by Josh Duncan
Here's my challenge to you... Are you a religious person or a disciple of Jesus? Do you wake up each day longing to KNOW Him and make Him known? This perspective is not merely a calling reserved for "pastors" or the most visible people in a church. This is the calling for every follower of Jesus, and as The Overflow, our desire is to help you become an authentic disciple... a follower of Jesus who listens to God, does what He says, and teaches others to do the same. After all, this is Jesus' definition of making disciples. Check it out here in Matthew 28:19-20.
People of various ages, backgrounds, and lengths of time spent with our church have been saying the culture of The Overflow is dramatically changing in good way. I'm so encouraged by this. We are making progress, but what exactly are we trying to do?
In everything we do as a church, we're trying to be intentional about making disciples. My prayer is that each person who encounters our church (the people, not just our Sunday gatherings) will realize our passion to BE the church and not just be a group of attendees. However, we're not a perfect church and never will be, so we will all undoubtedly fall short at times.
Nevertheless, I'm taking this change personally in every way I possibly can, and I hope you will too. Please know that everything I do, prepare for, and lead our church to do is being filtered through a commitment to make disciples. In other words, the way I develop people in our church, the way we plan Sunday gatherings, what I encourage other people to do, and the focus of my time and energy spent during the week are all going toward creating a culture focused on making disciples. I spend dramatically less time in sermon preparation and planning for the "service" on Sunday, yet the Spirit seems to be moving within our church (not just on Sundays) more than ever before. I'm saddened to say it's not always been this way, but I think I'm starting to get it now!
Again, what about you? How is God moving in your life? I believe that within each follower of Jesus is the potential and capability to spark a movement of making disciples. Will you give God a chance to accomplish His plans in and through you? It'll never happen if you're only seeking to be religious.
Take the religious test below. Give some thought to these statements. Then, take the necessary steps to further surrender to Jesus as His disciple. If you need help in this or want to discuss this with someone, email me, josh@overflowknoxville.com, and I'll do everything in my power to guide you to becoming an authentic disciple of Jesus.
You might ONLY be a religious person if you...
-Live as if God would rather you be seen at church on Sundays instead of living with integrity and faithfulness to Him throughout the week.
-Have "quiet times" with God on a regular basis yet you're still a hateful, defeated, bitter, judgmental, unhappy person.
-Raise your hands in "worship" at a service on Sunday, but you only raise your fist at people who don't yet know Jesus.
-Are annoyed by people who don't yet know Jesus and you seek to shut yourself off from "those sinful people."
-Think dressing a certain way for a worship service on Sunday makes you more holy than someone else.
-Give an offering on Sunday because you feel guilty or want someone to see you drop something in the plate/box/whatever.
-Are more satisfied with showing up on Sundays than you are with following Jesus 7 days a week.
-Have little to no desire to share with others what God is doing in your life.
-Expect the church to teach your family how to follow Jesus so you can avoid having to practice what you claim to believe in front of your family.
-Faithfully attend the church "every time the doors are open" but have never made an intentional effort to listen to God personally, do what HE (Jesus, not your pastor) leads you to do, and to show others how to do that as well.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Why I Don't Like Counting Attendees on Sunday
by Josh Duncan
I get asked this question all the time... "So how many people attend your church?" Often times, people are just curious how things are going, and they know this is a normal question to ask about churches. After all, success in American church is measured by things such as how many people are attending, how much money people are giving, how many people have prayed to receive Christ, etc. These things are easy to count and easy to measure; therefore, people refer to these things when determining the success (or struggles) of a church.
I too tend to measure success (or failure) by these things. I've felt the pressure for several years in various ministry settings to measure success by what I could count. In my first two opportunities as a youth pastor, our ministries saw numerical growth in attendance, salvations, baptisms, etc. All the typical, measurable, numerical things went up. We even had some students who starting giving consistently as teenagers!
Then, God allowed me to enter the American culture of church planting. We busted out of the gates with great marks numerically. Attendance was great, and we were seeing some people make professions of faith. People were even giving at a decent rate.
However, things haven't stayed this way... partially because of the mistakes we made even before we started having services, which then continued after our launch, but also because God's been preparing us for a specific vision. Honestly, right now, we're running about 60-70 in attendance, which is actually slightly lower than where we were at this point last year. God has allowed me to experience seasons of "apparent" failure as a leader, and the devil has tried to capitalize on my selfish desires to measure success by the cultural norms as he's attacked me, frustrated me, and sought to destroy my self-esteem.
