What Were You Discussing On the Way?

“Highly respectable poverty.” That’s a phrase David Brooks uses in his book “The Road to Character” to describe the attitude and upbringing of early civil rights activist A. Philip Randolph who refused the offer of donors to raise money to better he and his family’s living situation as his public notoriety grew.

Material wealth is certainly among the things Christians must be willing to do without, but I believe we can apply an attitude of highly respectable poverty to other forms of “wealth” which are equally tempting. One of the most alluring is the lust for power and position. Though social media can give modern folks an inflated sense of importance and power, the temptation to greatness certainly isn’t unique to our digital generation.

Jesus knew when His disciples needed their thinking challenged or corrected. One of those occasions is in Mark 9 when upon arriving back at their ministry base in Capernaum He asks them, “What were you discussing on the way?” The disciples’ silence is telling. They knew arguing about which of them was the greatest was not something that would please their Master. They were right!

I don’t see a lot of fellow Christians arguing about who’s the greatest per se, but we sure argue. We argue politics, we argue semantics, we argue doctrine, we argue strategies and styles, etc., etc... All this arguing leads me to wonder if such outer disagreements aren’t in fact being driven by unspoken individual feelings of great(er)ness in relation to other believers. And how easily these bickerings can start—one slip, one word uttered in frustration, one little moment of self-congratulation, one seemingly innocent corrective comment, one “I’m not looking to start a debate, BUT….” kind of post on social media. I wonder, would those “Just putting this out there…” kinds of posts not get made less and less if others (especially other Christians) didn’t get so riled up and give in to the urge to engage, no matter how irritating or inane posts like that can be?

We look at the “Who’s the greatest disciple” situation and want to know which knucklehead disciple started it on the walk back to Capernaum, and why. Was he bored? Was he frustrated by Jesus? by another disciple? Did he feel his concerns or position were worthy of more note within the group than they were currently enjoying? Was he basking in a private compliment by Jesus feeling sure this affirming word set him apart (indeed above) the others and wanting to make sure everyone else knew how he’d pleased the Lord? Maybe one of those is true. But really shouldn’t we wonder who made the second comment, the first rebuttal, the first rebuke, the first corrective comment? Couldn’t the whole kerfuffle have been avoided had not that second person gotten defensive and instead either changed the subject or, better yet, pretended not to even hear the first statement? Aparently this second person didn’t spend his quiet time that morning meditating on Proverbs 26:4 (“Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself”) or Psalm 19:11 (“Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.”)

Truth be told, there have been plenty of mornings I didn’t meditate on those passages either!

The refining process in earthly life always brings out inner ugliness on our way to eternal gold. The road trip back to Capernaum was such a refining process. Jesus knew the disciples were up to mischief, but He let it continue, partly for them, and partly for us! When they got back, He corrected offender and counter-offender alike with tough love and set a child in their midst to remind them of the kind of heart that pleases Him and what true greatness in His kingdom looks like. In a lot of ways I believe our present confinement is a process of refinement. As we journey our road with Jesus during these testy, trying times, what are we discussing on the way? How are talking with one another? Are we looking for ways to serve each other through our interactions whether in-person or through the typed/texted word and assert the greatness of Jesus? Or are we somehow angling for our own greatness in the midst of a whole world of people trying to be on top?

“Highly respectable poverty” is an attitude that flows not so much out of a non-concern with material goods as out of a general self-perception more shaped by the supreme greatness of Jesus and the great value He ascribes to us as His chosen ones than upon any greatness we can gain for ourselves. The world needs a Church that embraces highly respectable poverty in every dimension of its life. We don’t have to be great when we have such a great Lord. We don’t have to make ourselves great through wealth or through words when we serve such a great Savior who knows and calls us by name! This kind of church is made up of these kind of disciples. And these kind of disciples have “highly respectable poverty” modeled for them by their servant leaders. That’s our calling!

Communion and Quarantine

I grew up in a church that observed the Lord’s Supper once every three months. If the timing works out, I suppose it’s conceivable that a church taking communion quarterly might not have to decide how or whether to observe it in quarantine as a congregation—provided the group restrictions don’t last longer than three months.

