April 29th, 2009 by Tim Moore

Book Review: Communicating for Change (Andy Stanley)

I finished Andy Stanley’s book “Communicating for Change” about a month ago. It is now on my “must read again” list. In this book Andy shares some real tangible practices for communicating in a way that brings life change. This is not just another book full of ideals, but is incredibly practical and proven. Andy has challenged me to take a fresh approach to communicating and I have been trying it for about 4 weeks now. For the first few weeks, it was tough to assemble my thoughts and line up everything around a single point. But the more I do this, the easier it is becoming. Andy’s book is stretching me to become a better communicator.

I have since given my book to our Student Pastor and I am going to require anyone who wants to be a communicator at Crossroads to read it. While this is not the only approach that is successful, I believe that if one uses this approach his or her chances of affecting people is great. I found myself referring back to this book anytime I felt “stuck” in the preparation process. It is a valuable tool to keep around when preparing to deliver a public address.

I recommend this book to anyone who is a public speaker. Many of the principles in this book can help in any arena of public speaking.

April 28th, 2009 by Tim Moore

One thing you will hear almost any leadership guru say is that if you are not a “learner” you will not be an effective “leader”. I have taken that to heart over the past year and have challenged myself to become a better leader through learning. Over the next few days I’m going to post some reviews on some books I have read. I will share with you insights that I got from those books and who might benefit from reading them. If you consider yourself a leader in any sense, you might want to consider this list:

List of books I have read or are reading now:

– Overcoming Barriers to Growth (Michael Fletcher)
– In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day (Mark Batterson)
– Wild Goose Chase (Mark Batterson)
– It (Craig Groeschel)
– Go Big (Bill Easum and Bil Cornelius)
– Communicating for Change (Andy Stanley)
– Axiom (Bill Hybels)
– Simply Strategic Stuff (Tim Stevens and Tony Morgan)
– Creating Community (Andy Stanley)

April 24th, 2009 by Tim Moore

Last night I got to have an incredible time with some Russian pastors who are here in the US visiting. Hearing the many miracles that God has done in their lives increases my faith. Often our faith grows when we hear of what God is doing in other places. Sometimes our tendency is to get jealous. Kick that stuff to the curb. God is big enough to do miracles in Lithopolis and in Russia! I was absorbing faith as they were sharing their testimony.

If you ever feel like your faith is in the toilet, just ask someone to share with you what God is doing or has done in his or her life. Absorb it.

April 23rd, 2009 by Tim Moore

In my devotion time today, I was reading about Saul (Paul) in the book of Acts. It was almost as if I was reading it for the first time. Saul was a real nasty dude to the Christians. He went after Christians to throw them in prison. He was on that same mission to Damascus when something unexpected happened…he encountered Jesus. (Acts 9)

In just that one small encounter with Jesus, his life was changed FOREVER. He went from persecuting the Christians to being persecuted as one. Only a REAL encounter with Jesus can cause someone to do that. And that is exactly what we need to see in the lives of the people who come to the church today.

My prayer is that when people come to our church that they will have a real encounter with Jesus. Not with me, not our band, not our greeters, but Him. I believe that if they encounter Jesus, they will be changed forever.

April 22nd, 2009 by Tim Moore

Myth#7 – Pastors should be at my disposal any time, day or night.

It seems that people often view pastors as emotion or spiritual ER doctors. They should always be available when you have an emergency. Many pastors often feel “obligated” to meet the needs of their congregation whenever and wherever asked. But this is neither biblical nor responsible.

In Acts 6, the church was growing so much that many people were feeling neglected. The leaders of the church were trying to do too much and the people were suffering. So the leaders got together and decided it wouldn’t be right for them to neglect God’s word and leading the masses because they are bogged down in other areas of ministry. They decided to appoint some capable leaders to handle other areas of ministry. And because of this move, the church continued to grow rapidly.

Although most people think the pastor should handle every crisis, it is simply not biblical. God has called pastors to equip the church for ministry. In our church we have moved to a model where your LifeGroup is there to help minister to you when you have trouble or questions. If you have to go to the hospital, the first person you should call is your LifeGroup leader, not the pastor. And if you are not in a LifeGroup…you are missing out on something. It is so important in a growing church! It is how you stay connected. It is how you get emotional and spiritual care on a personal level.

Of course we know there are times when someone may not feel comfortable talking to their LifeGroup leader or someone in their LifeGroup, yet (maybe they’re new to the group). If someone needs some care from a “pastor” at our church, we have setup an email: care@crossroadschurchwired.com where you can have someone with pastoral experience help you.

Remember, pastors have families and other responsibilities outside of the church. And when a pastor can focus on what he is called to do (preach God’s Word and lead the entire church), that is when the church can really grow!

April 21st, 2009 by Tim Moore

Myth #6 – Pastors never have doubts.

Pastors can’t have doubts, right? I can imagine what some people are thinking, “they’re the leader, if they have doubts then where does that leave the rest of us?” After all, isn’t a requirement to be in ministry that you can’t have any doubts?

Actually, if you look at the 12 disciples of Jesus you will find that many of them had a LOT of doubts. One of them was even named “Doubting Thomas”, and he walked with Jesus for three years witnessing the most incredible things. Want the truth? Every pastor has doubts.

