Leadership 2009 — Connect

March 15 -18, 2009

Main Speakers:

Duane Vander Klok
Brian Zahnd
Chris Hodges
James Garlow

Costs:
$105.00 for a single on or before March 2nd. $155.00 a single after March 2nd.
$180.00 for a couple on or before March 2nd. $230.00 a couple after March 2nd.

REGISTER NOW AT LEADERSHIP2009.ORG

Basic Schedule:

Sunday, March 15

• 5 – 6 p.m.    A Night of Worship with RLCI Affiliate Worship Leaders
• 6 p.m. – ?    Leadership Conference Connection

Monday, March 16

• 8:30 – 9:30 a.m.   Registration – Ground Floor Lobby & Complimentary Breakfast
• 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. Session One/Duane Vander Klok – Worship Center
• 10:30 – 11 a.m.    Refreshments
• 11 – 11:50 a.m.    Session Two/Brian Zahnd – Worship Center
• 12 – 1 p.m.           Lunch Options:

- Luncheon/Brian Zahnd – Ground Floor | Ticket required; limited seating
- Worship Luncheon/Ken Reynolds – Hospitality Suite | Ticket required; limited seating
- Olive Tree Café or local restaurants available

• 1:15 – 2:15 p.m.   Electives
• 2:30 – 3:30 p.m.   Electives
• 7– 8:30 p.m.         Session Three/Brian Zahnd– Worship Center
• 8:30 – 10:30 p.m. Conference Connection-Ground Floor

Tuesday, March 17

• 8 – 8:45 a.m.            RLCI Info Meeting & Leaders For Christ Resource Introduction – Chapel
• 8:30  – 8:50 a.m.      Praise & Worship – Worship Center
• 8:50 – 9:40 a.m.       Session Four/Brian Zahnd – Worship Center
• 9:40-10:10 a.m.       Refreshments
• 10:10 – 11 a.m.        Session Five/Chris Hodges – Worship Center
• 11 – 11:25 a.m.        Refreshments
• 11:25 – 12:15 p.m.   Session Six/Pastor Duane Vander Klok – Worship Center
• 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.     Lunch Options:

- Luncheon/Chris Hodges – Ground Floor | Ticket required; limited seating
- Worship Luncheon/Guest – Hospitality Suite | Ticket required; limited seating
- Olive Tree Café or local restaurants available

• 1:45 – 2:45 p.m.        Electives
• 3 – 4 p.m.                  Electives
• 7– 8:30 p.m.              Session Seven/Chris Hodges – Worship Center
• 8:30 – 10:30 p.m.      Conference Connection – Ground Floor

Wednesday, March 18

• 8:30 – 8:50 a.m.          Praise & Worship – Worship Center
• 8:50 – 9:40 a.m.          Session Eight/James Garlow – Worship Center
• 9:40-10:10 a.m.          Refreshments
• 10:10 – 11 a.m.           Session Nine/Chris Hodges – Worship Center
• 11 – 11:25 a.m.           Refreshments
• 11:25 – 12:15 p.m.      Session Ten/James Garlow – Worship Center
• 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.        Lunch Options:

- Luncheon/James Garlow – Ground Floor | Ticket required; limited seating
- Olive Tree Café or local restaurants available

• 1:30 – 7 p.m.               Break
• 7 – 8:30 p.m.               Session Eleven/James Garlow – Worship Center

Evangelism Needs Discipleship

Evangelism Needs Discipleship
By Pastor Brent Matzen, Resurrection Life Church, Grandville

A recent survey sited by Alister McGrath stated that “73% believed that clergy failed to prepare congregations for challenges to their faith.”  He later went on to say, “There is a real need for an apologetic ministry within the church for Christians who are unsure about their faith.”   Through effective evangelism the church today has seen millions come to acknowledge Christ, yet still three out of four people feel that they have not been adequately equipped to face challenges that arise against their faith.  Although they may have responded to an altar-call, they have not progressed beyond that point.  The greatest need we face in churches today is discipleship.

Billy Graham realized this need early in his career.  He developed a program to transition people from new converts to devoted followers.  Graham developed the 3-part system: sermon, counseling, and follow-up.  Today, we might call these: evangelism, discipleship, and community.  Graham’s son, Franklin, testified to the need for this in his work, Rebel with a Cause, where he recounts that twelve years after making a “decision” for Christ, he needed to be born again.  Why did Franklin feel the need to be born again following his decision?  Even though he acknowledged Christ, he never began to have a relationship with Him.

