Building for the Future: What's Involved

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=50 BGCOLOR="#333366" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Building for the Future: What's Involved</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=165 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="132" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 35 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id553.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Financially Fit For A FreedUp Future"><U><B><IMG SRC="007151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id514.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Building for the Future: Making A Differ"><U><B><IMG SRC="008151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="20"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="35" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="20" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="13"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="27"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <div> Previous/Next Sermon</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="www.stanbaker.org"><U><B>Home</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Biblical and Theological Studies"><U><B>Biblical and Theological Studies</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Church Ministry"><U><B>Church Ministry</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sermon Notes"><U>Sermon Notes</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Personal"><U><B>Personal</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=430 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> "<B>Building for the Future: What's Involved”</B></div> <div> <B>April 23-24, 2005, Berean Bible Church</B></div> <bR> <div>      I came across this satirical article: “Mega-church explodes: 'I guess we got too big,' pastor admits.” ALBUQUERQUE — A fountain of flames spewed from the sanctuary at Wooden Oaks Community Church when the mega-church apparently grew one person too large and spontaneously combusted. "One minute we were singing, and the next there was a huge explosion," said one witness. Miraculously, nobody in the 15,000-seat sanctuary was hurt. Nurseries and child care rooms were evacuated immediately, and people ran for cover as the building was engulfed by fire. Investigators have ruled out terrorism or arson, and say it's "just one of those things that happens when you get a lot of people together." "I have never heard of rapid church growth resulting in spontaneous combustion, but we're talking about a church of 15,000 people," says fire marshal Bill Wilkins. "When you push the limit that far, you're inviting trouble." The church has recently tangled with the city government over plans to build a 2,000-acre theme park/shopping mall/air strip/professional baseball stadium/skating rink/water-ski lake and NASCAR race track just outside city limits. Those plans are on "indefinite hold," says pastor John Allen, 31, who started the church one year ago." [© 2003 LarkNews.com, Joel Kilpatrick.]</div> <div>      Now this is a true story: “Chef Fired for Attracting Too Many Diners” STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) -- A Swedish chef said he was shocked to find out he will lose his job because his cooking is too good. An engineering company in central Sweden said they won't renew chef Richard Norberg's contract because he attracts too many people to the company's cafeteria. "Some feel that the staff has had to stand in line for too long and that they can't choose where they want to sit," a disappointed Norberg said Thursday. The ABE engineering company in Oernskoeldsvik, 235 miles north of Stockholm, leased the cafeteria to Norberg six years ago. Since then, his traditional Swedish pancakes, pea soup and pork chops have attracted an ever growing stream of visitors. "The number of guests has increased by many hundred per cent," ABE staff manager Curt Lundqvist said. "We simply do not have enough room." ... The cafeteria's lunch crowd has tripled to 300 guests since it opened, due to the traditional Swedish cooking, the central location and the reasonable pricing, Norberg said. ... Lundqvist however, said the popularity had become too great for the engineering business. "We produce pipe-installation parts, we don't run things like this," said. [Copyright 2004 Associated Press.]</div> <div>      There are many people who don't want their church to grow. Growth brings too many challenges and too much discomfort to those who are “in” already. But we must ask again, what does God have in mind for his church? And what do we have to adjust in order to accommodate what he has in mind?</div> <div>      We will look at Acts 2:36-47, and Acts 6:1-7.</div> <div>      What will be involved as we build Berean Bible Church for the future, based on what God has already been doing throughout our history?</div> <bR> <div> <B>I. </B><A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Acts+2:36-47" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U><B>Acts 2:36-47</B></U></A><B> – God wants his church to be healthy and to grow.</B></div> <div>      I was asked, with three services meeting over two days, how do we keep everyone together as one church? The answer, we don't, and that is not our goal, nor was it the goal of the early church. Early on, they far outgrew their capacity for everyone to know everyone else.</div> <div>      The church was growing rapidly. People's lives were being transformed, the message of Jesus was getting out, and people were becoming part of the family. They were working together and worshiping God. The new converts were devoted to learning about Jesus and their new faith in him, and opportunities were provided for them to get connected and grow and serve and worship. It seems the church was healthy.</div> <div>      And God kept blessing them and adding to their number (that's what happens to things that are healthy). But this growth eventually brought about some significant challenges.