A notice to those of you from the UB Church...if you sent me an e-mail during the last week and have not received an answer, you might want to resend it. We installed a new email server, and in switching over some of the messages may have been lost in "tech-no-space."

Just finished the book, Healing The Heart of Your Church. I recommended it earlier and I would echo that earlier recommendation. Much in this book relates to our churches. I hope to place some emphasis on corporate repentance at the National Conference. You might like to get a copy and read it before then. If you have trouble finding it, let me know. You can order it from our bookstore by calling 1-888-622-3019.

One of the books that I started this week is Christian Coaching, by Gary Collins. So far it is a good book on the topic. I am reading it because, for some time since being in this office, I have felt the need for a coach to help me keep and stay focused, among other things. I recently entered into a coaching arrangement with a gentleman whom I respect greatly. I was a basketball player in my younger years and have dealt with coaches in that area of my life. I was blessed to have several men mentor me in my early Christian walk. I have been encouraged by many people in my life, but I've never really had anyone to coach me since I left sports. So, we'll see if you can teach and old dog new tricks.

Have a great Christmas and New Year. I hope your team wins its bowl game! Go Buckeyes!

Posted by Ron Ramsey at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have been struggling since Monday evening with Vertigo and all that is associated with it. If you don't know what that is I'll spare you but is has something to do with meeting up close and personal a porcelain object kept in a small room in the house. Anyway, I did it to myself. I had purchased a new de-humidifier for the basement and of course that was some assembly required as I wanted it to drain to the sump. Hooking up the drain hose I had to bend over and look in an opening to attach the hose. Bending over and looking up at the drain attachment "thing-a-ma-jiggly" I gave myself a good case of vertigo. I've had this ability (I'm not so sure it is an ability as it is a curse) to make myself sick by bending over and looking up at something. Sometimes just laying on my back and looking up will do it. But it is an experience I can definitely live without.

As soon as I bend over and cocked my head to look under the de-humidifier I realized I had made a serious mistake. The room began to spin and I immediately got sick and it is hard to run to the bathroom when the whole place is spinning like a top. Anyway, to make a long story shorter, after a trip to the doctor and getting 3 prescriptions I am doing better today. I can walk reasonably straight and the world is staying in place instead of spinning.

Now I knew that the room, house, yard etc was not really spinning. This has happened to me on several occasions. But my perception was that nothing I saw was staying in it place. And believe me, for the past three days that perception was reality.

I began to think about the old marketing slogan that I learned so many years ago, "Perception is reality". You can have the greatest product ever made by human hands, but if the customers perception of it is that it is really junk, you'll have a hard time marketing the product until you change the mind of the customer.

We all have perceptions that come into play every day. Why do you buy the cola you buy? Perception! One is better than all the others. And by the way, I know which one that is. Why do you favor one brand of auto over another? Or the color of shirt you buy? Or the restaurant you frequent? Lot of the answer is our perception over what is better, what is more reliable, what makes me look better or whatever.

Have you ever given any thought to the perception the unchurched people living in your area have about your church? About the people who attend there? About the pastor? I can almost guarantee you that some of their perception about your church is wrong. And you could tell them over and over how good, friendly, and compassionate that you are but if their perception is different chances are you'll never win them.

Now, of course we believe in the power of the Holy Spirit to convince people of their sin and when He does that the perception of convinced people becomes different, it changes. So, let me ask you, who specifically lives in your primary ministry area that has a skewed perception of who you are? And what do you need to begin doing to change that perception if it is indeed incorrect? To struggle with the answers is to force one to think missionally.

Another saying from communications is, "The Audience Is Sovereign". That is the audience can decide what message they will listen and respond to and which ones they won't. We are bombarded with thousands of messages every day, how can we as a church get through the clutter of information overload to gain the audiences attention. Especially those who are not believers.

Well that is what I was thinking about as the room was spinning. After you read this your perception may be that I'm still dizzy.

Well, anyway, have a wonderful Christmas and a blessed New Year! And remember, "Where God is taking us is always better than where we've been."

