Spiritual Surgery
Rick Renner

This is an excerpt from Rick Renner’s soon-to-be-released second volume of his Light in Darkness series, No Room for Compromise: Christ’s Message to Today’s Church. This excerpt comes from Chapter Three: Jesus’ Message to the Church of Pergamum.

The “sharp sword with two edges” in Revelation 2:12 represents Christ’s ultimate authority in all matters, including those of life and death. However, there is another important insight to be gleaned from this symbolism as well.

The word “sharp” in this phrase is the Greek word oxus. Most translations of this verse render oxus as “sharp” because of its connection with Christ’s sword, and it’s true that this word can convey that meaning in certain contexts. However, in ancient Greek literature, the word oxus is rarely translated as “sharp.” Rather, it most commonly denotes the sanitizing effect of a medicinal cleanser, an astringent intended to attack infection and remove disease, or an anesthetizing wine given to patients suffering with excruciating pain. This was precisely the same kind of solution given to anesthetize and numb a patient before a painful surgical procedure. Although the chemical itself was bitter to taste, it attacked infection and disease and thus produced a healing effect.

In Revelation 2:6 and 12, we read that the doctrine of the Nicolaitans was attempting to get a foothold in the churches of Asia. Although this doctrine had been firmly resisted by the church in Ephesus (see verse 6), it appears that it was spreading quickly in the church of Pergamum like an infectious disease, along with the doctrine of Balaam (see Revelation 2:14,15), and that both false teachings posed a threat to the spiritual longevity of this congregation. The use of the word oxus in verse 12 indicates that Christ was prepared to perform a radical and potentially painful procedure to remove this spiritual infection from the Pergamene church. If those advocating the doctrine of the Nicolaitans and the doctrine of Balaam would not repent on their own, Christ’s sword was positioned to slice into that church and extricate the disease before the entire congregation became infected by it. However, if this procedure was necessary, Jesus fully intended to perform it with a merciful application of spiritual anesthetic (oxus) — in order to ease the pain and stimulate the healing process once the extraction was complete.

No matter how slowly or carefully Jesus proceeds in correcting His Church, the effects of judgment are always painful to some degree. Correction is inherently a painful process and often bitter to the taste, but Christ in His infinite mercy attempts to minimize pain. His sword is “sharp” (oxus) and doused in the anestheticof the Holy Spirit, which numbs the pain of these corrective procedures. Thus we see that the purpose of divine judgment is not to wound, but rather to cleanse, heal, and restore individuals who are being ravaged from within by a deadly spiritual infection.

Christ’s surgical instrument is the two-edged sword described in Revelation 1:16 and 2:12. It is significant to note that in Revelation 1:16, this sword issues from Jesus’ mouth. This imagery symbolizes Christ’s words, which contain sanitizing powers that purge and purify. These cleansing properties are described in Ephesians 5:25-27, which says, “…Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.”

Furthermore, in John 17:17, Jesus prayed, “Sanctify them [His disciples] through thy truth: thy word is truth.” The word “sanctify” in this verse simply means cleanse, which shows that Christ acknowledges the cleansing and sanctifying power of His Word. Words of correction that proceed from the mouth of Christ may be difficult to hear, but they are words of purification nonetheless. They purge, extract, cut, and sever like a sharp sword in order to remove a spiritual disease.

The word “sword” in Revelation 2:12 is rhomphaia, which denotes a very specific kind of sword. The rhomphaia was essentially a curved, often two-edged blade attached to a long pole that was ideal for thrashing, slicing, and hacking through a densely populated enemy line. This description is particularly significant in the context of this verse because it reveals that Jesus was prepared to hack and thrash through the entrenched teachers of false doctrine and errant leaders in Pergamum if they did not willingly repent. He would send His correcting Word — His sharp rhomphaia — into their midst to purge and remove them, thus making way for His work to continue unhindered. Just as the long pole of a rhomphaia allowed soldiers to attack an enemy line from a distance, the reach of Christ’s Word would allow Him to figuratively “slice away” the rebels from the local body of believers without compromising His holiness by mingling among them in the process.

At first glance, the symbolism of this sword may seem brutal, but this is not the case. Jesus loves the Church, and when He brings painful correction, He does it to help and heal, not to attack or harm. Surgery is a radical procedure, but it is often necessary to save a life. Brutality has no place in the character of Christ, and it is not found in this text. Furthermore, just as a physician delays surgery until it is absolutely necessary, we find that Christ was in no hurry to perform this potentially painful operation on the church of Pergamum. His desire was that this congregation would respond to His Word so it wouldn’t be necessary to extend His sharp sword to extricate the offending members from among them.

In His message to the church in Pergamum, Jesus clearly spelled out the available options for this congregation. They could choose to hear what He was saying, self-correct, and then allow the Holy Spirit to remove the error from their midst — which was both the best and least painful option. Or they could reject Christ’s pleading to repent and suffer the consequences. If they ultimately refused to listen, His sword would attack the error and amputate the source of the spiritual disease.

Christ gave the believers in Pergamum plenty of time to respond to His exhortation because He didn’t want to put them through an unnecessary process of painful extraction. However, if He simply ignored the error, the infection in that congregation would eventually spread into that entire body of believers. True love had to respond to this situation — and because Christ deeply loves His Church, He was willing to inflict a measure of temporary pain in order preemptively remove this dangerous spiritual cancer. Therefore, He was slowly moving in their direction in case the erring individuals chose not to change their ways and correct their error.

Many churches throughout history have experienced painful surgical procedures when the Head of the Church removed longstanding, prominent people from their midst who refused to turn away from error. Often these problematic believers were once beneficial to their local congregations — but over time, they became a breeding ground for false doctrine, excess, and destructive attitudes. Therefore, Jesus was forced to remove them from their influential positions in order to lovingly spare the rest of the congregation from spiritual infection.

Although such events are painful for any church to experience, they would be far more painful if they were done without the Holy Spirit’s anesthesia. When Christ’s rhomphaia slices into a problematic situation within a church, His blade is doused with the Spirit’s anointing. This anointing not only allows the congregation to survive the operation, but it also brings healing and extends the longevity of the church.

Two thousand years of Church history prove that Christ tells His people when they need to repent and provides ample time for them to respond to His call. However, it also reveals that if people continually disregard His call to repentance, severe correction will assuredly follow. Jesus longs for His people to self-correct when He speaks to them. But if they exhaust every opportunity He graciously gives them, He will move His feet of bronze ever so slowly until He finally enters the situation and brings correction with His sharp, two-edged sword.

Law Enforcement Chaplaincy
Mark Clements

Chaplain Mark Clements and his wife, Paula, have been married for 33 years and have two adult children. Chaplain Clements has pastored Living Word Christian Church in La Crosse, Wisconsin since 1984. Read his entire bio at the end of this article. The Successful Death Notifications training manual may be purchased by contacting office@laxpolicechaplains.com.

On Monday, June 19, 2000, my wife, Paula, and I were attending the MWPA (Midwest Word of Faith Pastors Association) Family Camp in Green Lake, Wisconsin. A time of praise and worshipping God had just concluded and the first speaker of the week had been introduced, but before he opened his Bible, Rev. Al Gluchoski gave an utterance in other tongues. Very much to my surprise, he pointed down to the end of the front row where I was seated and said, “Please come up here. That was for you.” After I did, he gave the interpretation, which started out, “The Lord is about to make you a person of influence with persons of influence….” I was certainly interested in what this might mean, and on the way back to my seat, in my spirit I heard the words, “Chaplain with the La Crosse Police Department.” I had been in pastoral ministry for 16 years at that point and had never even heard of – let alone pursued – police chaplaincy; furthermore, I didn’t have the foggiest idea of how I might go about pursuing it. Little did I know, I didn’t have to. Upon returning home from that conference, I found in our mail a letter of invitation signed by Chief Ed Kondracki of the La Crosse Police Department inviting me to an informational meeting in mid-July concerning the forming of a brand new program within the department – a police chaplaincy program!

That series of events, now almost 14½ years ago, began for me a journey in ministry that I hadn’t foreseen, didn’t expect, couldn’t have predicted, and which has been challenging as well as rewarding, frustrating as well as satisfying, has had the potential to produce tears, fears, be immensely exhilarating (and nearly everything in between), and a ministry beyond any and all doubt to which I am called to!

There was so much for me to learn in regard to being a law enforcement chaplain. One of the first books that I received — and that was so very helpful to me — was Chaplaincy in Law Enforcement: What It Is and How To Do It. I would highly recommend this book to anyone that has an interest in learning more about law enforcement chaplaincy. (Ordering information is included below.)  I was aware of chaplains that serve in our military, in our jails and prisons, in hospitals, and with fire departments. The rise of chaplains in the workplaces had even caught my attention, but chaplains that work with the police?? What do they do? What types of situations do they serve in? Is this a paid position, or are they volunteers? I received answers to these and many other questions during that time. The following is some of what I learned.

Modern day law enforcement chaplaincy is still rather new. The International Conference of Police Chaplains (www.icpc4cops.org), the premier law enforcement chaplain organization in the world, was only founded in 1973. I discovered that while the basic principles of law enforcement chaplaincy are pretty standard, there are some uniquenesses and variances between agencies and departments. For example, some chaplains serve a single department, others multiple agencies. Most are volunteers, but some serve in a paid position – full time. Some serve departments that pay for their training, others receive no support at all. In other words, I’ve learned that you can’t just look at one person’s chaplaincy experience and deduct that’s the way it might be for you. It takes some research.

I learned that law enforcement chaplaincy is generally like a two-sided coin, with one side being of service to men and women of law enforcement – local, county, state, and federal – and their support staff and family members, and the second side of the coin being victims of both crime and tragedy. The law enforcement chaplain is integrated as an official part of the police department and responds alongside of officers to assist individuals and their families that have been involved in emergency situations such as: making death notifications, providing assistance to victims, and assisting at suicide incidents. Police chaplains are called when there are automobile accidents, assaults, fires, burglaries, as well as when there are missing children, drownings, and in any urgent situation in which a chaplain’s presence to provide counsel and comfort would be beneficial. Police chaplains also make referrals, help with locating resources, and assist victims in contacting their families and/or their own clergy, and serve as liaison with other clergy in the community. They serve as part of a department’s Crisis Response Team and also deal with transients and the homeless. Police chaplains also minister to all members of the police departments which they serve, providing a “listening ear,” with all confidential communications legally protected. Chaplains often provide counsel to officers, to other members of a department, and to their families. They visit sick or injured officers and departmental personnel in their homes and in hospitals. Police chaplains teach officers in areas such as stress management, ethics, and family life, as well as furnish responses to religious questions. They serve on review boards, awards recognition boards, and other committees. Chaplains are also available to the departments to perform services such as:  weddings, retirements, and funerals. They represent the police departments at and participate in official functions and observances and offer prayers at special occasions such as recruit graduations, awards ceremonies, and building dedications. Due to the close relationship with law enforcement, chaplains undergo an extensive background check and a wide variety of training offered both by the department and organizations such as the International Conference of Police Chaplains.

No one is confronted with more situations that demoralize and create emotional, mental, and spiritual burdens than today’s law enforcement officer. These burdens also affect the officer’s family and other members of his or her department. Law enforcement agencies need the specialized guidance, counseling, and assistance for their officers, families, and communities. A law enforcement chaplain is a clergy person with special interest and training for providing pastoral care in the high powered and dangerous world of law enforcement. This pastoral care is offered to all people, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, creed, or religion. It is offered without cost or the taint of proselytizing. The law enforcement chaplain is led in his or her own faith to be available and ready to serve those in need. The chaplain’s ministry provides a source of strength to law enforcement officers and their families, other department members, and members of his or her community. The law enforcement officer’s clergy person or religious advisor in private life, although trained in ministry, is not necessarily abreast of the particular problems and dangers faced by officers. Chaplains listen and participate in the workplace of law enforcement officers with empathy and experience, advising calmly in the midst of turmoil and danger, and offering assistance when appropriate and requested.

Currently, I serve in the position of Head Chaplain in our local chaplaincy (the La Crosse Area Law Enforcement Chaplaincy), overseeing a group of 26 active and reserve chaplains – serving the La Crosse and Onalaska Police Departments and the La Crosse County Sheriff’s Department (through which I serve six other smaller jurisdictions as well). Since 2004, I have served as a Chaplain for the FBI and am currently working with the Wisconsin State Patrol to develop a chaplain program for their agency. I assist in training law enforcement chaplains and officers as an instructor for the Wisconsin Department of Justice and am a certified instructor for the International Conference of Police Chaplains. In 2011, I was elected to the position of Vice President within the International Conference of Police Chaplains, and will, in July of 2015, step into the position of President and serve a two year term.

Two things I’ve learned in regard to serving in the capacity of a law enforcement chaplain:

1. As with every other aspect of ministry, attempting to do this without the Lord’s help dooms a person to burn out in failure. The situations that you are called upon to deal with and the people and life’s circumstances that you come in contact with are immensely stressful, traumatic, and beyond anything you ever experience “inside the four walls of the church” or at home. You come into people’s lives at their lowest possible moment, often when they are traumatized and emotionally decimated. This is when you, as the Good Samaritan, are privileged to get down in the ditch with them and pour in oil and wine. When it’s an officer or their family member going through divorce, substance abuse, or depression, you are privileged to minister to “one of God’s ministers” (see Romans 13:1-6), and in every moment of this ministry, it is absolutely essential to have the Lord’s help, wisdom, and strength, to have His presence with you, and to have His hand upon you.
2. To be a successful law enforcement chaplain requires the support of my spouse, my family, and of my church. As a husband of 33½ years, and with two (now adult) children, I know I’ve gotten called out at dinner time, on Christmas Eve, or away from other family events on a number of occasions, but my family’s heart has always been, “You go. We’ll pray.” The heart is the same in the congregation of our church – Living Word Christian Church in La Crosse, Wisconsin – where I just celebrated my 30th anniversary of pastoring. Our congregation is full of wonderful people who have taken on a partnership with me in this ministry and who pray for, bake for, give towards, and, in a variety of other ways, assist in this outreach to law enforcement professionals and to victims of tragedy and crime. I can truly say that I have never heard even one complaint concerning my involvement in law enforcement chaplaincy.

