Tag Archives: planning

But we’ve always done it that way, October 22, 2018

Today’s Podcast

Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

We’re still talking about change, and this one phrase can disrupt your ability to change more than any other. Here it is: But we’ve always done it that way. It can deal a death blow to any efforts you may undertake for change.

I’m sure you’ve heard someone say that phrase more than once in your life. In fact, you might be guilty of using it a time or two yourself. But what does that phrase really do for you except keep you stuck in the past?

My church just went through a mission and strategy review. Every business and church and really every individual should do that every once in a while. It’s healthy to figure out where you want to go in the next few months or years. What you want to look like by a certain time or what you want to accomplish in a certain span. We all need to examine entities at different levels to make sure our resources are used wisely.

Some in your church and mine will jump up and vigorously fight the process and tell you that God will lead whatever he wants done and we don’t need to make such long term plans. We don’t need to try anything different. We don’t need to waste time and energy thinking about what we should do next month or next year because God will just take us where he wants us to go.

I would argue that God inspired the book of Solomon which instructs us to plan and prepare throughout the book. Jesus talk about the wise builder and the wise king. They planned ahead to avoid disastrous results. God gives us a brain to use, not just to sit in that protective shell of bone and such up nutrients. He expects us to use resources wisely and to do that we need to plan and prepare for the days ahead.

So looking at our mission and vision and strategies to do those things is important. So where am I going with all of this. Well, with every vision for every church or business or person, I would hope it encompasses something larger and grander than the present state of things. That seems reasonable, doesn’t it? If our church has 200 in attendance today, we would like to be reaching another 200 unchurched in a few years, right? We’d like to know that we are making a difference in the community and helping win others to Jesus, right?

But there is a problem. What if over the last ten years we have only grown by two or three people a year? To reach another 200 would take us a hundred years. That seems a little unreasonable, doesn’t it? But that’s the result of doing what we’ve always done. That’s the pattern of the church for the last decade so it will not change unless we do something different. And almost every church across the nation has that same problem, not just my church. That’s why half of the United States citizenry doesn’t claim to adhere to any religious organization. Not just Christian, but any religious organization. We Americans bow to the god of self.

So understand some of those dynamics, there are a few questions a congregation and each member of that congregation must answer truthfully before we can embrace a renewed sense of mission. Just for the sake of argument, we will use a universal mission for all churches that I think all of us can hopefully agree on. Jesus said he came to seek and save the lost. That’s a very clearly stated, simply worded mission. I think every church could agree, as his followers, our mission, then, is to seek and help save the lost. Before you blast me with the truth that we can’t save anyone. I agree, but as we share the gospel, the Holy Spirit can. The church, you and me, are instruments of God’s saving power. We bring people to him, share the gospel, so he can do his work in them. We are instruments of salvation. We don’t do it, but we help. So for arguments sake, let’s accept that short mission statement for just a moment. We seek and help save the lost.

Here’s the first question. Do you believe God’s word? That might sound like a silly question, but it’s not. The Bible is the foundation for that mission statement. It says Jesus is the only means for our salvation, the only path to heaven. It says there is a heaven and hell. It says every person will end up in eternity in one of those two places based on their acceptance of sacrifice for sin. Those statements are clear. If you believe God’s word to be true, Islam, Buddhism, whatever other path you might take doesn’t get you there. The only path to heaven is through Jesus. So do you really believe God’s word?

The next question is this, do you care about the lost? All hands go up in the air and some wave vigorously. Sure I do. What kind of question is that? Look hard at your church and yourself. Do you really care about the lost? When is the last time you shared what God is doing in your life with an unbeliever? When is the last time you invited an unbeliever to your church? When is the last time you invited an unbeliever to your house? Now chase the money. What percentage of your church budget goes toward reaching unbelievers instead of taking care of the congregation? 50%, 25%, 10%? Did you know the average church spends less than 5% on activities to reach the unchurched? Do we really care about the lost? Should we wonder why the unchurched think we are hypocrites? Ouch.

The next question. Am I willing to sacrifice to win the lost? Jesus said take up our cross and follow him. But what crosses am I talking about? What sacrifices do we have to make to win the lost? Here are some things with which my church leadership and my congregation must struggle over the next months if we are to meet the goals our vision put before us. Remember that phrase we used at the beginning? But we’ve always done it this way.

