Speiro Still Moving Forward
We are still in the process of moving forward with this ministry. The vision God has laid upon our hearts to scatter seeds far and wide in preparation of God’s great harvest is still alive and well! It is our desire to have the capability to record and broadcast long (sermons) & short (devotional style thoughts) by the end of 2013. The fund raising process has been slow, but we continue on in faith. To those of you that have given thank you, thank you, thank you! To those of you that will give, thank you in advance! And to all those that are praying, please don’t stop! We need them more than ever now! Please watch our original video clip again and if you are able partner with us in this journey! Also, head on over to our Facebook page and “like” us there. If you have friends that would be interested in supporting this ministry please share this blog with them as well. Thank you so much for your support as we continue to seek to do God’s will for the glory of His Kingdom! P.S. we are now an official 501(c)(3) the “pending” part is gone. So all donations are tax deductible. P.P.S. We will be working on some video content the 16th of September, please keep us in your prayers!
I Used To Not Believe In Prayer…
So a literal five minutes ago, from when I am writing this, I found my wife’s iphone.
I tell you that because it was an answer to prayer.
All day long Christina has been looking for her phone; at church she borrowed my phone to film our boy blowing out his birthday candles in Cradle Roll Sabbath School. I asked her, “What happened to your phone?” “I don’t know I thought it was in my purse but it is not there.”
After our morning services, when I stopped in before going to The Ark (our church plant) she asked me to try and help her find her phone. I looked several places, I went through her purse, I called it and listened for the buzzing, but nothing.
Tonight when I got home from a prayer walk she asked me to look again. To search the cars. I did. I found nothing. I dug through her purse again–my wife isn’t one of these women that has a ton of stuff in her purse–but still nothing. I called and stood in the kitchen. Nothing. I called and stood in the bedroom. Nothing.
Christina searched everything behind me. So after I was done with her purse she went through her purse. After I was done with the cars, she went through the cars. After I searched the boys rooms she…you get the picture. Nothing!
So I said honey let’s kneel down and pray. We knelt by our bed held hands and I prayed, “Jesus You know the exact location of that phone. You know where it is and You can help us to find it. Jesus we are trying to be better with our money, we can’t afford another phone, Jesus please show it to one of us or to our boys sometime before the end of this weekend. And Jesus help us to keep this in perspective. Amen.”
Three minutes later I walked out to the kitchen lifted the flap of Christina’s purse that I had searched twice and she had searched many times and sitting at the edge of the purse, I didn’t even have to look into the purse, in plain view at the edge, was Christina’s iphone.
I used to call things like that a coincidence or say I must have just overlooked it before.
Then again I used to not really believe in prayer…
Thank You Jesus for the returned iphone!
Oh My Landon Boy!
Three years ago today, I went from being the Dad of one to a Dad of two. I’ll be honest at first I almost didn’t know how to relate to this new little guy in our lives. For the previous two years all my love, focus, & devotion had been upon our oldest son Dayton, and internally I questioned whether or not I had the capacity to love a second human being at the depth in which I loved our first. I still remember the night that I realized, indeed God had created me with the capacity to love another child as much as I loved the first. Landon was just a few months old, I was awoken by Christina nudging me, “Chad will you go check on Landon, I need to work in the morning and it is to soon to feed him again.” (I know that sounds like a question, but it’s not :)) So I got up and went into Landon’s room. He didn’t seem interested in his paci, he didn’t need his diaper changed, Christina said she had just fed him, so I decided I would just hold him for a few moments…as I sat in our glider chair in the dark holding this little crying baby, with each cry my heart went out to him, and as he began to relax into my chest I didn’t want to go back to bed, I wanted to sleep right in that chair with this perfect little bundle & in that moment I realized that no matter how many kids we would have that there is an infinite depth to my ability to love! I realized I was in love with Landon! And every day since my love has grown deeper and deeper for this little guy. He has my sister Erin’s sense of humor (she is the funniest individual in our family) he already makes all the family die laughing, he has a fiery temper which worries me, but also makes me proud when I see him standing up for his brothers or even his mom, (I was tickling Christina one day and Landon & Dayton thought I was hurting her; Dayton just yelled at me to stop, Landon charged at me and laid hands on me to “get away from my mom”). He is strong willed which we pray the Lord uses to defend truth and fight for the underdogs. He is sensitive to his brothers always wanting hugs from them. He is a natural athlete, yes we can tell already:). He is an independent thinker, all our home loves the 49ERS, Landon is a Bengals fan, and at this point will not let anyone convince him otherwise! He is uniquely God’s creation!