The church I pastor observes the Lord’s Supper monthly, so we do have to address this question, as do the many Baptist churches who observe the Table weekly.

Any discussion of how to handle the Lord’s Supper in a time of quarantine is bound to evoke feelings. Feelings are involved in the Lord’s Supper, and rightly so! Jesus’ suffering on our behalf, the bonds we share in faith under His blood, and the joy of our eventual union with Him in glory—those truths, those realities cannot be pondered without deep feeling. And to deepen those emotions of love, acceptance, unity, and peace with a gracious God as a church family, the Lord gave us a commemorative meal to enjoy together.

But that’s the key word isn’t it? Together.

Pastors and churches are having to figure out how to do “together,” what being “together” means and doesn’t mean, and what “together” can and cannot look like under the Coronavirus quarantine. But as pastors, though feelings and emotions are rightly involved in and invoked by the Lord’s Supper, our aim must always be to point the Lord’s people to His word for guidance in understanding this and other facets of being and doing church. So, before I go on, I want to be careful to say that if a church’s leaders have settled on an approach to the Lord’s Supper during the COVID-19 quarantine that differs from mine, there’s room for grace and humility on this question amongst brothers united in gospel mission. The goal should be intra-church unanimity amongst a congregation’s leaders not necessarily inter-church uniformity amongst all congregations in a network like Cleveland Hope. Thus, what I offer here is not a directive but rather my perspective for pastors and churches who perhaps have not yet worked through this question.

That being said, my position is that it would be wise and helpful for pastors or leadership teams to wait until their congregations are able to gather again as a whole body in the same room to observe the Lord's Supper. Here's why this is my position:

1) Bible Precedent. The fact that every instance of the Lord's Supper referenced in the NT was in the context of a gathered, diverse body of believers should not be set aside just because we have the capability of seeing and hearing one another digitally. The physical, tactile nature of the bread and juice representing Jesus' broken body and shed blood being shared by believers around a common table is crucial to symbolizing the centrality of Jesus and the intimacy and unity we're to have as His followers.

In Exodus the Passover was celebrated in homes; but rather than a case for fathers conducting the Lord's supper with their families under quarantine, I see this as a picture pointing toward local churches assembling in the New Testament to acknowledge together God's ‘passing over’ our collective sin by the blood of the Lamb of God. "It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones. All the congregation of Israel shall keep it" (Exod. 12:46-7). There were many houses among Israel, but within each “one house” multiple layers of families & kinfolk (even circumcised servants, etc.) gathered to eat one and only one lamb. This was being done throughout the Israelite community.

Then there’s that amazing description of Pentecost and the early believers “devoting themselves to…the breaking of bread…” and “…day by day … breaking bread in their homes…” (Acts 2:42, 46). Whether one, both, or neither of those refers to the Lord’s Supper is hard to tell. They ate together and fellowshiped; they cared and shared; they preached and prayed; they rejoiced. It seems likely “breaking bread” in that context would’ve in some way been tied to Jesus’ upper room example and command given just a few weeks earlier. But is it to be normative for us today in our present quarantined predicament? I think not. The early Jerusalem church met in houses, but these were big, multi-family, multi-cultural gatherings happening daily, overseen by apostle-elders. Those scattered gatherings around Jerusalem also look like scattered local gatherings of believers around the world today known as local churches. We can’t gather that way right now. Besides, while that may have been normal for those explosive growth days after Pentecost, even within the New Testament era things calmed down and settled into more ordinary patterns of church fellowship and worship. Sunday meetings became typical. For example, Paul tells the Corinthians (1 Cor. 5) to use part of a typical Sunday gathering to excommunicate an immoral brother. Later (ch. 11) he chides them for sullying the gathering (specifically the Lord’s Supper) by self-indulgent and demeaning behavior: “For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.” The context suggests that “without discerning the body” isn’t a reference to Jesus’ literal body but disregard for His representative body in the diverse assembly of believers (rich, poor, Jew, Gentile, etc.) demonstrated in some members impatiently taking the Lord’s Supper before all members were present.