Nevertheless, through this, I'm learning the real heart of Jesus...It's people. It's making disciples. It's NOT the numbers. I've learned that God often times must take certain things away in order for us to see what matters most.
Are you doing this as an individual?
Do you find yourself counting the money in your bank account, the number of people you supervise, the square footage of your house, or the number of degrees on your wall as measurements of your success? If you're a follower of Jesus, please don't forget, we're each called to be a disciple who makes disciples. This is what truly counts. I pray God's Spirit realign our passion with His passion!
Are we doing this as The Overflow?
I believe God has us at a point where we must sell out to what He says matters most. I do think we're moving in that direction, but honestly, only time will tell if we truly get it. Attendance may go up or down. Giving may go up or down. People may say they've prayed to receive Christ, but only if we're making disciples, will our church grow and multiply as God wants. At the end of the day, this is all I want for our church.... to see people living in the power of a relationship with Jesus and surrendered to the Holy Spirit.
Look, I've heard it all before. People say things like... "We count people because people count." Hey, I used to even say this myself. The truth is, all of the people who say things like this have plenty of people and things to count. But what about when there's not that much to count?...
You have to change or realign your scorecard. Even if you have plenty of people and things to count, you must be sure your ultimate scorecard is aligned with that of Jesus, which asks, "Are we making disciples?" As a leader, you must ask... Are we moving in a direction that will show people what it means to follow Jesus by listening to Him and obeying what He says throughout the rhythms of life? Are we urging people to then introduce others to what it means to follow Jesus? This is all Jesus cares about. Here's why...
-Hundreds or even thousands can attend our "churches" each week to hear our music and sermons, but we may not be making a single disciple.
-People may give extreme amounts of money to our churches, but their giving may simply be a substitute for having an authentic relationship with Jesus.
-Hundreds may pray to receive Christ, but only time will tell if they're true disciples who've genuinely responded to the gospel of Jesus.
I've come to realize Jesus called me into a season, a life-long journey, of learning how to make disciples, not planting churches. Actually, He's called me to come to grips with what it means to be a disciple myself. So I''m now understanding that making disciples is all that matters, and this is ultimately what we must measure.
I get asked this question all the time... "So how many people attend your church?" Often times, people are just curious how things are going, and they know this is a normal question to ask about churches. After all, success in American church is measured by things such as how many people are attending, how much money people are giving, how many people have prayed to receive Christ, etc. These things are easy to count and easy to measure; therefore, people refer to these things when determining the success (or struggles) of a church.
I too tend to measure success (or failure) by these things. I've felt the pressure for several years in various ministry settings to measure success by what I could count. In my first two opportunities as a youth pastor, our ministries saw numerical growth in attendance, salvations, baptisms, etc. All the typical, measurable, numerical things went up. We even had some students who starting giving consistently as teenagers!
Then, God allowed me to enter the American culture of church planting. We busted out of the gates with great marks numerically. Attendance was great, and we were seeing some people make professions of faith. People were even giving at a decent rate.
However, things haven't stayed this way... partially because of the mistakes we made even before we started having services, which then continued after our launch, but also because God's been preparing us for a specific vision. Honestly, right now, we're running about 60-70 in attendance, which is actually slightly lower than where we were at this point last year. God has allowed me to experience seasons of "apparent" failure as a leader, and the devil has tried to capitalize on my selfish desires to measure success by the cultural norms as he's attacked me, frustrated me, and sought to destroy my self-esteem.
Nevertheless, through this, I'm learning the real heart of Jesus...It's people. It's making disciples. It's NOT the numbers. I've learned that God often times must take certain things away in order for us to see what matters most.
Are you doing this as an individual?
Do you find yourself counting the money in your bank account, the number of people you supervise, the square footage of your house, or the number of degrees on your wall as measurements of your success? If you're a follower of Jesus, please don't forget, we're each called to be a disciple who makes disciples. This is what truly counts. I pray God's Spirit realign our passion with His passion!
Are we doing this as The Overflow?
