Working Toward Acts 2:41

Could you imagine seeing 3,000 souls converted in one day? Think about that for a moment. Would that be nice to see? That is what we see in Acts 2:41 and I believe it is theoretically possible for that to happen again, if we learn some key lessons.

It is obvious that Acts 2:41 precedes Acts 15:21 chronologically.  There is no question of this fact. The book of Acts was written in chronological order. However, the concepts are in reverse order as far as cause and effect. There is a good lesson for us in noticing this fact.

Acts 2:41 is a magnificent verse talking about the growth of the church. The first Gospel sermon on record after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus resulted in 3,000 souls being saved. It is easy to imagine that every Christian would want to see something like that happen again. I’ve heard many people bemoan the fact that we have not repeated such an event in our own time. There seems to be a disconnect from reality in the minds of some people though.

We have the same message that Peter preached. In fact, our circumstances are somewhat better because we have the written word that allows us to know the full counsel of God regarding our salvation (2 Peter 1:3). The word of God was provided so that we would be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17). If we have the greatest message ever told and the completed Word of God, why do we not see thousands come to the Lord?

We also have conditions that are superior to what the Apostles had in the first century. The Roman roads literally paved the way for the spread of the Gospel, but they pale in comparison to the roads and means of travel that we have today. Yet we cannot seem to imitate the amazing work Paul did in the book of Acts. Why can we not imitate such success?

We have technology that is unprecedented. What would take days, weeks, or months to communicate in the past would now take mere microseconds. We have remarkable technology at our fingertips that allows amazing methods of communication. Why can we not mimic what happened in Acts 2:41?

Common Opinions

Sometimes we seem to think that the answer is found in the preaching. Preaching should cater to the ideas and needs of the listeners more--this is the message we hear in some circles. The easy response to that is to look at the results. There are many who teach what others want to hear, but they still have nowhere near the results found in Acts 2:41.

Related to that, many churches seem to think that if they happen to find the right man who has the right message and is charismatic enough to demand a following, the church will grow that way. There is no question that growth can come because of the personality of a preacher. Unfortunately, this process tends to elevate the preacher beyond his role as servant. And if the preacher leaves, the people leave. This gives a preacher great power in a congregation so that elders are pressed to compromise their positions as leaders and allow the preacher to say and do things they would not normally allow. The end result of this kind of growth is what many call "preacheritis". It is unhealthy for the long-term health of any congregation.

Others tell us that we need to get away from preaching altogether. If only we had enough programs to offer newcomers we would finally find the magic formula for converting large masses of people. This is a misguided belief that ignores the importance of people hearing the Word in order to have faith. The result of such a philosophy is that a church turns into a social program that sees no need for spiritual matters.

Another common answer is that the people saw and heard miracles that day. This one is given as a reason why it cannot happen again. Since we do not have miracles, we cannot replicate what happened that day. There is no doubt that the miracles were valid and proved the message. But do we not have the means of proving our message true? While the miracles undoubtedly helped the situation, what do we make of 1 Corinthians 13:10? This states that what they had was partial and that we have the perfect will of God now. Paul went on in 1 Corinthians 13 comparing that time to the times of youth that would be put away as maturity came. The passage implies that what we have is better now because it is the complete Word of God. But since we humans tend to be more impressed with the show of power, we should grant that at least part of the answer lies in those miracles. We should consider the theoretical possibility that if we had a similar demonstration of the power of God today, we would have an Acts 2:41 day sometime.

Having admitted that miracles theoretically could have played a part, we have to admit that this is not a sufficient explanation by itself. Why do we not have any other Acts 2:41 events recorded in New Testament times? Didn’t they have miracles in other parts of Acts? Why were those miracles insufficient to produce the same numbers? With this last question we see an important point. The miracles cannot account for the amazing response of that day. We cannot imitate the miracles, but that does not mean we cannot imitate the conversions, at least in theory.

A Biblical Answer

The reason we do not see such a response in the rest of Acts is simply because of the circumstances of Acts 2. Acts 15:21 gives us a clue to what happened. “For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.” The very people who heard Moses read week after week, whose culture reiterated the teachings of the Law, these same people came to Jerusalem from all over the Roman Empire (Acts 2:5-11). They had a thorough knowledge of the Law of Moses and the circumstances of the death and resurrection of Jesus. The reason there were so many converted in Acts 2:41 was because of what was said to have happened in Acts 15:21. God arranged for it to happen. Could He not do the same thing again?

If we hope to have anything near the success of that day when the church first began, we must be willing to do the preparatory work. It does not matter how slick our presentation skills are or how fluently we teach God’s plan of salvation. We must find ways to introduce people to long term study of the Word just to get them to the point of understanding how to be saved and why they need to be saved. 