2) The Value of Gathering. We can’t rightly “discern” the body of Christ represented in the bread and cup without being in the actual company of the other redeemed members of His body with whom we are covenanted. No relationship of any importance can ever be fully satisfied remotely. Our relationship with God is founded on the promise of one day being physically, literally, bodily in the presence of our King, Jesus. Without that hope, we would all look for something else to satisfy that deepest longing. The world offers all sorts of alternatives: porn, sporting events, concerts, 'hooking up,' etc. We are social creatures who deeply want to be physically present with other people--God made us that way. The digital world just can't replace in-person contact with other believers with whom we share the hope of that eventual ultimate in-person union with Christ. The writer of Hebrews says, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is fatihful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near" (10:23-5). I don’t believe churches are “neglecting to meet” in our present circumstance; it’s more of a necessary and temporary cessation of meeting. However, just because we’ve switched to virtual meetings for now does not mean all the elements of our actual, in-person church meetings, especially the Lord’s Supper, should (or can) be conducted virtually.

I use technology. We all do. You’re reading this on a computer or phone screen. We can listen to our favorite preachers and podcasters whenever and wherever we want. Some would say that they’ve even formed “online churches.” I disagree. Churches may use websites and apps as tools for organizing information or event planning, etc., but I do not believe that any truly born-again believer in Jesus can ever be satisfied with an online-only experience of church.

3) Joy and yearning. There is a longing too deep for words within us to unite, to hold hands, to hug, to hear voices sharing the same lyrics in the same oxygen, and to smell one another (yes, I said that). Don’t you miss that these days (okay maybe not the smelling part)?  The Lord’s Supper should be something we yearn to resume once we are able to assemble together again on the Lord's Day. The Lord's Supper helps define what we mean by the term "local church." Bridge Church at Perry is a local church; Mt. Pleasant Baptist is a local church; Gateway Church Downtown, and your church—these are local churches that meet consistently in local locations at consistent times on a consistent day of the week. Our present quarantine situation is interrupting that consistency. We can continue praying for each other, hearing God's word preached, and even singing (sort of), but none of this should be considered ordinary. Just as it bothers us when we see people routinely skipping or missing our Sunday gatherings, it should also bother all of us to have to miss our “together time” during this quarantine. But being bothered isn’t always a bad thing! Let me encourage you, pastor, to not waste this interruption in your church’s ordinary gathering! Allow yourself and lead your church members to grieve over that aching absence of communion. Let that yearning compel intensified prayer for God’s mercy in ending the Coronavirus suffering and in enabling a return to our public assemblings.

To me, offering the Lord's Supper outside of the regular, in-person, Lord's Day meeting of a church risks cheapening (not enhancing) it's value as one of Jesus' two public (local church) ordinances. He gave the ordinances of the Lord's Supper and baptism to help believers form a shared identity as locally gathered, locally-defined, unified expressions of His body.

My greatest concern in offering the Lord’s Supper in contexts outside of the in-person, regularly gathered local church meeting is that we might inadvertently devalue that very gathering. In an age when we are already very socially isolated (Christians too!) by devices which sell us on the notion of a virtual connection, the Coronavirus pandemic poses a question: How much will we really miss one another and our bond in Christ? We are not really together online. Convenience and ease are not Christian values, and thus are unacceptable substitues for genuine Christian community.

Picture this: in a few weeks (or months), what will be your lasting memory of that first Sunday re-united with your church family? I am looking forward to that earthly reunion with great anticipation and part of it will be the renewed sharing of the Lord’s Supper together as we long together for our eternal union with Jesus!

Partners in PANdemIC

It’s almost surreal, but I published my last Hope Notes blog post two Wednesdays ago, just minutes before getting in my car and driving home while tuning in to Gov. Mike Dewine’s first Coronavirus press conference announcing the “extended spring break” for Ohio schools. To say that the last two weeks have been a whirlwind—press releases, news reports, advisories, updates, cancellations, response plans, and email alerts by everyone from utilities to banks to insurance boards of directors all seeking to let us know they’re here to serve us during this crisis—is perhaps the understatement of the decade (yes, I know the decade just started).