Posted by Ron Ramsey at 8:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As I have had the privilege of sharing the Strategic Plan for the future of the UB Church, I have heard a call from key leaders: make accountability real. We have spoken about setting goals for reaching the lost so that we are working strategically. It makes sense that if you don't intentionally seek to reach five people for Christ, you won't reach one. Setting goals in no way removes the Lord from the work. Nothing can happen apart from Him. The goals are simply our faith in action in an intentional, strategic manner.

The question is this: Am I willing to be held accountable? Or would true accountability bring to light my failure to work in a systematic way that frees the church to reach lost people? Would it show that I am simply taking care of keeping already saved people happy while not making them or others true disciples of Jesus Christ?

Many want to settle for fellowship as a standard of good meetings. We support each other and pray for each other. But fellowship without accountability will not help us mature and grow in ministry.

This question must be answered by us all. It is key to the future of our ministries.

Posted by Pat Jones at 5:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Recently, while out on a hunting trip in northern Michigan, I saw a rare and beautiful sight -- a bald eagle in flight. The very first time I saw a bald eagle was on that same hunting trip a few years earlier, when an eagle swooped down to grab one of our duck decoys. In my excitement, I spun around and shouldered my shotgun before realizing the true identity of this over-sized Mallard. (That day I thanked God for my hunter’s safety course mantra; “always identify the target before firing.”) As I lowered my shotgun and watched the eagle flare and with a few strokes of its powerful wings soar out of sight, I was moved by the beauty and strength that God has designed into this creature.

I was reminded of that familiar passage in Isaiah 40:31 that says, “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

In my previous post, I looked at the negative forces that work against Christians when it comes to our obedience and fruitfulness to “go and make disciples of all nations.” I likened this force to gravity, which always pulls us downward. This type of gravity shows up often in our congregations and is expressed in inward, self-centered, and self-serving patterns.

Other forces in physics are more powerful than gravity. These are the same forces the eagle employs as it lifts from its perch and soars high above the earth. For instance, the eagle must contend with drag. To understand the basic idea, just think about walking into a strong wind, or consider that drag forces cause a weight to fall faster through air than through honey. So to fly, the eagle not only must overcome gravity, but also drag.

What does drag look like in a local church? The example that first comes to mind is persons who resist true outward-focused ministry, counteracting any missional momentum being generated by the pastor or leaders. Of course, forces outside the local church also resist any advance of the Gospel.

Fortunately, two forces can overcome both gravity and drag. They are lift and thrust. “Thrust is produced by flapping the wings…which creates a vortex wake that has the net effect of pushing the animal forward.” Here’s a concept that we can all understand – good old-fashioned wing flapping! Thrust comes from muscles that produce power.

Lift, on the other hand, is a little more complex. “In animals that generate significant lift forces (like true flyers), the angle of the wings against the flow of air creates a resistance that has the net effect of moving the wing (and the animal) upward.” Lift has much to do with the design of the wings and how their shape (more area on the bottom of the wing than on top) moves through the environment.

So, what’s the point? Well, for starters, we need to take an honest look at our thrust as Christians and local churches. HHow much effort are you really putting forth to help lost people in our community connect with Jesus Christ? How hard do you flap your wings? How developed are your wing-flapping-muscles? (Or has it been so long since you've used them that they have atrophied?) Are you putting forth the required energy to even have a chance at overcoming gravity and drag?

Let’s be honest, many of us haven’t done much wing-flapping lately when it comes to extending ourselves for those not-yet-Christians that God brings across our path. Where there is no thrust, there will be no flight. Also, we need to remember that Luke’s second book is called the “acts” of the Apostles (not the “musings” or “seminars”) precisely because Christ's mandate called for determined action by his first followers.

But what about lift? The truth is that eagles can never fly by thrust alone, and we can never be effective disciple-makers by effort alone. There is a role that God must play, a key role, the deciding role. Just as God formed the wings of the eagle in such a way that thrust creates lift, so God anoints and empowers in making disciples.

And how does God give us this kind of lift? Acts 1:8 says, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes.” John 6:24 says, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” God gives us lift as the Holy Spirit empowers his people to be Christ’s witnesses, and as the Father draws men and women, boys and girls unto Himself.

What part do we play in all of this? We start by praying to the Lord of the Harvest to send forth laborers into his field -- where the crops are ripe and ready. When was the last time you prayed for God to send forth laborers, both overseas and around the corner? What plans does your local church have to regularly pray for God to not only send forth laborers, but also to regularly pray for lost people by name?