Several years ago, my wife and I were returning from a conference and stopped at a fast food restaurant drive-thru in Springfield, Missouri. Two cars ahead of us was a police officer in his squad car. After he got his order, he pulled over to the side. I stepped out of my vehicle and tapped on his window. He cautiously rolled it down part way. I told him, “I’m not from your community, but I appreciate what you do. I wanted to say thank you.” That officer got out of his car, extended his hand, and told me that in 18 years as a law enforcement officer, no one had ever thanked him. I assured him that I was grateful for the peace and safety that we all enjoy here in America – for the fact that my kids can walk to school or play in a city park and that my wife can stroll through the mall without fear – and that this is due in great part to the work the men and women in law enforcement do each and every day at all hours, in all weather conditions, and on every holiday. Law and order go together. We have order (peace, safety, security, freedom) because we have laws, but laws in themselves are powerless without someone who enforces them.

I thank our God for our law enforcement officers – and the work that they do – as His ministers.

Recommended Reading

Chaplaincy in Law Enforcement: What It Is and How to Do It – 2nd Edition. David W. DeRevere, Wilbert A. Cunningham, Tommy W. Mobley, John A. Price (Charles C. Thomas Publishers, 2600 South First St., Springfield, IL 62704. 2005).

How Police Chaplains Can Serve Your Community. Chief Rob Hall (www.policeone.com. June 14, 2012).

Chaplain Mark Clements
Biography, 2014

International Conference of Police Chaplains President-Elect Mark Clements has been a law enforcement chaplain since 2000, joining the ICPC in 2001 and becoming the sixty-ninth Life Member. He has served as Chair of the Spiritual Oversight Committee, as the ICPC Wisconsin Area Representative, and on the Education Committee. Chaplain Clements is an ICPC certified instructor and member of the ICPC Disaster Response Team and Visionary Committee. Chaplain Clements is credentialed as a Master Chaplain with the ICPC and in 2011 received the prestigious John A. Price Award for Excellency in Law Enforcement Chaplaincy. Chaplain Clements is the President and Founder (2002) of the Wisconsin Police Chaplains Association (WPCA), an organization that promotes police chaplaincy to every law enforcement agency within the state and promotes membership and involvement in ICPC to each of its members. In conjunction with the WPCA, Chaplain Clements is a member of the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Death Response (LEDR) Team and the Mississippi River Valley Critical Incident Stress Management Team also serving on its Executive Committee. In 2012, Chaplain Clements was appointed by the Governor of Wisconsin to serve on the Governor’s Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. Chaplain Clements earned a Bachelors’ Degree from Trinity Biblical University and is currently earning his Masters Degree through Andersonville Theological Seminary.

Chaplain Clements is a chaplain with the Federal Bureau of Investigation serving on its National Steering Committee. He is also the President of the La Crosse Area Law Enforcement Chaplaincy, which serves the La Crosse Police Department, Onalaska Police Department and the La Crosse County Sheriff’s Department, managing a team of 28 chaplains. Chaplain Clements has assisted 14 law enforcement agencies in starting chaplaincy programs in their departments. Chaplain Clements annually hosts a Law Enforcement Appreciation Picnic for all area law enforcement personnel and their families. Chaplain Clements is certified as an instructor by the Wisconsin Department of Justice teaching at police academies for all law enforcement personnel in a seven-county region. On June 15, 2010 Chaplain Clements met with the Relational Skills Advisory Committee of the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) Law Enforcement Standards Board to establish a Death Notification training segment in the current 520-hour standard curriculum. The Wisconsin DOJ agreed to adopt the “Ten Steps to Successful Death Notifications” that Pastor Clements presented to their curriculum for all law enforcement personnel in the State of Wisconsin. Pastor Clements authored the training manual *Successful Death Notifications that assists law enforcement chaplains and agencies world-wide in this arena.

Chaplain Clements has been recognized by the City of La Crosse Police Chief Edward Kondracki receiving the Chief of Police Superior Achievement Award in 2004, the Chief of Police Distinguished Citizens Service Award in 2006, and a Certificate of Appreciation for dedication and service to law enforcement in 2009. He has also been recognized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Robert Mueller for Outstanding Assistance provided to FBI Personnel in 2007 and Exceptional Service in the Public Interest in 2009, and was awarded a Certificate of Commendation for excellence in law enforcement chaplaincy for service to the Bureau in 2011. He was selected and awarded the 2011 Excellence in Law Enforcement Chaplaincy Award for the state of Wisconsin by the International Conference of Police Chaplains.

Chaplain Clements and his wife, Paula, have been married for 33 years and have two adult children. Chaplain Clements has pastored Living Word Christian Church in La Crosse, Wisconsin since 1984.

* The Successful Death Notifications training manual may be purchased by contacting office@laxpolicechaplains.com.

Surviving the Pressure Cooker: How One Couple Overcame Ministry Stress to Create a Successful Marriage
by Maria Foslien

Paul and Maria Foslien were married in 1989 and served on the mission field in Belarus for three years before founding Living Word Family Church in Naples, Florida

Maria Foslien began serving God in 1986 at Living Word Christian Center in Minneapolis, including work in the youth, prayer and music ministries. She studied prayer under Lynne Hammond and learned to flow in worship with several worship teams at LWCC, and currently oversees the prayer and music ministries at LWFC.

Paul and Maria continue to lead and serve the church they founded in Naples. They have three children, and one grand child.

Going from “a match made in heaven” to near divorce and back again sums it up. We had a great first few years of marriage. After four years we went onto the mission field and it all fell apart. The mission field itself wasn’t to blame. It simply forced weaknesses to the forefront.

I had never lived on my own before marriage and quite frankly I had a lot of growing up to do. Here in America my issues were easily skirted. Even with fast food, washers and dryers, prepackaged meals and microwaves I struggled with the daily demands of motherhood and marriage. We moved over to the former Soviet Union in 1993 to do mission work. Our two boys were ages three and one at the time. If you remember the news regarding Russia back then you will recall seeing the long food lines due to food shortages. That’s when we moved there. We were in those lines hoping the food wouldn’t run out before we got to the front of the line. We had no washer, no dryer, no microwave, no diapers, and many times no laundry soap or bleach. Most of the meat we could find was already spoiled. We literally bought “green” chicken. That’s all that was available. We just “cooked the tar out of it”! For two years I don’t think we ever found fresh meat to buy. So, needless to say, it was rough.

We started a church in Ghrodno, Belarus. The people were so hungry for God and Bible teaching. They hadn’t had the right to own Bibles or to go to church for so many years. Everywhere we looked there were spiritual needs and natural needs. It was overwhelming.

Unfortunately, balancing family and ministry wasn’t a skill we had acquired. Neither was good parenting. Cooking and housekeeping were not at the top of my list of skills either. Are you getting the picture?

We were teaching, preaching, going to orphanages, feeding the poor, distributing humanitarian aide, growing a church and changing lives with the Word of God. On the home front the laundry was piled up waist high, (it just wasn’t any fun trying to wring out jeans by hand in winter with bleeding hands), our children were not adjusting well to the cultural and language differences –not to mention the fact that our parenting skills were basically non-existent, meal making was a nightmare because I didn’t know how to cook from scratch, and last but not least, our marriage was falling apart as a result.

I can truly say it was the hardest time in my life. I began resenting Paul for the difficulties I faced day by day. My personal time with God dwindled down to nothing. Hardship seemed to consume me and bitterness replaced love.

The church was flourishing. Our lives, however, were in despair. Words of blame turned into words of divorce. Our children’s behavior was a perfect reflection of our home life. Not pretty!

Things got so bad that a decision had to be made. Stay married or go our separate ways. Divorce was the favorable choice. Staying together was the necessary choice. For our kids and the ministry we decided to stay together.

We asked ourselves, “What steps would our pastor tell us to make if we were sitting in his office right now in America for marriage counseling?” We already knew what he would tell us to do. We made a decision to commit to change and do what was necessary to turn things around.

The next time we were in the states to itinerate we made an appointment with one of the pastoral staff at our church whose family always amazed me. We sat down with him and asked him what we needed to do as parents for our children. We didn’t candy coat the situation. We weren’t interested in hiding our parenting flaws. We wanted to fix our parenting flaws! This pastor talked with us for hours on how he parented, disciplined, etc… We wrote down notes and began making radical changes. Amazingly, our children’s behavior began to turn around immediately!

God sent me a wonderful Russian woman who taught me how to cook, helped me clean and get on top of the laundry. I learned how to manage my time and demands each day. What a difference planning and diligence makes!

Our marriage? We immediately stopped the hurtful and damaging words. Honestly, we had to speak kind words to one another “by faith” because there were no feelings that accompanied those words. Feelings eventually came back, but it wasn’t automatic. It took time and effort. We had to do a lot of repenting and a lot of forgiving. I’m so glad we did.

We also drastically cut back ministry. We realized how overloaded we were and that if we didn’t downsize our output it would undermine what we were trying to do with our home life. Even with the cut backs in ministry, the church continued to grow and we were still able to do all God called us to do there. The difference? We were no longer sacrificing our family to save someone else’s.

As we look back on that hard season of our lives, we are thankful we went through it. Even though we prayed to be delivered out of it supernaturally, it was the best thing for us to learn how to walk out of it one day at a time. Some of the weaknesses that caused us so much pain are now strengths and the source of much joy. Today our marriage is one of the main things that draw people to us. Our children are almost grown and they are some of the finest young men you’ll run into. I say none of this to boast, but rather in the utmost humility and gratitude for what God has done in our lives. We are a testimony of God’s power, help and love.

The Lord ministered something sobering to me not too long ago, which is actually what prompted me to write this out now. He showed me that most of the resentment toward my husband for “not being there ” during that time was actually just resentment of having to go through something difficult. The Lord needed me to grow up. It was His will that we were there. Of course, He didn’t cause our marriage or parenting problems, but He did get them out into the light (I would have happily kept them in the dark)! Those problems would have destroyed us, but instead we got victory over them. Even though it wasn’t an easy time in my life, I wouldn’t be where I am today if I wasn’t in the “pressure cooker” years ago.

How My Worst Moment Produced New Ministry in Our Church
Tony Rea

Tony Rea and his wife, Terese, are the founding pastors of Community Christian Church in Sterling Heights, Michigan. The church was launched with a handful of people in a rented school building in February 1992 and just celebrated 22 years of ministry. Community Christian Church is a friendly church with a huge heart for people. The CCC members are also very passionate about their love for God (Matthew 22). Tony has been married to Terese for 38 years, and they have two sons who are both married and in ministry with them at Community Christian. 

The book of Matthew, Chapter 12, records the story of a man with a withered or crippled hand.

Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue. And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” that they might accuse Him. Then Jesus said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other. Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him. (Matthew 12:9-14 NKJV)

Without getting into the whole issue of the Sabbath Day, I would imagine this guy with the messed up hand attended church week after week, but no one seemed to care or be concerned about his condition. Chances are no one in the church even knew how badly he was hurting or how much emotional and spiritual pain he was experiencing; no one that is, other than Jesus. Jesus was the only one paying close attention, and Jesus took the time to minister to this man and bring healing to him.

Last year, on the Thursday before Easter Sunday, my seven-week-old grandson, Anthony Nathaniel, died (my firstborn son’s son). He was diagnosed with a rare chromosome illness before he was born, which caused him to struggle to breathe and eat on his own. Even though everything the doctors and specialists told us about Anthony’s condition came true, and even though from a medical standpoint there was zero chance of long term survival, still we held on for a miracle. We fasted and prayed and exercised faith, and as a ministry family we turned to God for grace and emotional strength. When Anthony began to take a turn for the worse, we prayed even harder. A few days later when he died, we were all devastated. It was hard for us to comprehend losing a family member.

For the next few days I stayed very close to my family and did all that I could to minister to my wife who was grief-stricken. Because it was such an emotional time for us and I really wanted my family to know how much I valued and loved them, I decided not to preach the Easter message. It was the first time in 22 years that I didn’t deliver the Easter sermon at our church. As much as I was hurting on the inside, I think I could have given the message, especially after all the work we did to prepare for that service, including the song, video content, and other special elements. I mean, come on. It’s the biggest service of the year. I probably could have pulled it off, but I didn’t want to cast a dark shadow on my own congregation and take away their joy, knowing how badly the people would feel for me if I stood up to speak that day. So, I opted out and one of the other pastors preached.

Since it was Easter, I still wanted to be in church to draw strength from the Lord and celebrate his victory. I’ve been a Christian for 40 years and even before I was a Christian, I never missed church on Easter. I decided to attend a church near my house where no one would recognize me. When I pulled into the parking lot of the church I had never attended before, I was really struggling emotionally. As soon as I parked the car, I burst into tears and had to sit in my car for a few minutes before I went inside. My heart was broken. I was crushed and felt as though someone had taken a hunting knife and cut all my insides out. That’s how empty I felt. I managed to get out of the car and make my way toward the entrance. A greeter handed me a bulletin on the way in and an usher said goodbye on my way out. The service was inspirational, I think. The special choir music was well rehearsed and the pastor gave a textbook Easter message. He ended the service with a call for salvation, but just like the man in Matthew 12 who was sitting in church with a broken hand, no one had a clue I was sitting there with a broken heart. With the exception of the usher and greeter, I left the service without any other person making contact with me.

Now my intention with this story is not to say anything negative about the church I attended that day. They didn’t know what I was going through, and I’m sure I had a “Do Not Disturb” sign on my forehead. But as I sat there during the service, I wondered how many people come to my church on a weekly basis feeling just like I did that day. I wondered how many hurting and hopeless people come and go without a single person reaching out to them. As I thought about that over the next few days, I said, “God, I don’t ever want that to happen at Community Christian Church.” Even though we try to be a friendly church, and we have systems in place to welcome visitors, I made a commitment at that time to be much more aware and more sensitive to the needs of hurting people.