It’s dangerous to assume, but with most churches and pastors being relatively tech-savvy it is likely that most of you have navigated the initial “Phase 1” challenge of transitioning your weekly gatherings (and hopefully offerings as well) to an online format. That’s important. But I hope we’d all agree that the greatest “Phase 2” challenge is not how we will care inwardly for ourselves and keep inner ministry going as believers and churches, but how we will prepare in order to leverage this moment of crisis for the outward mission of Christ. (Click HERE to listen to missional thinker and director of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College, Ed Stetzer, on the COMING crisis!)

I like to play with words. I couldn’t help but notice a couple of Sundays ago when I first addressed the COVID-19 situation before Bridge Church that the word pandemic is the word ‘panic’ with ‘dem’ in the middle. It’s not really the etymology of the word, but I do recall from Greek that ‘dem’ means people (e.g. ‘Dem’ocracy = people power, etc.). So we can look at pan-dem-ic a couple of ways: 1) as “people in the midst of panic”, or 2) as “people interrupting panic.” Both interpretations of pandemic are live options. We can see people in panic around us, and we can also see people interrupting panic by taking calm, courageous action.

I like option 2 the best. That’s where we as Christ-followers need to be; that’s where we’ll have our greatest impact for Jesus—as people interrupting a time of cultural and civilizational panic with a peace that passes all understanding.

TRANSPARENCY ALERT:

This crisis will interrupt the revenue streams that supply Bridge Church and Cleveland Hope. Yes, concern (even worry) have teased at my mind as to how this could impact not only our church’s and our network’s capacity to minister but also how our household income might be affected.

Perhaps those same thoughts have been nagging you too—and maybe not just on the church side of things but also on the secular income side of things as many of you are also employed in non-church jobs.

Most people reading this blog are engaged in roles of Christian leadership and influence. I have three points of advice that I believe will help us be panic interrupters rather than panic participants. I’ll give them to you all at once and then we’ll look at each in sequence:

Communicate. Communicate. Communicate.

Step 1 - Communicate

Paul says in Philippians 4:6, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

“All healthy communication is important, but the absolutely essential and foundational form of communication for every believer and group of believers at all times (not just times of global pandemic) is prayer.”

My six year old son Isaac shared this memory verse in front of our church a few Sundays ago and boy, what a timely word it turned out to be! All healthy communication is important, but the absolutely essential and foundational form of communication for every believer and group of believers at all times (not just times of global pandemic) is prayer. Take it to God. You’ve got worry? Take it to God. You’ve got unemployment? Take it to God. Do you have COVID-19-infected church members or neighbors (if not YOU WILL)? Take them to God and plead earnestly for their healing. Concerns over money? Take them to God! Fight anxiety with the antidote of faithful prayer.

Step 2 - Communicate

Brothers and sisters: whatever your leadership capacity in your church, TALK TO YOUR PEOPLE! They want and need to hear from you. Whether you’re a pastor, children’s coordinator, small group leader, personal discipler of less mature believer(s)…DON’T STOP TALKING TO YOUR PEOPLE (well, I mean you have to sleep and eat and spend time with your families and work and grocery shop, etc. but…). My point here is that we must take every reasonable opportunity and leverage every available medium to bring the comfort and stabilizing effect of God’s word to God’s people. I’m not much of a tweeter, but I’ll be getting back in the swing of Twitter in the coming days. Why? Because it’s an avenue of filth and falsehood that I want to utilize for truth and light for the people God has given me to influence. Our church folks are being innundated with all the same media and messaging that we are—some of which is pure hype and speculation. Do all you can to provide God’s people not with your opinions or theories about CV19 but with helpful, factual information from health and government sources—and yes, the Bible!

“…we must take every reasonable opportunity and leverage every available medium to bring the comfort and stabilizing effect of God’s word to God’s people.”

Also, encourage your folks to communicate with their neighbors and associates. Many of our church members are classified as “essential” workers and are still associating with people each day in the community. Share a verse-a-day with your people and encourage them to do likewise in-person with their co-workers or neighbors while also offering to pray (see Step 1 above) for their needs & concerns. Ask your folks to communicate with you and for their permission to communicate their stories with others for the sake of encouragement. I was chatting with a friend on Facebook yesterday and she told me about a mutual friend who called a credit card company with a routine question. She talked with the rep for 5 minutes about the credit card issue and for another about another hour about Jesus sensing the card rep’s fear about the current crisis. As my friend told me, “People are looking and listening!”