If we want to come anywhere near the numbers of conversions found in Acts, we must start with a realization and acceptance of this fact. The days of “easy evangelism” have been over for a long time. We need quickly to catch up to that fact and do the preparatory work necessary to have conversions.

There is no quick and easy way to evangelize. People tend to look at Acts 2:41 and wish for similar things to happen. Every now and then a charismatic man presents his plan for such a thing. We can have a big event in the community and draw in large crowds. Then we can preach the Gospel to them and voilà! We have 3,000 souls added to the church. The problem with that plan is that it does not happen as planned! One does not merely preach a lesson and convert masses of people. There must be preparatory work.

There is no promise that it will ever happen again. But if we hope to have anywhere near the number of conversions found in Acts 2:41, we must find a way to mimic Acts 15:21 according to New Testament standards. We need to ask and answer a question: What will it take for us to have an Acts 2:41 event? And the next logical question is: Do we have the patience and vision to accomplish it?

I vote Yes. Any takers?

The Motivational Power of Spiritual Purpose

A shoe company wanted to open its market in a remote island location. The CEO of the company sent a salesman to the island. After a month he came home a miserable failure. He had not sold a single pair of shoes. The CEO met with the salesman and learned that the reason for the failure was because people in that culture wore no shoes. 

Soon after this the CEO decided to give it another try. He asked another salesman to go. After the first week the salesman sent in a large order for shoes. For four weeks after that the salesman doubled his order each week! The CEO called the salesman and asked how he was doing such a good job in that island since it was so difficult to sell to them there. The man's response was, "Are you kidding? This is a gold mine here! Did you know that no one on the island has any shoes to wear?"

  

This old story illustrates the importance of attitude in sales. It also illustrates the importance of purpose in leadership. The first salesman could not find anyone who wanted to wear shoes. The second salesman sold the shoes. The only way he could possibly have accomplished that feat was to give the people a reason to buy those shoes. Could we not learn a lesson from this about encouraging people to be involved in the Lord's work?

I am not suggesting that we develop a system of physical rewards. I do not suppose to invent some system to bribe people to do what they should be doing anyway. I just want us to stop for a moment and answer the question, "Why?" Even the most active person in the world does not work for nothing. There is always a reason. A leader's job is to help people understand the reasons for doing the work. If they have a reason (purpose) that is compelling, they will do the work. Fortunately for us Christians, we do not have to invent purpose. God supplies that for us. A leader simply reveals purpose.

The church is a spiritual creation. Every activity of the church should have a spiritual meaning and purpose. If an activity cannot be explained as spiritually significant, it is merely something that will distract from the true aim of the church. Without this "higher calling" of spirituality, it will be very difficult to motivate people to do anything.

For example, taking care of the grounds at a church's meeting place can have spiritual purpose. It is physical work, but if you give people purpose they will take their work more seriously. Why not let the grass grow long? Why should we pick up trash from the lot? If the answer is to avoid citations or to make a pleasant building, we have missed the motivating factors. But tie in that work with the building up and growth of the body of Christ and suddenly menial work becomes important! And why not? Whether we like it or not we have church buildings in our culture. And whether it is fair or not, people will judge the church based on how the grounds look. We might as well accept reality and use it to our spiritual advantage! Creating a good impression will help our status in the community and it will help us when we find opportunities to teach people the Gospel.

Even evangelism must be approached spiritually. That seems obvious, but sometimes we do evangelistic things merely because we've always done them in the past. Gospel meetings are a great example. What was once meant to be a beacon in the community and an opportunity to evangelize has become mere habit to some congregations. There is no more spiritual purpose to the meetings. It becomes simply a matter of pride that they hold on to some image of times gone by when they were once a "great church". But do it correctly and a Gospel meeting can breathe life into a church! Make it a spiritual event. Give grand reasons for people to invite their friends and they will do it! There is no motive greater or higher than serving God.

This is a simple way to help the church grow: Revive the purpose that everyone should already see. Satan has a way of blinding us to it. Our own busy lives tend to take us away from what is important. Leaders will remind others that there is great purpose in our lives when we follow God's will. This can be all the motivation people need in order to start to believe that growth is possible. When the people believe the Lord's work has meaning and purpose, give them their noble work and unleash them to do it!

One Simple Rule for Getting Church Members Active

“I know exactly what I am expected to do and exactly how to do it.” If church members cannot state that about themselves, how do we expect the church to grow?

One of the tasks of leadership is division of labor. Sometimes leaders get discouraged and think that no one is interested in doing work, but that is not true. Everyone knows that some people refuse to work, and many leaders resign to this as fate. They assume the people are carnal, worldly, and simply uninterested in spiritual matters. Undoubtedly that may be true for some people, but (for the most part) if a person attends a worship service they are interested in spiritual things. So why is it so difficult to get people involved?