A short time later, I met with my Lead Staff and I explained everything I experienced on Easter Sunday. I told them how I felt and what I went through and how I wanted us to do our best to prevent that from happening at CCC. I then introduced a “sanctuary connection” idea where we would actually place volunteers in the sanctuary before and after the service. This Connection Team was to be there in the sanctuary with one purpose only: to interact with the people and greet them again (they were greeted coming in). I told my staff that I want the Connection Team to specifically be on the look-out for people who appear like they need ministry.

It has been one year since we introduced this special sanctuary endeavor, and it’s working very well for us. With the Sanctuary Connection Team, we are interacting with members who have been at the church for years. We are also getting another opportunity to meet visitors and connect with them. Additionally, anyone who appears as though something is bothering them is approached and asked if there is anything we can do (i.e., pray, counsel, help, etc.).

To date, I have not received one single complaint about people having their privacy invaded or people reacting negatively to the Connection Team. What has happened is a greater awareness of needs, a closer more personal connection with members, and increased attendance in New Community luncheons (for visitors and people just starting to attend). Additionally, our coffee and donut social time after service has nearly doubled in attendance in the last year and more people are hanging around the lobby and fellowship hall.

People come to church to worship God, hear his word, and grow in their faith – no doubt about it. But connecting people with people, getting to know them, building community, and demonstrating care and concern speaks volumes and will grow your church in every way.

Henry Ward Beecher

1. That this utterance is official and conclusive. Women are not to speak, however gifted they are.
2. That the authority of the apostle cannot settle the question. Paul forbad women to speak, but he had no business to.
3. That while the Scriptures are of binding authority in matters of faith and morals, this and other injunctions are local, national, and therefore transient.

This latter is the position now to be proved.

I. IT WAS NOT THE DESIGN OF CHRISTIANITY TO DETERMINE MANNERS, CUSTOMS, FORMS OF GOVERNMENT AND ECCLESIASTICAL INSTITUTIONS.

Its aim was to build a new man in Christ Jesus, and to this inspired manhood was left the utmost liberty in respect to externals. This view is corroborated by the whole testimony of history. The modern Church is totally different from the assemblies of the first Christians. The civil state has been revolutionised since the time of Christ. The family has changed, and no one organisation resembles the organisations of two thousand years ago. The presumption is that when Christ was leaving everything else to the wisdom and experience of after times it did not step in with this single exception and fix the position of women. Such a course would have been contrary to its genius in every other direction.

II. SUCH A UNIVERSAL, LIMITATION COULD NOT HAVE TAKEN PLACE WITHOUT VIOLENCE TO JEWISH IDEAS.

Woman was far more nearly equal to man among the Hebrews than among other Oriental nations. She was a public instructor. Note the cases of Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Huldah, Anna, and the prediction of Joel, “Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,” with Peter’s comment in Acts 2. So when the Spirit of God rests upon them, and they have a message to give, if you undertake to set up the letter of Paul round about them, I will set up the message which says, “On My handmaidens will I pour out My Spirit, and they shall prophesy.” True, in the synagogue it was forbidden women to teach, but the service was not extemporary, but liturgical and expository; and women had not the technical education for it. But outside the synagogue it was eminently in accordance with the Hebrew sentiment that women should speak out — and speak in meeting too.

III. ONLY TO GREEK CHURCHES WERE THERE SUCH LIMITATIONS TO WOMAN’S RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES.

The text and 1 Tim 2:11,12were addressed not to Jewish, but to Greek assemblies. Why this distinction? Look at the condition of Greek women. The highest thought of womanhood that the Greeks had was that a woman should remain at home, that she should serve her husband and his household, and that she should not be known beyond her own family. She was not permitted to go into the street unless veiled, otherwise her reputation for virtue was destroyed. For a woman to do what is done by women in modern civilised nations — to develop that which the poorest man toils to give his daughters — to learn music, poetry, art, and philosophy, was to stamp her as a courtesan. Such being the popular feeling and custom, what would have been the effect if a Greek had looked in on a Christian meeting and seen a woman rise uncovered and pour out her heart? He would have said, “That is Christianity, is it? Why, then the Church is but a house of orgies. I understand your new religion. It teaches our wives that they must forsake their virtue, and go out into public exposure and do as courtesans do.” Therefore it was that Paul said, “You shall not violate the customs of your country. You shall not bring into discredit the religion of Christ by doing that which can be interpreted but in one direction by every man who sees it. I forbid your women to teach in Greek communities.”

IV. WHAT, THEN, MAY BE CONSIDERED A FAIR INTERPRETATION OF THIS?

1. Is it right to say that this is the last word which the genius of Christianity had for women? Are you to take a command which had a peculiar interpretation in one province of the globe and in no other, and make it the criterion for judging of woman’s position and instruction everywhere? Shall this be done where Christianity has raised and inspired woman, and shall a manacle, which belonged to the degradation of the Greek period, be put upon the limbs of enfranchised womanhood? You might as well say that the command of the physician to the leper is the prescription that you should take care of your children by.

2. Scripture commands are binding only where they apply: e.g., we are commanded to “honour the king,” but what about countries where there is no king? And you cannot give a rigid interpretation to the text without running against the whole fruit of civilisation for the last 1,800 years. Are you going to put back the shadow on the dial? Christianity has made woman a prophetess, and no false interpretation of the text can ever close her mouth.

3. It is fair to apply to this subject the argument of Peter in Acts 11:17. If in the providence of God women are called to preach, if their discourse is accompanied with power from on high, and blessed to the salvation of souls, then the Spirit itself bears witness to the right of woman to speak, and who are we that we should resist God?

4. Paul’s doctrine in Gal 3:27-28 is the Christian doctrine for the future. “In Christ there is neither male nor female.” Faith, hope, love, learning, eloquence, etc., have no sex. Whoever can bring the kingdom of God nearer to men has the right to do so. We have trumpets enough; let us have some flutes. Women can sing and speak in the secular sphere often to mightier effect than men; why not, then, in the Divine?

The Role of Women in the Ministry, Part 1
Beth Jones

Beth Jones and her husband, Jeff, are the founders and senior pastors of Valley Family Church in Kalamazoo, Michigan, planted in 1991 and named by Outreach magazine as one of the fastest growing churches in America in 2009 and 2010. They also lead Jeff and Beth Jones Ministries, an organization dedicated to helping people get the basics. Beth and Jeff have four children and they make their home in the Kalamazoo area.

Beth grew up in Lansing, Michigan, was raised as a Catholic and at the end of her freshman year in college; she came into a personal relationship with Christ through the testimony of her roommate. It was there, at age 19, she realized God’s plan for her to preach and teach the gospel through writing and speaking. She has been following that call ever since.

Beth is the author of 20 books, including the popular 7 Basics book and the Getting a Grip on the Basics series, which has been translated into over a dozen foreign languages and is being used by thousands of churches around the world. She also writes The Basics Daily Devo, a free, daily edevotional for thousands of subscribers.

The heart of Beth’s message is a passion to help people get the basics! Through down-to-earth teaching, she helps people connect-the-dots and inspires them to follow Jesus and live the successful, fruitful lie God desires for them.

Beth attended Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts and received her ministry training through Campus Crusade for Christ and Rhema Bible Training Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

For more spiritual growth resources or to connect with Beth, please visit:
www.valleyfamilychurch.org
www.jeffandbethjones.org
www.facebook.com/jeffandbethjones
www.twitter.com/bethjones
www.instagram.com/bethjones

The following article is an excerpt from Pastor Beth’s book entitled, BREAKING THROUGH THE STAINED GLASS CEILING. To obtain your copy of this book, please visit www.jeffandbethjones.org.

Read Part 2 of this teaching.

“I just want you to know; we’re leaving the church.” She said it as such a matter of fact. I was stunned and said, “Really? Why?”

At the time in 1992, my husband Jeff and I had been pioneering Kalamazoo Valley Family Church (now Valley Family Church) for about ten months when this young lady who had been faithfully serving as a lead teacher in our children’s ministry, told me she and her husband were leaving the church.

“It’s because of you,” she said.
“Me? What did I do?” I asked, as I prepared to hear what I had done to force them out.
“My husband doesn’t believe in women preachers,” and with that, she turned and walked away.

I was surprised and hurt. It was a sock in the stomach. Her remarks that day were the first of many such opinions I would hear over the years. Little did I know how controversial this topic could be!

The Bible Says Women Can’t…

I was raised as a Roman Catholic; our church leaders were priests and nuns—and the option of being a nun was never on my radar. When I became a born-again Christian, it was dramatic. Jesus radically changed my life! I loved Him. I loved following Him. I loved telling people about Him. When I felt God’s call to the ministry, I didn’t know what that would mean since I didn’t have much experience with the evangelical world or the “controversy” over women preachers or leaders.

I was in for a rude awakening.

I quickly learned some familiar phrases that I’d come to dread: “I don’t believe in women preachers; so, how can you teach the Bible?” “Why does your husband let you teach the congregation? Doesn’t the Bible say that women should be quiet in the church?” “You can teach the Bible, but only to other women—not to men—because you are supposed to be submissive and not have any authority over men.” “My friends won’t come to our church because we let women have leadership roles.” “This conference is for the pastors (men)—the wives are going shopping.”

A few comments stand out. Years ago, one man was trying to give me a compliment—I think. After I had spoken on a Sunday morning, he walked right up to me and said, “Personally, I don’t care for women preachers, but my wife watches you on TV and she loves you.” I was almost encouraged!

I remember a comment card I received about a month after we moved into one of our new church buildings. It was in the middle of our Grand Opening celebration and the card had these encouraging words, “Why does she speak? She doesn’t have anything to say!”

Many years ago, I received this email from a very genuine-hearted young man in our church:

I have been attending the church for a little while now. It is an amazing place to worship and I love it. But I recently invited my friend from work to come to the church with me. I told him the name and he said, ‘Oh.’ Then I asked him what was wrong with VFC. He replied with, ‘They have a woman pastor.’ I then questioned him. He told me to check out 1 Timothy 2:9-15, which talked about a woman’s conduct inside the church. Wow. I do not understand, if it says that women should not speak in the church, then why do they? I am not at all jumping on you, because I love how you are bringing lots of people to Christ. But I do not understand and I was kind of hoping you could explain it to me and help me to understand . . . I’m probably not the first one to ask you about this, but if you could take the time out of your busy schedule to answer this for me, I’d very much appreciate it. I still want to attend the church because of the beautiful and wonderful things that are going on there, but I don’t want to disobey God at all, in any way. If I can prevent myself from disobeying Him, I will. Thank you very much.

I’ve learned that when people question or make disparaging statements about women in ministry, these comments are generally not intended to be personally hurtful—even though they hurt deeply. They are often the result of personal convictions or religious upbringing and traditions learned by sincere people who love God and His Word.

By the way, that couple? They did leave the church and I embarked on an interesting journey with the Lord and His call on my life.

The Struggle

Like thousands of women over the past several centuries, I’ve had many talks and tears with the Lord about this very topic, because in my heart I just wanted to please Him. I didn’t want to disobey Him or His Word by thinking He had called me to lead and teach, when in reality He had not; nor did I want to disobey Him by not leading or teaching, when He had actually called me to do so.

To make matters more complicated, I felt strongly that the Lord wanted me to focus on leading and teaching in the church and writing books for the church. I’ve often felt conflicted about this and have asked God many times, “Why have You called me to lead and teach in the church—the very place that doesn’t believe in women like me?” I’ve even tried on numerous occasions to get the Lord to release me from being focused on the church.

Eventually, like other women before me, I embraced what I did not understand. Although it has not always made sense, God put a deep love and burden for the church—His Church—in my heart. I am convinced that serving the church is my sweet spot. It’s my lane to run in. I’m a pioneer, a shepherd and a Bible teacher at heart. (After all, my maiden name was Beth Shepard, and as a young girl, I sometimes wondered if it described my destiny! Beth means “house of God” and Shepard is a variation on “shepherd”—so, there ya go!)

The truth is, I love the church, the global Church and local churches. I love seeing what the Holy Spirit does in people’s lives through His Body, the church. I love everything the church is about: worship, evangelism, teaching, discipleship, relationships, transformation, growth, outreach, influence, creativity, healing, redemption and restoration, community, team, equipping and training! I love the way God uses His Church to bring the gospel to entire cities and regions.

I’m one of those people whose adrenaline gets pumping when we talk about church planting and church growth. Any time I see an empty building in any town around the world, my first instinct is to say, “That would be a great place for a church” and in an instant I envision a church taking up residence there. Whenever I have a creative idea for reaching people with the gospel, it is always connected to the church. When I write a book, my driving motivation is always, “How will this help the church help people?”

I get happy and fired up every time I read this passage about the power of His Church:

“All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.” (Ephesians 1:20-23, MSG, emphasis mine)

Over the past 30-plus years, I’ve studied the Scriptures and the various theological arguments on the subject of women in ministry, and teaching and leading in the church. I’ve spoken to other godly people about this subject. I’ve read books by Christian men I highly respected and I’ve listened to sermon messages on this topic. I’ve prayed. I’ve lived it. I’ve learned a few things. This book is about what I’ve come to understand from the Word and my own personal experience about the sometimes controversial role of women in the church.

Questions, misunderstandings and comments have led to confusion and hurt for many women who have sensed God’s hand on their lives and a strong call to serve Him with the leadership, executive, strategic, visionary and teaching gifts He’s given them. Some have given up and any dreams they’ve had have wilted and died a painful, quiet death under the stained glass. Others live in a perpetual state of disappointment knowing how much they could bring to the table in helping their husbands and their churches, if only they were given freedom to use their leadership gifts. Still others have revolted in their own version of “pastors’ wives gone wild” and have kissed the church goodbye.