I believe God has us at a point where we must sell out to what He says matters most. I do think we're moving in that direction, but honestly, only time will tell if we truly get it. Attendance may go up or down. Giving may go up or down. People may say they've prayed to receive Christ, but only if we're making disciples, will our church grow and multiply as God wants. At the end of the day, this is all I want for our church.... to see people living in the power of a relationship with Jesus and surrendered to the Holy Spirit.
Look, I've heard it all before. People say things like... "We count people because people count." Hey, I used to even say this myself. The truth is, all of the people who say things like this have plenty of people and things to count. But what about when there's not that much to count?...
You have to change or realign your scorecard. Even if you have plenty of people and things to count, you must be sure your ultimate scorecard is aligned with that of Jesus, which asks, "Are we making disciples?" As a leader, you must ask... Are we moving in a direction that will show people what it means to follow Jesus by listening to Him and obeying what He says throughout the rhythms of life? Are we urging people to then introduce others to what it means to follow Jesus? This is all Jesus cares about. Here's why...
-Hundreds or even thousands can attend our "churches" each week to hear our music and sermons, but we may not be making a single disciple.
-People may give extreme amounts of money to our churches, but their giving may simply be a substitute for having an authentic relationship with Jesus.
-Hundreds may pray to receive Christ, but only time will tell if they're true disciples who've genuinely responded to the gospel of Jesus.
I've come to realize Jesus called me into a season, a life-long journey, of learning how to make disciples, not planting churches. Actually, He's called me to come to grips with what it means to be a disciple myself. So I''m now understanding that making disciples is all that matters, and this is ultimately what we must measure.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Am I A Christian? Part 2 of 2
by Josh Duncan
I've been a little slow making part 2 of this post, so if you missed part 1, you can read it HERE.
Let's look at 2 common statements people in the south make regarding their salvation...
#1 I got saved...
Based on my upbringing and the context I've heard this phrase used, it is almost always a reference to the fact that someone has been "saved" from going to Hell. Now, before I say anything else, let me say that Jesus is the way to Heaven (and to avoid Hell); however, for someone to view salvation as purely an after death issue is to completely miss the heart of the gospel. Go back and carefully read through the New Testament. You'll notice that Jesus talked much more about life on earth than He did eternity. At the same time, it's also important to understand what Jesus meant by the Kingdom of God... this isn't just an eternal concept. The Kingdom of God is what we, as believers, have the privilege of living in right now. We are to advance His Kingdom here on this earth by joining Him in His mission. Yes, the Kingdom also has a future perspective in mind, but it must be seen as both present and future.
When you get "saved," you are to confess Jesus as Lord. You are to believe to the point of taking action. (Romans 10:9-10). This means that He is NOW your Lord... The one in control of your life. Salvation (being a Christian) isn't simply an eternal issue. Check out 2 Corinthians 5:14-21. Jesus doesn't give out fire insurance. Instead, He invites us into a relationship with Him. When you truly understand salvation, you'll realize that Heaven is merely the icing on the cake because there's much we are to experience in this life right now!
#2 I asked Jesus into my heart...
I once heard about something that happened at a local church during VBS. In their attempt to be creative in sharing the gospel with kids, they used a boat analogy. Using a real-life boat in the center of the room, they explained to the kids that when boats have leaks, the leaks need to be fixed. If the leaks aren't fixed, it can cause serious problems. They then told the kids that they (the kids) were like boats and their sin was the leaks that needed to be fixed. This was then followed-up with, "So if anyone would like a new boat, then please come forward." Needless to say, a lot of kids wanted a relationship with Jesus... a new boat. I applaud the creativity, but question whether or not the full gospel was presented. Unfortunately, presentations like this happen all too often and lead people to "ask Jesus into their heart" (give them a new boat) only to never experience true spiritual birth (salvation).
Here's my point... When someone receives the gift of salvation and surrenders their life to being a disciple of Jesus, this is a spiritual birth. It's an experience that dramatically impacts a person's life moving forward. The unfortunate thing in our culture is that many people only have a conceptual understanding of Jesus, and not a birthed relationship with Him. Many people have "intellectually" understood the concept of sin, Jesus, Heaven, church, etc, but it's never became personal and impacted how they live. They've "asked Jesus into their heart", attend church 3 times a week, and have a Jesus fish on their car. They love the concept of Jesus, but have little to no interest in truly following Him with their life. Until spiritual birth happens, this person isn't a Christian. These are Jesus' words, not mine... John 3:3-7
If I can help you better understand what it means to be a disciple of Jesus, please don't hesitate to send me an email... josh@overflowknoxville.com
I've been a little slow making part 2 of this post, so if you missed part 1, you can read it HERE.
