Jesus

5 Ways to Personally Leverage Slow Seasons

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Most churches experience seasons in their ministry. There are times that are slow, times that are steady, and times that are extremely busy. Summer is often a slow season for many churches. The church I’m serving right now has Vacation Bible School at the beginning of July, and then only a monthly prayer meeting and Sunday morning services for the rest of July and August. How can we use the slow times in a beneficial way?

  1.  Slow down yourself.

Maybe you can adjust your vacation time to have shorter days in the office and spend extra time with your family. Maybe you can take an extra day off to enjoy a long weekend doing something fun with your kids. Or just take some time to focus on a personal hobby. Allow yourself time to slow down a bit. I’m not sure that taking vacation in the summer is the best plan. Sometimes we need to save that break for in the middle or just after a busy season. Enjoy the time at home with your family without a bunch of commitments for you or them, to distract you from each other.

2. Take a personal retreat.

    Maybe you can go camping by yourself or go to a local retreat center for a day or two to spend time with God. Talk with God about what has been happening in the last year and ask God for direction for what is next. I have benefited from even a half day retreat out of the office to just spend time with God.

    You might want to ask God to help you plan your next preaching year. Pray through what God is asking you to preach on. Start by choosing which books of the Bible to preach on, or consider if there is a topic that your church needs to address scripturally. Do a rough summary of the texts that you identify and how many sermons you might need to fully preach through the topic or book so you can start plotting them on a calendar for the year ahead. These opportunities to plan a preaching year have been of great benefit to me when I have been in the middle of busy seasons. It has been very helpful to have a plan in place already.

    3. Read a book or two.

    I have been greatly encouraged through reading good books. You probably have a list of books, maybe even a pile of books, that you have been meaning to read. This is the time. Or maybe there is a topic you would like to know more about. Maybe there are certain trends or cultural issues that are affecting your church and ministry.

    Look for a book that addresses that issue. Ask around for recommendations from others for a book that speaks to your church’s needs. I recently enjoyed some great books by Preston Sprinkle on issues of sexuality and gender.

    4. Connect with friends.

    Summer may be a time to connect with leaders or members in your church, but it may also be a time to connect with friends who are not involved your ministry. It may be a pastor down the road, or a friend in another part of the country. Good friends can be very encouraging and may be worth a trip to meet up with. Do a road trip with your family that includes the opportunity to connect face to face with your friend.

    5. Enjoy nature.

    Our slow time for many is summer. Summer is a great time to enjoy God’s creation. Go for a walk with your spouse. Go camping if that is your thing. Take a day trip to nearby waterfalls or into the mountains. Enjoy a picnic by a lake. Maybe catch a fish and fry it up for supper. Allow yourself to breathe some fresh air and slow down in God’s creation.

    We all have busy times. Sometimes we feel like we are running to just keep up. So take the time to slow down during the slow times. Your health will benefit, and so will your relationship with your spouse, with your family, and with God.

    Keep looking up,

    Andy Wiebe

    Preaching With Boldness

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    All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

    2 Timothy 3: 16-17

    Recently, I began a sermon with this statement: “I am going to talk to you about something this morning, that is very hard for us.”

    I was preaching through 1 Peter. This morning we were looking at 1 Peter 2: 13 – 3: 7, which is all about submission. Not submission to God, but submitting to governing authorities, to masters, to husbands and wives. This is not a topic I would have chosen to preach about, except that it was in the middle of the book of the Bible that I was preaching through. Submitting to the government is not a popular topic among many church people, yet that was exactly what God’s Word was talking to us about in that scripture. Because it was God’s Word, and not my own ideas, I could preach it with confidence.

    If 2 Timothy 3: 16-17 above is right, then we know that there will be scriptures that rebuke and correct, not just encourage us or make us feel good. When the preacher makes sure to preach what God’s Word says, then the preacher can speak with confidence and boldness.

    I remember a person commenting after a sermon I preached that they thought I was brave to preach what I did. It actually surprised me a bit. I had preached on money, teaching what scripture said. I didn’t consider it brave. I was just preaching what God said, but this comment revealed the reality that there are certain scriptural truths that people do not want to hear. There will be people who are upset with you when you preach biblical sermons that challenge their personal beliefs, or even the beliefs and practices of their church.