When Landon was born he was going to have a different middle name (Emerson), at the last minute when the nurse asked, “now what is his name?” I said to Christina, “I want him to have my middle name Nicholas. Because if we have another one he’ll be our middle child and I want him to always know, that although he may not be the first and he may not be the baby he is still special.” (Can you tell I’m an insecure middle child? 🙂 ) Well it turns out he is our middle child, and it turns out he is oh so very special to his Daddy! Oh my Landon Boy, how I love you! Happy 3rd Birthday!
Late Night Ruminations on Preaching
Awoken by a 2 year old, I am now ruminating on Mrs. White’s instruction,
“Let your discourses be short.” (Evangelism, p. 177)
I find it funny how many of us Seventh-day Adventist preachers desire & call folk to submit to her counsel yet so many of those same preachers (myself included), cast aside this counsel with one excuse or another.
I know there are settings where the long sermon is expected, maybe at a camp meeting or a week of prayer. The general rule however of preaching in the church or in an evangelistic series according to Mrs. White, “less is more.”
As I’ve been watching Pastor Elizabeth Talbot’s DVD’s (Jesus 101 Biblical Institute) over the last week, I notice she presents true profundity in 28 minutes. This corresponds with the counsel of Ellen White as she references several times that roughly 30 minutes should be the primary length of our preaching. I’m praying for God to move me in this direction. Again, “less is more.”
I believe it is time for me to submit to this counsel. If I can’t say what the Spirit wants me to say in 30-35 minutes, if I can’t say what the Spirit wants me to say without wearing out the folk in the pews, maybe I shouldn’t be up there saying it at all. So Lord, do this work in me please!
Elder Ted Wilson: Unwilling To Sit On the Sidelines
So I am currently in New York City for NY13 the worldwide thrust of the Seventh-day Adventist Church to reach New York City. I have to admit I came here with some skepticism, not sure what I would be doing or why I am here. But I came, because I was asked and I felt it an honor to be requested to represent the North American Division in this initiative, so here I am.
And I have been taking mental notes some good some not so good…
A good I have observed is our evangelistic speaker for these meetings, Elder Ted Wilson.
What I am so impressed with, as are so many others, he is fully engaged in this initiative!
Something I keep hearing over and over again from people that have been serving the Adventist Church a lot longer than I have is, “Isn’t it great to see a General Conference President preaching and leading a full campaign!” People that have served in the General Conference offices for a number of years are expressing their appreciation of Elder Wilson not just casting the vision, but actually helping to carry out the vision of reaching New York. As one GC official said, “He could do what has been done, set the vision and say ‘now go do it.’ But he is actually out there with us.”
What I am seeing is that Elder Wilson isn’t content to sit on the sidelines, he is passionate about reaching New York City. He is not going to tell others to follow the counsel of Ellen White to minister to this the most diverse city in the world, without also doing it himself. He isn’t just someone that goes around and talks about what should be done and the ministries that should be done he is actually doing those ministries and doing very tangible things to make those ministries a success!
Unwilling to sit on the sidelines.
He, and his wife Nancy, are even attending the classes for the Field School daily. He said, “I have a lot to learn.” So he is at each class learning.