I trust the lessons learned by me and the other women leaders profiled in this book will help those of you who feel called of God to teach, preach and lead in the church, but are restrained by the stained glass ceiling. I am also hopeful these pages will shed some light on this subject for the men who read this book.

Why This Book Now?

It’s time. Time for thousands of women (and perhaps men) to settle these questions: What roles should women have in the church? Does the overarching counsel of God’s Word teach that women must be silent in the church? Does the Bible teach that women cannot teach or preach in the church? Is it true that women are not supposed to teach men? Is it true that women are not to have any spiritual leadership role in the church?

This is a book about: Women. Leadership. Church. But, it’s not a book just for women. It’s a book for anyone interested in what could happen if thousands of women—called and gifted—were welcomed into leadership along with men in local churches around the globe to reach people for Christ and turn our church monuments in movements that will have a greater impact on this world.

This is a fresh biblical view of a topic that has been hotly contested for millennia. For those who are wondering what could help the church regain its relevance and influence in cities around the globe—this may be a huge missing piece and a secret weapon God wants to release in this hour.

This book is my story and the stories of a dozen other high capacity women called to leadership in churches around the world—and it’s giving a voice to thousands of other women who have prayed, worked, cried and carried on as they seek to serve the Lord and fulfill His calling on their lives.

I will be the first to admit that this book is not an exhaustive theological treatise on this subject. I do not address every verse of Scripture that relates to the role of women in ministry and church life and I may raise more questions than I answer. I also understand the fact that because I, as a woman, am writing this book, it could be perceived as biased from the start. I get that. As a “male counter-balance,” I have listed many excellent resources created by men on the subject of a woman’s role in the church at the end of the book, and I highly recommend them.

In the same way that a male gynecologist who’s delivered many babies can give authoritative, expert advice on having a baby, a woman who’s delivered six children has a different take on what it’s like to have a baby. They both speak with the authority of their perspective. He speaks with a medical authority, and she speaks with a different kind of authority. This book may fit into that category—a different look at this important Biblical subject. So, I hope you’ll join me to the very last page as we explore the role of women in the church.

How I Got Here

Let me start by sharing a bit of my story. I hope that through sharing my experience—we can get acquainted and those of you who are on a similar journey will be encouraged in knowing you are not alone.

It was 1979. I was minding my own business when God tapped me. The idea of being in the ministry or involved in a church at any level was not a thought I had ever considered as a teen or young adult. My life goals were simple: attend college, major in biology, become a dentist, get married, have five kids (who would all wear matching outfits on Easter) and play tennis.

As a freshman in college, I figured I would just have a good time, get my degree, go to dental school and live the life I envisioned. But God had a different idea. First, He used Andrea, my childhood friend and college roommate to lead me to Christ. When Jesus came into my life, everything changed—especially my life goals and priorities. My number one goal, as the oldest of four sisters being raised by a single mom, was to lead the rest of my family to the Lord. Within a short few years, this was accomplished and everyone in my family had given their lives to Jesus, yet the idea of leadership in the church was still non-existent.

The only experience I had being a “leader” in church after I was born again started and ended after one of the most embarrassing moments of my life. It was Sunday. My mom and stepdad were already at church and I was supposed to meet them, but running late. I wanted my new dress to look perfect, so it took me a little longer than usual to get ready, but I finally made it to church when the worship leader was starting the second song. Everyone was standing as I looked around the sanctuary to spot my parents—yep, there they were in the second row. I made my way to the pew and stood there along with everyone else praising the Lord and feeling pretty good about this new dress and myself.

When our pastor told us to “turn and greet and have a seat,” I made sure I greeted everyone to the north, south, east and west of me—after all, they needed to see how good I was looking! When I went to sit down, I smoothed my dress under my behind, only to discover something was missing—primarily, my dress! Unknowingly, in my hurry, I had tucked my dress and my slip into my panty hose. I sat down and tried to figure out a way to untuck. Then I began to go through the list, Who’s behind me? Who saw me walk down the aisle? How long was I standing there with my hands in the air and my ‘tush’ exposed? I was mortified and humiliated! I have no idea what our pastor preached on that day. That experience sealed it—the idea of being a “leader” in church was not something I desired…at all!

That changed one afternoon in 1979. I was a sophomore in college at Western Michigan University and while sitting in my dorm room and meeting with Debbie, the Campus Crusade for Christ Group Leader who was mentoring me, God interrupted my plans! She shared a little book with me titled: Have You Discovered God’s Plan for Your Life? I had not discovered God’s plan. I didn’t even know God had a plan. I figured God would bless my plan, and my plan was to become a dentist! As she was reading that booklet to me, she came to Romans 10:13-15 and it jumped off the page;

“’Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’” (NIV)

Time stood still for a few moments and I suddenly knew God was calling me. This was a monumental moment. I knew I couldn’t be a dentist. If God was just looking for preachers—people who would tell others how to not spend an eternity apart from Him—how could I be a dentist and let people go to hell?

The way I saw it, if all people needed to do in order to be saved was to call on the name of the Lord, and if the only reason they hadn’t called on the name of the Lord was because they had not heard, then, I had to tell them. It seemed as if God spoke to my heart with a huge announcement: “I interrupt your life to bring you this very important message. You are not going to be a dentist. You are going to tell people about Me.” From that moment on, my life and purpose changed!

Although I had no idea what being called to the ministry would actually look like, somehow I knew that the primary way I would be telling people about Jesus would be through writing and teaching, and that one day when I got married, I would be working together with my husband to build a church and raise a family.

My Story Is Probably a Lot Like Your Story

As it turned out, this has indeed been God’s plan for my life. I left Western Michigan University, transferred to Boston University and changed my major to learn all I could about Communications and Public Relations—for the purpose of preaching the gospel. After I graduated from college, I spent several years serving the Lord through various campus ministries, churches and non-profit organizations. Then I received my ministry training from Rhema Bible Training College.

In the process of time, I met my husband Jeff and after we were married, we did start a family—and a church—and I’ve been teaching and writing books. We had four children—well, actually five if you count the church!

When it comes to our family—Jeff and I love the privilege of being parents and I can say without hesitation, our kids have been our most important ministry and our greatest joy! Meghan, our oldest daughter, was three years old, Annie was ten months old, and I was pregnant with our third child, Luke, when we pioneered Valley Family Church in 1991 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Three years later in 1994, we had our youngest son, Eric. Pioneering a church while raising four preschoolers meant that I was pregnant for about six years in a row, and Jeff and I lived with one nostril above water. Sleep was worth more than money. We leaned on God’s “grace for the pace” daily and loved every second of it! (Well, maybe not every second.)

We were a little nervous about raising “pastor’s kids!” Neither Jeff nor I were raised in a pastor’s home, so we were clueless how to do this. You’ve probably heard stories about pastor’s families and “pks,” pastor’s kids. We did too! Horror stories! That’s what freaked us out! Since we didn’t know what the “proper protocol” was, we just did our best to work at having a fun family, enjoying our marriage and raising kids who loved God and others. We had two major rules in our home: You can’t call anyone ‘stupid’ and whatever you do, first ask, ‘Would this please the Lord?’ We weren’t perfect and our kids weren’t perfect but our approach seemed to work, and now that our kids are young adults, the verdict is in—our kids turned out to be really nice people. They love God and they all feel called to the ministry and are actively serving as leaders in our church. We have no complaints! Our family is one of the most rewarding things God has blessed us with. Then, there is that fifth child…

It turns out that Valley Family Church was our fifth child—we didn’t realize it at the time—but in truth, she was! She was a growing child—demanding and strong-willed—we loved her with all our heart and she brought great joy into our lives! We gave birth to VFC with five adults and four kids and since that time, our church has grown to include thousands of people who call us home—along with a couple of campus launches and a church plant.

From the beginning, we felt it was our job to build a multi-generational church that would help people “get it.” In simple terms, our church exists: to help people get it, and that means…

The lost get saved.
The saved get victory.
The victorious get trained.
The trained get going.

Our goal was to build a church that would successfully blend reaching lost, unchurched people; while at the same time, equipping believers to live the Spirit-filled life of faith so they could reach out to more lost and unchurched people. This is no easy task. For some, our church isn’t deep enough, for others we are too deep. Perhaps this is a compliment?

The best and only way we know to measure our effectiveness is: fruit! Forty-percent of those who attend our church tell us they were not attending church anywhere prior to coming to our church—that makes us very happy! Those who did know the Lord before attending our church tell us they are growing at an exponential rate as God’s Word comes alive in their hearts. The fruit we’ve seen in people coming to know Jesus Christ and the spiritual growth we’ve seen in their lives of others has truly been “our joy and our crown!”

In order to raise our own four children (Meghan, Annie, Luke, Eric) and our fifth child—Valley Family Church, we felt God called us to work together as a husband-wife team. In our roles at home, we are “mom and dad” and we share all that goes with raising a busy family. In our roles as the senior pastors, we are the “spiritual mom and dad” of the House and we share all that goes with raising a busy church family. We have our unique gifts, responsibilities and roles and yet, we work on many things together, including: teaching, strategy and execution. We cast vision, lead the staff and oversee the church as a husband and wife team and since 2003, we have split the weekend preaching 50/50. God has blessed our approach in leading our family and church as we have endeavored to live by Psalm 34:3, “Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.”

Thankfully, we’ve had help! The Lord has surrounded us with a great staff and team of volunteers. Early on, He called several special people to help us at home with our kids—and we are forever indebted to them. The Lord has called hundreds of other people to use their gifts to come alongside and help us build a church. Like most pastors, we feel that we have the best staff, lay leaders, volunteers and church family in the world! As a church, we have lived on God’s fulfillment to His promise to command His blessing on our church as we all walk in unity, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity… For there the LORD commanded the blessing—life forevermore” (Psalm 133:1, 3).

In addition to my role in working together with my husband to pioneer and grow the church, as I mentioned, a large part of my calling has been to write books to help people get the basics. God has enabled me to write around twenty books, including, the 7 Basics and the Getting a Grip on the Basics series, which are being used by hundreds of churches in America and have been translated into over a dozen foreign languages around the world.

So, that’s part of my story. I’ll share more later.

Gutter Balls

As you can see, although serving God in ministry was not on my original radar, I eventually figured out how to accept, embrace and step into God’s calling to be a leader in our church. But to be honest, it was a process—and I had to learn how to quit throwing “gutter balls.”

In the early years of planting our church, I was idealistic, optimistic and certain that everyone would want to help us win all of Southwest Michigan to Jesus. But after a few years of pioneering, I got weary of being rejected by those who did not approve of my role. Their negative comments wore me down to the point that for a few years, I let insecurity, intimidation, and the “fear of man” dominate me and I threw “gutter balls.” That is, I backed off from following my heart, passion and purpose. I shrank back from doing much of anything public that looked like leadership, being on the platform or teaching God’s Word. I threw gutter balls so I would not appear to be a leader.

Let me explain a gutter ball. When I was in junior high school, a group of us boys and girls went bowling one day. My mother taught my sisters and me a simple rule of thumb: “. . . in sports, don’t beat the boys.” (It was a different era then. I don’t know too many teenage girls that would embrace that philosophy these days!)

Normally I wasn’t a very good bowler, but that day I must have been in the zone because I found myself bowling strikes and spares. However, I knew if I continued to bowl well, I’d beat the boys and that was a “no-no.” So, what did I do? I started throwing gutter balls—on purpose! I marched up to the line, acted like I was trying to get a strike, and then at the last minute I’d throw my bowling ball toward one of the gutters to make sure I didn’t win.

Sadly, that mentality resurfaced as I navigated my role as a woman in church leadership. I had “reluctant leader syndrome.” At times, it was just easier to throw a “ministry gutter ball” and not step up to the plate, or God’s calling, in order to avoid being criticized. Fortunately, my husband wouldn’t let me throw gutter balls for too long. He has always been my biggest encourager, and his consistent support has been immeasurable.

In addition to my husband’s words of wisdom, my greatest comfort has been in sensing God’s encouragement and approval. One day, as I drove around Kalamazoo praying for our city, I was feeling particularly “gutter-ball-minded” and the Lord quickened this verse to me, “Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city” (Acts 18:9-10, NKJV).

As I embraced this word, my heart was anchored. God has confirmed His calling time and time again. Every now and then I’ll hear Him speaking, almost singing this Glen Miller song to my heart, “I’ve got a gal in Kalamazoo . . .” Knowing that I am “His gal” makes all the difference, and is a great source of encouragement in my calling.

Stained Glass or a Concrete and Rebar Ceiling?

You’ve heard my story, but what about yours?

I know you are out there because I have talked to hundreds of you. It’s possible that in your organization or church world, the “stained glass ceiling” isn’t made of stained glass, but of concrete and rebar. The idea of leading or teaching the Word to others is in a galaxy far, far away. Maybe you don’t feel called to pastoral ministry, teaching or preaching, but you do feel that your leadership gifts and passion for the cause of Christ could serve the church in other ways—through creative arts, worship, media, communications, executive operations, connections, spiritual development, finance, kids and student ministries, outreach, technological, legal or justice initiatives or a host of other areas—if only you were given the chance.

In a galaxy far, far away . . .

I understand. We’ve seen it . . . and you’ve seen it. Women—who are tremendous wives and mothers, as well as spiritually mature and anointed with wisdom, faith, leadership, executive, administrative, organizational, creative, entrepreneurial and/or teaching gifts, and have paid their “faithfulness” dues—seem to be stuck in an orbit which only includes creating the bulletin, singing in the choir, playing the piano, hosting showers, doing secretarial work or making chicken divan casseroles for funerals.

An added dilemma for high-potential, high-capacity women called to the ministry is to watch ill-equipped, immature, incompetent, and inexperienced men move up the leadership ladder in church, passing by exceptionally qualified, godly women—simply or only because they are men.

