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Search Term: ramsey
How Satan Views Christians
I came across this article, "Quoting Satan," on SermonCentral.com. It is by Chad McCallum, pastor of Compass Point church in Byron Center, Mich. While we often kick ourselves for not being effective Christians, this article imagines how we must look to Satan--a strong, flexible, resilient force that he's been unable to stop.
Speaking to Money and Power
I know a church where people have strong opinions about what their church should be, but their opinion has no relation to what God says the church should be. They are people of power. And in the UB church--probably all churches--people with power tend to be people with money.
Nobody will say to them, "We're going to build a church here, and we don't need you or your money. We could use you and your money, but if you're just going to be an obstinate person used by Satan to create problems--no, we don't need you."
I've had those conversations. It's not easy, not something I relish. But it's necessary.
In Search of Leaders
My greatest concern is finding leaders to assign to churches. I get resumes nearly every week, but few of them I believe would be the kind of people I want to assign to one of our churches, because their experience shows that they've never led or grown anything. I think our single biggest need is to have enough of the right quality of people when we need them.
Years ago, if you started in a small church and kept your nose clean and didn't ruffle feathers, you got promoted to a little nicer church. Then, if you continued to keep your nose clean, you got promoted to another church.
I think that kind of approach to assigning churches is terrible. But it's all we knew and what everybody was doing, so I don't condemn anyone for doing that. But to find people who are leaders, you really have to do some recruiting. It's something I didn't take the time to do as bishop--go to seminars, talk to professors, see who the top students are, build a relationship with them, see if they're interested in doing something with us.
What Lies Ahead for Ron and EJ Ramsey
Well, I moved the last of my books out of the office over the weekend. I will complete a few loose ends over the next two weeks and then I will go to Greencastle, Pa., to preach at Macedonia UB and at the Rhodes Grove Camp Meeting Aug 16-20. Those will be my last duties as Bishop.
Many have asked what I am going to do in retirement. So I thought I ought to respond.
For the first couple of weeks, I plan to do very little. I am sure I will become involved in some projects around the house. This will be the first time for many years when I will not have a job to go to in the morning. But I believe more than my job defines my life.
First and foremost, I will still be a follower of Jesus Christ. I hope to have the time to read and study in detail a few topics for which I have a great interest.
I look forward to spending more time with my wife of 49 years, EJ. For all our married life, I have held a job and a great deal of the time she has been employed as well. Next to Jesus, she is the love of my life and I look forward to the time we will have together.
I haven't been a "person in the pew" since my days in Wheaton, Ill., with Scripture Press. EJ and I look forward to finding a church home where we can serve in our areas of giftedness and interests.
Moving is also in our near future. Don't know where yet. We had hoped to have a house purchased way before this, but so far nothing. We don't know what the Lord is trying to say to us, but at this point we are still looking. We have leased a house from Huntington University for the past four years and we need to move out ASAP.
Every time we have moved, EJ and I have talked about the need to rid ourselves of much accumulation of "stuff," but we really never have. We move it and store it away somewhere...garage, closets, attic, basement...you get the drift. This move we will have a huge moving-on sale, and hopefully a lot of that "stuff" can be moved from our house to someone else's so they can store it away until that time they need to have a huge garage sale.
It will be nice to get settled somewhere.
After the dust settles, I'd like to do some pulpit supply, seminars, and church consultations as opportunities present themselves. I still believe what the rock in my yard says, "Where God is taking us is always better than where we've been." I look forward with eager anticipation to whatever that may be.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve my church in this high capacity. It has been a rewarding, challenging, and humbling experience.
Liberty UB: A Small but Healthy Church
I just received a letter from Mike Turner, a layperson at the Liberty UB church of Stockport, Ohio, down in the beautiful hills of southern Ohio. He reports that on July 12, they baptized, in Wolf Creek, 13 people who had been saved in the past month and six who had been saved earlier in 2009. A nearby Nazarene Church learned of the upcoming baptism, and they baptized one more person, for a total of 20. Mike reports that 68 persons were present to witness the power of God, sing songs, and pray. Mike said it was a grand and glorious day.
