Author: thinkingoutsidethetextbox

Guard Your Reputation!

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What people think about you because of what they have observed about you makes a difference as to whether people will want to spend time with you or even listen to what you say.

People are always observing you and your actions, and when they do, they instantly make assessments about who you are and what you are like. As people see you act you gain a reputation. It may be a good one, it may be a negative one. The only way you can gain a good reputation is by being careful about how you act and how you treat people.

Reputation is not about being a people pleaser. This is not about trying to gain the favour of all people by only doing what you think others expect. It is about knowing who you are and what you stand for, and then consistently living that out. But your reputation is also about more than yourself, especially if you are a follower of Christ.

In 1 Timothy 3:7, the apostle Paul describes the attributes of church leaders:  

He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.

One of the characteristics of a church leader is to have a good reputation “with outsiders.” This is not just about a good reputation with other believers in your church, but also with those who do not yet know Jesus. Thus characteristic does not just apply to church leaders; churches, too, must be filled with people who have good reputations because this is where leaders are developed.     

The word translated “reputation” in 1 Timothy 3:7 could also be translated as “testimony.” So the church leader, or Christians in general, should have a good testimony. This means that their life and words should match up. What they believe and stand for should be evident in how they live their lives and how they interact with believers and unbelievers.

Why? 1 Timothy 3:7 indicates that a good reputation may help a person avoid “falling into disgrace and into the devil’s trap”. A bad reputation may bring personal disgrace, – as well as bring disgrace on the church you are part of and on the Christ you say you believe in. An inconsistent walk could lead a church leader into the devil’s trap where they are no longer living a good testimony and reflecting well on Christ. The bad reputation is then earned by not consistently honoring Jesus with our life. The devil would like nothing better than to make Jesus Christ or his followers look bad.

Guard your reputation, not just so you look good, but to help make Jesus look good! Make sure your belief in Jesus matches the way you do life and conduct your business. You do not want your reputation to cause others to lose interest in Jesus. Live a consistently God-honoring life!

Keep looking up,

Andy Wiebe

Ready to Preach, Pray, or Die

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There’s an old saying describing how a pastor should be ready for anything at anytime. A pastor should always be ready to preach, pray, or die. I thought of this saying the other day because of a situation I found myself in.

A friend asked me to join him in praying for a friend of his. We were going to meet in my office at the church with the plan of entering into a time of spiritual warfare. His friend did not know Jesus and was facing some torment in his life. His prayers to the god of his religion had not accomplished anything. He was desperate and was now willing to have us pray to our God for him.

One of my first thoughts was, I’m glad I am ready for this. This is going to be a spiritually significant encounter, and I am glad there is no unconfessed sin in my life. I am right with God and feel empowered to be his servant in this situation. It reminded me of the saying to be ready to preach, pray, or die. I wanted nothing in the way if I was going to ask God to fight on behalf of this friend. I was ready.

 As I contemplated this, I realized how absurd this thought was. As followers of Jesus, we should always be ready to serve God in any capacity He invites us into; not just on the occasion when we “feel” ready. Not only pastors, but all Christians should strive to be right with God at all times, ready to serve Him in any way He asks. We should not be afraid to enter into spiritual warfare, as if we had reason to think that we had to do something to prepare first. If we are in right relationship with God, through faith in His Son Jesus, then we are always ready to serve God, no matter what He asks of us.

We should always live our lives free of sin. All sin should be confessed as early and as quickly as we recognize it. We should never carry sin in our life, waiting for a specific moment to deal with it. Deal with it immediately and makes sure you are right with God. Like David, in Psalm 51, desire to live a forgiven life where we are always ready to teach others. We should never harbor sin of any kind. We should always be clean and ready for service to our God.

We need to pray regularly. We need to be in daily communication with God. We need to read Scripture to learn and hear from God, but we also need to be talking with Him all the time. I paused for more prayer as I knew this encounter was coming up in a few hours, but I already had a prayed-up life as I have regular times of prayer with God.

