Enduring Churches Podcast with Alan and Trent

Contact Alan: alan@dtbatogether.com Contact Trent: gasconadevalleybaptist@gmail.com Facebook Website

 

Episode 262: Preaching to the 3rd Context

 

Two areas of exegesis:
1. The Text
2. Your Congregation
3. Culture
 1. religious culture
 2. outside culture

Tim Keller’s Six Practices for Addressing Culture (103ff)       
1. Use Accessible or Well-Explained Vocabulary
2. Employ Respected Authorities to Strengthen Your Theses
3. Demonstrate an Understanding of Doubts and Objections
4. Affirm in Order to Challenge Baseline Cultural Narratives
5. Make Gospel Offers That Push on the Culture’s Pressure Points
6. Call for Gospel Motivation

Contact Alan: alan@dtbatogether.com Contact Trent: gasconadevalleybaptist@gmail.com Facebook Website

 

Episode 261: The Most Unused Spiritual Disciplines

 

”Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.“

‭‭Luke‬ ‭9‬:‭23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

 

Be still and know that I am God  Psalm 46:10

We are human beings not human doings

But we feel guilty if we are not going 100 miles per hour.

Ask a fellow minister how they are doing and most times you will hear a litany of all they are doing or hear them say oh I’m so busy!

 

Dallas Willard divides the disciplines into two classes:

disciplines of abstinence (solitude, silence, fasting, frugality, chastity, secrecy, and sacrifice) and

disciplines of engagement (study, worship, celebration, service, prayer, fellowship, confession, and submission).

 

1. Sabbath
2. Solitude
3. Stillness
4. Fasting
5. Prayer -extended times
6. Worship - individually and corporately

Episode 260: Love Your Congregation

 

Trent and Alan discuss the importance of loving your congregation.

Contact Alan: alan@dtbatogether.com Contact Trent: gasconadevalleybaptist@gmail.com Facebook Website

 

Episode 259: Preparing for a Long Term Pastorate

 

If you want to have a pastor who sticks around for a long time- then you have to prepare for that and communicate that to the pastor

 

Why should you want a pastor to stick around for a long time?

1. People don't trust a pastor until he's been there around 3 plus years
2. A church can grow when their is security

 

7 Keys

1. Pay

• plan for evaluations each year and opportunities for raises
• Christmas bonuses are expected
• Pastor appreciation month can be depressing if your pastor receives no encouragement - especially monetarily

Vacation

• protect their vacation time
• hold them accountable to use their vacation time ( all of it )

Sabbatical

• set up a system of sabbatical time that is available at every 5 years 
• give them a month away to study a topic and to refresh

Education and growth opportunities

• Send them to conferences

Encourage involvement in pastor support groups outside of the church

Support and encourage your pastor publicly

Pray for your pastor regularly

Contact Alan: alan@dtbatogether.com Contact Trent: gasconadevalleybaptist@gmail.com Facebook Website

 

Episode 258: What Can I Do While out of a Ministry Position?

1.Get involved in a healthy church and let that church family get close to you
2.spend more time with your family
3.Serve without an angle
4.Take time to reflect 
          Selah - pause and reflect
1. what is God teaching me now?
2. what has God taught me in the past?
3. How am I better equipped because of what I have learned?
5.Get a clearer picture of yourself - take assessments
6. Keep learning   -take a class at a local college - Remember that most churches are looking for a co-vocational minister.  Make yourself more hireable.
       Read lots - fill your toolbox
7.Learn new skills 
8.Connect with pastors
9.Consider hybrid types of ministries 
10.Trust God 

Remember that God doesn't waste anything - so your time in the  interim is not wasted time.  God will use this.  Look at this time as a time of investment!

We had some audio issues on our new episode, enjoy this look back at a an episode from the fall of 2020.