I would be the first to admit that I have not done nearly enough in this crucial component of prayer. I tend to be a “doer” and somehow I have had the misguided notion that prayer is passive -- but it’s not. God is working with me (and hopefully with all of us) to change me into the kind of Christian that not only talks about prayer, but actually engages. One way I recently did this was by going on a couple of “prayer walks” in communities where churches were being planted. A group of us walked through neighborhoods, street by street, house by house, and prayed for the people living there.

One last question to ponder: what could God do through the Church of the United Brethren in Christ if we put our best efforts into demonstrating and declaring the good news of Christ and earnestly praying for laborers to be sent out and people to be drawn to Christ? What would that future look like?

(All quotes are from a John R. Hutchinson article, Copyright 1994-2006 by the Regents of the University of California.)

Posted by Tom Blaylock at 2:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Someone recommended to me the book by Bill Easum, Unfreezing Moves. It is not a brand new book, having been published in 2001, but it is worth reading. While I do not agree with everything Easum says, I found the book to be challenging and worth the time to read it. Reading it is the simple thing to do. Acting on what it teaches is not so simple.

The book's focus is on helping readers identify their church as "stuck or unstuck" and then give the prescriptions needed to become "unstuck" as a congregation and follow Jesus into the mission field.

Chapter two, "The Systems Story," is a particularly good chapter if you have never thought about the systems that are in a church. But section two, "Unfreezing Moves," where Easum takes 9 moves that a church needs to make in order to become unfrozen, was worth the price of the book.

My heart aches when I go out to many of our churches and find them controlled by people who are carnal at best, who just want to control everybody and everything. That, by the way, may be the pastor as well as the people.

Many of our churches have been and are being choked to death by unspiritual controllers. I used to say, "O but they mean well," but I've changed my tune. I am not sure they mean well at all; they just want their own way and control. If they meant well, they would be willing to look at their ministry area as a mission field, themselves as missionaries. and be wiling to move heaven and earth to see lost people come to Jesus. Sad to say, but most controllers are not even interested in seeing lost people come to Jesus. They are only interested in controlling the status quo.

We need leaders with the courage to lead in new directions. If you think you are one, then reading this book, especially Part Two, will give a good overview of what your task is. If you are one of those leaders and you decide to challenge the status quo, I will be your biggest cheerleader.

Posted by Ron Ramsey at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Pat Jones, Mark Ralph, and I spent this past weekend at Banner of Christ UB church in Grand Rapids, Mich., conducting our first Church Consultation Weekend. The initial response was very positive. These consultation weekends are a crucial part of the Strategic Transition Plan developed to transition our churches into becoming healthy, vibrant congregations that are missional in mindset with an outward focus on reaching lost people in our communities. While I realize that the consultation weekend is just the first step in the process, it is an important first step that gives a congregation a snapshot of where they are, where they want to be, and a roadmap for the journey.

This consultation weekend is not--and I repeat, not--something that we require for all of our churches. It is not a program you must buy. Rather, it is a service we provide to any church that desires our help in evaluating where they are, where they want to be, and the steps to get there. So, any of our churches that want such a service may contact my office and we can discuss further what is required and a time frame.

Right now, the consultation team is myself, Pat Jones, and your cluster leader (Mark Ralph, pastor of the UB church in Sunfield, Mich., is Banner of Christ's cluster leader). Both Pat and I received training to conduct these weekends, and in January we will expose all of our cluster leaders to some initial training in the process.

A second consultation is already scheduled for another Michigan church. Again, this is entirely a service we provide to our churches. Some churches may never need such a service, and that is great and fine. But others might see some real benefit from it. I'd be happy to talk with you.

But here is the bottom line: whether or not you schedule a consultation weekend is not an issue with me. Seeing our churches become healthy, missional, with an outward focus in reaching their community--that is a serious issue with me. What I want from our churches is not the issue, either, but what God wants. And he has told us what that is: make disciples (Matt. 28:16-20) by evangelizing, educating, and enlisting. If this office can help you become engaged in this great task, all you need to do is ask!

Posted by Ron Ramsey at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)