphillipsmith.com/files/8d141fddf51eea197f977d3fa98d5dde-7.html#unique-entry-id-7
Far to often churches have websites that are ugly, outdated, and not welcoming. We know that people interested in your church will often view the church website or social media pages prior to attending for the first time. However, most of our websites do not properly reflect the identity of our churches. Updating and maintaining a website are easier today than they have ever been. We must take proper steps to use technology as we continue to reach out to lost members of our communities.

Churches have discovered social media but many do not understand social media. It is funny how many churches use their social media pages like they would a website. They do not understand that social media is about relationships. I told a church worker that you need to talk to people and draw them into conversation about a particular ministry through your social media pages. She quickly said but if we place something on social media then we will have to respond and I do not have time for that. I said ok remember that time is a choice. If you choose not to be in the realm of social media that is completely up to you. This is where I remind church staff that although social media is still free to set up and use, it does take time.

The last week we will look at Digital Resources available to you right now. When I was on the mission field we did not have financial resources to accomplish many of our goals so we had to be creative. Almost everything we talked about during training missionaries could start right then for free. Each year free resources are made available to small churches and pastors all across the nation and world. We need to make sure that we are looking in the right places for help. We also need to be able to ask for help from others on church staffs with more expertise than our own. I like to use the example of my father. He is in his late 50’s and does a decent job of using social media for his church. What is really cool is that he is in several groups that share resources. Although they do not advertise it several large churches will assist in any way they can to share resources. Newspring Community Church is one that shares almost anything they create. All you need to do is ask for it.
]]>5 Love Langauges2016-03-30T08:30:00-04:00http://gphillipsmith.com/files/0af6202e88964876e99200ed27b009d0-6.html#unique-entry-id-6http://gphillipsmith.com/files/0af6202e88964876e99200ed27b009d0-6.html#unique-entry-id-6
Physical Touch crosses almost every culture. As Dr. Chapman explains a hand shake in one country is the same as an embrace and kiss on the cheek in another country but both are forms of introductory greeting. As churches struggle to find ways to love and serve missionaries it is important that we learn the love languages of our missionaries. It is equally important that we make sure that if the love language requires, that we go and be with the missionaries where they serve. Physical Touch is one love language that you cannot do through skype or over the phone.

Ask questions about Physical Touch in their culture. Ask about gender appropriate greetings and if they like, or dislike the physical nature of that culture. In the Middle East men and women who are not family do not touch. There is almost no physical contact. This single female whose secondary love language was physical touch returned to the states longing to be hugged by friends and family. I truly feel that there is a place for non-romantic physical touch for friends and family. If we send missionaries out of our churches then we must.

Another vital aspect about loving missionaries through the 5 love languages is in moments of crisis. Most missionaries will go through two or more crises in their first term of service. Each crisis can vary depending on the person. A great example I use for this comes from my doctoral work. I was taking a seminar on “Ministering To People In Crisis”. Each student needed to give an hour presentation of a crisis event that had to be approved by the professor. So as I met with my professor I asked in her opinion what she would consider a crisis event for a missionary. She said, “Well I guess if a missionary landed in their country and there was no one there to pick them up that would be a crisis event”. I choose a presentation on missionaries who are denied entry to their country of service. No matter the crisis missionaries need support. Please hear me out, it is very important that you get this. Do NOT count on the mission sending agency to care for them. It is not the job of the mission agency to care for the missionaries, it is the job of the local church. So if your missionaries are going through times of crisis you need to be there with them. To hold them, to hug them and tell them it will be ok. This love through physical touch will help them get through the crisis and start healing.

In this last post about loving missionaries through the 5 love languages let me encourage you to get on a plane and go see your missionaries where they are. This allows the local church to love on missionaries in the love language that they need.

If you have any questions or would love to know more about loving and caring for missionaries please don’t hesitate to let me know. I would love to help.

Things you can do…
Today: Call a missionary you know and tell them you cannot wait to see them again in order to hug them and tell them they are loved.
This Week: Get a group of people together and start planning your first, or next trip to visit with missionaries from your church.
This Month: Make sure you know the love language of each of the missionaries connected to your church. Start making a plan to love each missionaries in their own unique way. ]]>5 Love Langauges2016-03-16T08:30:00-04:00http://gphillipsmith.com/files/eb2579c5484ab88f4b94917ee8525d3e-5.html#unique-entry-id-5http://gphillipsmith.com/files/eb2579c5484ab88f4b94917ee8525d3e-5.html#unique-entry-id-5
One of the questions that Dr. Chapman asks is, “What would you want someone to do for you if they loved you” We have to ask missionaries how they would feel most loved from a sending church. It is not a difficult question. Understand that most missionaries are no different from you or me in the fact that they feel loved in a certain way. For example, if you feel loved when someone cooks a meal for you, then as the sending church you can cook meals for the missionary family. Wait, how is the church going to cook missionaries a meal if they live 23 hours away. Last time we checked Pizza Hut doesn’t deliver that far, right? Don’t get me wrong, on more than one occasion I have carried a Chickfila sandwich or a dozen Krispy Crème donuts across multiple time zones for missionaries, but that is a love language that we are not coving today.

