How to Help Your Church Family Grow

Where you worship is probably similar to Parrish, where we attend and where I preach.  We are a good group of people.  We are active in our faith and are decent folk.  But like you, we can be better.  I put some thought to this idea of congregational self-improvement and I have a few suggestions on how we can all Help Our Individual Church Family Grow.

First we help by Living Pure Lives. The local congregation needs to have the respect of the community it is in.  That level of respect lies squarely upon the shoulders of each member.  "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, (Titus 2:11-12)."

Next we help by Being Friendly. Each visitor needs to feel welcome.  They should see we appreciate them and love them. Such a realization will make them want to return.  Do not stand back and let someone else greet visitors -- you be one of the first.  The Hebrew writer says, "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. (Heb 13:2)."

We can also help by Giving Our Full Support to the Leaders.  Effective leaders are a great blessing to any congregation of God's family.  None can progress without faithful and efficient leaders, and as members we can make or break our leadership.  Again from the Hebrew writer we learn, "Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. (Heb 13:17)."

Another way we can help our church family grow is by Promoting Unity. Peter gives us a formula for unity in 1 Pet 3:8-12, "Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. For 'Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.' " The unity formula is:

1. Unity of Mind.
2. Sympathy for each other.
3. Brotherly Love.
4. Having a Tender Heart.
5. Having an Humble Mind.
6. Not Being Vindictive.
7. Bless each other.

A fifth way to help our congregation is by Working Hard at Being a Soul-Saver. This is as simple as letting your non-Christian friends and family know why you are a Christian and how you came to Christ.  Remember the wise preacher tells us, "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise. (Prov 11:30)."

To be a Soul-Saver, Living in Unity, Supporting the Leaders, Friendly, while Living Pure Lives, takes Living a Life of Full Surrender. Jesus said it best, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:26-27)."

Keep Growing  for the Lord.

Scott

Celebrating Senior Saints

I thought I would take today to share with you one of the things the great young people at Parrish Church of Christ do every year for our Senior Members.  Every year around Valentines Day our teens serve a meal to our Senior Members.  Those of us who are the parents of these young people help with decorating and meal preparation.  We also have a young lady who takes pictures of each couple, widow(er), or attendee that they will be given at a later date.  Enjoy the video.
 


Go with God.
Scott

Top Ten Ideas to Help Destroy the Local Church

The home office is feeling quite sarcastic this morning and provides us the following top ten list:  Top Ten Ideas to Help Destroy the Local Church.

10. Be irregular or at least habitually tardy in attendance at Bible Classes, worship, and other activities.
9. Talk critically about church leaders in public, around other members, and to your family.
8. Be apathetic in you singing.  Please do not move you mouth and never demonstrate emotions when you sing.
7. Do not come prepared for Bible Classes and worship when you do attend.
6. Talk about where you attend in terms of "they" instead of "we;"  As in, "Do you know what 'they' are doing down at the church?"
5. Constantly criticize and look for opportunities to complain or to think the worst of the church or other Christians.
4. Do not study your Bible at home or anytime you are away from the assembly.
3. Do not be "ready to give an answer" for the "hope" you have of inheriting eternal life.
2. Do compartmentalize your life into sections such as: a) Private Life, b) Public Life, c) Church Life, and d) Family Life.  Do not let these separate lives cross over and merge.
And the number one idea to help destroy the local church is  . . .
1) Expect others to do more (contribute, work, etc.) than you are willing to do.

Seriously, take each of these ideas and do the opposite to help the local church grow!

Scott

Jubilee!

This past month, after 5 years and 3 months, the congregation at Parrish paid off our mortgage on our mortgage. In 2001 we located and purchased 17 acres of hill, hollow, and creek on the new road between Parrish and Oakman. In 2004 we completed construction on our current building. Then in 2007 we added a second building for fellowships. This month we paid the last payment on our mortgage. This is a year of Jubilee. This will open the door for us to do more in the way of missions and outreach. The elders planned to pay off the mortgage by 2014, but the "people had a mind to work." Below are pictures of our building, and mortgage burning last Sunday night!

Our Main Building in Parrish, Alabama

Denny Pugh, Sr. one of our elders reminds the congregation that in 2001, We began with 70 active members, and now have more than 150.

Charles Earnest who has served as Treasure for 49 years starts off the burning.

Elders, Ed Earnest and Denny Pugh watch the mortgage burn!

 Roger Minor, another of our Elders is happy to see those flames!

Scott

Parrish Gospel Meeting / Revival

This is a TV commercial -- color screen and countdown included -- for our Gospel meeting.  We will run this on two stations (Jasper TV 16 and the CW network affiliate in Birmingham (CW21).

Scott

Do You Love Like Jesus?

Jesus loved the Heavenly Father - Matt 22:36-37. Do you and I love the Lord with ALL of our heart, soul, and strength, or do we love Him just a little more than self?

Jesus loved the Word of God - Matt 24:35. Do you and I spend as much time listening or reading God's word as we do to the emails, blogs, and updates of our online friends and family?

Jesus loved Prayer - He was a man of prayer, there are many instances we read of Him going off to pray. Do you and I take time out of our day to talk with God?

Jesus loved Lost Souls - Luke 19:10. He loved the lost enough to sacrifice himself for them. Do you and I love them enough to tell them about God's offer in Christ?

Jesus loved the Church - Eph 5:25. Jesus gave His life for the Church, His Bride. Do we love the church or do we find excuses not to be around

George and Alice

Fellow blogger and preacher, Trey Morgan wrote earlier this week about Rules for Potlucks. His story of sweet potatoes reminded me of an event from early in my work as a minister.

I was still in college at Faulkner University and traveling every weekend to work with the church in Bay Minette, Alabama. On the weekends I would stay with different members who would also provide my meals (I gained a lot of weight the 18 months I worked there). One older couple regularly (about once a month) had me stay in their home. George & Alice were a great example of a loving couple. They had no children of their own and were in their 60's. George had retired from the Forest Service and Alice had stayed home taking care of their aging parents for most of their marriage. Alice was a southern cook and homemaker; walking into their home was like walking into the pages of Southern Living Magazine. The meals she prepare and the table she set could have graced the cover of any hospitality or food magazine.

The only thing she made that I did not like was a congealed salad. A gelatin based formed food product served on iceberg lettuce . . . and she made some every weekend I stayed. My southern upbringing taught me to eat what was offered, so every meal I was with George and Alice, I choked down my “salad” with a smile, before enjoying the field peas, chicken dressing, fried okra, etc. If Alice went to the trouble of preparing a dish I was gentleman enough to eat it.

One weekend, Alice had been busy preparing a meal for a family in need and did not take time to make a congealed salad. When she apologized, I accepted her apology by confessing my dislike for it. Alice laughed and said, “I wish I knew you didn't like that stuff. I can't stand it myself. But you ate it first every time you were here so I thought you liked it.”

Although I think we both needed to work on our communication skills, we were doing something right. We were following what Paul teaches in Philippians 2:3-4, “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” We were trying to demonstrate love.

Scott