We should continue to build up our faith. We need to remind ourselves regularly of the goodness and faithfulness of God. He provides all we need. He answers prayer. He is with us all the time in all things we face. As we continue to remind ourselves of the great God we serve, we are also equipping ourselves to serve Him when the serving may be difficult. I was not quite sure what to expect but I knew whatever the situation was going to be, God is bigger than anyone or anything else. I had faith in God to handle the situation.

I encourage you to live your life always read to “preach, pray, or die,” always ready to serve Him in whatever situation He may place in front of you.

Keep looking up,

Andy Wiebe

No Regrets.

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The start of a new calendar year often causes people to evaluate their lives. This may include both looking back and looking forward. Some of us seem to spend more time looking in the mirror, while others focus only on what is in front of them. I generally focus on what’s ahead. I love planning and dreaming and preparing for what’s coming up.

The other day I overheard people talking about regrets they had. They felt they had missed out on opportunities in life because they were not willing to risk and try new things. We can look ahead with a “no regrets” mindset where we learn from the past and move on. We don’t need to look back and regret where we felt you missed out.

As I look around my office, filled with my Coke collection, I’m reminded of regrets the Coca-Cola Company had some years ago. They introduced “New Coke” on April 23, 1985, hoping to revitalize the brand and gain more market share of the beverage industry. It was a big flop! According to Brittanica, “original Coke was hoarded or sold at Prohibition-style prices. In addition, New Coke was dumped publicly into the sewers in Seattle. After 77 days the previous version of Coke was brought back as “Coca-Cola Classic” on July 11, 1985”. (https://www.britannica.com/topic/New-Coke) Hopefully you don’t have any regrets as notable as that, but it is possible that we do have some things we wish went differently for us in our past.

Regrets may come in many forms. Some are mistakes that were made. Some regrets have to do with roads not taken and opportunities missed out on. Some regrets have to do with fear of risk. While I’m not promoting revisioning history, I do think that we need to find ways of using regrets to our benefit, so they end up not being regrets in the end.

We can benefit from our experience, even if they seem like regrets at first. If your regret is a mistake that was made, learn from the mistake. Did you do something wrong on purpose? Was it a deliberate mistake? Then figure out why you did it and how you can learn from that for the next time you are in the same situation. Was it a mistake because you didn’t have the full story? Then determine to get more information, or more pertinent and accurate information the next time. Don’t live with regrets about mistakes in the past, just learn from them and move on. You cannot change what happened but you can change how you handle your future.

When considering missed opportunities, asking “what if” questions do not help us with reality. We don’t know how things would have turned out if we had taken a different direction. We can imagine, but we don’t really know. Hindsight is not always 20/20 because we don’t know what might have happened if we had stepped into a possible opportunity. If your regrets are about things that could have been different because of a missed opportunity, remember that you have no idea how it would have turned out. So don’t live with regrets for something you never did.

Another regret may be the way fear of risk kept you from stepping into roles and opportunities. If fear of risk is still predominant in your life, then learn to take small risks and learn that some risks have good benefits. Instead of letting fear keep you back, learn what you can, and then carefully move ahead, into the risk. When you have a relationship with God, you can ask him to help you know when to move ahead and when not to. If God wants you to move, then the risks is not as risky anyway.

As you look back over the last year, I hope you have no regrets. Learn from mistakes, grow in areas you feel you fell short in, and focus on what went well. Don’t focus on what could have been but learn what you can from what did happen. And then look ahead to the next year with anticipation and determination to do your best to keep growing and learning and contributing to the world in any way you can.

Don’t have regrets, just memories that help spur you on!

Keep looking up

Andy Wiebe

Thank You!

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As we come to the end of this year, I want to thank each of you who read this blog. Thank you for allowing me the privilege of sharing from my heart, things I’m learning and discovering in my journey as a pastor and church leader. We serve a great God who loves us deeply – enough to send His Son to die for us and open a way for a personal relationship with Him! We are all learning every day. Thank you for considering my thoughts in your learning.

Thank you!