What could we do for missionary wives to serve them. I highly recommend that you travel to them and serve them. Help them with meals. Help them repair broken items. A major act of service that translates across zones is watching children. Remember that most missionaries do not have friends or family that live right down the street that can watch their children overnight. So go and watch their children for a night or two. I was in a budgeting meeting this past week where I heard that a particular church gave its church planters $800 every year to take a family vacation. I jumped in and said whatever you choose to cut this year do not cut that. People in ministry desperately need time away to recharge.

Most of us in the church need to be able to love missionaries through acts of service even though we cannot be geographically close. One act could be if you know that missionaries are coming back the the states for a limited time you could help them arrange doctor appointments or assist them get their children into a local school. It could be something as simple as getting them a hair appointment at the salon, and watching their children while they get their hair cut. Some ladies have to wait years between getting haircuts from their husbands and going to a real salon where they know what they are doing.

Dr. Chapman encourages husbands and wives to some what challenge the stereotypical roles they have in order to better love their spouse. I want to challenge the church to break away from its traditional form of missionary support in order to better love and serve missionaries as they plant churches among the unreached. This challenge to love missionaries in a new way is why I write, encouraging churches to try something new in order for us to have healthy and effective missionaries.

Things you can do…
Today: Ask a missionary how they would know if a church loved and supported them.
This Week: Pray about what it would take for your church to visit a missionary family in order to love and support them.
This Month: Find out the next time your missionaries will be in the states for a visit. Ask them if you can visit with them to get to know them better. If they will not be in your city, travel to see them.
]]>5 Love Langauges2016-03-02T08:35:10-05:00http://gphillipsmith.com/files/64f3cbf6328a0653637d9232cdc049fa-4.html#unique-entry-id-4http://gphillipsmith.com/files/64f3cbf6328a0653637d9232cdc049fa-4.html#unique-entry-id-4
It is important to remember that the gift does not always need to cost money. It can be something hand made. We loved receiving cards from children in our sending church. We would hold some of the cards back and open them randomly so we could experience the love of this church more spread out during the year.

One last gift that I think you should give is the gift of presence. This is just being with the missionaries you support. Understand that this is not the same as working with them on a mission project. This is a gift of spending time with them. Presence is always important. This is especially true in the moments of crisis. When I talk to churches who have missionaries in difficult places I always make sure they have a plan to move at a moments notice to go and be with missionaries in times of crisis. Believe me, they will go through more than one crisis in their time on the mission field. Our family went through a traumatic experience early on as missionaries. We were hurting and confused. It would have meant so much to us to have some close friends from our sending church come and minister to us during this very difficult time.

Remember that any gift from the heart will be appreciated by those receiving it. Gifts help those serving away from home to still feel connected and not forgotten by those who are praying for them. Gifts are a physical reminder that they are loved and appreciated.

Things you can do…
Today: Send a missionary an E-giftcard to Amazon or iTunes.
This week: Have your small group write cards of encouragement to missionaries you support.
This month: Find out what the missionaries really love to receive. Find a way to get it to them as a surprise.
]]>5 Love Langauges2016-02-17T08:30:54-05:00http://gphillipsmith.com/files/859b9409876c02b4904e68800cf87c89-3.html#unique-entry-id-3http://gphillipsmith.com/files/859b9409876c02b4904e68800cf87c89-3.html#unique-entry-id-3
This is the time to give “focused attention” to the missionaries. Ask them questions about their lives. Listen, try your very best to just listen and not interrupt them. This is extremely difficult for some pastors. They want to talk talk talk. It is what we pay them to do so, it is good that they like to talk. But we need to encourage pastors to listen. Learn the art of asking good questions.

If we know that most people only listen for 17 seconds before interrupting then we are going to strive to go above and beyond for missionaries. Missionaries love to talk about what God is doing in their lives and the lives of the people group they work among.

Dr. Chapman mentioned Quality Activities. When the missionaries are on home assignment take them to go do something that other churches might not do. Ask them what is their favorite activity and go do it with them even if you hate it.