As leaders within the church, we have the responsibility to take people further than the altar.  Look at Deuteronomy 4:5-6,

“Surely I have taught you statutes and judgments, just as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should act according to them in the land which you go to possess.  Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’”

Here we see Moses, the spiritual leader of Israel, teaching the Israelites how to live a life of devotion to the Lord.  They have already been redeemed-taken out of Egypt-but now they are shown how to go to the next level.  Moses said he would teach the Israelites all that God had commanded him.  At Sinai, God gave Moses the Law so that the children of Israel would know how to follow after Him.  Interestingly, Moses points out that when the followers of the LORD keep His commandments, the other nations will see their fruit and call them wise and understanding for obeying God’s statutes.  Which we also see in Matthew 5:16 when Jesus said “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

In the church today there are people who need to be taught how to follow God, not just profess Him.  Questions such as:  Why is it important to read the bible?  How does one have effective prayer?  What is the purpose of tithe and offering?  And other topics such as:  What bible translation to use, church history, water baptism, and speaking in tongues are areas that need to be taught giving biblical proofs to their validity for the church.  Just as we spend time laying out the gospel for salvation, we need to make sure that we are properly discipling laypersons to go deeper into their relationship with God.

Discipleship comes in many ways.  For some it is incorporated into weekend services, for others during their midweek services.  Some churches have gone beyond the traditional set-up and have implemented bible schools and discipleship classes on additional nights of the week.  Regardless of the methodology used, we need to make sure that each person who makes a decision to follow Christ is being taken to the next level.  We should also strive to encourage them to grow deeper in their new found faith and equip them with the necessary resources.  As pastors, we can prepare the members of our churches to be discipled by spending time with God, studying the Word, and growing spiritually.  This prepares us to instruct others.  As good shepherds, we protect our flock from the enemy not by fighting their spiritual battles for them, but rather by giving them the tools needed to defeat the enemy’s attacks for themselves.

Church Nurseries

By Pastor Pat Binish
Resurrection Life Church, Grandville

What effect does a nursery have in a church and in families?

There are two very equal yet opposite view points of children in church.   One says children should worship with their parents as a family unit through the entire service experience.  The other view point says that children should have their own ‘children’s church’ where they can learn and grow in an environment geared around their age and learning ability.  Both these view points are correct and should be respected as the parental belief and desire.  These two view points have many variations in between such as having the children attend the Praise and Worship, and then are taken to their children’s rooms when the preaching begins.

So what is correct?   I have been honored in observing and assisting thousands of nursery and preschool aged children advance in their understanding with God over the past 15 years.   Like any other adult, I have formed a preference in which style is most effective for developing strong young teens and adults in later years, while fully respecting others styles and practices.  But what does the Bible lead us to?

There is a passage found in Matthew 21:14-16 which says, “Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.  But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant and said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?”  And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise’?” NKJV

Jesus  quoted to them Psalm 8:2 which says  “Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength,  because of Your enemies, that You may silence the enemy and the avenger.” NKJV The words ‘ordained strength’ or ‘praise’ used here is defined as “Loud outward singing and shouting praises onto God”.  Jesus’ response lets us know they were indignant with the children’s actions and words.   

A church’s nursery and preschool areas are to be a ministry and not a daycare facility.  Children in these early years are formidable and sponges to take in the Word of God.  There is another scripture which does a beautiful job at describing how children should learn.   Isa 28:9-10 and13 “Who does Isaiah think he is,” the people say, “to speak to us like this! Are we little children, barely old enough to talk?  He tells us everything over and over again, a line at a time and in such simple words!”   …   “So the Lord will spell it out for them again, repeating it over and over in simple words whenever he can;”  TLB

Isaiah’s words, applied to our churches nurseries, will bring God’s Living Word into children’s lives early and effectively.   Bring forth the elementary teachings to children to build a foundation in them.  Do it with repetition, simplicity and consistency.  A nursery ministry fulfills Gods plan to bring His Word into the babes and nursing infants, and prepares them for a lifetime of serving Him.

Release Your Faith

By Pastor Paul Ruzinsky
Senior Pastor, Resurrection LIfe Church, Newaygo

“Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works . . . faith without works is dead,” says James 2:18, 20. Did you know that people can have a faith that is not active-a faith not living and moving in their lives? Your faith needs to be alive in you and on the move. If you’re going to deal with the challenges of life with any success, you have to have a faith that’s on the move. You have to release your faith!