Contact Alan: alan@dtbatogether.com Contact Trent: gasconadevalleybaptist@gmail.com Facebook Website

 

Episode257:A Look Back at the Rule of Good Starts (episode 80)

1. A good start requires pre-planning.
   1. Free energy
   2. Practice a ministry,
      1. run through the highs and lows of what you expect.
      2. COVID has revealed this is a weakness in our culture.
      3. Rate of change/marketing
2. A good start requires intentional effort.
   1. Mindset
   2. If we don’t care about the start, it's harder to care about the results.
   3. Not moving too fast or too slow
3. A good start sets the right tone.
   1. Out front making adjustments to keep you there
   2. Prepares you to be in a hold out versus a catch up position.
4. A good start sets you up to go the distance.
   1. You still have the majority of the work to do
   2. It’s easier to embrace pain out front than in the back.
5. The good news bad starts are hard to recover from, but not impossible.
   1. Pray more!

Contact Alan: alan@dtbatogether.com Contact Trent: gasconadevalleybaptist@gmail.com Facebook Website   Episode 256:What Can a Pastorless Church Do?   Lay leaders carry a heavy burden in this time. If you are a pastor, keep a link to this available for your lay leaders.   Refocus on church's purpose - move from internal focus to external focus Know the why the church exists. Take some time to find out who we are.  What is our gifting and calling - be specific? Where is our ministry field? When is now - not waiting.   Stay focused on the basics Dedicate yourselves to small groups and discipleship. Keep a spirit of prayer and expectation in worship. Listen to your key servers: Now is a perfect time to have listening sessions with different groups in your church such as teachers, parents, staff, worship team etc. Listen to your community.   Set a good direction:   Maintain a resource list of people who can help you. Determine if you need an interim. Make sure you know your organizational process for calling a pastor (bylaws) and have a good process of operations. Audit your facilities and finances  in preparation for a new pastor. Plan to support your new pastor. - know what you can pay a new pastor.

Episode 255: Trent and Dana on their Voice of the Martyrs Trip

We recently took  a group to Voice of the Martyrs in Bartlesville, OK VOM supports persecuted Christians in hostile and restricted nations around the world. persecution.com   Interdenominational   They focus on the following 4 areas: Persecution Response They support families of martyred Believers for as long as needed Bibles to the Nations Owning a Bible is illegal in many nations. Voice of the Martyrs believes that every Believer deserves to have a Bible in their own language Front-line Ministry VOM seeks to connect with the local churches in each nation where they are supporting the persecuted Fellowship of Believers Our brothers and sisters need us to pray for them to know they are not alone   We heard from several front-line workers (Jonathan, Allen, Josh) who shared stories with us about the brothers and sisters, and they asked us to tell their stories to Believers when we came back home. The pastors who wept when the VOM team prayed for them at the end of the meeting The Believers in Central Asia who do not yet have Bible in their heart language because the publisher will not allow VOM to smuggle them into the country The pastor who rides his bicycle into villages where the gospel has not been preached. Sometimes people respond and accept Jesus. Sometimes the people beat him. But he gets up and rides his bicycle to the next village.   Download the VOM App and read their books, watch their videos, listen to their VOM Radio podcast, pray for the persecuted, and much more.   Sign up to receive their free monthly magazine.

Episode 254: Care 4 Pastors   Care 4 Pastors Conference in Austin Texas care4pastors.com greatcommandment.net   Hosts     Great Commandment Network                   Guidestone   Speakers were Mark Dance Ronnie Floyd David Kinnaman   David Kinnaman owner and CEO of Barna research -  Resilient Disciples Are our pastors actually part of the body of the local church or is it just a day job? We are responsible for everything but control nothing Glenn Packiam   The Resilient Pastor book   Whole life Discipleship Faith Relationships Wellness Vocation or calling Finances Only 9% are resilient in these areas - according to Barna How do we integrate authenticity into whole life discipleship     Mark Dance - Start to Finish Book      Talked about the need for Sabbath  = STOP Gift to receive command to obey Proven Plan that works Person to love - Jesus     Affinity group - issues keeping churches from moving forward Prayerlessness - Developing a prayer group to undergird your pastor isolation - expectations -   G6 pastor and wives marriage retreat - for free

Episode 253: 7 Ways to Help Your Marriage Through Ministry (with Rachelle Small)
 

1. Talking about the Good things in ministry, not just the problems.
2. Timing of when you talk about things
3. Encouraging each other's spiritual growth
4. Learning how to difficult conversation
5. Speaking posotively about your spouse in public
6. Supporting your ministry spouse in her ministry efforts
7. Maintaining open communication when ministry is interfering with home