Over the past four years, I had tried to be consistent in calling our churches to become healthy. I think some people thought I was saying all churches had to become large. But that was and is not the point. I believe that healthy churches do grow, but size isn't the issue. The issue is one of being effective in seeing people come to Christ.
Liberty UB is a small church that is healthy because they are reaching people in their community. We have many of our churches who haven't seen a conversion for a long time. The baptismal fount is dry! Oh that many of our churches might become involved once again in the harvest fields.
Way to go Liberty! The angels in heaven rejoiced on that day!
5 Characteristics of Healthy Churches
Over the last four years the subject of healthy churches has been sharp on my radar. I collected a file full of articles trying to describe the characteristics of a healthy church. I finally compiled all the ideas and want to share them with you.
This is not the result of a research project and is not verifiable in that sense. It is just observations I have gleaned from a number of sources.
So, what are the characteristics of a healthy church? I'll give you the top 5:
- Leadership was the top characteristic. (I lumped together a number of things pertaining to leadership under this heading.) This includes leadership in its many varieties--leadership that is biblical, empowering, proficient, fruitful, positive, Great Commission focused, has a God-focused vision, has integirity.
- Outward-focused mission.
- (tie) Inspiring worship and discipleship/spiritual formation.
- (tie) Relationships/belonging/assimilation and strong biblical focus.
- In touch with God/prayer/God-empowering presence.
I don't know that I would have put them in exactly that same order, but I do agree that they are probably the most significant. One that didn't make the top 5 or so was the functional structure component, which I believe is also very important.
I would be interested in hearing your take.
Learning to Lead
My earlier experiences in ministry were not positive. It was okay, and we saw some good things happen, but I struggled a bit. I don't know why.
My first church, in 1964, was a part-time church near Willshire, Ohio, when I was a student pastor. I was elected to this job in 2005. During those 40 years, I cannot recall a time when I ever called a superintendent or bishop because I had a problem in the church. There were probably times when I should have, and I was too dumb to know I should.
When we pastored the UB church in Sacramento, Calif., it took me a number of years before things started to happen, and that's about the time I left to spend four years at the national office.
Then I spent 13 years with Scripture Press. That's where I got the other side of my ministerial training. I had the Bible and theology and all that stuff, but I didn't have a clue how to lead. I kept causing problems. There was friction.
Scripture Press invested in men and trained me in leading. They put me in a position where I had to lead to be successful. Without that 13 years, I don't think I would have been successful at Mainstreet. And without those 12 years at Mainstreet, I wouldn't have known which end of the tool to pick up as bishop.
In addition, at Scripture Press I had the chance to see churches of other denominations. I was in a wide span of theological perspectives, and saw there was a whole other world beyond the United Brethren church. I saw what was working for churches in other groups.
If I had gone straight from the national office to Mainstreet or any other church, I don't think I would have been all that successful. So I thank God for those years at Scripture Press and what they taught me about leadership.
Our Task Over the Past Four Years
Ron: The majority of our churches have very fine people--good hearts, good intentions. But somewhere we lost the zeal and vision to do anything ourselves, to reach lost people and plant new churches, and have that be a regular part of who we are in our churches. Part of me says that if reproduction isn't taking place, the body is unhealthy. So we have lots of good people, but basically they are unhealthy. So I believed my task was to be a Johnny One-Note to get our churches focused on outreach again.
I think that, for the most part, it has been fairly well received, at least emotionally. But then comes the volitional step--doing something about it. And I think that's where we are. Churches will tell you they want to grow and change, but when you tell them what that involves, "No, we don't want to do that."
Pat: We have emphasized that we're here to serve you, not to keep the denomination going. Wherever we went, our influence and reception was based more on relationship than on position. In the past, when the bishop visited a church, that was a big deal. But not anymore. There is a deep respect for this office, but not an obvious respect. For us, it wasn't about our office but about honestly trying to help churches.