    Scripture occasionally points out where we come up short and need to make corrections. As a preacher, I can preach boldly as long as I clearly say what scripture says. It is God’s Word. If the Bible says it, God says it. I should have no problem teaching it with confidence.

    At the same time, we need to preach with gentleness. When we teach about how God created people male and female, and only male and female with no other options, we can teach with gentleness in light of those who are personally struggling with this or have family who are.

    We can preach about money and giving to the church, but also recognize that some are struggling to make ends meet.

    We can preach on the importance of forgiveness even as we recognize that some people have been hurt deeply and personally in a way that is hard to move on from.

    God calls us preachers to preach the whole truth of His Word. We cannot pick and choose only the things that people want to hear. This is one of the benefits of preaching through a book of the Bible. We come across passages that we might not have chosen to preach about.

    If we are careful to preach what scripture says we can preach with confidence. We don’t need to be embarrassed to preach counter-cultural truths. We don’t need to be afraid that people won’t want to hear what the scripture says.

    If we are preaching something that scripture never said, then we better hesitate to say it. Yet we can preach with confidence when we know that we are saying what God said. Let’s continue to declare God’s truth with clarity and confidence.

    Keep looking up,

    Andy Wiebe

    Half a Century of God’s Faithfulness!!

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    I just realized the other day that I have been a follower of Jesus for 50 years – and God has sure proven His faithfulness! I was about seven years old when my dad prayed with me, and I surrendered my life to Jesus. Next month I turn 57. And God has never failed me over all those years. I have experienced what Deuteronomy 7:9 declares, “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God.”

    God has proven his faithfulness in always being there for me, in good times and bad. He has been there when I was so disappointed in Him that I deliberately tried to ignore Him for a period of time. I was frustrated how my life was going and began to wonder if God would ever intervene. That attempt to give God the cold shoulder didn’t last for too many days, because no matter what, God has always been there. He was never far from me. Romans 3:3-4 declares God’s faithfulness even when we are not. “What if some were unfaithful? Will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness? Not at all!” And God has shown His faithfulness as I have learned to get to know Him better over the years. When I think back to the simple faith of seven-year-old me and the way God has proven His love in ever deepening ways, I am so thankful that faithfulness is one of God’s attributes!

    I have experienced God’s faithfulness in his forgiveness. As scripture declares in Romans 5: 8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” He loved me while I was a sinner, and he loves me as I continue to struggle with sin. And like the patriarchs of the Old Testament, God has used me in meaningful ways even as I fall short of His best for me. God working in and through me has allowed us to be part of some unique experiences like helping a church grow in a school and then move into its own building, and putting on Easter events for the community that drew three times as many people as we usually saw on a Sunday.

    God has been faithful in giving me a great family! I have a beautiful wife, who is clearly a gift from God. We have two beautiful and competent daughters! Again, clearly gifts from God! And He has helped us through many difficult things. We have had family health scares but known God’s peace in those as He walked with us. We have had times of financial strain, without a house, without a job, and unsure about what was next. God arranged for a job that provided us with enough finances to buy a house after two years. We have experienced answers to prayer, from finding skates for a great deal to healing when we needed it.

    The faithfulness of God is evident as I look back over the years to how God directed us to certain churches and communities to live and serve in for awhile. While there were a few disappointments along the way, it was clear that God directed us to the places where we could fit and serve Him well. He has given us many great memories from the different places we served.

    God loves people. He loves to welcome them into His family. And He loves to walk with them for the rest of their lives! I have experienced that in many personal ways. It is so good to never have to worry if He will still love us if we do something wrong, or if He might ignore us or no longer respond in love. “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God.”

    Keep looking up,

    Andy

    Book Reviews: Andy’s 2024 Reading Experience.

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    I will be sharing a brief review of every book I read this year. Hope you enjoy and hope it encourages you to keep reading.

    SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP: Moving People on to God’s Agenda – by Henry & Richard Blackaby

    Spiritual Leadership is one of the better leadership books I have read. The authors highlight that spiritual leadership is all about God. It is about moving people in the direction God wants them to go, about listening to God for how to lead well, and listening to God about what direction to lead. I appreciate how they point out that spiritual leadership is not the same as leadership in general. In fact, they begin the book with this statement: Spiritual leadership is not an occupation: it is a calling. Christians in any area of leadership should be spiritual leaders. This is a great book for any Christian who wants to lead well.

    The Birth of Jesus! The Story of Christmas.

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    Luke 2

    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.

    8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

    13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

    14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
        and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

    15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

    16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

    21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.

    Book Reviews: Andy’s 2023 Reading Experience

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    I will be sharing a brief review of every book I read this year. Hope you enjoy and hope it encourages you to keep reading.

    PRAY & GO: Your Invitation to Become a Great Commission Christian – by Thom S. Rainer.

    Thom Rainer has written a great book that is used for Church Answer’s Hope Initiative, a 30-day journey that can be done as a group or individually. When you sign up for the Hope Initiative you also get other supporting resources and video encouragement in you 30-day journey. The intent of the book is to help you become more active in sharing your faith as you pursue the fulfillment of the Great Commission of introducing others to Jesus. A great book to help you grow as a disciple of Jesus.

    Book Reviews: Andy’s 2023 Reading Experience

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    I will be sharing a brief review of every book I read this year. Hope you enjoy and hope it encourages you to keep reading.

    LIVE LIKE JESUS: Discover the power and impact of your true identity – by Putty Putman

    Live Like Jesus: Discover the power & impact of your true identity, by Putty Putman

    This is one of the best books I have read on the reality of our life in Christ. Putman asks questions and looks for answers that many Christians are afraid to ask. He does a good job asking questions that make a person think, and thus find answers that the average person is not looking for. If you want to be challenged in your walk with Jesus, this is the book you need to read.

    Book Reviews: Andy’s 2022 Reading Experience

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    I will be sharing a brief review of every book I read this year. Hope you enjoy and hope it encourages you to keep reading.

    BEAUTIFUL OUTLAW – By John Eldredge

    Beautiful Outlaw: Experiencing the Playful, Disruptive, Extravagant Personality of Jesus by John Eldredge is a book that will shock some people while encouraging others. He writes about Jesus, but not in the distant manner that we often think of him. Eldredge presents Jesus as a human in a way that few, if any, have before. It is a great reminder that Jesus was a human who walked this earth in a certain place in time within a specific community and with other human friends. Eldredge points out where Jesus responds with emotion like any other human person. He, in his words, is trying to “clear the religious fog” around who our Lord and Saviour Jesus was and is. Do you want to know Jesus better? This book will help you in that search. Your ideas may be challenged, but I do believe the person of Jesus will be revealed as a person you can actually communicate with and live your life with.

    Book Reviews: Andy’s 2022 Reading Experience

    / thinkingoutsidethetextbox / Leave a comment

    I will be sharing a brief review of every book I read this year. Hope you enjoy and hope it encourages you to keep reading.

    UNBURDENED – by Vance Pitman

    This is among the TOP 3 books of the year so far! I know that I often describe the book I am reviewing as good, this one is great. Unburdened: Stop Living for Jesus so Jesus Can Live Through You is a much needed book for today’s Christian. We get so caught up in “doing what I need to do” to be a good Christian, that we slip into religion and loose the relationship with Jesus. Vance Pitman states in the Introduction: “The Christian life is not me living for Jesus but Jesus living His life in and through me.” Instead of having a list of do’s and don’ts to become a better Christian, work at building your relationship with Jesus. The more time you spend with Him, in tune with Him, listening to Him, and obeying Him, the more like Jesus you will become. Pitman describes our purpose as a Christian: God brought you to Himself so out of the outflow of your intimate relationship with Him – which is Christ in you, working through you – you could share in His mission locally and globally in fellowship with others.” The key in all of that is to pursue an intimate relationship with Jesus and the rest will flow out of you naturally. A great book that you will be challenged and encouraged by as a Christian.