Well, many of the unchurched in today’s society, even in the Bible belt, have never been inside a church. Hard to believe for those of us who grew up in a church and go there several times a week, but it’s true. We often forget that’s true, but it is. And my church, like many others, maybe yours, doesn’t think about guests. Sure we greet them with a smile and hand them a bulletin, which they call a program, by the way. See, they go to the theater or ball games or other events and get programs, so a bulletin doesn’t mean anything to them. Then they have to ask the embarrassing question of where things are because even though I know the men’s room is just around the corner, there is no sign when you come in that tells you where to take your little boy who has an urgent need after the drive to get here.

Then as the service is about to begin, “Ms. That’s My Seat and You Can Have It” makes visiting family climb over her and her purse and her bag with her giant print Bible, Sunday School literature and gift for her friend to get to the empty seats beside her. The people on either side of family have shades of a smile as they sing “Victory in Jesus”, but give the new family an icy glare when they don’t immediately jump to their feet when the music starts. The last Amen is said and the family exits as soon as they can get past “Ms. That’s My Seat”. No one talks to them. Everyone is already in their own little clumps deciding where they are going for lunch. So will those first time unchurched visitors be back? Would you come back? Do we care about the unchurched or the lost? Am I willing to sacrifice for them?

Maybe we could give up our favorite seat. Maybe we could act like they are visitors to our home and welcome them. Maybe we could show them around and make sure they know where everything is so they don’t have to hunt for things. Maybe we could give them some hints about what is about to happen so they’re not embarrassed as the last people to get it when something changes in the service. Maybe we could at least act like we’re really glad they are with us. Maybe we could make the atmosphere of the church more pleasing and comfortable for guests instead of for us. Maybe we should think like Paul, as he said in 1 Corinthians 9:22, “To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.”

Am I willing to sacrifice the music I most enjoy to reach the lost? Am I willing to sacrifice the décor I’ve always thought was most sacred to win the lost? Am I willing to sacrifice chatting with my friends for those few minutes after the service to win the lost? Am I willing to sacrifice my church language and change bulletins to programs, platforms to stages, foyers to lobbies, and all those words that separate us from unbelievers to help win the lost? Am I willing to sacrifice my routine, my comfort, my time and energy to win the lost?

If the mission is to seek and save the lost, then I have to be willing to do those things. That’s what we are called to do. Jesus said, “Go make disciples.” To do that, I must first be changed by the power of his blood. Then I must change. I cannot do things the way they have always been done and expect the outcome to be different. If I am to meet the call of the Master, I must be willing to sacrifice for him and his kingdom.

Are you ready to throw away the phrase, but we’ve always done it that way. The past is not bad. We can learn from the past and we shouldn’t throw the baby out with the bath water as they say. But also, if we are really want to reach the unchurched, the lost, they will not come to us, we must go to them. And when they walk in our doors, we must be inviting enough for them to stay. Take a look at the place where you worship. I gave you a glimpse of the atmosphere of 95% of all the churches in America. If that glimpse were not true, all of our churches would be overflowing every service. Except for that very small percentage, they are not. Chairs are empty. Parking lots have plenty of space. We do not weep over the millions in our land headed toward an eternity separated from the one who can save them from that destiny.

Are you ready to change? Now is the time.

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more Bible based teaching. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn’t, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved. In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Are you a pessimist? (John 21:7-8), May 5, 2017

Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|Download

Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
My daughter calls me a pessimist because I like to plan for contingencies that might happen in the future. But I think we would all like to know a little bit of what will happen next so we can be prepared. Does that make me a pessimist?
Scripture
1. John 21:7-8
2. Jesus: The Father, on His own authority, has determined the ages and epochs of history, but you have not been given this knowledge. Here’s the knowledge you need: you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. And you will be My witnesses, first here in Jerusalem, then beyond to Judea and Samaria, and finally to the farthest places on earth.
Devotional
1. I was putting together some information a few months ago in preparation for things that I hope will never happen to me or my family.
  1. Daughter saw me gathering the information
  2. “Dad, do you consider yourself an optimist or a pessimist?”
  3. Optimist, I like to think I look on the bright side of things
  4. “Then why are you always planning for the worst case?”
2. Good question that made me start thinking about how I approach some of the bigger problems that can confront us in life.
  1. Insurance – life and health
  2. Shelter
  3. Provision for family
  4. How to leave a legacy of values for family
  5. Not a survivalist, but prepare for disasters
3. Some of the thought process comes from military training
  1. Strategic planner during military career
  2. Built plans around contingencies
  3. “What if” thinking to avoid surprises that shook you to inaction
  4. Crossed over to thought process in other things
4. I don’t necessarily see planning for contingencies as pessimism, but…
  1. We can go too far and miss life
  2. Jesus warned early Christians to perform a task instead of trying to guess when He would return
  3. He had a job He wanted them to do
  4. If they spent all of their time planning for the contingency of His return, no one would hear the good news of His power to forgive sins
  5. Enough that God knows the future and will take care of the ages and epochs of history
  6. Enough that God gives us His spirit to enable us to do the work He gives us to do
  7. Enough that we can concentrate on the work at hand and not worry about what comes tomorrow, He has those contingencies covered
5. Knowing the future is already determined and taken care of by the Commander of heavenly armies, how does that make you feel about contingency planning?
  1. The future is in His hands and He has your best in mind.
  2. So are you an optimist or a pessimist about tomorrow?
  3. With Him on your side, how can you be anything but an optimist?
If you want to learn more about my church, you can find us at SAF.church. If you like the devotional, share it with someone. If you don’t, tell me. I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow for “A Little Walk with God.”