Let's look at 2 common statements people in the south make regarding their salvation...
#1 I got saved...
Based on my upbringing and the context I've heard this phrase used, it is almost always a reference to the fact that someone has been "saved" from going to Hell. Now, before I say anything else, let me say that Jesus is the way to Heaven (and to avoid Hell); however, for someone to view salvation as purely an after death issue is to completely miss the heart of the gospel. Go back and carefully read through the New Testament. You'll notice that Jesus talked much more about life on earth than He did eternity. At the same time, it's also important to understand what Jesus meant by the Kingdom of God... this isn't just an eternal concept. The Kingdom of God is what we, as believers, have the privilege of living in right now. We are to advance His Kingdom here on this earth by joining Him in His mission. Yes, the Kingdom also has a future perspective in mind, but it must be seen as both present and future.
When you get "saved," you are to confess Jesus as Lord. You are to believe to the point of taking action. (Romans 10:9-10). This means that He is NOW your Lord... The one in control of your life. Salvation (being a Christian) isn't simply an eternal issue. Check out 2 Corinthians 5:14-21. Jesus doesn't give out fire insurance. Instead, He invites us into a relationship with Him. When you truly understand salvation, you'll realize that Heaven is merely the icing on the cake because there's much we are to experience in this life right now!
#2 I asked Jesus into my heart...
I once heard about something that happened at a local church during VBS. In their attempt to be creative in sharing the gospel with kids, they used a boat analogy. Using a real-life boat in the center of the room, they explained to the kids that when boats have leaks, the leaks need to be fixed. If the leaks aren't fixed, it can cause serious problems. They then told the kids that they (the kids) were like boats and their sin was the leaks that needed to be fixed. This was then followed-up with, "So if anyone would like a new boat, then please come forward." Needless to say, a lot of kids wanted a relationship with Jesus... a new boat. I applaud the creativity, but question whether or not the full gospel was presented. Unfortunately, presentations like this happen all too often and lead people to "ask Jesus into their heart" (give them a new boat) only to never experience true spiritual birth (salvation).
Here's my point... When someone receives the gift of salvation and surrenders their life to being a disciple of Jesus, this is a spiritual birth. It's an experience that dramatically impacts a person's life moving forward. The unfortunate thing in our culture is that many people only have a conceptual understanding of Jesus, and not a birthed relationship with Him. Many people have "intellectually" understood the concept of sin, Jesus, Heaven, church, etc, but it's never became personal and impacted how they live. They've "asked Jesus into their heart", attend church 3 times a week, and have a Jesus fish on their car. They love the concept of Jesus, but have little to no interest in truly following Him with their life. Until spiritual birth happens, this person isn't a Christian. These are Jesus' words, not mine... John 3:3-7
If I can help you better understand what it means to be a disciple of Jesus, please don't hesitate to send me an email... josh@overflowknoxville.com
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
My Prayer Today
By Jennifer Duncan
I need to truly believe and rest in the idea of being free in Christ. HE lived the perfect life, HE died for my sins, HE revealed himself to me, HE forgave me, HE holds my salvation.......not me! Thank you, Jesus!
I need to stop basing my relationship with Jesus on how "Christian" I feel, what I've done or not done. It is not a free pass to be lazy, but thankfully my salvation is not based on my obedience or disobedience! I want to be a better, stronger, more committed disciple. Lord, please forgive me for my laziness, my lack of discipline, my lukewarm-ness... Help me be your disciple, to abide in you all day, everyday! I need your patience, your presence, your peace. Remind me that you are there throughout the day. Urge me when I'm lazy. Calm me when I'm inpatient. Help me to be present and energetic for my kids. Help me to be encouraging and helpful to my husband. Help them see you in me.
Forgive me. I don't want to live based on emotions, good or bad. I want to rest in you and do all I can to glorify you because of the commitment I made to you. If I am out of line, call me out. When I slip, please pick me up and forgive me. Help me believe and know I am secure in you. Show me opportunities to share your love. Help me to boldly share you with others today, in my own home and wherever else I go.
Thank you for being you... For forgiving me and holding me! Be my rock today.
In Jesus name, Amen.
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