As I watch Elder Wilson, I think back to the last time we were at some meetings together. A very different environment. The Pacific Union Special Constituency Session on the bylaw changes regarding the ordination of women within that Union.
That day as I once again was observing our General Conference leader, I was disappointed that he was there. It wasn’t because I have a different point of view on the topic and disliked that he disagrees with me, (I’m actually one of those folk that thinks its okay to disagree and state it with conviction trusting that we can both still love Jesus) I was disappointed because I felt that it wasn’t a very presidential move of him to be there when the whole world knew that he would get voted down. It felt to me like a very unsound move politically.
But as I think about Elder Wilson’s presence here at this event I think I understand more and actually now respect his presence at the former event.
Here is what I am concluding: If Elder Ted Wilson is passionate about something, if he is convicted about something, he is not the type to just sit on the sidelines and let everyone else do the work.
He was/is convicted on his position regarding women’s ordination. He is convicted on his position regarding reaching New York City…
…In both instances he acted on his conviction.
Unwilling to sit on the sidelines.
I don’t believe it is fair of me to affirm one and renounce the other.
I admire, I appreciate, I trust a leader…
…who stands for his convictions no matter how politically painful it may be to take on Union that has clearly stated their views.
….who preaches a full evangelistic campaign just like the rest of us pastors do, no matter how exhausting it may be.
I admire, I appreciate, I trust Elder Ted Wilson…
…not because we share all points of view in common.
…because I know his convictions by his actions.
He is a man unwiling to sit on the sidelines.
And that is a leader I can follow!
The Four Most Important Evangelists in The Adventist Church
If you follow the world of Adventist Evangelism you are familiar with ministries such as It Is Written, Amazing Facts, Breath of Life, & Voice of Prophecy. You’re also familiar with the great evangelists of Adventism, some of y’all have seen them so many times on 3ABN or The Hope Channel that you almost feel like they are your own personal friends, Doug Batchelor, Shawn Boonstra, Mark Finley, Alejandro Bullon, John Bradshaw, Carlton Byrd, and more. But of all the evangelists in our denomination, The Seventh-day Adventist Church, which ones are the most important, the most vital to the growth of our church?
I’m going to give you my top four. They are…
- Parking Lot
- Groundskeeper
- Janitor
- Greeter
These three individuals & one inanimate object are far more important to the growth of your church and thus the growth of Adventism at least here in North America than any of the names I mentioned above. Why do I say that? Because these three evangelists have a weekly impact on the growth of your church that the other three do not have (unless of course one of them is your Pastor:)).
Pastor Nelson Searcy and other church growth surveyors report that churches have roughly 7 minutes from the time a guest pulls into your church parking lot to make them feel welcome and give them a compelling reason to come back. Now a lot of folk may be skeptical about that statement, but if you’re a church goer then that disqualifies you from being able to speculate on the mind of the un-churched. The un-churched don’t think like church folk or act like church folk or talk like church folk, but they are the folk we need to reach, which is why these four evangelists, parking lot, groundskeeper, janitor, and greeter are so important to the life and growth of a local church!
Let me tell you about the value of each one:
Parking Lot
Church growth studies state that if a parking lot that is more than 80% it is a deterrent to guests. When I first read this in a book by Russell Burrill I was skeptical, but I’m a pastor which makes me even less qualified than the average member in the pew to analyze the thoughts of an individual searching for a church, so I took the study to the church Elders and there in our meeting one of our Elders raised his hand. He said, “Pastor 8 years ago when my wife and I first move to the area we came to this church; we pulled into the parking lot and didn’t see many openings. The place seemed too crowded so we drove to another church in town.” They weren’t even here 7 minutes and they left. Praise the Lord they gave us another chance, they have been a great asset to our church! But we could have lost them because the evangelism of our parking lot dropped the ball! How can we help with the evangelism of the parking lot? Well first off pastors we can actually pay attention to it. One thing we did prior to moving to two services in Visalia, as our church grew, we not only paid attention to how many people were sitting in the seats but we also sent a Deacon to count the empty spots in the parking lot. When we were getting to full we began to ask our members to park elsewhere. There was a parking lot next door and we got permission to use it, we also had members park out on the street at the curb. Our church having the evangelistic heart that they do complied and our parking lot was once again ready to be an evangelist to our guests.