Step 3 - Communicate

Here’s the next step: Communicate with other churches & leaders. Oh, and don’t forget to include your favorite association guy :-) )! Bridge Church rents worship and classroom space at a school. I can’t tell you how encouraging it was to have three nearby pastors reach out to me offering to share their churchs’ space with us knowing we would soon be locked out of our facility with the school closure—they called me!! Don’t let the isolation creep in either from your church family OR from other church leaders in the broader family of God. Now is an optimal time for encouragement and even creative partnerships. Got a creative idea for blessing folks and sharing the love of Jesus in your community? Need some resources? Call me (440) 413-1508. Need some ideas? I may not have THE solution for your church & community, but two heads are better than one; AND I’ve been hearing about a lot of cool ideas from leaders across Cleveland and Ohio that I’d be happy to share with you!

“Now is an optimal time for encouragement and even creative partnerships.”

I’ll try to make personal contact with each of you in the coming few weeks, but feel free to call me. Visit our directory; pick another pastor or two and call ‘em up. Even a voicemail communicates care and helps break the isolation Satan wants to strangle us with. Share a prayer need and/or ask how you can pray for them.

I could try to pull together a bunch of ideas, checklists, and best-practices to implement, but I’m not an expert on your church or the needs in your specific part of greater Cleveland. That’s why my advice is very simple and straightforward: Communicate! We are communal creatures and the health of our communion hinges in no small part on the quality and quantity of our visible and verbal communication. Let’s partner during this pandemic. But let’s pull together and offer the kind of partnership to our people, to our communities, and to each other that helps interrupt panic rather than intensify it. Clear, Christ-focused, consistent and credible communication is the key!

Blessings to you!

Money & Mission in 3-D (part 3 of 3)

In part 1 of this series we looked at the subject of “D”ollars in the life of a Baptist association. in part 2 we considered just a few of the actual and potential “D”eliverables that network dollars can help provide to partner churches and leaders reaching others for Christ close to home and around the world. Today I conclude this “Money & Mission in 3-D” series looking to the future dimension of our network.

The DREAM

Is it outrageous for women or African Americans to vote? No way, but that’s not always been true! There was a time when that notion would’ve seemed ludicrous — even to women and black people themselves. But a dream fed a desire which fueled a determination to labor with great discipline until that dream became reality, even though many of the first to dream it never saw it come true.

Abraham, our great forefather in the faith, was a dreamer. God gave him a dream and then the desire, the determination, and the discipline to forge ahead by faith towards the great blessing that he and his descendants would bring into the world: the Messiah! To the skeptics, Jesus (that very Messiah) says in John 8:56,

“Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.”

Abraham saw it, but not with his eyes; he touched it, but not with his hands! Abraham rejoiced through faith and hope in a Savior God revealed to him in a dream. And, though imperfect in his pursuit, and though unrealized in his lifetime that dream defined the rest of Abraham’s earthly existence—and still does! Perhaps the greatest dreamer in Scripture is Joseph. A lot of good his dreams did him, huh!—at least at first! Scorned and scolded, thrown into a well, sold into slavery, presumed dead. Heartache and hardship are the common lot of dreamers.

Dreams are audacious. They are absolutely ridiculous and even offensive to non-dreamers and skeptics.

Can I be transparent for a bit?

Like many of you, I’m a dreamer. But (also like many of you) I battle discouragement and defeatism in some measure almost daily. As a family man, I have hopes and dreams of a strong and vibrant marriage; I long to see my kids growing physically, spiritually, and emotionally. As a pastor I dream of a church on fire for Jesus, emboldened through prayer, and reproducing through energized disciple-making and church planting. But in each of these capacities the day-to-day nicks and scrapes of life and ministry—along with occasional body-blows—crush my spirit and consume my energy as a husband, father, and also as a pastor. These dreams require desire (which I often slake with junk like TV, social-media scanning, Oreos, and other quick comforts), determination (which often crumbles in the face of opposition), and discipline (which ebbs and flows in highs and lows).

My pursuit is highly imperfect, yet my dreams for home and church persist. So I must persevere.