You can have faith without releasing it. You might be born again and believe in God’s power, but you can still choose to sit there in a trial, down and depressed, and do nothing, pray nothing, meditate on nothing but your troubles, and speak nothing but negativity. You can refuse to thank God for anything or worship Him for what He can do. Victory over any trial is right within your grasp, but if you don’t choose to release your faith for that victory, it’s like not having faith for it at all. And you’ll get the same results in your sorry situation as if you didn’t have faith in the first place.

Avoid that scenario! In learning how to deal with trials, I’ve been there enough times to know that it doesn’t work. Release your faith instead. How do you release your faith for victory over a trial? You take action. You work at it. Don’t pray, “Lord, I’m going through an awful trial, and I’m going to sit right here and not make a move until You do something about it!” No way! Get moving! Take some steps to do all that you can do about your situation. Do everything God tells you to, and trust Him for the rest.

Remember the woman with the issue of blood in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 5? She released her faith with great expertise. She was plagued by an unhealthy flow of blood “for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse” (verses 25-26). She was in one miserable, long-term trial! When she heard about Jesus, though, the Bible shows that she released her faith in some of the ways I’ve talked about. “She came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, ‘If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well’” (verses 27-28).

Do you notice how she’d heard about Jesus beforehand and started meditating on what she’d heard? I’m sure before she approached Jesus, she thought about Him over and over. She kept wondering about the reports of miracles He’d done. Jesus was on her mind day and night! The more she thought about Him, the more her faith rose up, until she spoke out loud the miracle she was believing for. I believe the words “she said” imply that she didn’t only say “I will be made well” once, but that she kept on saying it, kept on confessing it again and again. She focused her thoughts, her words, and I’m sure her prayers on finding an opportunity to touch Jesus and be healed. You’ve got to remember that she wasn’t suddenly made well at the point of her first confession, or her second, or third-she was still very unwell. Her healing hadn’t yet come, but her faith was constantly on the move before Jesus even showed up!

When Jesus did show up and an opportunity came her way to carry out her plan, she didn’t just stand on the edge of the crowd and hope He would spot her and do something, either. She went into action! She released her faith by putting some works behind it. She worked her way through the crowd toward Jesus-no doubt a difficult task. Some Scripture versions say she touched the hem of his garment, so she may have even crawled ground-level in the dirt to get to Him. She had to press through to be able to touch Jesus, and when she did, “Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction” (verse 29).

I love the way she released her faith. I think Jesus loved it, too. “Daughter,” He said to her, “your faith has made you well” (verse 34).

Turn Back to God and Things Turn Around

King Hezekiah in the Old Testament was another one who released his faith in the midst of a terrible trial. The Bible says that pride entered into Hezekiah’s heart, and he became sick. He wouldn’t be the first or last person to let pride get the better of him! A lot of people find themselves in terrible trials because of their own pride and other sins. I’ve been there and done that! Have you? Even when we cause our own troubles, however, God is still there to turn things around if we’ll turn to Him. I love that!

Hezekiah didn’t think he needed to do things God’s way; he thought his own way was working just fine. (Admit it-a lot of us have been there!) But Hezekiah’s way wasn’t working, and he became deathly ill. Second Kings chapter 20 tells us what happened when Hezekiah turned back to God:

In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of
Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Set your house in order, for
you shall die, and not live.’”

Then he turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord, saying, “Remember now,
O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have
done what was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

And it happened, before Isaiah had gone out into the middle court, that the word of the
Lord came to him, saying, “Return and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people, ‘Thus says
the Lord, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears;
surely I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord. And I will
add to your days fifteen years.”‘”
2 Kings 20:1-6

Basically Isaiah went in to Hezekiah and said, “Take care of things, because you’re going to die,” just like that. Then Isaiah walked out of the room. The news hit Hezekiah hard-verse 3 says he “wept bitterly.”

Ever been hit that hard? Sometimes when you’re hit hard by life’s challenges, it’s all right to release your emotions-as long as you don’t let that get in the way of releasing your faith. Hezekiah released both. He was upset, and he turned his face to the wall and wept. But he also turned to God. He made himself pray, and he petitioned the Lord, “You know that I’ve lived before You all the days of my life, Lord. I’ve sought You, and I’ve tried to do good things. This shouldn’t be the result! This shouldn’t be my end!”

After Isaiah walked out, Hezekiah didn’t just lie down and die. He acted on his faith. He humbled himself, reminded the Lord of their relationship, and begged for mercy. In any trial, even a trial of our own making, we can always do the same. Before Isaiah could even walk out of the king’s court, the Lord answered Hezekiah’s prayer. The Lord told the prophet to turn around and tell Hezekiah that he would live fifteen more years.