The result of this standard operating procedure in the church is that many gifted, called, and anointed women have given-up and are using their gifts outside the church. They’ve been accepted as lawyers, brain surgeons, dentists, accountants, editors, broadcast journalists, engineers, architects, entertainers, film-makers, designers, entrepreneurs, university presidents, CEOs, governors, senators, prime ministers and presidents; but they have been banned from leadership in many churches. What a loss for the global Body of Christ and local churches everywhere.

Is that really God’s plan?

Hang In There

Girls, what about you? Is the cause of Christ what you are most passionate about? Is God’s Word burning in your heart like a fire shut up in your bones? Has God wired you to be a pioneer, innovator, church planter, campus pastor, teacher, preacher or leader in the church?

Are you discouraged because no one has validated your call as authentic and God-given? Do you feel pregnant with a vision and about to burst? Are you a woman who’s felt God’s call to the ministry—but you’ve experienced so much disapproval, rejection or criticism, you’ve given up? Have you been given limited opportunities to do what’s in your heart, but it’s usually the role no one else wants and there’s no budget to support it? Have you prayed for God to just “take away” your desire to proclaim His Word? Have you asked the Lord if He gave you the wrong gifts? Have you faced the frustration of closed-door-after-closed-door in your local church? Have you felt despised, overlooked or misunderstood? Have you been tolerated, but not accepted? Have you been dismayed by the critics? Have you been throwing “gutter balls” or living in a state of perpetual “reluctant leader” syndrome? Perhaps you can relate to one or all of these questions. If you’ve had high hopes and extreme patience, I know that the deferral of your hope can make your heart sick. Hang in there! Don’t give up! God hasn’t forgotten about you.

Don’t quit. Don’t give up!

Let me encourage you. Shifts are happening in both the global and local church. I don’t know how or when, but you can trust the Lord. He has your back. The Bible says, “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry” (1 Timothy 1:12, NKJV). Don’t be discouraged! If God is for you, who can be against you? Stay faithful! Do what you know to do. He will produce eternal fruit through your life and eventually others will recognize His hand upon you. The most important thing isn’t the approval of man, but the approval that comes from God.

It’s my prayer as we tackle this topic, breaking through the stained glass ceiling, that you sense the Lord encouraging you, strengthening you, and filling you with renewed hope in your calling.

The LORD will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail (Isaiah 58:11, NKJV).

Read Part 2 of this teaching.

This article is an excerpt from Pastor Beth’s book entitled, BREAKING THROUGH THE STAINED GLASS CEILING. To obtain your copy of this book, please visit www.jeffandbethjones.org.

The Role of Women in the Ministry, Part 2
Beth Jones

Beth Jones and her husband, Jeff, are the founders and senior pastors of Valley Family Church in Kalamazoo, Michigan, planted in 1991 and named by Outreach magazine as one of the fastest growing churches in America in 2009 and 2010. They also lead Jeff and Beth Jones Ministries, an organization dedicated to helping people get the basics. Beth and Jeff have four children and they make their home in the Kalamazoo area.

Beth grew up in Lansing, Michigan, was raised as a Catholic and at the end of her freshman year in college; she came into a personal relationship with Christ through the testimony of her roommate. It was there, at age 19, she realized God’s plan for her to preach and teach the gospel through writing and speaking. She has been following that call ever since.

Beth is the author of 20 books, including the popular 7 Basics book and the Getting a Grip on the Basics series, which has been translated into over a dozen foreign languages and is being used by thousands of churches around the world. She also writes The Basics Daily Devo, a free, daily edevotional for thousands of subscribers.

The heart of Beth’s message is a passion to help people get the basics! Through down-to-earth teaching, she helps people connect-the-dots and inspires them to follow Jesus and live the successful, fruitful lie God desires for them.

Beth attended Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts and received her ministry training through Campus Crusade for Christ and Rhema Bible Training Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

For more spiritual growth resources or to connect with Beth, please visit:
www.valleyfamilychurch.org
www.jeffandbethjones.org
www.facebook.com/jeffandbethjones
www.twitter.com/bethjones
www.instagram.com/bethjones

The following article is an excerpt from Pastor Beth’s book entitled, BREAKING THROUGH THE STAINED GLASS CEILING. To obtain your copy of this book, please visit www.jeffandbethjones.org.

Read Part 1 of this teaching.

If you want to start a fight in church, initiate a conversation about women preachers and within 45 minutes, you can split that church four ways! As every woman in a high profile role in the church knows, there are many different views on this subject. Those views often carry strong emotions.

Years ago, I led a man to the Lord and as I spoke with him on numerous occasions, he told me in no uncertain terms that he didn’t believe in women preachers, further, he was not interested in attending our church, reading any of the books I had written or hearing me teach or preach the Word. One day, he went so far as to tell me I was not even saved. As it turns out, this man was my dad. Of course, his words cut deeply and I had to seek God’s help to tune them out and look to my Heavenly Father and His Words to carry on in His calling. (Today, my dad is in heaven and I have the hope that he sees things differently now.)

My guess is that if you are a woman in leadership or in a teaching or preaching role in the church, you’ve had similar experiences. And, if you’re like me, while there are a few naysayers, God finds a way to trump them all with His still small voice and by prompting people to speak kind and encouraging words just when you need it. (In fact, I hope you hear the Lord’s still small voice and sense His love and affirmation for you personally as you read these pages!)

In writing this book, it is not my goal to defend, argue or convince anyone of anything. My primary goal in writing is to inspire, empower, encourage and cheer for you young girls and older women who have felt alone, rejected and misunderstood as you seek to follow God’s call on your lives. My goal for all other readers is that they simply consider looking at this topic with a fresh set of eyes.

This book is written for…

Women of All Ages: It’s written to encourage and motivate women of all ages who feel called of God to change the world—to break through the stained glass ceiling—to pioneer churches, teach the Word, write books, start ministries, lead worship or serve as leaders in churches.

Men of All Distinctions: It’s written to enlighten men who have a wife with an insatiable hunger for serving God and teaching the Word. It’s written to help the father whose daughter has a heart for the Lord and potential leadership or speaking gifts. It’s written for brothers with sisters and boyfriends with girlfriends who feel called to the ministry.

Church Leaders of All Breeds: It’s written to encourage pastors or church leaders who are unsure of, or are rethinking, the role of women in their own churches.

Many people are giving this topic considerable thought these days and thankfully, more and more Christian leaders see the value of women in the church. In this chapter, let’s lay some groundwork and then we’ll dive into the Scriptures.

Big Ministries

As we begin, it’s worth mentioning that some of the largest, most influential and effective ministries and churches around the world have placed a high value on women and their role in the church.

Despite some recent setbacks, the largest church in the world, Yoido Full Gospel Central, located in Seoul, Korea with a 2014 membership of 1,000,000 members, (1) has been built largely by women in leadership through cell groups according to Pastor David Yonggi Cho (formerly known as Paul Yonggi Cho).

He began to see that by doing everything himself he was robbing his people of the chance to grow. From this he learned the importance of delegation and of training up the people for the work of the ministry. Cho then went on to devise his plan to minister to the people through a network of home cells and using the people to lead them. He took this plan to the deacons, but they said no. He then took the idea to the deaconesses and they accepted it. They realized that the biggest problem with this was going to be for the men to come under the authority of women leaders. Women in Korea had always taken a subordinate role and as Cho says, ‘There is no feminist movement in Korea.’ They overcame this problem by having the women wear caps to signify that they were under Cho’s authority. Using the women as leaders they started with 20 home cells. This quickly grew to 150 groups. (2)

Joyce Meyer, one of the most widely read, listened to, and well-known female Bible teachers in the world today, is being used by God to reach millions of people through TV, radio, and books.

Joyce Meyer is one of the world’s leading practical Bible teachers and a New York Times bestselling author, spreading God’s Word to millions of people each year. Suffering sexual abuse as a child, Joyce discovered the freedom to live victoriously by applying God’s Word to her life and, in turn, seeks to help others do the same. She has written over 70 books, conducts close to fifteen conferences annually, and reaches a potential audience of 3 billion people worldwide with her Enjoying Everyday Life® broadcast. Time magazine selected Joyce as one of the most influential evangelical leaders in America. (3)

Australian Darlene Zschech’s biography reads like a woman who is being mightily used of the Lord through serving in leadership, pastoral ministry and preaching via song.

Darlene Zschech is acclaimed all over the world as a singer, songwriter, worship leader and speaker, most notably for spearheading the music that comes from Hillsong Church. Although she has achieved numerous gold albums and her songs are sung in many nations of the world, her success simply stands as a testimony to her life’s passion to serve God and people with all her heart. Darlene, alongside her husband Mark, are Senior Pastors of Hope Unlimited Church on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia.

As a songwriter, Darlene is perhaps most famous for the chorus “Shout to the Lord,” a song that is sung by millions of churchgoers every week and has been covered by many other artists. “Shout to the Lord” was nominated as Album of the Year for the 1997 Dove Awards and was nominated as Song of the Year for the 1998 Dove Awards. In 2000, Darlene received a Dove Award nomination for Songwriter of the Year and received the International Award for influence in praise and worship.

Darlene is also passionate about raising and training other worship pastor, leaders, teams and writers and has written four books – “Extravagant Worship,” “The Kiss of Heaven,”  “The Art of Mentoring” and the new “Revealing Jesus” devotional. These titles combined have been translated into over 20 different languages. (4)

Henrietta Mears, simply known as “Teacher” to countless men and women, was the Director of Christian Education and the teacher of the College Department at the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood from 1928-1963. She also founded Gospel Light Publications and Gospel Literature International, which have been used around the world to bring gospel publications to thousands of churches. Such notables as Dr. Billy Graham, Senator Mark Hatfield, Dr. Charles Fuller, Dale Rogers, and the late Dawson Trotman (founder of The Navigators) and the late Dr. Bill Bright (founder of Campus Crusade for Christ) were impacted by her influence as a Bible teacher, church leader and godly woman in an era where women had very few rights. (5)

Dr. Bill Bright had this to say about her influence in his life, “I have had the privilege of knowing many godly pastors and great Christian leaders, but no one has influenced my life more than Dr. Mears.” (6) Dr. Richard Halverson, Chaplain to the United States Senate said this, “In my mind, Henrietta Mears was the giant of Christian education-not only in her generation, but in this century. She was an extraordinary combination of intellect, devotion, and spirituality; an administrative genius, a motivator, an encourager and a leader. I thought of Henrietta Mears as a female Apostle Paul; in fact, I often referred to her as the ‘Epistle Paul.’ There is simply no way to exaggerate her effectiveness as a teacher, communicator and inspirer.”(7)

In modern times, I have had the distinct pleasure of meeting Jo Anne Lyon, the first woman to serve in the top leadership role of the Wesleyan denomination as the General Superintendent. She serves to guide the vision, key message, and missional priorities of the Wesleyan Church, which is transforming lives, churches, and communities with the hope and holiness of Jesus Christ.

She speaks with grace and wisdom and carries a strong, strategic, leadership anointing. She is passionate about what God is doing in calling women to the ministry in unprecedented numbers these days, both those in college and seminaries as well as second-career women. In her recent article, “Men and Women – An Article on Spirit-Filled Believers” she said this,

In the tour of a church in Ft. Worth, Texas, that has set the pace for planting churches and reaching the world in the most difficult places my eyes fell on a painting hanging in the hallway. I was captured by what appeared to be the backs of a crowd of people shrouded in grey. However, there was one person in red. The pastor explained: this represents a woman who pastors a church of 100,000 – yes, I did not add a zero – in North Vietnam. The artist depicted her among the crowds of people who do not know Jesus as the one who is “covered by the blood.”

I stood before that painting with eyes filled with tears. The courage of this woman to proclaim the gospel in a place of persecution! The faith of this woman to know Jesus and the power of the resurrection! The obvious attraction and hope of Jesus through her!

I then reflected on the thousands of women who are church planters in China, many between the ages of 18-24 with some 30 million followers. Again, the courage, faith and power of the Holy Spirit make this possible.

I was again drawn to the words of Joel which were preached by Peter at Pentecost:

“In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy” (Acts 2:17-18 NIV).

God is calling women to the ministry in unprecedented numbers these days, both those in college and seminaries as well as second-career women. Whether they are in North Vietnam and China, or Virginia and Canada, I believe a new Pentecost is rising with them. (8)

I also want to mention Bill Hybels, the founder and pastor of the influential Willow Creek Church. I have never had the pleasure of personally meeting Bill Hybels (although he is from Kalamazoo and graduated from the high school our children attended), but he has been a champion for women in ministry since the earliest days of Willow Creek’s existence. On Twitter, he posted links to two very moving, must-read articles; one written by he and his wife, Lynne, and the other written by their daughter, Shauna. I must admit that I had a hard time reading these articles because of the lump in my throat and the tears in my eyes. They put into such eloquent words the things I and many other women have experienced in their callings to serve God in ministry and in leadership in the church. If you are a woman who feels called to the ministry and to leadership in the church, I implore you to read both of these articles. Here’s an excerpt from Bill and Lynne Hybels’ article, “Evangelicals and Gender Equality,” regarding the time they had to define their position on women in church leadership.

…the increasing visibility of Willow in secular and Christian media forced us to define and articulate our position. Questions began pouring in about why we “allowed” women in leadership. Did we have a rational defense for our position? In response, we commissioned our elders to do an intensive, eighteen-month scriptural study of the issue of women in leadership. I did not feel it was right to sideline the women whom God seemed to be using while we did this study, so we pursued a parallel track of study and continued observation of how God worked among us through the leadership efforts of both men and women.

Dr. Gilbert Bilezikian, a Wheaton College professor and Willow Creek elder, led the study. The conclusions of the study were published in 1985 in Bilezikian’s book, Beyond Sex Roles: What the Bible Says about a Woman’s Place in Church and Family. In summary, we concluded that before the Fall, men and women related to each other as co-regents, both bearing the image of God and called to join together in caring for the world he had created. Both men and women were responsible to fulfill their ministries of service for God’s glory in the manner God had gifted them and to the degree to which they had been apportioned faith. Tragically, in the Fall, this cooperative relationship between men and women was deeply wounded. We believe God’s gracious plan for redemption is that everything that was broken through sin—including the relationship between men and women—might be restored to the beauty that existed during the first days of Creation.

