On the Web: Bishop Scott on Celebration

You can watch Bishop Scott's appearance on Daystar's Celebration here. Choose the 2.20.09 broadcast. The interview with Bishop Scott starts around 22 minutes into the program.

Note: It appears these broadcasts only stick around for a few months. Watch now while you have a chance!

The Biggest Sin in PCG Churches

by Ken Row
Ed Stetzer, director of Lifeway Research, recently discussed problems common to all churches, including the PCG.

After reading recent PCG discussions regarding ministerial burnout (here, here, and here), I found Stetzer's insights to be right-on-point.

Here is one snippet:

We've created a system that glorifies the clergy and marginalized the laity. We got the outcome we created programs for. We've become "clergified."

And another:

If I preach about gay marriage, everybody cheers. If I preach about sin you can hear the amens ring. But those aren't the real problems. I tell people that the biggest sin in our church is you sitting there doing nothing and still calling yourself a follower of Jesus.

Read the rest of the article here.

Bishop's Update: C3, Pastoral Burnout, TV Broadcast

By Charles Scott
Greetings from the Lone Star State of Texas!

Janice and I arrived in Dallas yesterday and attended the first three sessions of the C3 Creative Church Conference hosted by Fellowship Church and Pastor Ed Young. Jentzen Franklin preached a powerful message on seeing one another through the mercy of God. This was followed by a message from Christine Caine from Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia. The Thursday am sessions and pastor luncheon were done by Ed Young.

I am excited about the energy of this conference and the focus on evangelism and next-generational ministry. I sense in my spirit that these needs are most vital in the Body of Christ for this season.

We have hooked up with several PCG guys and gals! Pastors Johnny and Linda Ross from Southern California; DYD's Terry and Kaylee Skiles from Southern California; Pastors Eddie and Karen Jones plus several of their staff from Rolla, Missouri; Youth Pastor Mike Koehlling and John Skiles from Jefferson City, Missouri and District Bishops from the Pacific Northwest, Dwayne and Jana Deskins. We may have missed some cause there is a crowd of folks here - about 5,000!

For the past several weeks, every service I attend and almost every message I hear centers around burnout, the need for time management, and the crisis times pastors are facing in the ministry. This is a topic close to my heart and a subject we are working on diligently as we strategically plan for the PCG. Many churches and pastors are currently facing crisis situations in finance, membership, growth, or other vital areas.

Tomorrow we are scheduled to be with Marcus Lamb on Daystar (Watch Celebration at 12pm EST). We are thrilled for the opportunity to share in this forum about you, the PCG.

Next week begins our Bishop's Conference. Our focus this year is on healthy ministers and healthy local churches. I will share more about this vitally important annual meeting in the days ahead.

Thank you for checking out the blog site! Let's move forward for the Kingdom!

Charles Scott

How Can We Be Pentecostal Without Freaking People Out?

By Jon Jennings
A few years back an unchurched couple attended one of our services. Worship went great – high energy, God centered and passionate, then our guest speaker spent the entire morning dealing with ridding the church of the Spirit of Jezebel. A “deliverance” time followed where many came forward and were “slain in the spirit.” The service was loaded with Pentecostal language and expression, nothing I hadn’t seen before but this time I saw it through the eyes of someone else. The couple was scared to death and never returned to our church even after we attempted follow up. It was like a sucker punch to my gut because somewhere the message of the gospel was clouded by Pentecostal culture.

A true paradox exists: How do we become a Spirit-filled, Spirit-led church without freaking people out? Is this possible? I believe it is, but we must center all we do on the great commission rather than having Holy Ghost services that touch the initiated but do little to bridge gaps and bring people far from God to salvation.

Several years ago I read a book from Willow Creek titled “Becoming a Contagious Church” which illustrated the gaps that exist between the unregenerate (unsaved, lost, unchurched, far from God... whatever description you choose to use) and God. The author described the cultural chasm that exists and has to be bridged before individuals will become open to hearing the message of the gospel. In our nation, secular culture has truly helped shape the worldview of this generation. When (according to this worldview) truth is relative and any lifestyle is acceptable, the Christian church faces the daunting challenge of proclaiming Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life amid this popular outlook. Like it or not, we (the church) have become just another face in the crowd in the American psyche – persona non-grata – just one very intolerant way of expressing first-amendment religious liberty.

I contend that Pentecostal culture is yet another cultural chasm that we have created and, in many cases, has to be overcome before individuals will be open to the gospel. Pentecostalism (which I grew up in and love dearly) is unlike any other expression of Christianity. The past 100 years have seen a rapid rise of Pentecostalism across the globe and we are privileged to be a part of this great expansive movement. As Pentecostals, we doctrinally believe that the Holy Spirit gives power for evangelism, yet in America we see that many non-Pentecostal churches match and even exceed us in evangelistic impact. Why is this? Could it be related to Pentecostal culture?