And have a Happy and Successful New Year

Andy

The Real Christmas Story

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Luke 1:26-38

New International Version

The Birth of Jesus Foretold

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[a] the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Matthew 1:18-25

New International Version

Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son

18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about[a]: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet[b] did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[c] because he will save his people from their sins.”

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”[d] (which means “God with us”).

24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Luke 2:1-7

New International Version

The Birth of Jesus

2 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.

4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

The Fun of Getting to Know People

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The church is people. Being a church leader and pastor means being a leader of people. Every leader needs to recognize the value of getting to know the people they lead in a personal way. I enjoy getting to know people because as you get to know people you find out what they are passionate about and how they contribute to their community. Many people have unique skills they are using to help others that you wouldn’t know unless you get to know them.

Personal Connections

Some of the fun of getting to know people is finding you share common friends or have similar origins. When I meet someone for the first time, if I learn that we know the same people or are familiar with the same places, it immediately gives us something to talk about even though we just met.

Unique Skills

Last night, over supper with friends, I learned that the one friend translates children’s songs from English or Spanish into Low German. There are not many Low German children’s songs so she finds good songs in other languages, translates them to Low German as best she can, records herself singing them, and uploads the recording and song for Low German speaking parents to use for their children. I think that is fantastic! I would never have known about her unique contribution to other parents if I had not had opportunity to be in a conversation with her.

Personal Pain

I recently had a conversation with a young couple who are hurting because of an illness in their family. They have had to go through many difficult adjustments as they deal with a family member who lost their memory and the ability to function on their own. As a pastor, hearing the pain in their voices as they shared the story gives me a fuller picture of the realities of their life and and how they are trying to manage life. This informed perspective will also help me be a bit more forgiving when he doesn’t make it to every board meeting because he has unexpected responsibilities to deal with at home. Gaining a fuller understanding of people on our team and people we serve reminds us to view people as humans with complicated lives.

Passions

As we get to know people, we get to know what makes them tick, and what they are passionate about. Some are passionate about people, others about projects. Many people have certain values that they regard with extra importance. For example, knowing which people are passionate about youth or the poor can guide you when recruiting volunteers for youth or the food bank ministries.

Potential Friends

Some people warn pastors not to become friends with people in their church. Others say pastors need to be friends with everyone. Pastors need friends too, and as they get to know people they discover new friends. Its natural that we become better friends with some people in the church than others, so don’t be afraid to get to know people as friends.

I encourage every pastor and church leader to go out of their way to get to know the people they lead. You will gain personally, as will your church, if you get to know them.

Keep looking up,

Andy Wiebe

Grief and Hope

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As I’m thinking about Christmas and the family celebrations, I am well aware that my mom will not be around this year. She passed away a few months ago. Going to see my Dad at Christmas time will not be the same. There will be an empty spot at the table and a big hole in our conversations where mom would have been.

Blue Christmas Services are special services held in December. Maybe you have had the privilege of taking in one of these services which are designed especially for those who have lost loved ones in the last year. The service includes carols and scriptures like other Christmas services, but it also takes time to acknowledge the pain that many in the service are facing. It is meant to be a time of healing and encouragement for those who are grieving and to give them encouragement as they enter their first Christmas without that loved one present.

The service is a time to remember the hope we have in Christ. All who have put their faith in Christ, if they are gone from here, are present with the Heavenly Father. We have a hope, a certain understanding that to die here is only the doorway into God’s presence.

Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

As believers in Jesus, we believe that His death and resurrection was for us. We put our faith in Him and receive eternal life. We get a taste of this eternal life already, but don’t experience it’s fullness until we are with Jesus in God’s presence.

When believers die, they are immediately with God. They are immediately ushered into a place of “no more death or mourning or crying or pain” (Revelation 21:4). Not only are they experiencing the joy of being in God’s presence, but they are also immediately removed from all death or mourning or crying or pain. My mom was suffering a lot of pain regularly. She was taking many different medications. Life was difficult at times. But now she is no longer suffering any crying or pain. That is encouraging even as I grieve.

Knowing that she is with Jesus gives me hope. My grieving is not for her, but for my own loss. I am excited and glad for her, but there are times when I feel the loss. We grieve with hope. We feel the loss but are encouraged by the certainty of where we believe she is now.