Triumph Over Your Trials

Releasing your faith allows God to move. When life hits you hard, repent if you need to, then worship around God’s Word. Pray, “Lord, I’m righteous because of the blood of Jesus Christ. I’ve been washed in that blood. I’ve confessed Him as Lord and I’m living for Him, so therefore I cry out to You in the face of this trial. Lord, I call on Heaven-I need a change in my situation. Show me what You want me to do, Lord, and take care of whatever I can’t do. I trust You with my life.”

If you’ll grab on to these different ways we’ve talked about for dealing with your troubles, you’ll get to the place where you’ll make it through every single trial successfully. You’ll get to the place where you’re perfect and complete in Him, lacking nothing. What looks like it could or would destroy somebody else will not destroy you. Like Hezekiah or the woman with the issue of blood, you’ll come out in a better place after the trial than the place you were in before.

When a trial hits, start by taking the steps we’ve covered. First, realize that we all face trials. You are not alone. Look at your trial as an opportunity to build spiritual maturity and practice walking close to God. Next, take action. Realize that you can do some things to help you deal with your trial successfully. We’ve talked about some important things to do:

• Make yourself pray with thanksgiving and meditate on God’s Word day and night, even if you don’t feel like it (and you probably won’t).
• Watch your words because life and death are in the power of the tongue.
• Make it your goal to speak God’s Word out loud instead of speaking about your trial.
• Don’t forget to make yourself laugh because a merry heart does good, like medicine.
• Worship God around His Word, reminding Him of the promises you find there.

All of these are phenomenal ways that you can release your faith. Do these things, and I guarantee that no trial will defeat you. You’ll deal with the challenges of life successfully, and you’ll be able to say, “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ” (2 Corinthians 2:14). You will win over trials every time!

Retirement Plan Options for Pastors and Church Staff

Retirement Plan Options for Pastors and Church Staff

The main retirement plan designed for non-profit organizations is the 403(b), but there are also several other options. Here is brief description on each of them.

403(b)

This plan is similar to a 401(k) but is designed to be more flexible in order to make it easier for non-profit organizations to implement. An excellent benefit of this plan is how it allows for both employer and employee contributions but does not require either. Contributions are pre-tax and grow tax deferred similar to how a 401(k) would work.

Until recently, the 403(b) had very loose regulations. Beginning in 2009, the regulations are becoming tighter which will affect both existing plans and new plans. These new laws will increase the amount of annual administrative measures needed in order for a plan to remain compliant. For example, a plan document will now be required and a third party administrator will most likely be needed. Each year this will cost up to a few thousand dollars for the organization which will make this less appealing to churches of smaller staff size.

Simple IRA

This is an employer sponsored plan for organizations of 100 employees or less. It allows for both employee and employer contributions. Compared to the 403(b) it is less flexible, but it does not have any administrative costs. Employees may contribute up to $10,500 in 2008 ($13,000 if age 50 or older). This amount is less than the 403(b) allows but greater than an IRA. The big restriction is a 3% match required by the employer. This would be a great option for smaller churches that would like to contribute to the accounts of the pastors and staff but would like to avoid the administrative costs of a 403(b). Churches have not used Simple IRA plans very much in the past but the new regulations will make this more attractive.

Payroll Deduct IRA/Roth

Given certain income limitations, each individual can open either an IRA or Roth IRA on their own. The maximum contribution is $5,000 for 2008 or $6,000 if age 50 or older. These accounts have similar tax advantages as the other options and are actually the easiest to setup. Unlike the other plans, an individual can setup these accounts without going through an employer. Some organizations may choose to have it run through payroll in order to be more convenient for employees. This would be a great choice if an employer does not desire to make contributions and wants to avoid administrative costs.

Investment Selection

No matter which plan option is chosen, good underlying investments are important. The growth of the account is dependent upon the performance of the selected investments. When choosing the investment vehicle, all three of the following variables need to be considered: Risk, Return and Expenses. My advice is to look at an investments long term track record (10-20 years). Also, know what the total expenses are. Although annuities are often used, investing directly with a quality mutual fund company can be a more attractive option as the costs are typically lower. In summary, the investment is the most important decision when choosing a retirement plan.

Conclusion

Overall, there are several good options to choose from and a lot more details than what is listed here. The next step to select the appropriate retirement plan or decide on an investment would be to contact a qualified financial advisor.