The same is true of my dream for Cleveland Hope!

In December of 2017 a small group of representatives (nine I believe) from our association met at Trinity Christian Church in Bedford. The purpose was to vote on me. Deborah and I were there with our (then) 3 year-old son Isaac. To this day I am humbled—near tears as I type this sentence—to have received that small gathering’s unanimous call to lead our association into the future.

Abraham’s dream didn’t come true right away—in fact he didn’t live to see it. Joseph’s dream took a couple of decades to be realized with a lot of suffering and loneliness along the way. Like both of these saints, my dream for our city and region is certainly bigger than myself; God is up to things I can’t even begin to comprehend. But I want to share with you some things I see… some things I dream.

• I dream of Cleveland being a place brought from hopelessness to hope in Christ, and of our little network of churches and leaders being highly instrumental in this move of God.

• I dream of 60 churches today being 120 churches five to ten years from now, 200 (or more) in fifteen years, etc. I dream of these churches spanning every format from mega to micro, from thousands to thirty to three gathered around Scripture to the glory of the Savior with an intent to reproduce disciples and worshiping communities on every block and backroad (yes, there are some backroads) in greater Cleveland.

• I dream of Cleveland being both a mine of and a magnet to young ministers and missionaries. 1) A Mine - no young person should grow up in any of our churches wondering where and how he or she might grow as a gospel leader ready for kingdom deployment when God sends them out. Every church a shaping, sharpening, sending church! 2) A Magnet - I see this city and our churches being the talk of Christian college and seminary dorm rooms: “Hey, have you heard about Cleveland and the ministry internships and residencies available there? Every one of their churches has members with spare bedrooms and free lodging for summer or semester interns; some of them even have spare cars! And I hear Cleveland interns even get a stipend!”

• I dream of every Cleveland Hope pastor considering himself not just a shepherd but a professor and coach, trained together and entrusted with building young leaders, coming together on a monthly rotation to host intern cross-training cohorts in all the disciplines of spiritual formation, ministry and mission all coupled with hands-on, local church experience.

• I dream of a staffed (paid and volunteer) multi-purpose resource center in a sizeable re-purposed downtown or near-downtown facility complete with offices, classrooms, meeting rooms, a resource library available for every pastor and church leader for browsing and borrowing, showers and bunkrooms for visiting mission teams, warehousing for outreach materials, food, clothing, and other items donated by churches, corporations, and other agencies for helping the hurting, and garage space for a small fleet of vans available to our churches for mission trips and outreach purposes.

• I dream of business owners and corporate donors saying, “We see what you’re doing to serve this city and we want to buy in!” I see CEOs making Jesus their CEO!

• I dream of Cleveland being a global launch-pad, a place, a network, churches and leaders so alive and aflame for the gospel that northeast Ohio can’t contain it’s spread.

• I dream of every foreign people group represented in Cleveland being engaged in Christian hospitality by our churches with a view to their salvation and the transmission of the gospel to their countries of origin.

• I dream of an annual scholarship available to offset travel costs for every pastor who leads his people on mission.

• I dream of having the sharpest brotherhood of biblically-trained pastors of any association in the Southern Baptist Convention because we invest in our leaders’ theological education.

• I dream of an network of churches and leaders held together by doctrinal unity and mutual moral & ethical accountability.

If you’re tempted to think this is impossible, STOP IT! Just go ahead and admit that it totally IS… for us.

Even at my very young age of 43, like Abraham, I feel the years creeping and time slipping away, and am tempted to wonder if the dreams God has given me will come to pass in my lifetime. In my dark and discouraged moments, like Joseph, I feel lonely, forgotten, and unloved, like I’m looking at the world and my dreams through a tiny disc of light at the top of a pit, and I wonder how, when, or even if God will come through.

Another moment of honesty…

As I near the end of this post, I’m tempted to trim some of the “I dream” bullet points above. My little heart can’t bear the thought of you reading this, rolling your eyes or snickering at my “pie-in-the-sky” vision for our network. Cleveland Hope is behind on dollars already for the year. We’re below target on deliverables. But can a God who calls a Mesopotamian geriatric to father His new nation and who takes a Jewish runt from prisoner to potentate of Egypt not do great things through us and among us, all for the same redemptive purpose and glory of the same Messiah that Abraham and Joseph looked for?