Many factors may be involved in this. You may not be able to overcome many factors, but you can overcome some of them. When you do, you will generate ambitious workers. They may surprise you! The sad thing is, most of the resources for doing the work of the Lord are squandered, lying lifeless in the pews. This is not because of the laziness of the workers but because of the failings of the leaders. Leaders lead. They find ways to get people working and growing. They find the obstacles that are in the way of the followers and they remove those obstacles! Over time we will cover many obstacles. For today, consider the importance of communicating expectations.

One tremendous obstacle to helping people get to work is a lack of communication. If someone is assigned a task, he must know what the task involves. If he is not sure what is expected, he is less likely to do it. We cannot always leave it to the worker to discover his mission in the task, even if it seems obvious to us. They may have completely different ideas about how to do it and why. No one wants to hurt the work of others by failing to accomplish what is needed. So communicate the goals and activities they need to perform so they can succeed.

A lack of communication results in confusion. Some leaders mistake this confusion for apathy. This may come as a surprise, but many people are afraid to look stupid. If you come to me and say, "I need you to work the sound booth for our worship services" and I have no idea how to do it or what is required, I am more likely to say that I can't do it. I may not tell you that I have no clue how to turn the thing on, much less be responsible for recording the services. I can run the risk of looking stupid by saying I don't know how to perform a simple task, or I can just say "No" and avoid the risk. Which do you suppose I will choose? What some consider apathy may actually be confusion about how to complete the task--and perhaps a lack of confidence in their ability.

One major key to getting people to work in the church is for leaders to assign tasks and explain in detail exactly what will be required. A good way to approach the illustration above would be to invite me into the sound room, show me how everything works and how easy it is to record the worship service. After showing me, you should then ask if I would be willing to do exactly those same things next week with the promise that you will write down instructions in case I forget what I learned. Once I see that is it easy and that I can do it, I will be much more willing to help! People love to help others when they know exactly how to help them.

Another important part of that is the timeframe. We need to communicate how long the task will take and how often we will be expected to perform it. We all fear being asked to do something that we can never escape. If a person is needed for a period of time, tell him that in advance. State exactly how long the task will be required. And offer a way out if it gets too difficult. They may never take the "way out" but it is nice to know it is there.

If you ask people to write something. Tell them how long it should be. If you ask them to preach or teach, make sure they are clear about what they will teach and who the audience will be, and what the goal is. The bigger the task, the more information is required--especially for someone who has never done it.

The job of any leader is to make sure everyone has something to do. If we want a congregation to grow the way the Lord desires, that is only possible when all the members become active. Ephesians 4:16 says that in the body of Christ, “every part does its share” and this brings growth. This requires planning, foresight, and wisdom. When we have a plan we must include others in it and be specific about what they need to do to achieve success.

Next time we will look at the role of "purpose" in leading others to action.

Churches Grow From The Foyer!

The foyer in your church building may be the most abundant and fruitful source of contacts available today. It makes a powerful impression on a potential new Christian. I deem it so ripe for harvest that I refuse to attend meetings (with rare exception) in those times before and after worship when the foyer is full of people. Sure it may be more convenient to have a “quick meeting” to discuss very important things. But when people are in the foyer, that time is “Go time” for this preacher. Every member who wants the church to grow should spend their time in the foyer before and after worship services or Bible classes. Churches grow from the foyer! 

One of the reasons churches grow from the foyer is because it is the place hospitality can be practiced most effectively. Hospitality is the broth in which the stew cooks. It’s like the pleasant aroma of a Thanksgiving meal before the family sits at the table to eat. It is what convinces people that they want to become a part of a church. It convinces people even before they hear the Word preached to them. People judge churches based on many things, but hospitality can overcome many obstacles and pave the way to open hearts. Those open hearts find God’s word growing within as they listen to the message preached.

Hospitality is the key to success in the foyer. It begins as an attitude and creates an incredible atmosphere of love, acceptance, and joy. It is irresistible to those looking for God’s love, acceptance, and joy. Naturally, if that is what they find in the foyer, they will attribute it to its true source: godliness. I have baptized numerous people because what they found in the foyer led them to accept what they heard in the pulpit.

Hospitality does not come naturally, but it can be taught. What does it take to create an atmosphere of hospitality in the foyer that will result in the growth of the church?

In his book, The 10-Minute Marketer’s Secret Formula, Tom Feltenstein listed what he called “12 Steps to Hospitality”. I took these and modified them with church growth in mind. These ideas are very important for creating the right environment to attract visitors and help ensure their return. (These are written as if stated by a member of the church.)