Attitudinally, we know we both have come across kind of loud and straightforward. We don't mean to be loud, but that is how we come across. At the same time, we have sought to show honest caring for people while challenging them in a straightforward manner with the truth of the Scriptures.
You Tell Me: the Characteristics of Healthy Churches
Over the past few years I have been very interested in what research, organizations, consultants, and pastors report as the characteristics of healthy churches. As you might well imagine, they report a wide range. I would like to share with you the top 6-10 that I have discovered, but before I do that, I thought that maybe you have a list. It could be:
- something you read (if so please give me the source).
- just something you believe through experience or intuition.
Either way I'd be very interested in seeing your list. So tell me--what are the characteristics of healthy churches?
I will leave office in one month, so don't wait too long!
Prayer for Two Home-Buyers
I have a hard time asking prayer for personal things, but our house situation is something that we need prayer about. We have been searching for awhile. We thought we had it settled: two months ago, we found a lot in Roanoke, Ind., on which to build a home, which was to be completed in October. But that fell through last week, and now we're back to looking for a home.
As you think about it, I would appreciate you shooting off a prayer on our behalf as we continue our search. We don't want to buy something just because we feel pressured, but we are feeling some pressure. I have also asked the Lord whether or not we are missing something, but really haven't felt led to anything other than pursuing something around here.
Anyway, EJ and I would appreciate your prayers on our behalf.
Providing Resources to Our People
The Bible says in Ecclesiastes that of the writing of books there is no end. I've worked in publishing and love books. It was very natural for me to want to resource people with books, and we were pretty selective about the books we gave out. "Hit the Bullseye," by Paul Borden, got my juices flowing after I became bishop. I'm guessing that we gave away a couple hundred copies of that book.
We took the pastors of our largest churches to the Drive Conference in Atlanta, Ga., where Andy Stanley is the pastor. We thought they could benefit from that. But we didn't forget the pastors of medium and smaller churches. We resourced people to get to Brad Powell's conference in Michigan, and to Hit the Bullseye conferences. We resourced our cluster leaders with some of that training. That was something Pat and I did very intentionally--resourcing ministers and laypersons with particular things that reinforced what we said, and getting people to seminars and conferences.
Of course, it's one thing to read the books and attend the seminars. It's another thing to put it into practice. For a lot of people, there's a disconnect. They get inspired by the book or conference, but it's hard to put it into practice. I think a lot of our pastors struggle with some very sinful attitudes and mindsets in a lot of churches. And so they get excited, but come back to their churches and face open sin, and that discourages them.
We've been pretty liberal in providing resources--CDs, tapes, DVDs, conferences, books. I think it's important to invest in our guys, our leaders, our sharpest and most talented guys.
Dealing with Church Conflict
Ron: One common problem I've seen in our churches involves conflict resolution. They're not good at dealing with conflict.
Pat: We have hammered the Matthew 18 principles of conflict resolution. Sinful conflict is a major hindrance in our churches. We've seen and experienced that for years. Ron and I committed, at the beginning, to address sinful situations. In churches, how you disagree and address your grievances is vital.
Ron: I think you manage conflict, not resolve it. If it resolves, that's good. But sometimes you can't resolve it, yet can manage it so it doesn't hinder what God wants to do in that place. Some conflict is just difference of opinion. Some conflicts are more substantive, issues between sin and righteousness. You would like to think that people not approaching it from a righteousness standpoint would be conflicted by the Spirit, but sometimes they hang in there, and it becomes a power struggle.
Too often, it's a matter of power, of who gets to call the shots. People want to sit in the big seat and make decisions. Sometimes this stems from seeing pastors come and go, come and go. They figure the current pastor will only be there for a while, so they'll run the church how they want. The pastor will just be a chaplain. We've tried to break up some of that thought. People forget that there is only one power source, one power seat, and that's the seat that Christ sits in, and we're all servants of him.