Recently another couple, one of whom is a school teacher, started coming to our church. They didn’t bolt after the first service, but we are fairly sure they have not committed their lives to Christ and are being drawn by the Spirit. When my wife and I met them for dinner a few weeks later, we asked them pointedly if they had any questions about the church or the services. They replied, “we have a ton of questions.” The school teacher said she spent weeks looking at our signage (vision, mission, etc…) and listened intently to the services trying to piece the whole thing together using the reasoning skills she learned in college. Again, I started seeing Pentecostal culture through someone else’s eyes. They didn’t freak out, but we resolved that we are going to have to take our time in bridging these cultural gaps to get them to Christ. I realize now more than ever that Christianity can be a foreign language to the unregenerate. Add in the language of Pentecostalism, and we have even more to translate and explain than we realize.

Bishop Scott declares in his sermons and blogs that we (The PCG) are a Pentecostal church. How can we continue to be Pentecostal and, at the same time, avoid letting Pentecostal culture get in the way of successful evangelism? Also, how can we avoid the pitfall of taking evangelistic efforts in our own hands, thus minimizing or unintentionally eliminating the Holy Spirit’s role in the process? I hope we get some good discussion going on this.

Sounds Healthy, but Words Deceive

By Jeff Kenney
A few weeks ago, I double-clicked my Internet Explorer icon. On my Yahoo home page was a picture of what looked to be a healthy veggie sandwich. I was fooled! The heading read: “Worst Foods in America!” That “Blimpie Veggie Supreme” could turn the average American into the Good Year Blimp in no time! With 1,100 calories, 56 grams of fat, 2,800 milligrams of sodium, and 96 grams of carbohydrates – THERE SHOULD BE A WARNING LABEL ON THAT BABY!!! Things are not always what they appear to be! "Veggie Supreme" sounds healthy; but words can be deceiving!

The Bible warns us about people in these end times who will sound like they are sharing “truth”, when, in actuality, their words are deceitful. The Apostle Paul says to young Timothy in 2 Tim 4:3-5:

…For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. ⁴They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. ⁵But you, keep your head in all situations…

Perhaps you too have had someone mess up your thinking. At one time or another, we all have! We’ve been mislead. We’ve been led down the trail of confusion – perhaps even rebellion.

Paul said, “…keep your head in all situations…” For me, that means many things. I like to take advice and counsel from wise, trusted, and proven leaders. I read through the Bible each year. In addition, I try to read a book every other week. I have a mentor. I lead two Bible study groups. There’s more; but, how do you “keep your head in all situations”?

Where Are They Now?

By Aaron Jayne
The 2004 cartoon movie, The Incredibles, begins with flashbacks showing superheroes ("supers") helping citizens, but also accidently creating bigger messes in the process. The supers are sued, banished and end up in a type of superhero protection program wherein they must live ordinary lives among ordinary people. A narrator says, "Where are they now? They are living among us, average citizens, average heroes, quietly and anonymously continuing to make the world a better place."

I am 35 years old, and at this time among my ministry colleagues, I am the youngest ordained minister in my district. Most of the ministers are in their mid-to-late-fifties or much older. An entire generation of ministers is MISSING! I remember seeing young guys in ministry when I was a teen, but now I wonder, "Where are they now?" I have sat on our district board as a sectional presbyter and wondered, "Where is everyone? What has happened to all the young guys?"

They still walk among us, but... Some have pursued other avenues of ministry. Some have joined with other organizations who have accepted them. Some gave up because they were not properly prepared for ministry. Others were banished because of mistakes. Some live in defeat wondering what life could've been like if they had only been given an opportunity.

I am thankful that I had both proper training and a pastor who had the patience to overlook or work with me when I made bonehead mistakes. When I first started preaching, I made plenty. One Sunday, I was filling in at a church that was pastorless. As I introduced myself to the congregation, something horrible happened. I was trying to say that I was not the type of preacher who spits and shouts, but my tongue crossed the "sp" and the "sh", and I said, "I am not the type of preacher who s**ts and spouts!" (When you pick yourself up off the floor from laughing, let me continue.) That was something for which some young preachers would have been crucified or had their credentials yanked.

I wonder how many minister "supers" have been banished and put into a "minister protection program." How many ministers who once showed great potential now live ordinary lives because some couldn't overlook errors or mistakes?

In Nehemiah 4:2, Sanballat and Tobiah stalked and mocked Nehemiah as they were trying to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. They said, "Do they actually think they can make something of stones from a rubbish heap—and charred stones at that?" Nehemiah and his crew were re-using old stones that had once made the wall a great fortress. They included has-beens in the midst of new stones.

God put it in my spirit that there are some who used to be in ministry and need to be restored – some who were run off because their antics weren't appreciated or their immaturity couldn't be tolerated. If old ones aren't restored and new ones aren't brought in, where will we be when I am one of the old guys?