Ridge Church Update
From time to time I like to update on what is going at Ridge Church. To stay in the know with everything, head over to Ridgechurchblog.com. Here’s a quick rundown of what’s been happening lately…
- We’ve now been in our building for almost 5 months. I was only about 70% sure at best this was the right move for out church, but with each day, I’m more and more confident we did the right thing.
- We still have really not advertised yet, and so all the growth we’ve seen from the move has been from personal invites.
- Oak Ridge is one of the HARDEST places to advertise for anything. Only 2 billboards in town, can’t put up street signs because of a city ordinance, and the local media stinks. It’s tough but we’ve got to figure it out.
- Who out there is doing the best job in a similar situation? Hook a brother up!
- This past Sunday we saw our highest attendance on a non-holiday weekend! Yeah…I can get up for that
- The current series, Losing My Religion has been a hot topic series. It’s started the year off with a bang!
- The next series, Real Marriage based on Mark Driscoll’s book, should be another conversation starter
- To be fair and honest, I wasn’t entirely excited about planting a church in Oak Ridge. But the longer I’m here, the more I love this city for what God sees in it.
- I’m really excited to see what God is doing in our Ridge Kids and Ridge Students so far this year. Ridge Students has already seen several students accept Christ and Ridge Kids is blowing up in size. It’s gonna be a crazy year for kids at Ridge Church!
- Speaking of crazy, I told our Ridge Students if they hit a certain number, I’d come lead worship for them. Yikes! I think they’ll do it
- I’m really looking forward to this year of ministry. The momentum is swinging and I think we’re picking up steam.
- I’ve heard some great reports of random people in our city talking about what Ridge Church is doing in the community. I’ll take that buzz all day!
- One simple phrase is helping us tighten up loose screws each week….THAT CAN’T HAPPEN. I strongly encourage you to inject it into your culture as well. It’s totally transferable
Extreme Home Makeover & The Church
If you live in the Knoxville area, you know that ABC’s Extreme Home Makeover was in town for a week doing a home build for a very deserving family (one we’ve actually been able to partner with in the past through Restoration House). The media buzz has been amazing and in some ways, almost overwhelming.
Every tweet from local media seemed to be about every tiny detail of the build. It was really amazing to see so many people volunteer to help and so many people simply just follow the story online or through the local news. On the surface, Extreme Home Makeover is impacting the life of a family, which I think is awesome. By the way people responded and followed the story, it’s obvious that people deeply care about impacting the lives of others positively. Again…AWESOME!
My lovely wife posted this question on Facebook this week….(@Denira)
So I absolutely LOVE the whole extreme makeover thing and love the all the updates. But It has made me wonder what our cities would be like if this many people selflessly gave their time and resources to others on a daily, weekly or even monthly basis? What if the church was the catalyst for this type of project and not a tv show?
BOOM! I love that! The local church SHOULD be the catalyst for this type of project! And, thank Jesus, many churches ARE doing this type of work on a daily basis, impacting the lives of people, every single day, because of the GOSPEL.
See, ultimately, ABC’s Extreme Home Makeover is about making that $$. And that’s ok. I get that. It’s business and ratings. But the church is about impacting others with the Gospel for the honor and glory of God (or should be).
To me, and maybe I’m biased, but that’s a story that deserves a little more coverage. It’s sad to think that many churches, who do these types of thing on a daily basis, gets overshadowed completely by a multi-media corporation who comes into town for 7 days with lights, cameras and celebs.
The camera’s aren’t on….the lights aren’t very bright….and we have no celebrities….BUT we have JESUS.
I think that’s a story that should be BLASTED.
So Sunday You Laid An Egg…
It happens eventually.
No matter how good of a communicator you are, you will lay a big 0le stinky egg on stage one Sunday. It happened to me this past Sunday.
Or so I thought….
As a pastor/preacher/communicator, I am my own worst critic. As soon as I step off the stage Sundays, I can usually give you an analysis of how I thought I did. This past Sunday, even though I loved the topic and I was really prepared, I felt as though I laid an egg with my message.
As someone who communicates the most important message in the world every week, sucking it up is not what you want to do.
But praise be to God, that it’s not up to you how your message comes across. That’s the job of the Holy Spirit.
I’m thankful that God still used what I thought was an egg to speak to people.
I’m constantly reminded that JESUS said HE would build HIS Church. Not me.
Then I’m reminded of this as well...For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. – Matthew 10:20
THANK YOU JESUS
Preach the Gospel to the best of your ability and then get out of the way. Your egg may not stink as bad as you thought.
Network, Network, Network
I love networking with other churches, ministry leaders and pastors. In fact, I’ve written about it several times on this blog, the power and benefits in networking.
Just this week, I get to network with two of my mentors/coaches from Mission Church, a good friend who also happens to be a pastor, and I’ve connected with several guys on Twitter.
It doesn’t matter what area of ministry you are in; volunteer, ministry leader, or pastor, never underestimate the power and benefits of networking with other leaders in the church.
7 or 8 years ago, this was pretty difficult to do, and in a lot of ways, just wasn’t happening as often. But today, I see a landscape that is more about advancing God’s Kingdom than our own kingdoms.
So if you’re in the ministry in any way, take some time today to reach out to someone else to connect and network with. It’ll be well worth your time and effort to do so.
More Thoughts On Pastor Wives
One of the most popular posts on my blog recently has been this one I wrote about pastor wives. In it I share a few thoughts about what I’ve seen my wife go through, being a pastor wife.
Today I noticed that a search to my blog was “pastor’s wives that don’t want to do it anymore.”
Don’t quit. Don’t give up. Hold on.
I don’t know if you found this blog because you want to quit and you want out of the ministry. Can I just be honest and tell you that I feel you? Can I be honest and tell you that my wife (@denira) has felt the same way at times?
I’m convinced that the very hardest job in the church is the job of the wife married to the lead pastor. It’s not easy.
I believe there are things that churches, it’s members and pastors (me included) can do to make the job a little easier and more enjoyable…
- During pastor appreciation month, honor the wife and the pastor’s family. They are the real warriors
- Send a note to let the pastor’s wife know you’re praying for her and her family. Then actually DO IT
- Don’t get your underpants in a wad when the pastor’s wife doesn’t show up at your bible study, event or social gathering. It’s quite possible her schedule is already overbooked
- If the pastor’s wife isn’t serving in the kids ministry, that’s OK. Her main ministry is to her family. You can find a kids volunteer but the pastor can’t find another family.
- She didn’t talk to you on Sunday? It’s OK. She doesn’t hate you
- Pastor….do a better job of protecting her feelings, time, and boundaries (I’ve failed miserably at this one in the past and still struggle with it at times).
If you’re not or have never been the wife of a pastor, you have no idea. As the husband of a pastor’s wife, I don’t fully have a clue in many ways. But what we can all understand is the job is tough and we can all (myself especially) do whatever it takes, to make it any tougher.
Pastor wives, hang in there. I encourage you to contact my wife on Twitter, @denira, and she would be glad to get you connected to a network of other pastor wives around the country that can pour into you.