Ministry and Mission are trying and tiring endeavors. But I’ll tell you this: nothing is more tiring and hopeless than a dreamless ministry and mission.

I want and need your partnership—I crave it! I want you to get in on the promise of 1 Corinthians 9:8,

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.”

So much and so many of God’s resources for the dreams He’s implanted in our hearts for our churches, our network and our future gospel impact are latent and untapped right under our noses.

I was recently shown some demographics from across Ohio outlining zip codes with no Southern Baptist Churches present. Those zip codes were arranged by population as follows: 1) over 20k, 2) 15-20k, and 3) 10-15k. Guess what. Of the 41 zip codes in the “over 20k” population category across Ohio, 14 were in greater Cleveland (including 6 of the top 10, with Lakewood coming in at #1—a city of 52,804 people in our association with no SBC church). The total population of just the Cleveland-area zip codes over 20,000 people with no SBC church is 484,618. Add to that all the smaller zip code population categories with no SBC church and the number jumps to 627,261. That’s well over half a million people in greater Cleveland with no Southern Baptist church in their zip code. Some of those people may be Southern Baptists who commute to nearby zip codes to church. Great! But I never want to hear “We have enough churches…” That will never, ever, ever be true!

Our dreams have to be bigger not smaller. The potential and the resources for a gospel wildfire are all around us like dried leaves under a hot October sun. We carry the match of the good news; may the Holy Spirit of God graciously blow on it as we faithfully strike it and drop it into hearts and lives all around us every day. And may the growing and glowing light of churches and a city set on fire for Jesus flicker and send hot embers to the darkest parts of the world as we labor expectantly and TOGETHER until He returns!

One way to take an active part in strengthening Cleveland Hope is to join our Executive Leadership Team. Each church is permitted one seat on the ELT. If your church doesn’t have a representative, your seat at the table is vacant! ELT members may be pastors or laypersons. Notify me today at davery@clevelandhope.com if you or a member of your congregation would like to serve on the 2020 ELT. We have two remaining regular ELT meetings in 2020: Tuesday, May 12 and Tuesday, September 15.

Money & Mission in 3-D (part 2 of 3)

I can’t just pull up to the McDonald’s drive-thru window and expect to be handed a 10-piece McNugget meal with a Sprite because I’m handsome; I have to hand the cashier money before I get my value meal. But I’ll tell you this, once I’ve handed that money over, I’m not leaving the drive-thru without my food!

That may be an oversimplified illustration when talking about churches giving to their local Baptist network. The correlation between dollars given and deliverables received may not always be as clear or immediate as the exchange that takes place at a cash register. After all, when your church gives money to Cleveland Hope you’re not making a purchase, you’re maintaining a partnership. Every dollar given to Cleveland Hope is an expression of trust in our network’s leadership, purpose and vision. I do not take that trust lightly! Cleveland Hope’s dollars don’t come from nowhere; they come from your church! And your church dollars don’t come from nowhere either; they come from the allowances of kids whose parents are teaching them to tithe, from single moms working two and three part-time jobs to put food on the table, and they come from fixed-income senior adults, as well as other folks across the income spectrum.

Because every dollar is a precious expression of trust, it is entirely reasonable for churches and pastors to expect clarity about what Cleveland Hope is doing and plans to do with the support dollars received from them.

Deliverables

In Luke 5:4, Jesus says to a tired and frustrated Simon Peter, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” Peter replies in v. 5, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” Jesus spoke directly to Simon Peter who replies saying: ‘I will let down the nets.” But in v. 6 the I becomes a they! “And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking.” Jesus’ personal request got a partnering result.

“N.E.T.S.” stands for four key values and objectives for our network. Below are a few ways Cleveland Hope can deliver on its purpose to add value to our partner churches.

Networking Churches & Resources

• Strategic Planning - Got an idea for reaching or serving folks in your church’s neighborhood? Need some extra hands? Build community within your church and commraderie with a nearby church by either inviting them to serve with you or offering to serve with them. Reach out to Cleveland Hope, we can help you develop a neighborhood-reaching strategy and partnerships with other churches to help maximize results for the kingdom.