</div> <bR> <div> <B>II. </B><A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Acts+6:1-7" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U><B>Acts 6:1-7</B></U></A><B> – But growth will bring challenges and changes.</B></div> <div>      Not all of the widows were being adequately cared for, and there was potential for serious division in the body, that had been so unified. Growth made things uncomfortable and brought stress. So a new system had to be put in place; new administrators were asked to serve, so that people's needs could be met and the work could go forward in unity. Vs. 7 shows that God continued to bless them and add to their number.</div> <div>      Recall <A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Ex+18:13-27" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>Exodus 18:13-27</U></A>, and Jethro's advice to his son-in-law Moses. This is the mistake the early church avoided in Acts 6.</div> <bR> <div> <B>III. What's involved for us, as this church is built for the future, by the power of God?</B></div> <div>      We should add capacity, assuming that God will bless us, because it is his desire (Acts 2:47, 2 Peter 3:9), because we ask by faith, and because we will do what he tells us to do.</div> <bR> <div>     Maybe you have seen the IBM e-server commercials. In one, the team is waiting in a big line at a favorite restaurant, that they used to able to get into relatively quickly. They discuss this problem as they wait. The restaurant should add capacity, it should add seats and tables, wait staff, build a bigger kitchen, etc. (Evidently this is what IBM does / is able to do with their e-servers).</div> <bR> <div>      Size and space issues: We are at least 80% full in the 10:30 service on a regular basis, in our parking lot, and throughout the building at 9:00am (classes and groups of all ages). Traditionally, if space is 80% full on a regular basis, it is full. It's necessary to add more space, so more people can participate.</div> <bR> <div>      We will have to add services, classes and groups, parking, possibly space; definitely other churches. In order to any of this, we will need more people as leaders and other kinds of servants, and we will need more people giving a regular tithe.</div> <bR> <div>      We are looking at reforming our organizational structure, on the principles of Exodus 18 and Acts 6, of delegating and sharing decisions within clear authority lines and role descriptions. And we have to streamline the process by which people get connected and start growing in their faith and get plugged in to making a difference.</div> <bR> <div>      We need you to get involved through prayer, through giving, through exercising your gifts to serve Jesus Christ and his church that meets in the place.</div> <bR> <div>      Ultimately, the key is not merely adding people to the kingdom of God, it is <I>multiplying</I> believers, leaders and servants, small groups, and ultimately reproducing churches, so that the growth of the church can truly be unlimited.</div> <bR> <div>      And if we don't plan for growth by creating space and opportunities for more and more people, we say, without opening our mouths, “we don't want you around,” or “go away, we can't handle you.” And they will go away.</div> <bR> <div>     Here is a blog posting called "Lessons from the Poor" [<A HREF="http://enewhope.typepad.com/mentoring_at_a_distance/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://enewhope.typepad.com/mentoring_at"><U><U>http://enewhope.typepad.com/mentoring_at_a_distance/</U></U></A> (Wayne Cordeiro, pastor of New Hope Christian Fellowship in Hawaii).]</div> <div> A few years ago, I made a teaching trip to China where twenty leaders of the house church movement came together for leadership training. These wonderful people rode a bumpy train for thirteen hours where we met at a pre-determined local building. Gathered together in a small un-airconditioned room, they sat cross-legged on a wooden floor. Dressed as humble farmers, they were adorned in simple clothing that was brightened by huge smiles on every face, each countenance weathered with deep lines I knew contained stories of trial and victory. These absorbant hearts were like hungry acolytes ready to light the world.</div> <div> Before I began, I thought we’d get a bit more acquainted with one another, so I asked them to share a little about who they were. One man said that he had just been released from serving twelve years in prison: His “crime”: faith in an unseen Messiah. “How many others of you have spent time in prison for your faith?” I asked. Eighteen of the twenty leaders raised their hands.</div> <div> If the government authorities discovered this non-registered religious meeting, these home group leaders would immediately face a three year prison sentence, and I would be deported in twenty-four hours. “Are you not afraid?” I asked. “No,” they quickly replied. “We are not afraid. And if you will teach us not just two days, but four, we will stay.”</div> <div> I commended them for their faith, all the while wondering why it wasn’t them who were teaching me instead of the other way around.</div> <div> Each of these veteran saints were overseeing large numbers of house churches. I continued my “Let’s-get-acquainted” lesson. “How many people do you oversee in all the house churches combined?” I asked innocently. After a moment of quiet calculating, one of the leaders spoke up.</div> <div> “Twenty-two million.”</div> <div> I choked back a cough. “Twenty-two m-m..million?” I stammered, vainly disguising my surprise. “Yes, twenty-two million,” the leader reiterated.</div> <bR> <div>      That is church growth, my friends. And it is about God's transformation of many people. It is not about buildings and technology and entertainment. It's about a movement of transformation, a movement that reproduces over and over again. Are we willing to experience change, discomfort, possibly suffering to see it happen?</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> copyright, 2005, Stanley Baker</div> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> </td> </tr></table></body>