I sometimes doubt that I am capable enough to lead our church to where God wants us. I sometimes doubt that I have heard from God when I make a decision. I remember the night before the opening day of our church here in Lithopolis. I had all kinds of doubts running through my mind. What if no one comes? What if this was the wrong move?

Pastors have doubts…I have doubts. But I believe it is what we do with those doubts that makes a difference. Some people sit on their doubts and throw up their hands and say, “I don’t believe”. That’s a cop out! What I have found is the best medicine for doubt is to confess this statement to Jesus, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24)

April 20th, 2009 by Tim Moore

Myth #5 – Hanging out with pastors must be boring.

Along with the stigma that goes with being a pastor is that it must be boring to hang out with one. I remember someone from our church telling me of a time I came to join a dinner party at a restaurant. Before I got there the talk was lively and probably a little crazy knowing the crowd. She said as soon as I walked in…everyone stopped talking. Hmm…makes me wonder what they were talking about. (But that’s for another post).

Every time I mention what I do to people the mood suddenly changes. People usually say “sorry” because they just said some foul words. I guess people are worried that pastors have never heard those words before. Let me say this in representing MOST pastors (some are weird and boring), “pastors are normal people”. Most of the pastors I know like to watch football, golf, play cards, watch movies and so on.

I’d like to think we’re not boring. Maybe we don’t care to get lit up at the bar, but that doesn’t mean we can’t tell jokes, play pranks and enjoy life with you! So next time you see a pastor coming…don’t change the conversation or stop talking. You might find we are enjoyable to be around.

April 15th, 2009 by Tim Moore

Myth #4 – It is easy for pastors to read their Bible and pray.

Whenever a pastor encourages his church to read their Bible or pray, I know that many people think, “if only it was as easy for them as it is the pastor”. Some people have the idea that it is somehow easier for a pastor to do spiritual disciplines than for others. I can tell you from both sides of the coin (working a secular job and in ministry) that it never get’s easier.

All of us struggle with spiritual disciplines. A pastor is no different. It took me years of forcing myself to do spiritual disciplines before it became a habit. That still doesn’t make it easy. I have to drag myself out of bed early to make time for God. I sometimes struggle to focus on what I’m reading or even to slow down enough to pray. It is called “discipline” for a reason. It’s not always fun, but you know it is necessary.

I know that it is hard to make time for these things. Many people think that a pastor can just sit in his office and do it while you have to give your time to a company. Let me tell you that I spend my personal time with God at home, outside of my time working for the church. I don’t believe it is fair to challenge everyone else to make time in their busy schedules for spiritual disciplines and for a pastor to do it in his business day and call it “ministry”.

It’s just as hard for me as it is for you! But keep pressing on…it makes all the difference in the world.

April 13th, 2009 by Tim Moore

Myth#3 – Pastors must be nice all the time.

Many people picture pastors like they do Jesus in all the paintings you see of him. Jesus is always portrayed as this blond hair, blue eye nice guy with a little lamb in his arms. Are you kidding me? First, Jesus most likely didn’t have blond hair (he was Jewish). Secondly, Jesus didn’t come to this earth to be a nice guy. He came with a mission. In fact listen to how Jesus describes his being on earth in Matthew 10:34.

“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.

Jesus didn’t come to play mister nice guy. He loved people, but that doesn’t mean he was nice to everyone. In fact he wasn’t very nice to the church leaders. He wasn’t very nice to the people in temple selling things. He was blunt…but truthful.

A lot of people think pastors must be peace-loving, non-aggressive, pacifists! That’s a load of crap. Pastors weren’t called to be nice to everyone, they were called to preach the Word and lead the church. Often that requires pastors to do things that many think are not nice. Pastors sometimes have to tell people “no”, I can’t or won’t do that. Some think that makes pastors mean. Pastors sometimes have to sit in meetings and tell people they are being removed from a position because… Pastors can’t lead and be nice to everyone.

Of course that doesn’t mean pastors need to be rude either. But just remember…we’re human just like everyone else.

April 10th, 2009 by Tim Moore

Taking a break from the 7 myths blogs to post about Easter at Crossroads Church. I have read all the church signs and know that Easter is a huge time for all Christian churches. Everyone is doing special communion services and most churches will be decorated with Easter lilies. But ours won’t!

We are kicking off a new relationship series called “The Hookup” about the marriage relationship. We have some incredible creative stuff planned for this weekend because we know that it is one of our best chances to reach people who don’t know Jesus. Are we selling out to the tradition of Easter? I wonder what Jesus would think about our Easter service? [My Student Pastor and I talked about this just today!]

In my mind we have church every weekend because Jesus is alive. We have hope because he is alive. Not just one weekend a year…but every day. To me what makes Easter special is not that we finally remember one weekend out of the year that Jesus rose from the grave, but that we will be flooded with people who don’t have the hope that we have. This might be the one time a person steps into a church all year. So our experiences are geared for them. This weekend, Easter is not about me. It’s about sharing the incredibly good news with people who don’t know Jesus. Instead of having to remind those who are already in the church that Jesus is alive, maybe we should focus on telling someone who doesn’t know! And to do that, we have to be willing to dump many of the traditions and be real and relevant.

Crossroads get ready for an incredible experience and bring as many people as you can. They will have an opportunity to accept Christ!