Many devout, intelligent Christians disagree with our conclusions. There will come a day when we will all find out the degree to which we have veered from God’s perfect wisdom, in this issue and many others. Until then, I hold this position humbly, yet firmly. I am willing to take the risk of encouraging women to do what I believe scriptures ask of them—to make themselves fully available to the full range of spiritual gifts. (9)

There is no doubt that God has richly blessed Pastor Cho, Joyce Meyer, Darlene Zschech, Henrietta Mears, Jo Anne Lyon, Bill and Lynne Hybels and their ministries—and a growing list of other ministries and churches where women have been given a high profile in leading, teaching and preaching.

Leaving a Legacy

Perhaps you can think of other legacy-leaving women preachers, teachers and leaders. Aimee Semple Mcpherson was a woman ahead of her time, as an evangelist and founder of the Foursquare Denomination in the early 1900’s. (10) Maria B. Woodworth-Etter was an evangelist well-known in the Assemblies of God circles for her dynamic preaching and life of faith. (11) Kathryn Kuhlman was greatly used of God. She was known for her dramatic preaching and healing ministry which began in the late 1940’s and later for her radio and television ministry. When asked, “What do you regard as the ultimate goal of your ministry?” She replied: “My purpose is the salvation of souls. Divine healing is secondary to the transformation of a life.” (12)

In modern times, Bishop T.D. Jakes has been championing the role of women through his conferences and bestselling book, “Woman Thou Art Loosed.” (13) Pastor Bobbie Houston, married to Pastor Brian Houston from Hillsong Church in Australia, has been leading and empowering an army of tens of thousands of women through her annual Colour Conferences. (14)

Nancy Beach is a pioneer among women leaders in the church and serves as the executive vice president of programming and production for the Willow Creek Association, a teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church and is the author of Gifted to Lead: The Art of Leading as a Woman in the Church. Nancy has been blazing a trail for many years. She is still hopeful regarding the role of women in the church and she had this to say about her role as a woman in leadership in her honest article titled, “Women in Leadership—Disappointed, but Not Despairing.” (15)

Almost 30 years ago when I started serving on staff as a church leader, my role on the Management Team was somewhat pioneering, at least for our church. As the first female on that team, and later, the first female Teaching Pastor, I sought to do the work of ministry as best I could, hoping that my gender would actually not be a big deal or a barrier. I am deeply grateful for the opportunities I had, for the adventure of learning in the trenches of leadership, for the men and women who opened up a place for me at the table and made room for my voice…

For decades, God has used noted Christian leaders and Bible teachers like these powerhouses: Kay Arthur, Gloria Copeland, Anne Graham Lotz, Marilyn Hickey, Lynette Hagin, Jill Briscoe, Anne Gimenez, Sheila Walsh, Stormie Omartian, and Jeanne Mayo and in their respective spheres of influence to teach the Word of God to thousands of women (and men) in churches, Bible Schools and auditoriums around the world.

These days, there are many more women taking their place in the global church. Women leaders like, Lisa Bevere, speaker and author of Girls with Swords; Pricilla Shirer, author of God is Able, Beth Moore, author of Breaking Free; Victoria Osteen, author of Love Your Life; and Lisa Osteen Comes, author of You Are Made for More are raising the bar for women.

Then, there’s Christine Caine and Nancy Alcorn—women on the front lines! Chris Caine is a preacher, advocate and author of Undaunted, who champions the church everywhere she goes and who also founded the A21 Campaign, an anti-human trafficking organization that fights slavery around the globe. Nancy Alcorn has been blazing a trail as a leader in the church since 1983 when she founded Mercy Ministries, dedicated to serving young women between the ages of 13-28. Nancy and her team help young women who face a combination of life-controlling issues such as eating disorders, self-harm, drug and alcohol addictions, depression and unplanned pregnancy. Mercy also serves young women who have been physically and sexually abused, including victims of sex trafficking. Using proven methods, a holistic approach and professional counselors in a structured residential environment, Mercy has helped thousands of young women be restored to wholeness. (16)

And…the list goes on. (I hesitate to name names because there are so many women who deserve to be recognized and mentioned and I don’t want  anyone to feel overlooked. God knows who you are!) Just add the names of thousands upon thousands of other incredible, off-the-charts women who serve as church leaders, pastors, pastors wives, Bible teachers, pioneers, missionaries, prayer warriors, authors, worship leaders, innovators and influencers to the list—and it’s easy to see that God is up to something!

The point is—it’s exciting and refreshing to see God’s hand of favor and blessing on a variety of established and up-and-coming Christian women leaders who are being used globally, nationally, regionally and in their local churches.

And, you are one of them!

This Is Your Time!

I hope you are being encouraged by these stories, ladies! The Lord is on your side. If God is for you, who can be against you? As you live to please the Lord and walk in humility and obedience to Him, He will fulfill His will in your lives.

I especially want to cheer for you young women—those in your teens, 20s, and 30s. If you sense God’s hand on your life for the ministry of preaching the gospel, pioneering Christian endeavors, leadership in the church and/or teaching the Word, be encouraged. You are living in some of the best days ever for being a woman in ministry! Stay strong in your relationship with the Lord and walk in humility and wisdom. Seek counsel from godly men and women in your life, so you can experience all God has called you to be and do in Him!

I also want to encourage you ladies in your 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s (and even 80s) as you think about the second-half of your life. Maybe you’re approaching retirement from your career, or perhaps your kids are grown and you’re wondering what your empty nest years are supposed to look like. It’s not too late for you! At this season of your life, you have history with God, wisdom, and life experience that will greatly help others. The younger generation needs you to be out front leading and serving as “spiritual mothers” who will encourage, nurture, teach, train and model godly Christianity, leadership in prayer and being sold-out to God.

Historical Crossroads

Did you know that this is the first time in history when five of the largest generations ever are alive and in their prime? Just think about the strategic power in that. What could God do if the women from young Generation Z (born after 2001), the energetic Millennials (born between 1981-2001), the smart GenXers (born between1965-1980), the experienced Baby Boomers (born between 1946-1964) and the wise women from the Greatest Generation (born between 1922-1945) were released to join forces with one another—and the men in their lives—to proclaim the gospel and build churches? Don’t shrink back girls. The church needs you! The world needs you!

Ladies, this is your time. You don’t have to throw gutter balls any longer. On the other hand, you don’t need to become a masculine “she-man” to do what God has called you to do. It’s not your job to promote yourself, be domineering, or “wear the pants.” You don’t need to defend yourself, whine or pout. You don’t have to be overbearing, hyper-spiritual, controlling or manipulative in your desire to serve the Lord in ministry. Just continue to seek after God, walk in love, live by His Word, stay full of the spirit, remain humble and be bold in doing what He’s called you to do—the fruit of your life and ministry will speak for itself.

It’s a new era and there are more opportunities across denominational lines for women to serve the Lord with their God-given gifts and callings.

It’s time! It was prophesied of you many, many years ago. “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy” (Acts 2:17-18, NIV, emphasis mine).

God’s Word Is the Bottom Line

As women who sense God’s call on our lives to lead, teach, or preach, we are ultimately accountable to God and His Word—not our personal experiences or the opinions of others. So, what does God say in His Word about this subject? Does the Bible command women to be silent and unable to lead in the church?

Rightly divide the Word.

We are exhorted to “rightly” divide the Word of truth, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15, NKJV, emphasis mine). If we are not diligent in our study of the Word, we may inadvertently “wrongly” divide the Word and make it say something it did not intend to say. It’s a great comfort to know that as we study God’s Word, the Holy Spirit will reveal His wisdom to us.

Read Part 1 of this teaching.

This article is an excerpt from Pastor Beth’s book entitled, BREAKING THROUGH THE STAINED GLASS CEILING. To obtain your copy of this book, please visit www.jeffandbethjones.org.

(1) Bob Rodgers, “Setting the Record Straight on David Yonggi Cho,” CharismaNews, February 25, 2014, http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/42918-setting-the-record-straight-on-david-yonggi-cho.

(2) Breakfast with David Yonggi Cho and Rick Warren, interciew, Pastors.com, 2001.

(3) “Who Is Joyce Meyer?” taken from Joyce Meyer Ministries website, accessed May 19, 2014, http://www.joycemeyer.org/AboutUs/FAQ.aspx.

(4) “Biography,” taken from Darlenezschech.com, accessed May 19, 2014, http://www.darlenezschech.com/biography.

(5) “Henrietta Mears,” taken from the Wheaton College Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals, accessed May 19, 2014, http://www.wheaton.edu/ISAE/Hall-of-Biography/Henrietta-Mears.

(6) Bill Bright, “Three Women: What a Difference They Made in My Life,” Kindling (blog), February 24, 2012. http://inkindle.wordpress.com/2012/02/24/three-women-what-a-difference-they-made-in-my-life-3-by-bill-bright.

(7) Happy James, “The Amazon of Literature and Publishing – Henrietta Mears,” Soteria (blog), September 23, 2013, http://soteriapublishinghouse.com/?p=3009.

(8) Jo Anne Lyon, “Both Men and Women – An article on ‘Spirit-filled Believers’,” The Wesleyan Church.com, September 30, 2013, http://www.wesleyan.org/227/both-men-and-women-an-article-on-spirit-filled-believers-from-jo-anne-lyon.

(9) Lynne and Bill Hybels, “Evangelicals and Gender Equality,” lynnehybels (blog), November 18, 2013, http://lynnehybels.blogspot.com/2013/11/evangelicals-and-gender-equality.html

(10) “Aimee Semple McPherson,” taken from FourSquare.org, accessed May 19, 2014, http://www.foursquare.org/about/aimee_semple_mcpherson.

(11) Wayne E. Warner, “Maria Woodworth-Etter: A Powerful Voice in the Pentecostal Vangaurd,” Enrichment Journal.ag.org, http://enrichmentjournal.ag.org/199901/086_woodsworth_etter.cfm

(12) “Purpose,” taken from The Kathryn Kuhlman Foundation website, accessed May 19, 2014, http://kathrynkuhlman.com/about.html.

(13) Taken from T.D. Jakes website, accessed June 30, 2014, http://www.tdjakes.org.

(14) Taken from Hillsong website, accessed June 30, 2014, https://hillsong.com/colour.

(15) Nancy Beach, “Women in Church Leadership-Disappointed But Not Despairing,” Slingshot (blog), February 20, 2013, http://slingshotgroup.org/women.

(16) Taken from Mercy Ministries website, accessed July 7, 2014, http://www.mercyministries.org.

A Winning Tradition
Mark Bintliff

Pastor Mark and his wife, Tasha, are Senior Pastors of New Creation Church in Glenwood Springs Colorado, where they served in various helps capacities for 10 years before assuming the pastorate in March of 1992. Mark is a 1982  Graduate of Rhema Bible Training Center in Tulsa Oklahoma, and is currently a Regional Director for Rhema Ministerial Association International. Pastor Mark and Tasha share a heart for the nations and travel ministering regularly at Conferences, Seminars, Churches, and Bible Schools.

In the Messiah, in Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade. Through us, he brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation—an aroma redolent with life. —2 Corinthians 2:14-16 (The Message)

On most Sunday mornings I lead my congregation in a confession based on 2 Corinthians 2:14. It is good to remind ourselves of who we really are, who we are “IN CHRIST.” See, we are part of the greatest thing in the earth today. We are part of the greatest team that ever was or will be. We are part of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are His body on the earth today. We are part of a rich and long history of winning. We are part of a winning tradition.

The Power of a Winning Tradition

Have you ever noticed that there are those in life, athletics and even business, that seem to have a fragrance of victory about them? It is as if they walk in an atmosphere and with the mindset of a perpetual winner. There is an air, a confidence and an expectation of success that seems to surround all that they do. We, as Christians, should have this kind of confidence. When you are part of a team that has a tradition of winning, you expect to win.

In fact, for some, their expectation of the next success or win seems to propel them to a high level of diligence, practice, and study. Preparation time is not wasted because they know that practice makes perfect. The legacy that they have been left by those who have gone before stirs them to continue in this winning tradition and the goal of excellence. When they take the field of “life” they are intimidating to their opponent. On the home field the support of their fan base gives them an extra advantage. Even when they step onto the field of their opponent, there is a swagger that gives them the mental advantage to overcome the odds of being away from home.

If you have ever been to a sporting event you know exactly what I am talking about. You can feel it in the air. The adversary may prepare and strategize on how to gain a win, but he is confronted with the atmosphere of the winning tradition and it puts him at a disadvantage.

The Thrill of Victory

In the 70s and 80s there was a television program called “The Wide World of Sports.” They used to introduce the program with the phrase, “the thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat.”

There really is a thrill to victory that lifts and affects the spirit, soul, and body of an individual or team. It is not just the present win, but also the history of wins that you are a part of because you’re part of that team. Winning traditions are built by the whole team buying into the fact that my part is an important of the whole.

The spirit is lifted, strengthened and encouraged into believing “we can win,” because of the example of all that have gone before. The soul has an immediate release of joyous emotion, which in a short while turns into the determination to “DO” what needs to be done so the feeling can be experienced again and again. Then the body gets involved and seeks release in an expression of jumping, dancing, fist pumping, and other well-known expressions of victory.

This thrill… has such an impact on the whole man, spirit, soul and body, because we were created for victory. It is not a one time experience either, the thrill pushes us into a repeated experience time and again until it becomes our tradition.

The Agony of Defeat

The agony of defeat can take hold of the person or team in much the same, but opposite manner. Continual defeat will actually break the spirit. The desire to compete may still exist, but the hope of victory becomes diminished and will eventually affect a person’s will to try. Defeat affects the soul and can be seen in a sad countenance and loss of Joy. The body becomes fatigued, fighting to pick itself back up and work another day; wondering if the work is not in vain.