Author

Jacob Tuinstra is an experienced financial advisor at Royal Securities Co. in Grandville, Michigan. Royal Securities Co. is a full service brokerage firm. For questions concerning these options contact Jacob at 616-538-2715.

Past results of investments are not indicative of the future. Actual yields may vary based on market conditions and sales charges. Please read prospectus before investing or sending money. Investments are not FDIC insured as CD’s are and may lose value.

Personal Finance

It was the first evening of the RLCI Summer Conference in Bay City Michigan. As I sat with a group of younger ministers, one of them asked a great question. “What should I be doing with my investments?” I gave them all the best advice I could muster and finished by adding “but I am no expert.” Much to my surprise, the next morning’s newspaper had an article entitled “What should you do about investments?” Click here to read the article by John Waggoner in the July 16, 2008 edition of USA Today.

The Health Care Conundrum — Part II

What do all these letters mean?

By Matt Haverdink

Following last week’s article on controlling health care costs, I thought I would offer some more information on the different products that are available to employers who provide health insurance to their employees. The most popular options today, that I see, are HRAs (health reimbursement arrangements), FSAs (flexible spending accounts) and HSAs (health savings accounts). It would be very difficult to explain in one article all the differences between the three options. I will say my experience, similar to Priority Health’s, is that FSAs and HRAs outpace HSAs by a large margin.

In theory, the HSA puts the consumer in control. The idea is that if an employee is spending their dollars then they will try to be more proactive in the cost and type of care they receive. I have not heard any convincing statistics that employees are changing their buying habits because of the HSA. What you don’t want is an employee not getting care in order to save money or because they don’t have the money in their High Deductible Health Plan, which is required for an HSA. Also, with an HSA employees lose the much coveted prescription card. Prescriptions are subject to the high deductible before the insurance pays anything.

On the other hand HSAs do seem to be a good fit for the smaller employer or for the young and healthy.

HRAs put the employer in control and they don’t require immediate funding. An HRA is designed to reimburse the employees if in fact they incur a deductible related expense. Like an HSA, HRAs have a high deductible. However, the employer is usually doing an HRA so they can reduce premiums and self insure a portion of the deductible. If the employees are healthy and have few claims then the employer saves more. Res Life of Grandville has experienced a tremendous amount of savings with the HRA concept.

FSAs (Flex accounts) can be offered along with an HRA or on a very limited basis with an HSA. FSAs allow employees to defer a portion of their wages on a pre-tax basis. These monies can then be used to pay for uncovered medical related items such as copays, deductible, co-insurance, dental, vision, over the counter drugs, orthodontics, etc. Many employees find FSAs valuable because of the preferential tax treatment.

I am including a couple links in which you can get some additional information and questions answered. If you have further questions, do not hesitate to call me or your current agent.

http://www.hsa223.com/plandesign.asp

http://www.priorityhealth.com/pdfs/healthplanspdfs/hsahracomparison

________________________________________________________________________

Matt Haverdink has been providing employee benefits for 17 years and is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources. Matt is also the co-owner of Ottawa Kent Insurance and co-founder of HealthTrack. HealthTrack is a corporate wellness provider in West Michigan of which local companies are offering their employees as a prevention tool to combat rising healthcare costs. Questions can be directed to matth@okins.com or (616) 392-6006.

The Health Care Conundrum — Part I

By Matt Haverdink

The ever daunting task of helping employers find ways to control healthcare costs and keep benefits strong and affordable is not an easy one. Fortunately, the small employer can do something other than the “do nothing” strategy.

We, as a community or employer group, pay for our claims one way or another. I’m here to tell you the doctors, hospitals, pharmacies and insurance companies are NOT losing money. We’ve all seen the tremendous expansion in Grand Rapids and the surrounding areas. Who is paying for that? The cost is being passed on to employers and employees.

I have yet to find someone to disagree with the theory of – healthy employees cost less than those who are sickly. Sure some illnesses can’t be avoided, but the Center for Disease Control states 70% of our healthcare costs are controllable. By that I mean, nutrition, exercise, weight control, smoking etc. The obesity rate in Michigan (27.7% in ’07) is increasing at a very rapid rate. Long ago are the days when kids spent the entire day playing ball and being outside. It is a different society with the computer and video game options available.

My experience with several of my clients as well as our own experience is worth mentioning. For our agency we have been able to keep our health care cost increases to a minimum. In fact our rates for a no deductible plan are slightly lower than what they were 4 years ago and we haven’t had to increase our employee portion of the premium or reduce benefits. Unfortunately, most employers have had to simply cost shift by raising deductibles and premiums to the employees or absorb the costs themselves-sound familiar.