Stay on the winning side (Luke 14:31-33) December 4, 2016

Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – 1 John 4-5

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Luke 14:31-33
Jesus: Or imagine a king gearing up to go to war. Wouldn’t he begin by sitting down with his advisors to determine whether his 10,000 troops could defeat the opponent’s 20,000 troops? If not, he’ll send a peace delegation quickly and negotiate a peace treaty. In the same way, if you want to be My disciple, it will cost you everything. Don’t underestimate that cost!

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

I spent almost my whole career in the Army studying, thinking about, and planning for combat. That’s what the Army does. It’s purpose is to fight and win America’s wars. It doesn’t start them. It doesn’t want them. No soldier that I know enjoys going into combat. But when the country calls on its soldiers to fight for the freedoms we hold dear, they go. And my job as a medical planner was to figure out how to put the right medical support on the battlefield and at every step between the battle and a soldier’s home to make sure he or she got the best care possible.

Consequently, I know about planning to go to war. I worked hand in hand with the warfighters and understood their tactics intimately because I had to know how their tactics influenced the potential number of casualties both we and our enemies would experience. You see, Americans are one of few countries that extend mercy to our enemies once defeated. We tend to our enemies wounded in the same way we tend to our own wounded. It’s what the Geneva Conventions after the World Wars said we should do, but few countries carry out those concepts as well as the United States.

So my job took into account what the warfighters thought would happen in each phase of each battle and throughout the campaigns they planned both for our side and the enemies. It sounds like a daunting task and in some respects I guess it might be. But there are ways to determine what our capabilities really are and what the enemy’s capabilities are. Then you run all that information through different analyses tools and figure out if you can win and at what cost.

The good news for those who have never served, but who have loved ones or friends in the military, I never met a commander that wasn’t averse to losing soldiers in battle. No one I ever met wanted to see soldiers hurt or killed even though we all knew the possibility and sometimes the probability of casualties happening. But our mission, given to us by Congress and the President, was always to fight and win the war. And sometimes that meant we knew it might cost lives or severe injuries to do battle with the enemy. Our opponents often don’t cherish human life the way Americans do and so will fight very different kinds of warfare than us. We have to be prepared for those battles.

ISIS is a good example of the difference. While we can put a smart bomb through a window as Desert Storm and Enduring Freedom demonstrated, we sometimes have civilians caught in the fray because ISIS and terrorist groups like them will surround themselves with civilians to keep us from attacking. We never do. We keep our bases separate from the civilian populace partly for that reason. We never want to be accused of using civilians as shields.

But we take all those tactics of our enemies into account, too. We want to know the cost, both in dollars, in potential injuries, and in potential lives, enemy soldiers, friendly soldiers, and civilians before the first bullet ever leaves the barrel of a rifle. So people like me would spend days and weeks and months locked in vaults planning for all kinds of contingencies just in case something were to happen in some part of the world. The plans were never executed the way we wrote them, but they were always a good starting point rather than starting with a blank sheet of paper when the chips were down.

All that work in the Army reminds me every day of the war we fight in the spiritual world. There is a cost to serving in God’s Army. There will be battles fought when the odds seem insurmountable and losses will be heavy. Sometimes it may even appear as if we’ve lost the battle. But remember that wars are not about one battle. They are campaigns in which a series of battles lead to an ultimate conclusion with victory by one side.