The Mindset of The Winner

In looking at the mindset of a winner, it is not that they never lose a contest, or have a bad season; rather it is what they learn from the loss that will bring them to their next victory.

Look at the examples we have been given in Hebrews Chapter 11. They all had loss, defeat, or sorrow at some point in their lives, but they kept moving forward toward the promise. They kept their focus on the promise and the faithfulness of God.

There are some rebuilding seasons for teams with a winning tradition. In the rebuilding process, the winning tradition is instilled in the new members of that team and coaching staff. Part of the team development is conveying the legacy of winning to the point that even those who may have come out of defeat are lifted into a winning mindset.

It’s a Game Changer

Let’s look for a moment at the differences between a tradition of defeat and a winning tradition as it relates to the momentum in the midst of the game.

Examine a team that is used to defeat, when they are behind in the 8th or 9th inning or the fourth quarter of a game, there is an attitude on the bench that is “business as usual.” Watch the body language and you’ll see them resigning or giving in to another defeat. But… if by chance they find themselves leading at this crucial point in the game, there is almost a giddy excitement coupled with disbelief, waiting for the proverbial “other shoe to drop.” There is almost an unconscious shift from pressing toward a win to just trying not to lose. In the effort to simply protect their position, they more often than not, will lose it.

In contrast… a winning team, when they find themselves ahead, will press on to victory with confidence. If they find themselves behind in the latter innings or the fourth quarter, there’s not a panic, but a confidence that “we can come back and win this.” Everyone around, friend or foe, also picks up on it. It is an attitude that is tangible. They never stop playing to win!

Our Winning Tradition

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. —Hebrews 12:1-2

We as believers have a winning tradition that is led by Jesus Himself. There is fragrance about us, a fragrance of victory because of His victory. There is an atmosphere of victory created by all that have gone before that are now cheering our every move toward Him. Our mindset can be that of a confident expectation for success because of what has been done for us in Christ.

If we are to continue the winning tradition, we cannot lose the divine momentum of God that is pressing us onward. He is the great encourager that is cheering us and has equipped us to win. We can overcome in our circumstance, temptation or difficulty (if GOD be for us, who can be against us). As believers, we don’t want to develop a defeated mentality. He has already given us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him. Don’t give in to self-defeating attitudes and behavior, but rather press in towards total victory by grace and faith.

His Win over the enemy should propel us into diligence in practice and in study of our “playbook,” our Bible. This is how we prepare to overcome the strategy of the enemy. Keep reaching for the promise that God sets before us and lay aside every weight that would slow us down and keep us from the prize. We know that our preparation time is not wasted time. Because we know those who have gone before us in faith and left us a legacy of victory.

When we wake up and put our feet on the field of life, we already have an intimidating presence to our opponent because we are walking in the reality of His total victory. The support of our fan base is overwhelming. Realizing that there are more than be for us than those who are against us.

The enemy may strategize against us but we have already been prepared to stand against him and win. It does not mean we will never fall short or have a struggle, it means that through the wisdom and direction given to us by his Word and Spirit we learn what we need to be victorious in our next encounter. Hebrews Chapter 11 show us that we come from a winning tradition, a long line of those who overcame by faith. Let us be motivated by those who have gone before, continuing the perpetual victory that is ours in Christ and leave a winning legacy to those who will follow.

Weathering the Storm Without Being Weathered
Reverend Chris D’Amico Storms come and go. But one thing is certain; they do come. II Timothy 3:12 declares, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecutions.” Since storms are inevitable, we better know not only how to weather them, but how to come out on top. Why does it seem that when we make decisions to live godly, to apply the Word, that “all hell breaks loose”? Jesus told us why. He said, “Afflictions and persecutions arise for the Word’s sake” (Mark 4:17). The Amplified Bible says, “Trouble or persecution arises on account of the Word.” The devil hates the Word of God. It is the very power that conquers him. So he stirs up trouble. He sends circumstances, people and problems our way to get us to let go of our faith! But Jesus declared us blessed even when persecuted, “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of God” (Matthew 5:10).

Just like a seed that is planted in the ground, the devil wants to uproot truths of God’s Word before they bear fruit in us. So don’t be surprised by the challenges that come. Don’t let the difficulties conquer you. Don’t give your place of authority in Christ Jesus over to the devil by surrendering to the circumstances. In the midst of the raging storm, refuse to let go of God’s Word, for He will not relax His hold on you.

You may be facing challenges even now as you read this article. My advice to you is to go back to the Word, pray through every assault of the devil, and remain true to God. Your victory will come. Peter wrote, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial that is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings” (1 Peter 4:12-13). The Amplified Bible says, “Beloved, do not be amazed and bewildered at the fiery ordeal which is taking place to TEST YOUR QUALITY, as though something strange—unusual and alien to you and your position—were befalling you.”

Don’t think it is odd when problems come, as though something must be wrong. It might well be because you are doing something right. The trouble could be there to get you to back off, to shut up, and to let go of the Word. This is a battle, not the Boy Scouts. II Timothy 2:3 declares, “Thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” The Message Bible says, “When the going gets rough, take it on the chin with the rest of us, the way Jesus did.”

In II Corinthians 4:8-9, we see that conflicts come as a result of walking with God. “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.” Other translations say: “Troubles are around us on every side, but we are not shut in” (BAS); “We are persecuted, but we never have to stand alone” (Phillip’s); “Hunted down, but God never abandons us” (Taylor’s); “Always getting a knockdown, but never the knockout” (William’s). God promised in His Word that He will never leave us in the midst of adversity but will always deliver us out into victory. Psalm 34:19 tells us, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.” The Amplified Bible says, “Many evils confront the consistently righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.”

True, some problems in life are self-inflicted. But if you are facing adversity because you are seeking God’s will and walking obediently, then it must be spiritual opposition. Ephesians 6:10-12 reminds us that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but spiritual powers. Remember that Satan comes; and he comes to steal, kill and destroy anything God is doing in our lives. But rejoice, because Jesus came to give us life that is abundant, overcoming (John 10:10). Here are a few lifelines to help pull you through the storm.

Don’t be Shocked

That’s half the battle right there! According to the Word, difficulties and challenges are a part of the Christian walk. Job 5:7 declares, “Man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.” Then in 1 Peter 4:12 we read, “Dear friends, don’t be bewildered or surprised when you go through the fiery trials ahead, for this is no strange, unusual thing that is going to happen to you” (Living Bible). If you are not alert, you may think that something is wrong with you. Remember that we are, “partakers of Christ’s sufferings.” This is not suffering for Jesus with sickness, disease and fear. This is the suffering that comes from the devil’s opposition to the Word of God alive in us. Jesus constantly came up against the devil. He had opposition from ungodly and religious people. Just do as He did and keep on keeping on in what is right. You will weather the storm without it weathering you.

Your Battle is not with Flesh and Blood

Don’t allow yourself to become confused by the vehicle trouble may come through. The Bible says we should not be ignorant of Satan’s devices (II Corinthians 2:11). Spiritual attacks come from spiritual forces (Ephesians 6:10-12). Satan will try to bring trouble or storms to you through individuals that will yield to him to afflict you. We all have the choice whose instrument we will be. We’re commanded, “Neither yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God…”(Romans 6:13).

Don’t get entangled with people. Stay in the love of God. Pray for them and speak blessings over them (1 Corinthians 13:4-8, 1 Peter 3:9, Romans 5:5). Do battle God’s way. Refuse to fall into the devil’s trap of handling things in the natural. You’ll come out on top. Notice how Paul handled himself, “Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works” (II Timothy 4:14). In other words, Paul left Alexander’s fate in God’s hands. The New English Bible states, “Retribution will fall upon him from the Lord.”

Hold the Wheel and Stay the Course

A storm can easily change the course of a ship at sea. The captain must keep his hand on the wheel to keep it steady. If he lets go, the storm has won. “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58). The Message Bible says, “Stand your ground and don’t hold back. Throw yourself into the work of the Master.” The Williams translations states “…continue to be firm, incapable of being moved.” Don’t let anything or anyone else direct your course contrary to the Lord and His Word. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Keep yourself under God’s hand. Do it His way all the time – when it’s easy and when it’s not. Your obedience resists and repels the devil.

Keep your Composure

Have you ever heard, “Don’t panic; stay calm!”? Good advice. Things are rarely as bad as they seem and the storm will pass you by. II Corinthians 5:7 reminds us that we “walk by faith and not by sight.” The Twentieth Century translation declares, “For we guide our lives by faith, AND NOT WHAT WE SEE.” When we walk according to what we see, the storm can look too big to handle. But when we walk with the Word of God as our final authority, then the storm has to blow over.

The Holy Spirit told Paul that bonds and afflictions awaited him in Jerusalem. But look at his attitude, “But NONE OF THESE THINGS MOVE ME, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24). When the winds blow, we should say, “None of these things move me.”

Don’t Loose Your Joy

“The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). We only loose our joy when we stop trusting in the Lord. And when we loose our joy, we have surrendered our strength and succumb to defeat. Look at James 1:2-3, “Dear Brothers, is your life full of difficulties and temptations? Then be happy (joyful), for when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow. So let it grow, and don’t try to squirm out of your problems. For when your patience is finally in full bloom, then you will be ready for anything, full and complete” (Living). Our joy is part of our recreated spirit (Galatians 5:22). It is there always, no matter what. We just have to choose to walk in it, above the circumstances.

Look at the following quote, “Afflictions come to the believer not to make him sad, but sober; not to make him sorry, but wiser. Even as the plow enriches the field so that the seed is multiplied a thousand fold, so afflictions should magnify our joy and increase our spiritual harvest.” –Howard Beecher

Draw Upon the Strength of Godly Associations

There should be individuals in your life that you know walk with God, that you can trust, who will stand with you. In difficult times, go to God first and appropriate His Word. Then find friends who can agree with you in prayer (Matthew 18:19). True friends are of God’s idea. “A friend loveth at all times and a brother is born for adversity” (Proverbs 17:17). The Living Bible says, “A true friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need.” A godly friend may have insight or revelation from God to aid and assist you. The last thing you want to do in a storm is rely upon those who have no experience successfully walking through one.

In I Corinthians 16:17-18 the Apostle Paul lists people who brought him godly and refreshing encouragement ,”I am glad of the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achicus: for that which was lacking on your part they supplied. For they have REFRESHED MY SPIRIT AND YOURS: therefore acknowledge ye them as such.” Goodspeed Translation states, “They have cheered my spirit and yours, too.” Conybeare Translation says, “for they have lightened my spirit and yours.”

Learn the Language of Faith

Until you learn to master your lips, you will tumble every time in the face of adversity. Jesus’ own disciples had to learn this very point. When they were caught in the midst of a storm, they panicked – even though Jesus was right there with them. “And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but He (Jesus) was asleep. And His disciples came to Him, and awoke Him, saying Lord, save us: We perish. And He saith unto them, ‘Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?’ Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm” (Matthew 8:24-26).

Little faith will talk the problems, complain and yield the tongue to defeat. We need to trust Jesus is bigger than the problems, take our authority in His Name, and rebuke the circumstances that are in opposition to His Word! Take Jesus’ example and speak to the storm, “Be still”. Proverbs 18:21 declares, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.”

Never Give Up

Why does the devil bring storms? He does it to get us to give up in our faith, to exhaust us in our believing. But be encouraged, for the Lord promises, “And let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Galatians 6:9). George Washington once said, “Perseverance is one’s duty.” Martin Luther King Jr. once said, ” The ultimate measure of a man is not found when a man stands in comfort or convenience, but where he stands in challenge and controversy.”

You would never face storms if you were no threat to the kingdom of darkness. And the fact that you are struggling against it means you have not been mastered by it! Never give up, but persevere and overcome. II Corinthians 2:14 reminds us, “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ.” We must never give up no matter how difficult the situation may seem. God will not only stand with us, but also cause our stand of faith to turn the tables on adversity so that we will come out on the winning end! You and I are never defeated unless we give up. So face your adversity in the courage and strength of God, trusting Him to see you through. Nahum 1:7, states, “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in Him.”

CDM
For more information about Chris D’Amico Ministries, please contact:
Chris D’Amico Ministries
P.O. Box 20782
Bradenton, Florida 34204
941-755-0775 * 918-810-5220
www.chrisdamicoministries.org
cdm@chrisdamicoministries.org

Vocational Callings in the Body of Christ
Jen Tringale

Jen ministers with a specific anointing to bring clarity and focus to the purpose of God in people’s hearts, and she heavily emphasizes how everyone can impact the culture around them through their vocational callings. She shares relevant and time-proven strategies for expanding the Kingdom of God in the real world.

Her easy communication style is relatable conveying these truths in ways that are easy to understand, breaking down the big picture into bite-sized pieces.

Embracing a sense of divine purpose on her life at a young age, Jen determined to whole-heartedly pursue the call of God that would ultimately steer the course of the rest of her life.

Growing very up active in the local church, her path eventually led her to Rhema Bible Training Center where she graduated in 1997. She also served in the Prayer & Healing Center at Kenneth Hagin Ministries for two years.

She has served on the Pastoral Staff in the local church as a Worship Leader, Youth Pastor, Conference Coordinator and Media Director, producing a weekly television show seen around the country.

In 2004 Jen co-founded a non-profit missions organization, leading multiple teams on overseas trips. In 2008, she was approached to write a curriculum on how people can discover their God-given purposes through their vocational callings. This resulted in the 2009 release of “The 7 Mountain Strategy” curriculum, and it has had great success!

She has appeared on such Christian television shows as Praise the Lord, TBN with Len and Cathy Mink, Make Your Day Count with Lindsay Roberts and many others.