Are you feeling the pain of missing a loved one this Christmas season? May it not be a grieving without hope. If they had put their faith in Christ, we know that they are with Jesus. And if you have done the same, you will join them eventually as well.

Yes, we grieve. We may go through the different stages of grieving numerous times as we continue to adapt to this person not being around anymore, and still rejoice that they are now in a place of no more crying and pain in the presence of the Heavenly Father. As believers in Jesus and the promises of a future with Him in heaven, we grieve with hope.

Keep looking up,

Andy Wiebe

Relax and Rest!

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Rest doesn’t always come easily for driven people. Many pastors and church leaders are passionate about what they do. They are busy, sometimes with expectations put on them, but often because they see another thing that could be done to help move things forward. There is another person to visit, another meeting to prepare, or a new program to plan for. And Sunday is always coming. Every weekend needs another sermon, and service, and lesson prepared. Rest doesn’t always make it onto the “to do” list.

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

Genesis 2: 2-3 (NIV)

We see four things God did as He concluded his creation. He finished, rested, blessed, and made holy the seventh day. God quit working. There was a certain point where God said, “That’s enough,” and he stopped working. Not only did he stop working, but he also rested. He took a break. He paused from the work and enjoyed a rest. And then he made the seventh day special by blessing it, and he “made it holy.” He set aside from all other days as a special day.

The people of Israel were told to celebrate the Sabbath every week. There were strict warnings from God to the Jewish people to keep this day as a day to stop working and rest and delight in Him and His creation.

Most Christians do not keep the Sabbath in the way that the Old Testament taught, and I don’t believe we need to; yet finding time to stop working and to rest and delight in God is still honoring to God and a huge benefit to all believers. For many, especially pastors, Sunday is not a Sabbath rest. This past Sunday was a good example. My wife and I left home in the morning at 8:30 am and did not return until 9:30 pm. We had a full Sunday. I had to set up and teach Sunday School. I then led a special Prayer Service. This was followed by visits to three different homes: lunch with one family, tea with another, and supper with a third. In that time, we debriefed the morning with an elder, anointed and prayed for a sick church member, and enjoyed playing games with some other friends. While not a Sabbath rest, as such, this was a great way to spend a Sunday, enjoying God and people.

Spending time with our church family, learning and worshipping together is part of Sabbath. Praying for people and anointing them with oil can be part of Sabbath. What many church leaders and pastors miss out on is the Sabbath rest aspect. For some, this works on a Sunday. For others, we need to set time aside at another time. My wife already asked me which day I was going to take off this week, but a Sabbath is more than just a day off. A meaningful Sabbath is a time to follow the example of God: to stop working, to rest, to delight in the day and in His Creation, and to contemplate the holiness of God. It may include feasting and church and family and friends.  It may include prayer and scripture reading. If you finish the day rested, with your joy refreshed, and feeling God’s pleasure, then you have “sabbathed” well.

I would encourage you to take time in your week to, not just take a day off, but to enjoy God and his creation and rest your body, mind, and soul.

Take time to relax and rest in the presence of God.

Keep looking up,

Andy Wiebe

Invite Books to Mentor You

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Every leader benefits from reading regularly. Even those who do not enjoy reading can benefit from disciplining themselves to read. The authors we read become our mentors. We can benefit from being mentored by those whom we may never meet and who do not know us personally, but who pour into our lives through their written words. Many of us do not have access to pastoral mentors; these authors can become that for us.

As you read, you will find certain authors that you connect with or who seem to speak into your context in a way that you find helpful. There are certain authors I have read at different times depending on the situations I was working in or issues I was facing. Choosing a book allows you the opportunity to tailor your mentoring experience to your specific needs.

Let me share four authors and some of their books I have personally benefited from.

Nelson Searcy is the – founder and lead pastor of The Journey Church in New York and author of a many church leadership books. Many of Searcy’s books are about a specific system that he has developed in his church. I found many of the principles to be adaptable to my situation even in a smaller rural church.