• Block Party Trailer - Want to host a community outreach event at your church or a local park complete with sno-cone & popcorn machines, sound-system, pop-up tents, coolers, and even an inflatable movie screen & digital projector? Visit www.bridgechurchperry.com to learn about this resource and reserve the trailer for your date.

• Resource Lending Library - Did you know Cleveland Hope maintains a library of books, Bible study materials in print, audio, and video formats for individual, small group, or church-wide use? Contact davery@clevelandhope.com for a current list of resources! Want a resource that’s not currently in our library? If you’re willing to return the leader kit to Cleveland Hope when you’re done so other churches can use it, we’ll buy it and have it shipped it to your church. (Note: requested resources are subject to review and approval by Cleveland Hope leadership.)

Encouraging Pastors

• Ministry Wives Network - Whether you are a pastor or church planter, if you’re married, there are ladies who want to engage and encourage your wife! Have her reach out to Jasmine Wilson (jasminestarwilson@gmail.com), Deborah Avery (deborahavery07@gmail.com), Kathy Loseto (kloseto@clevelandhope.com), or Beth Losteo (bloseto@clevelandhope.com). Don’t miss an opportunity for your closest ministry partner to find spiritual support from other ladies in ministry!

• Pastor Fellowships - Feelings of invisibility and isolation in ministry are real, but so is your opportunity to combat them with Cleveland Hope’s regular Pastor/Planter fellowships. Watch our Facebook group page and your email for details about our next morning and/or evening pastor/planter meet-up!

• Pastor Encourager Team - What a blessing it would be to have a team of pastor-leaders willing to make time in their schedules to reach out and encourage other pastors in their geographic zones of greater Cleveland. Good news: We have just such a team at Cleveland Hope! You can learn more about our zone encouragers by visiting the “N.E.T.S. Encourager Team” page on our website. Have an urgent prayer need? Need some counsel on a big decision? Get in touch with an Encourager today!

Training Leaders

• Theological Training - In our day and time a pastor’s need for in-depth biblical and theological training has never been greater. Cleveland Hope considers it a wise investment to assist our leaders when possible in obtaining rigorous and relevant ministry education from approved institutions. Our network provided nearly $3,000 in scholarships in 2019. (All scholarship requests are subject to approval by Cleveland Hope’s Executive Leadership Team.)

• State, Regional & National Training Events - Every ministry leader needs occasional re-tooling and sharpening. It’s an honor to help our leaders get the training they need for more effective ministry. Has it been a while since you attended a training conference? Based on available funds and need, Cleveland Hope can usually provide some type of assistance. Our State Convention of Baptists in Ohio provide a range of high-quality low-cost trainings for ministry leaders right here in the Buckeye state.

• VBS Training - Send your Vacation Bible School team members to a Cleveland Hope-hosted VBS training event. Get your volunteers ready for VBS together AND get a discount on VBS materials AND help Cleveland Hope get a cash incentive for hosting the event! Upcoming VBS Training event at Park Heights Baptist in Brook Park, Saturday morning, April 25. Mark your calendars and email Kathy Loseto with how many from your church are attending (klosteto@clevelandhope.com).

Sending Teams

• Teams of Churches - Few things build gospel synergy like two or more churches partnering for a specific mission endeavor. Whether it’s a new church plant in an under-reached part of Cleveland or a short-term trip to engage an unreached people group on another continent, Cleveland Hope wants to invest in joint gospel ventures between churches!

• Church Teams - Taking a group from your church to do gospel ministry in another part of greater Cleveland, Ohio, the U.S. or the world? Depending on the size of your team and estimated costs per-person, support funds may be available from Cleveland Hope to offset or supplement some of your team costs.

Again, these are just a few opportunities and ideas. You may have others; I’d like to hear them!

You’ll probably get tired of hearing me talk about NETS, but I really can’t think of a better image to capture the potential Cleveland Hope’s churches have for collaborative interdependence as we make Jesus known together. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to Cleveland Hope. Visit our Contact page to set up a visit today! I’m here to serve you, to listen, and to dream together with you about partnering in the gospel!

~Darin Avery