Pat: We have helped address the alligators, and I'm not afraid of addressing them. But we do that by opening up the scriptures and saying, "This is how God says it should be handled." I don't say you must agree with me, but here is what the Bible says about how you disagree with me. Here's what Titus says about divisive people. You're not battling me; you're battling a scriptural truth.
Through the Neutral Zone
When I went to Mainstreet, the church had been on a steady decline for several years, going from 330 people to 220. The worship service was so structured that if you went in at 11:10 any time of the year, they would be doing the same thing. If they did the responsive reading at 11:10, that's where they did it every Sunday. The preacher quit at 11:30 whether he was done or not.
The power brokers of the church were members of the fully-robed choir. They marched in and sang the anthem.
Then I showed up. My first Sunday, in 1993, I told them I wanted to begin the service with the song "Majesty." "You'll march in from the back, through the double doors, and charge forward like you're capturing the mountain. And I want you to sing."
They groused about it, but they complied. Because the new guy said so.
They had been doing things one way. I took them into the neutral zone. But what I wanted was to get to the point where we didn't have a choir at all. That's not something you pull off overnight. But in time, we got there.
A Few Thoughts Before XLR8 Begins
It is now 8:17 a.m. (EDT) in Huntington, Ind. The staff in the office has been in a "full court press" for some time now to get everything done for National Conference. Sometime this morning we will begin packing the trailer to bring all the necessary forms, reports, supplies, packets, name badges, agendas, sermon notes, computers, printers, posters, pens and probably a whole lot more I can't think of right at this moment.
We are checking and double-checking to be sure we have everything we need. I have checked with the main speaker, Tim Brown and he is set to be with us. We have had an excellent registration of over 850 individuals.
The point is: we are almost ready to make the trip to Sawmill Creek Resort, Huron, Ohio, for National Conference 2009. I am excited. Thanks to all who have been planning and praying for this National Conference 2009.
Just some thoughts....
- I am surprised how fast these past four years have flown by!
- I am thankful for travel safety for all who have traveled these past four years!
- I am so grateful for the staff that God has placed in this building!
- I am blessed to think of all the new friends who have come into my life in these years!
- I am burdened for far too many of our churches that don't "get it"!
- I am flabbergasted at those who don't know what "IT" is!
- I have realized just how dependent on God I really am to do anything of worth!
- I have been amazed to find myself in this position!
- I am so thankful for the planning team that helped plan every detail of this National Conference 2009.
- I am really looking forward to worshipping with all of you this week!
- I am blessed to be trusting in The One who has my future in His hands!
Well, that's it for this time. Hope to see you on Thursday. Drive careful 'ya hear!
A Church's First Staffer
L-r: Pastor Dan and Mary Alice Drake, Zachary Kennedy, and Courtney Clark.
Last Sunday, May 17, I was privileged to participate in a service at Olive Branch Church of Lakeville, Ind. (just outside of South Bend). I was there to install Zachary Kennedy as the church's Young Adult and Youth Pastor.
This is a historic thing for Olive Branchy--their first staff hire ever, as far as I know. Zachary graduated this spring from Bethel College in nearby Mishawaka, Ind. He and Courtney are to be married June 13. For now, the new position will be part-time, but the church is praying tha tit can become fulltime in the very near future.
Words from 1929 for 2009
While reading from Trial and Triumphs: History of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, I came across a quote from our Bishop's quadrennial report of 1929:
"We stand in need of a great spiritual awakening throughout the Church. A greater emphasis should be placed upon the actual presence of God in the person of the Holy Spirit in the lives of our people. A consciousness of the intervention of God...is the only antidote which will counteract the poison of materialistic teaching which is everywhere pouring in upon Christianity, killing the spirituality of the church and rendering the lives of thousands barren and unfruitful."
Wow! That could have been written about the Church in 2009 as well.