I know sometimes that in the church we like to over complicate matters. But this love language is super simple, just spend time with the missionary. This means go visit them and then spending as much time as you can with them while they are here in the states.

Things you can do…
Today: Contact the missionary you love and support and thank them for spending time with you the last time you where together. You really appreciated their time talking with your church or small group.
This week: Ask them questions about what activities they like to do the most.
This month: Set up a time to talk with your missionary face to face and just listen to them talk about the work and how they are doing. Ask good questions about their relationship with Christ or ask them about their journey right now.
]]>5 Love Langauges2016-02-03T08:05:00-05:00http://gphillipsmith.com/files/62cce0f3c5dcd264e3f044fb56decb29-2.html#unique-entry-id-2http://gphillipsmith.com/files/62cce0f3c5dcd264e3f044fb56decb29-2.html#unique-entry-id-2Words of Affirmation.

We know that words are important for missionaries too. They proclaim the message of the gospel, which is kind of a big deal in what they do, but for them to receive communication from friends and family and especially from members of their sending church is incredibly important. Missionaries are an extension of the local church. So if you have a missionary sent out from your local body, then you need to provide the same care to them as you would any other member of your congregation, and staff. It will not look the same but the same care needs to be applied to all those sent out.

We often use words to encourage missionaries. “The word encourage means to inspire” says Dr. Chapman. We want to inspire missionaries to continue to fight the good fight. We want to inspire them to be light among the darkness, and to continue to be obedient to what God has asked them to do.

We constantly pray that God will work in and among the unreached people groups of the world. Why then would we not want to share those same words with the ones out on the front lines proclaiming the gospel. Let me share something from personal experience, “Missionaries need to hear from you.” It can be as simple as “Hey just want you to know that I am thinking about you today”. If the missionaries from your church are in less secure areas please say it more like, “Hey I want you to know that this morning I prayed that God would show you the person you need to share the gospel with today.” Use your words to show missionaries how much you love and appreciate them for their obedience. Your Words of Affirmation have more impact than you will ever realize.

Things you can do…
Today: Send a note, email, or text to a missionary you support. Encourage and inspire them.
This week: Find the best way to regularly communicate with a missionary you support.
This month: Skype or FaceTime a missionary you support.

]]>Missions2016-01-28T09:46:41-05:00http://gphillipsmith.com/files/b705dfd7a9b3309d44dcbe23cfaeb2c4-1.html#unique-entry-id-1http://gphillipsmith.com/files/b705dfd7a9b3309d44dcbe23cfaeb2c4-1.html#unique-entry-id-1
Taking my notes from Gary Chapman, author of The 5 Love Languages, who knows a little about love and demonstrating that love in practical ways will help us in our conversation. We will look at how the church can love on missionaries through the five love languages in order to make sure that missionaries are loved and cared for by the local church.

If you do not know a missionary to love on, please let me know and I will get you in contact with one who needs a little extra love from a church seeking to be a great partner in the Kingdom.

I pray that you will take these thoughts and suggestions and apply them to missionaries you support. Remember missionaries desire relationship and community from supporting churches and I pray this will encourage you to continue to support these people who go to extreme lengths to share the gospel with people groups who have never heard the name of Jesus.]]>intro2016-01-26T11:08:54-05:00http://gphillipsmith.com/files/5d31d944bb4864bde9461f1a3feda64f-0.html#unique-entry-id-0http://gphillipsmith.com/files/5d31d944bb4864bde9461f1a3feda64f-0.html#unique-entry-id-0My name is Phillip and I am from the wonderful state of Tennessee. I am a Vol fan but not like those you see on TV. My family and I just moved back to America after living abroad for over nine years. My wife and I have three beautiful girls under the age of 10. And like most who return to a home culture after living abroad, I am in a season of transition.
The Church
After being away for a few years we did not have the opportunity to attend what many in America call a traditional worship experience. We mostly attended small house churches. Because of our experiences during that time I will look at some of the differences between house church and the traditional American church. I will share a few other comments about the church and some encouragement for the church to continue to make healthy disciples of all nations.
Outreach & Missions
We had many wonderful experiences as cross cultural Christian workers overseas and I will share some of those both good and bad, wonderful and frustrating experiences about life and work living abroad. I will start out with talking about how friends, family, and sending churches can better care for church planters living abroad.
Technology
I have a strong desire to use technology to assist the advancement of the gospel. Most churches and ministries today are five to seven years behind technologically. I will talk about new technologies for churches and church planters. Advancement in the church can cost money and for those with extra budget, it might be good to spend funds on a few strategic items to help your church and missionaries. I will also talk about a few uses of technology that do not require financial investment.
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