I hope you are on the winning side. In the end there will only be one victor and God’s word has already announced who that will be. There is really no sense in wasting time fighting against Him. He’s already won. Future history is already recorded if that makes any sense. Every promise God makes happens and He promised victory for those that follow Him.

So what are you waiting for? Go tell someone about the wonder of God’s love. Yes it will cost a lot, everything you have and everything you will ever have. But is it worth the cost? You bet it is. Stay on the winning side. It’s worth it.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Rodeo time (Matthew 21:2-3) May 12, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Job 37-38

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 21:2-3
Jesus: Go to the village over there. There you’ll find a donkey tied to a post and a foal beside it. Untie them and bring them to Me. If anyone tries to stop you, then tell him, “The Master needs these,” and he will send the donkey and foal immediately.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

I remember the first time I heard this story, I thought Jesus just told the disciple to go steal a donkey. That’s not a nice thing to do! Why would Jesus steal a donkey? It’s still easy to think that if you don’t stop to remember that the Bible isn’t a detailed history book. The writers tell us what they remember and what God puts in their hearts to relate to us for our understanding of His plan of salvation for all humankind.

We assume there were twelve disciples because we have the names of twelve. But there were undoubtedly a lot more than twelve. At Jesus’ ascension, some 500 gathered to see Him rise in the clouds with the promise He would return the same way one day. Many of those 500 were His disciples, not just the twelve, but followers, those who wanted to be like Him. That’s the definition of a disciple, a person who desires to study a learn and be like his teacher.

That’s why we have the distinction between the title Apostle and disciple. There are twelve apostles and there will never be more than that. Those are the twelve chosen by Jesus to draw very close to Him, learn from Him throughout His three year preaching ministry, and then carry on the work of building His church after His resurrection and ascension. But His disciples are too numerous to count and the number is growing every day and men and women find Him through faith and give themselves to Him as living sacrifices.

So what’s the answer to this great mystery? How did Jesus know about the donkey and the foal?

No doubt one of His disciples lived or had relatives or friends in the village Jesus speaks about in His command to the disciples He addresses in this command that Matthew records. It’s not hard to assume this disciple has gone there to take care of his household affairs, plant a crop, check on lambs that are just being born in the spring, feed cattle or whatever might be happening in the little village. Jesus might have seen the disciple ride in or ride out on a donkey. And the donkey, late in pregnancy might have been ready to deliver.

The miracle part of the story, of course, would be to know the donkey and foal would be tied together. Unless the disciple in the village already had his instructions from Jesus. Is it too far fetched to think those things were planned? No. Would it be a miracle for Jesus to have the knowledge that all those things were in place without anyone telling Him. Yes. Could it have happened that way? Yes

Would it have been a miracle for Jesus to have planned for the donkey and foal to be standing ready for Him in the village and send other disciples to fetch the animals as they drew closer to the village on their way to Jerusalem? Yes it would. Think about the timing of the event. A foal is not very old. To have a donkey and its foal tied together in the village just at the right time as Jesus and the rest of His entourage were passing through would not be an easy feat for even an extraordinary man. But Jesus knew it would happen.

Why was Jesus so sure the donkey and colt would be available? Because He knew He was the long awaited Messiah. He also knew His mission would take Him to Jerusalem and He would be heralded as the King of the Jews riding in to the city in the manner described 500 years earlier by the prophet Zechariah on the backs of humble beasts of burden, not on the back of a stallion as most conquerors would.

So He came into the city, riding on the backs of a donkey and an untamed foal. Now that is a miracle. I don’t know if you’ve ever ridden a donkey with an untamed animal tied to it. I haven’t, but I’ve seen others who have tried to ride those untamed animals. It’s usually not a pretty picture for the rider. But Jesus rode into the city, through a crowd of people with His disciples leading the parade. No one was trampled. The donkey and foal apparently behaved themselves. That’s a miracle!

The people waved palm branches, threw their cloaks onto the dusty road, shouted praises, heralded Jesus as King. The din must have been tremendous as the guards came out to settle what they thought was a riot. Still the animals remained quiet and controlled. Now that’s a miracle!

The planning to have a donkey available as Jesus passed by? I’ve learned as I’ve grown a little more mature that’s not so hard to do. And Jesus wouldn’t ask His disciples to heist a donkey. I think the donkey was planned. Riding that donkey and a new foal through that crowd, now that’s something only God could do.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.