Reclaiming a Piece of UB History
Our lobby at Healthy Ministry Resources looks different. We added something new: a stained glass window from our former national office. Let me tell you its history.
Way back in 1834, the United Brethren denomination bought printing equipment for a new publishing house in Circleville, Ohio. In 1853, the publishing house moved to Dayton, Ohio, where the denominational headquarters was located.
After the division in 1889, our group lost everything. We had a temporary publishing operation in Dayton for a while. Then, in 1897, everything moved to Huntington, Ind.
Initially, we used a building on South Jefferson. But after 20 years, we built a new, multi-story brick building at the corner of Franklin and Warren Streets to house the publishing operation and the denominational offices. It was dedicated on May 2, 1917, by Bishop Fermin Hoskins.
Above the main entrance they installed this beautiful stained glass window that said "Publishing Establishment of the United Brethren in Christ." We relocated the offices to the current location in 1976, selling the other building to a local businessman. However, that stained glass window was still there 30 years later when I became bishop.
I thought we needed to reclaim that window. So we talked with the building's owner. He said we could have it, as long as we paid to have it removed and paid for a replacement. No problem.
And so, the window was removed, and we had it restored to pristine condition. Then a local contractor mounted it in this beautiful wooden case, which takes up most of a wall in our lobby. It is lighted from behind, and looks gorgeous.
Book: God's War on Terror
I am reading a new book, God's War on Terror, written by Walid Shoebat (Executive Media). Walid is a converted Muslim. Technically the book, in my opinion, is not edited very well, but as far as getting the point across, it is power-packed.
He says that the Bible is Futurology 101: "It is a detailed roadmap of so much evidence that God exists and His design from time immemorial regarding man's destiny with many details concerning the future, especially the coming war with an Islamic coalition against Christianity and Israel."
He believes that the nations that God goes to war against in the end time are all Muslim nations. His arguments are pretty convincing.
The book has 98 chapters and 490 pages. So you can see there are a lot of short chapters.
This is not devotional reading, but I think it is worth the read. Has anyone else out there read it? If so,I would be interested in your take!
Tell Me About Your Easter
The Easter season is always exciting for churches. That's when we see some of our biggest attendances, and it's when a lot of ministry occurs.
So tell me what happened during the Easter season at your church, so I can share it here with others. Or, just leave a comment.
Book: Inside the Revolution
I have been reading a new book by Joel C. Rosenberg, Inside the Revolution. He divides the book into three sections. - The radical element of Islam.
- Reformers within Islam.
- Revivalists within Islam.
This is a very fascinating and informative book. We hear mostly about the Radical element of Islam. They are the ones making the news on our TV, radio and newspapers. We hear less about the reformers--those who are Muslim but do not take the radical position of expanding by terror.
All of the sections were revealing and very informative. But the section on the revival that is taking place within the Muslim world gripped my heart. Joel reports that thousands responding to the message of faith in Jesus. I felt as though I were reading a new chapter in the book of Acts. Some of the stories of how people are coming to Christ literally gave me goosebumps and made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. We're talking direct intervention by Jesus as he reveals himself to many people. We're talking about New Testament stuff here.
I strongly recommend that you read Inside the Revolution. It is a large hardback book and is relatively expensive. Possibly you could check out a copy from a local library. If they don't have it, encourage them to get it. Another possibility is that your local church could purchase a copy or two to loan out to members of that body. Or find a friend who has it and see if you can read theirs.
I believe this is a must read for United States Christians. We need to know the content of this book, which we will never get from our media. It would make you feel better to read the third section first, although I recommend reading the book as it is written. Also, you might want to re-read the books of Daniel, Ezekiel, Matthew 23 and 25, Acts, and Revelation.
And by the way, I'd read anything I can get my hands on from Joel C. Rosenberg. He has written a series of five works of fiction that is his interpretation of the "last days." He also wrote a non-fiction work, Epicenter that contains all the information and research he did for the works of fiction.
Let me know what you think after your have read any of his books.
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