When you design your plan you can afford to take more risk if you have a healthy group. Why pay for low deductibles if you are healthy? Insurance was designed to cover that which you can not afford to pay yourself. A well designed plan would take into consideration the makeup of your group, i.e. claims, utilization, age and family status.

ResLife of Grandville has experienced a huge cost savings over the past 2+ years by encouraging healthy lifestyles and designing their health plan so that their better than average claims experience rewards them and not the insurance company.

Talk to your agent to make sure that you have analyzed the different options available
(HRA, HSA, FSA). How is your premium determined (community or experience rated)? These are questions you should ask to make sure you are aggressively doing everything you can do to control healthcare costs.

________________________________________________________________________

Matt Haverdink has been providing employee benefits for 17 years and is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources. Matt is also the co-owner of Ottawa Kent Insurance and co-founder of HealthTrack. HealthTrack is a corporate wellness provider in West Michigan of which local companies are offering their employees as a prevention tool to combat rising healthcare costs. Questions can be directed to matth@okins.com or (616) 392-6006.

The importance of church bylaws

By Pastor Bernie Blauwkamp

The United States Supreme Court has observed that all who unite themselves to a church do so with the implied consent to its government and are bound to submit to that church’s government. The articles of incorporation are the church’s birth certificate. This document, when approved and certified by the appropriate government officials, is commonly referred to as a Corporate Charter or the Articles of Incorporation. Church charters typically set forth the name, address, period of duration (which is typically perpetual), purposes of the corporation, doctrinal tenets of faith, and names and addresses of the incorporators and directors. However, charters rarely contain rules for internal government of the corporation therefore; it’s desirable and customary for churches to adopt rules for their internal operation. These are typically referred to as Bylaws. At times people refer to these as Constitution and Bylaws, but for our purposes we are merely going to refer to them as Bylaws.

At a minimum, church bylaws should cover the following matters:

• Qualifications, selection and expulsion of members
• Time and place of annual business meetings
• The calling and rules for special business meetings
• Notice for annual and special meetings
• Definition of quorums, voting rights, selection, tenure and removal of officers and directors
• Filling of vacancies
• Responsibilities of directors and officers
• Method of amending the bylaws
• Purchase and conveyance of property

Read more

Did you get my message?

Messages–we preach them every week. We hear them on our cell phones. We try to get our message across to our staff members day after day. We even spend lots of money on nice printing, put hours into coming up with just the right examples or download some snazzy video that hopefully, will catch their attention. Sometimes, it works, other times it’s like they didn’t hear a word we said.
When it comes to messages there are some great communication theories with clever analogies of message senders and message receivers and the distortion that can happen in between. It’s interesting stuff. Really…but theories can be quite dry when you’re pretty sure it’s just that they’ve got something clogging their ears. Here are four tips to help you get your message across to whatever audience you are working with…

1. Have a message worth sharing–Ok, I know I’m talking to pastors here so this should be an easy one. Yes, your message is worth sharing, but take this a step further. Having a message worth sharing means you should look at what you are trying to get across and boil it down to the heart of the message. Think how your message would read if it was a front page story. The headline and the first paragraph would have the most important information, then the rest of the story builds on that. Giving all the facts is not nearly as effective as giving the most important ones and then reinforcing them with the details.

2. Give them a “next step”–I’ve heard pastors give great sermons, but fail to provide a next step for people to take. That doesn’t just mean an altar call, though that’s important to provide. It also means thinking about what questions people might have. For example: If you’re teaching your staff about the importance of integrity. Don’t just say, “You’ve got to have it.” Answer the question, “How do I get integrity?” by giving some examples of how you or someone else built a lifestyle of integrity. That’s giving them a “next step.”

3. Tell them again–It’s the principal we learned for writing school papers. Tell them what you’re going to tell them. Then, tell them. Then, tell them what you told them. Reiterating the value and the heart of what’s important. This helps them retain what is so important about what you are telling them.

4. Genuinely care–We are in the church, so you’d think we’d have this down. Didn’t Paul say that if we don’t have love we’re like a noisy gong? Well, the principle applies to communications too. You can have the most fabulous message, presented in the most dynamic way, but if you don’t genuinely care about the people you are communicating with, then that’s what you’ll communicate the most. A great message from someone who doesn’t care is like giving someone a drink of their favorite hot tea without a cup. They might get the message, but they weren’t able to receive it as nearly as well as they would have if you’d included it in a cup of genuine love.