A few of his books that I have benefited from are:

  • Fusion: Turning First-Time Guests into Fully – Engaged Members of Your Church
  • Activate: An Entirely New Approach to Small Groups
  • The Generosity Ladder: Your Next Step to Financial Peace
  • Maximize: How To Develop Extravagant Givers In Your Church

Andy Stanley is the – founder and lead pastor of North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia and author of many books, mostly about church leadership. I especially appreciated his teaching on preaching and vision setting.

A few of his books I have benefited from are:

  • Deep and Wide: Creating Churches Unchurched People Love to Attend
  • Communicating for a Change: Seven Keys to Irresistible Communication
  • Visioneering: God’s Blueprint for Developing and Maintaining Personal Vision
  • Seven Practices of Effective Ministry

Preston Sprinkle is an – author, speaker, and teacher. I have especially appreciated his books addressing gender and same sex attraction, as well as other issues of today.

Here are a few of his books that have helped me understand the discussion around these issues better:

  • Embodied: Transgender Identities, the Church, and What the Bible Has to Say
  • People to Be Loved: Why Homosexuality Is Not Just an Issue
  • Go: Returning Discipleship to the Front Lines of Faith
  • Fight: A Christian Case for Non-Violence

Thom Rainer –  is a writer, researcher, speaker, and founder of Church Answers, a website where many pastors connect and learn together about church ministry and the life of a pastor. His books are usually short but filled with practical advice about the church.

Here are a few of his books I have enjoyed:

  • Becoming a Welcoming Church
  • I Will: Nine Traits of the Outwardly Focused Christian
  • Who Moved My Pulpit?: Leading Change in the Church
  • Unchurched Next Door

I read a lot, but these are a couple of authors I have read often and enjoyed how they spoke into my life and ministry.

Invite leaders to mentor you as you read their books. Learn from their experience and expertise. Look for a couple of nuggets that apply directly to you as you read. And keep on learning.

Keep looking up,

Andy Wiebe

The Joy of Connecting with Teammates.

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I had the privilege this past week of spending a day with others who have a similar role as I do. We don’t actually work together on the same projects or in the same church, but we are all part of the same denomination functioning in the role of transition pastors. There is a special joy in connecting with people who know your role and the situations you face because they face those situations, too. In the past, I was able to connect with fellow rural pastors and pastors in the same region. We may not all serve the same church, but we can connect and relate to shared experiences because of our similar roles.

It may feel like getting to know and spend time with these teammates takes too much time or effort that could be used for other priorities, but I have personally found value in connecting with others who understand my roles.

They understand the frustrations and joys.

    When I met with rural pastors as a rural pastor, I knew that they understood what small-town life was like. They understood the realities of serving a smaller church. When I meet with transition pastors, they know what it is like to face church conflict and to try to mediate it. Transition pastors know what it is like to help churches, to fall in love with them, and then have to move on to a new assignment in a year or two.

    When you are talking with others who know your role, you can share jokes and stories that they understand. They are “in the know” because they do the same things you do. Other transition pastors know the frustration of churches that do not want to change, even though they know they need to. They understand the joy of a board catching God’s vision together as they plan vision and strategy for the church.

    They can provide ideas and advice.

    When I meet with transition pastors, I know they use similar tools and processes as I do in helping churches transition. Transition pastors know what it is like to help churches build on the past to look to the future. One of the benefits of my recent meeting with other transition pastors is to learn about how they handle particular situations. Most of them have more experience in this role than I do so I love to soak up ideas as they talk about their ministry.

    They can pray for me with understanding and clarity.

    One of the joys of meeting with others in similar roles is that we can pray for each other with an understanding of the situations we face. Often we don’t even have to finish our story and the others are already smiling or nodding or even crying as they have gone through similar situations. They can pray for me, and I pray for them, with clarity because we have seen very similar situations where we have served.

    I encourage you to find others who are in a similar situation as you. You need to find “your people” so you can have people around to encourage you and help guide you as you need input and wisdom from them.

    Keep looking up,

    Andy Wiebe