Ministry – Page 11 – John Markum

How to treat a new follower of Christ

Posted on July 25, 2011 by johnmarkum

I find it interesting that many church people would cross mountain and sea to bring their friend or loved one to Christ. But afterwards many of these same people expect them to change over night. It just doesn’t happen that way. Here are a few things that every newer follower of Christ needs from the people in their life that are suppose to be more mature in the Lord:

Extra Grace: We’re suppose to be gracious to one another anyway, but especially to the person who has recently crossed the line of faith, we should understand that they need people to give them the benefit of the doubt and love them through some things. This often means patience as they identify themselves in the church family.
Accountability: Giving them more grace does not mean they get away with inappropriate behavior or sin. What it does mean, is that we help them see where they need growth, relate personally to their difficulties when possible, and encourage them that we’re all becoming more like Christ together.
Meaningful Friendships: The saying, “Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care” applies to everyone. Personally, I choose to take my criticism from the people who love me. So newer followers of Jesus need people who genuinely care about them as a person and not just as a “prospect” to their church.
Opportunities to Grow: We all need new challenges to take us to higher levels. This is certainly true of a new believer. A baby wants to learn to roll over, then crawl, then walk, then run, then climb. New believers don’t want to sit in a crib forever either. They want a faith that is real, and we should encourage that. Help them find places to serve, share, learn, relate, and use their faith in practical ways.
Freedom: All of us need the ability to be who and what God created us for individually. There is plenty of room for us to be different and yet unified. Our goal is unity, not uniformity. There is a difference. We can all be ourselves in plenty of areas. We should encourage new believers to discover their uniqueness in Christ. This also means providing the safety for them to ask honest questions and get honest answers.

Whether you are a newer follower of Jesus or a veteran, we all have room to grow. And to the seasoned follower of Jesus, you’re missing a huge part of your own spiritual growth if you’re not willing to love a new brother or sister in Christ into your church family. Be like Jesus and be inclusive!

Blessings,

John

Dead Right

Posted on July 16, 2011 by johnmarkum

Have you heard the expression of being “dead wrong?” Dead wrong is not just having your facts incorrect. Dead wrong is being so blind to the fact that you’re wrong that you get argumentative, defensive, even belligerent about something, only to find out later that you were not even right to begin with. You end up feeling kinda stupid and ashamed for getting so fired about about something you didn’t even have right. You weren’t just wrong. You were dead wrong.

If there’s anything worse than being dead wrong, it’s probably being dead right. A friend I was talking to this week introduced me to the term, and it was a powerful thought. Being dead right is very similar to being dead wrong. When you’re dead right you have the correct information. Your facts are accurate. But because you know you’re right, you end up being more confident.

And so in an argument the person with the right answers or perspective makes stands that are not worth taking. They end up winning a battle but losing the war. Has this ever happened to you? You were right. They were wrong. The fight got out of hand and the other person walked away. You know you were right, but you still feel like it’s your fault. It might be because you were dead right.

This happens in marriages all the time. One spouse gets upset at something the other did/didn’t do. And instead of calling them out on it in a loving way that still shows care for the other person, they use their “right” position as a weapon to attack the other person. The end result? They end up dead right. Correct about their information. Incorrect in their approach. What was probably a simple situation now has great hurt attached to it. They said they were going to do the dishes and they didn’t. Now that you’ve humiliated them by verbally beating them up over it, the dishes are still dirty, and your wife/husband doesn’t want to even look at you. The dishes would have taken 20 minutes to clean. Now it’ll take several hours or even days to recover peace and harmony in your home.

You know what being dead wrong has in common with being dead right? You’re still dead. I would rather be wrong than dead right. Wrong happens. Wrong is fixable. Dead right is personal. Dead right stings. Dead right is not love.

Purpose in your heart now that you will refuse to be dead right. When some else has done wrong by you, you will seek forgiveness and reconciliation, and not character assassination of the other person. Decide that you will use your right position as an opportunity to help the other person, not break them.

Knowledge is knowing the right stuff. Wisdom is understanding how to use it.

Blessings,

John

Preaching – part 2

Posted on July 5, 2011 by johnmarkum

Expository vs. Topical Preaching

This is one of the most frustrating debates to listen to. Frankly, I heard this argument so much in Bible college that I almost don’t want to blog about it for sheer annoyance sake. However it fits into this subject of preaching and deserves addressing. Allow me first to provide appropriate definitions:

Expository preaching: A format of preaching where one Scripture text is the primary context of the message. All points are derived from this text and, the message typically flows in the order of the passage.

Topical preaching: A format of preaching where the preacher selects a topic and builds his message around the subject with supporting Scripture on the subject. The points are derived from the topic as oppose to Scripture, but Scripture is typically used just as much.

Where I came from, expository preaching was treated as “Biblical preaching” as opposed to topical preaching which was only for “itching ears and people-pleasing.”

So which do I prefer now? Both. I am a preacher. Preachers are responsible for feeding their people what they need to be fed. Sometimes that is best done by breaking down a passage of Scripture verse by verse. At other times, people need to hear a biblical message on the topic of finances, relationships, dealing with adversity, trusting God, forgiving, or any number of thousands of other topics addressed in the Bible.

Jesus almost always preached topical messages. A topical message takes on average 3 times as long to prepare as an expository message. Both are tools that a well-equipped preacher draws from at the appropriate times.

And these are not the only tools to preaching. Some messages flow like a list of points and passages (Be-Attitudes). Others are narrative and tell a story (like Jesus did with parables). Others are interactive. Regardless, a good preacher knows that the word is the final source of authority and that each message should be designed to hit a specific audience. Topical preaching is not evil. Expository preaching is not the best or only way to to preach.

For me, I typically preach series that are topical in nature, but each message in that series is often an expository message. But I do preach expository series. And I also preach topical messages as well as other formats of delivering God’s word.

As preachers we need to be Biblical and yet creative in the way we communicate. We preach for impact. We preach for life change. Let’s use the right tools for the right job.

Blessings,

John