Jen enjoys being a 30-something woman in ministry. She is originally from Florence, KY and now resides in Fort Worth, TX.
Contact Info: www.jentringale.com
Email: booking@jentringale.com
Facebook/JenTringale
Twitter/JenTringale

The word calling is a word we generally set apart to describe those selected for a specific task or purpose. When I was growing up in church; this word ‘calling’ was generally reserved to describe a person that was called to be a pastor, teacher or maybe a missionary. It wasn’t ever actually said to me but the assumption was that those that were “called” were sort of the ‘rock-star’ ministers given the task to really do something for God and the rest of us were merely here to attend church, maybe volunteer and cheer them on. 

However this word ‘calling’ speaks to the fact that there is divine purpose attached to what a person does and it is important to know that it does not always require a pulpit. Many times we hear someone say that they have “found their calling." While a lot is being said in recent years about the topic of purpose or calling, we ought to make sure we rightly define exactly who it is that is called and for what purpose.

In Ephesians 4:1 Paul the apostle writes and very strongly admonishes ALL believers to "walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called"…"

The word ‘calling’ here simply means, "A divine invitation to service or a summons to employment."

This vocational calling that Paul is speaking about is backing up what God originally instituted with Adam in Genesis Chapter 2, “…to be fruitful, multiply and to have dominion…,” and then again when He gave us the great commission in Matt 28 and in Mark 16. In each case God is reiterating His plan that every believer has been issued a call, an invitation to a kingdom assignment. We are to impact our culture to bring together His family and to establish His kingdom in the earth. It is because of this call – this purpose – that you and I are here. 

It is vitally important that we understand that you and I did not just come from our parents, we merely came through our parents. In Jeremiah 1:5 God says, "Before you were even in your mother’s womb I knew you." At some point God our creator had the idea of you and because He does everything with purpose attached to it, He also attached to you a calling, a purpose, a divine invitation to employment! 

This divine calling will utilize the gifts, talents and abilities that God has given each of us to in some way be an answer to a problem and to bring a solution to societies’ needs. This changes how we approach what we do vocationally. For the believer there is no such thing as mere secular employment but a better description would be that you have a vocational calling. 

In fact, Jesus made this plain when He first announced His purpose and strategy for how we were to carry on when He was gone when He told Peter, “…And upon this rock, I will build my church,"(Matthew 16:18). 

Jesus used the Greek word "ecclesia" here when He spoke of His church. Without going into lengthy historical detail, let me give you a snapshot of what Jesus was referencing. 

The “ecclesia” was a roman legislative group made up of people very skilled in their various vocations. The Romans would send out the ecclesia into their newly defeated territories. This skilled group was made up of law-makers, judges, educators, artisans, musicians, builders, architects, as well as others. Their job was to take positions of influence throughout the cities of these newly conquered territories. As they began to function in their vocations, they were assimilating the people into Roman ways of living. Slowly, thru their influence, they would begin to transform the people’s thinking and their way of life into all things Roman! They began to teach in the schools using Roman methods. The musicians shifted the sound, lawmakers introduced Roman policies, and on and on it went. 

All of this was a strategic way to get the people to forget their old identity and in a matter of time the ecclesia would have transformed the culture to look, sound and function just like Rome. Isn’t it interesting that this is the concept that Jesus referenced when He spoke of building His church? He was not speaking of us meeting in a building; rather He spoke of us building the kingdom in the culture we are in! To be salt and light, to be a city set on a hill, which speaks of having positions of influence.

For years we have tried to change the culture merely thru the church alone, but it takes more than the 5-fold ministry gifts. Their function is actually to equip the saints; which is why it is vitally important that we as believers are planted in the local church where this equipping can take place. But that equipping is to help all believers, men and women of God to function in their calling. That those who are educators, care-takers, law-makers, musicians and many others would take their place of influence thru the ability and the anointing that comes with the calling!

Let me sum this up with 3 basic principles every believer needs to know about their calling. 

1. God always has a plan and He has a plan for you. Don’t settle for anything less. 
2. Who God calls He equips. You’ve got the raw materials of what it takes. 
3. Never judge what you do as insignificant. Allow the Holy Spirit to ignite the destiny seed of God in you and lead you into the calling He designed you for. 

From Visitor to Member: Strategies to Keep First-Timers Coming Back By Don Burns

Husband, Father, marketer, former barista, lover of all things Apple.  Don is available to help you with your marketing, advertising, and strategic planning needs. Don.Burns@mac.com

On a recent trip with my family to Disneyland, I was surprised to find several fresh fruit stands inside the park. Among the French fries, burgers, ice cream, and churros are these wonderful stands serving up fresh juice and sliced fruits. Fresh fruit stands may not bring visitors to the park, but the lines of people willing to pay $5.50 for a few slices of pineapple show me that they’re excited to have a healthy option. While no one goes to Disneyland for the fruit stands, a positive experience does help bring them back.

The Disneyland pineapple stands may seem like a small touch in a park with so many attractions. But they do illustrate the difference between acquisition tools and retention tools—as well as the importance of the latter. While churches must focus on attracting visitors, they also must work to turn those visitors into regular attendees and members. Some believe that money invested in retaining visitors is between 10 and 20 times more effective than money invested in attracting visitors. Let’s look a few tools churches can use to encourage the transition from visitor to attendee.

Know who attends

It is imperative to know who visits your church. Whether they are first-time visitors at a weekend service or neighbors visiting a church event, be sure to obtain their contact information. Many churches hand out visitor packets or pass around visitor information cards, with limited success. To increase the effectiveness of this method, have your visitors turn in the card at the visitor booth after the service for a gift. Along with the gift, give them information about your key values and various ministry areas.

Follow up immediately

Several months ago my wife and I visited a satellite location of one of the fastest growing churches in the country. The best part of our visit didn’t happen until after the service had ended. We got home after eating lunch to find a message on our home phone from the campus pastor. The message emphasized how much they appreciated us visiting. He knew we brought our children and said a few things about the children’s ministry at the church. We turned our information in just a few hours earlier, and he had already called us. Hundreds of people attended the same service we did, and they had three services that morning. I kept thinking that he had to make a lot of calls that day. His effort made an impact, and we have told that story many times.

This story illustrates a simple technique: When you get information on a visitor, make sure to get in touch with them quickly. You might choose to call or send follow-up letters. Whatever you do, make the message personal and timely. This follow-up communication should reinforce the key values and ministry areas discussed in the materials you gave out during the initial visit.

Invite them back

After the initial follow up, invite your visitors to come back. There is a lot of truth to the old saying, “If you don’t ask, you don’t get.” Asking people back is critical. One church we visited sent us a warm reminder by email the following week, saying they enjoyed having us the previous Sunday and hoped we would return. They kept it short, reminding us of the church’s values and giving a teaser about the message series about to begin. The message brought the church back into our minds just a day or two before the next service.

Ask for feedback

The company I work for is really big on customer surveys. We send out surveys to each internal department as well as our various external customers. Those surveys are taken quite seriously—the annual bonus structure is based partially on how well we perform on them.

This model makes customer satisfaction a priority, and while visitors are not the same as customers, their experience of your church matters. Obviously, no one is more conscious of the visitor experience at your church than those who have just attended. Ask them for feedback. Be vulnerable—let them know that your church is focused on reaching the community and their input can help you make the visitor experience better. Ask them about things they liked, disliked, questions they may have, or things they may need prayer about. The key is to not discount the responses. Listen to what these surveys tell you.

Measure the results

Be sure to track visitor data very precisely. Over time, you will be able to determine the number of visitors who become committed members of the church. Once you know this ratio, you can figure out how many visitors you must attract to grow by a particular percentage. That information is extremely valuable when making decisions about advertising or events.

It would be wonderful if each person who attended our churches decided to stay. Unfortunately, we know that is not very likely. But we can plan to become as effective as possible at converting visitors into attendees. Hopefully, the strategies outlined above can help you strengthen your church’s efforts to grow.

Visitor Follow-up
Joe Cala

Joe Cala is the author of, “Living Your Life Today—The Fool Proof Way!” and “The Proven Formula of Success!” traveling minister, seminar leader, creator of “The Next Step Visitor Follow-Up System”, contributor of Personal Excellence Magazine and the founder of ChurchSync and Joe Cala Ministries. Visit www.churchsync.com or contact Joe at 848-248-0730 or by email at joe@churchsync.com to set up a time for a FREE Strategy Session or to schedule on site training, leadership training and guest services training.

How Many More People Do I Want to Be Attending My Church By the End of This Year?

So many Pastors live week-to-week, month to month and year to year just waiting to see where they’ll be in regards to church growth. In talking to many Pastor’s they truly have a desire to see numerical growth in their churches but just sit back and see how it all turns out without putting together a plan. How many would you like to increase by? 50 people, 60 people, 100 people, etc…? 10%, 20%, 50%, etc…? Whatever the number or percentage is, by the end of this article you will have a solid plan to reach it.

It’s time to start being proactive and not just reactive in regards to visitor follow up. Faith without works is dead. If we never put an action plan together to help us move towards what we believe, then how do we expect to see the provision we are looking to achieve. Here are some strategies to help you get started.

1. Take Inventory
In other words; see where you are right now. Find out how many people on average attend your church on a weekly basis. If you don’t do this already, then start taking attendance each week. How many are really coming. In most cases, Pastors “evangelastically” increase their numbers when someone asks them how many are attending their church. If 100 people were there, about 150 or so attended according to them. Be truthful to yourself and find out where you are so you can begin to put together your plan for increase and growth.

2. How Many Visitors Came to Your Church
Find out how many visitors attended your services this year. Then find out how many stayed. This is vital. These numbers prove to you that God has been trying to grow your church. We don’t believe that people show up to our services by coincidence, right? No, we believe that they were someway or somehow led to our services by God. It is a Divine appointment. He is the best recruiter for our churches. He is constantly drawing people in. So how many people visited last year? Count all the visitor cards. If you don’t have them then here’s how you can find out how many visited and stayed.

For example: If you have 150 people currently attending on average, about 100 people visited last year and 10 stayed and became consistent attendees, then you originally had 140 people attending starting at the beginning of the year and increased your growth by 10% of the people who visited and 7% of the people who were consistently attending.

It’s so important to measure and track your data and records. This will help you see your results, strengths, weaknesses and opportunities in visitor and member retention.

3. Utilize “How Did You Here About Us?” on Your Visitor Cards
Why is this so important? Because this will help you see where your most effective avenue of influence is in bringing in new guests. This will also help you see where your not so effective areas are as well.

For example: If you are spending $500.00 a month on the Yellow Pages and most of the guests are marking that they heard about you through a web search and no one has marked yellow pages in 6 months then start redirecting those funds over to digital marketing to expand your presence on the web to be more effective in driving people through your doors.

Here are some, “How Did You Hear About Us?” lines to put on your Guest Cards. You can choose a few or use them all, it’s your call.
If you are marketing on radio:

If you are marketing on Radio _____ What Station? ______________________
If you are marketing on TV: TV ______
What Channel? _________________________
Driving By _______________________________
Friend or Relative _________
Name of Friend or Relative ________________________
Internet ___________
Which Search Engine or Site?
Google__ AOL __ Yahoo __ Bing __ YouTube __ MSN __ Facebook __ Twitter __
If you are marketing with Billboards: Billboard ____ Location ____
Other ____
Please tell us what other source you heard about us from: _________

4. Project How Many People You Want to Be Attending By The End of Next Year!

This is beginning with the end in mind. This is how faith works. Faith begins with the end in mind. It starts off seeing the provision and creates a plan to help allow the provision the easiest access to manifest into our lives.

For example: Your goal is that you want to grow by 50 people by the end of this year. That is the end result you want to reach.

So if you had 100 visitors this past year and want to grow from 150 to 200 attendees then based off of how you increased last year, (10%), you will either need 500 visitors to come in so you can retain 50 of them to grow to 200 from 150, or you will need to come up with an aggressive strategy to help retain visitors at a higher percentage. To break it down in months you then divide the number you want to grow to, (50) more, by 12 months and you come up with (4). This is the number of people you aim to grow the church by each month. If you break it down even further you are aiming to grow your church by 1 person every week to reach 50+ by the end of this year. This is not impossible. As a matter of fact it is very realistic, especially when you have a process in place to make it come to pass.

How many Pastors are really doing this? If you have your faith hooks sunk into a solid number to believe you will increase to then God has something to put substance to. Let’s start believing for specific increase not just increase with no number on it.

5. Start Putting Together Strategies & Outreaches to Attract Visitors to Your Services

Now that you know what you are aiming at and what you are believing for, then start having staff, board and creative meetings to come up with ways to attract guests. Here is a list of ideas you can visit and use. http://www.churchsync.com/how-to-get-visitors-to-attend.html

6. Follow Up & Follow Through

Have your Guest Services team develop a strong follow up process in order to retain those guests. Put together a detailed map of follow up from the same day they first visited till 40 days after they visited to keep your services, functions, encouragement and ministries in front of them.

7. Go After the One Which is Lost Until He Finds it!

Luke 15:4 (New King James Version) 4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?

Notice it says, “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them…”

This tells us that the sheep was in our flock first before it was lost. In other words, the sheep, the visitor, came into our church. When they leave and never come back, it’s not their fault. This verse doesn’t blame them for getting lost. It doesn’t say, “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if one of the sheep gets lost, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?”

No it says, “if he loses one of them…” Who’s “HE”? The Shepherd of the sheep. If the visitor doesn’t come back the blame doesn’t fall on them, it falls on us. We lost them. This is why it is so important to do the rest of this verse. “Go after the one which is lost until he finds it!”  This is why it’s so important to come up with a short and long term follow up system that can continue to guide the visitor back through our doors and into the fold.

As you apply these strategies you will see growth in your church by the end of this year!

1. Take Inventory
2. How Many Visitors Came to Your Church
3. Utilize “How Did You Here About Us?” on Your Visitor Cards
4. Project How Many People You Want to Be Attending By The End of Next Year
5. Start Putting Together Strategies & Outreaches to Attract Visitors to Your Services
6. Follow Up & Follow Through
7. Go After the One Which is Lost Until He Finds it!

To discuss these strategies in further detail feel free to contact me today. Working together to make your church better.