Groundskeeper
Are your bushes trimmed, is your lawn mowed & green, do you have flowers blooming? The first thing that people see when they pull up to your church are these things and whether we pay attention to it or not, it is noticed by guests. If you don’t believe me think about the last time you pulled up to a persons house whose yard was falling apart. Did you notice? Of course you did! Especially if you were about to go inside. In fact you probably thought in your head, “If this is what the outside of their house looks like, I wonder what the inside looks like?” We’ve all thought it (if you haven’t you may be the one with the ultra shabby yard:)). Well do you think folk pulling into a church think any different? NO! And what is one of the most important rules of evangelism? Start by focusing on the positive. What do most our main stream evangelists start their meetings with? Daniel 2. Why? Because they want folk to see the credibility of the scriptures and honestly probably the credibility of us, in that we were so “smart” to show them the meaning of Daniel 2 (sorry mild sarcasm there:)). But this is a positive message for a positive start. It is no different each Sabbath morning, we want to start things off on the positive. And the positive is a green mowed lawn, trimmed bushes, and flowers blooming. Pastors are you paying attention to the evangelism provided by your groundskeeper?
Janitor
Really this evangelist follows in the same line as the previous. If your church is unkempt and dirty you are communicating a message you don’t want to communicate. Bathrooms need to be clean! If they are like ours in Visalia (literally the worst church bathrooms ever) then you really have to go out of your way to make them as useable as possible! Papers should not be lying around, the walls should be clean, the tables at potluck should be clean. I was once speaking at a small church in the Southern parts of these here United States. I was the guest so I showed-up early that gave me the opportunity to stand in the foyer and look around while I waited for the Sabbath Schools to finish, what I noticed made me wonder how many guests came back. There was a coat rack that probably had half the coats hanging on the rack and the other half were lying in a heap on the floor. Sitting on top of the coat rack were stacks of what appeared to be old Adventist Review magazines along with other various papers. Everything just looked disheveled. We don’t get points if the outside is beautiful but the inside it is a filthy mess, either Spiritually or as a literal church structure. Your janitor evangelist is important!
Greeters
This evangelist may be the most overlooked because most people consider their church friendly. But just because we as members think our church is friendly doesn’t mean that is what your guests experience. And unfortunately what has been discovered is that members almost always rate themselves higher on the “friendly” meter than guests do. All the other 6 1/2 minutes of a guests first encounter with your church are important but the first 30 seconds that a guest steps inside your church are the most vital and will leave an impression of your church that can be very hard to shake! I’ve found within Adventism that most greeting ministries are the same. Hand-out a bulletin and be done with it. In some churches that is even an overreach of expectation. One of my associates went to preach at another church in our area, when he walked into the church foyer there was no greeter. There was a table though with a stack of bulletins. My associate greeted the table and took a bulletin 🙂 To be a greeter is not to be a bulletin dispenser. A greeter is an evangelist! Every pastor should do training sessions with their greeters. Have a plan for how to greet and where to greet. Yes, where matters. Guests should not have to come to the greeters, I can not count how many times I have had to tap a greeter on a shoulder in a church I was visiting and ask for a bulletin. One pastor friend told me how at a church he was serving at the greeters refused to come out from behind the hospitality table, they said if the people wanted something it was clear where they needed to go. Sounds so hospitable! 🙂 I find the greeting ministry of our church to be one of the ministries I spend the most time thinking about and praying over!
So there are your four “most important” evangelists in Adventism! From personal experience and observation I believe if a pastor will take a little more time focusing on even just these four areas, he or she will see the retention of their guests increase.