1. I know what is expected of me in my work for the church.
2. I understand the purpose and mission of the church and that makes me feel my work is important.
3. When asked to help the church, I always have the opportunity to do what I do best
4. The church leaders seem to care about me as a person
5. In the last month I have received recognition or praise for doing my work well
6. Someone in the church encourages my development.
7. My opinions seem to count
8. I have everything I need in order to do what I do best
9. Everyone around me seems to be committed to a high quality of work
10. I have good friends in the church
11. In the last six months someone has talked to me about my progress in the faith in order to help me set goals and move forward as a Christian.
12. This last year I have had the opportunity to learn and grow through specialized training in areas I need help with or am interested in learning.

After carefully considering these, most leaders will realize the tremendous amount of service that is required to be a leader in the Lord’s church. These twelve things may not seem to relate to hospitality, but think about them as you look at the workers that are the most active and productive in the church. These twelve things imply godly encouragement and leadership from the front lines instead of back rooms.

In future posts we will consider each one of these and see how they relate specifically to leadership, church growth, and the development of hospitality.

Ways You Can Help The Church Grow

Growth is an important topic today. Many congregations are looking for ways to grow and some are spending money on every gimmick they find in order to find the "right" one. They want to motivate the congregation and spur them to growth. It is easy to sympathize with these people. Their zeal is commendable even if their methods are suspect. The answer does not lie in the program but in the people. Almost any program will "work" if your goals are biblical.

On the other hand we have the congregations that seem to think growth is impossible. They say things like, "We are not growing numerically, but we are growing spiritually." That is a possibility (at least for a little while) but too often we use that as an excuse not to reach out and try to grow numerically. It's almost as if people convince themselves that we must choose one or the other.

A congregation can grow numerically AND spiritually simultaneously. It must be the goal! Numeric growth without spiritual growth leads to apostasy. Spiritual growth without numeric growth leads to apathy and other ailments. But when you have both happening at the same time, the church is full of zeal and love grows brighter! It is exciting to be part of a congregation that is vibrant and healthy! It helps cure problems with attendance and motivates people to be lights in the community!

Let's think about practical ways you can help the church grow.

We need to stop thinking that the only way to help the church grow is to set up and conduct Bible studies! Not all of us are capable of setting up and conducting these studies. Some people need training. Some people are just not able to do it for various reasons. In an ideal world every single member might do that, but when did this world become the ideal world? Instead of berating each other about it, we ought to use wisdom and encourage them to do some things to help. So here are just a few ideas of things that you can do to help the church grow.

1. Invite people to worship with you.
2. Invite people to events sponsored by the church.
3. When you see a visitor in the assembly, make a point to greet him and invite him back again after services are over.
4. Invite people to sit with you. There is a myth that people who visit a church do not want to be bothered. We can over-do the friendliness, but most people WANT to have a small fuss made over them. They want to feel like they can fit in with the people without tremendous effort.
5. SMILE at people! 
6. Make it a point to stay on your feet before services begin. While you are up, talk to people, especially visitors.
7. Ask people to tell you about themselves. 
8. Don't be afraid to tell people that you hope they will come back. 
9. Call visitors later in the week and let them know you enjoyed meeting them. Then invite them back again.
10. Introduce visitors. When you meet someone for the first time and the conversation starts to get a little awkward, turn to someone near you and say, "Have you met _____? He is visiting with us today!" Make it a goal to introduce visitors to at least two people before they leave.
11. After services ask them what they thought of the experience. Listen to their answer. Don't argue with anything they said. You are asking for their opinion. Whether you agree with that opinion is not relevant. If their opinion is wrong, they are more likely to see the truth if they return!
12. Take visitors by the arm (if there is time) and show them around the building. Show them where bathrooms are. Show them where their classroom is. Even if they are not there for class, assume that they will return and show them the classroom they will be in when they do. Show them where the church offices are located. Show them where you normally sit and invite them to sit with you.
13. Invite friends to your home and then encourage them to come to worship.
14. More important than any of the ideas above: LIVE a Christian life so that when you invite them to worship, or if they happen to visit your congregation for worship, they will not be surprised that you attend services some place!

We all play important parts in the growth of the church. These are things that almost anyone can do to help. If you practice these things you will help the church grow!  

Have some more ideas? Please list them in the comment section below!

New Cars and New Christians

A woman bought a car from a dealership. While the salesman was having her sign a stack of papers, workers carefully hid her trade-in behind the building. When she finished signing the papers she received the keys to her new car and happily drove off the lot.

What is the first action of a new car owner? She inputs her favorite radio stations. This lady was surprised to find that every button was already programmed with her favorite radio station. She called the salesman and expressed her surprise about the coincidence. But he told her that they took her trade-in to the back and took the settings off her radio and programmed them into her new car. The woman was thrilled and told everyone about what they did.

They were smart to treat her that way. They created excitement and received free advertising from her as a result. The reason they had such success was because they asked a simple question: "What is the first thing this person is likely to do with her new car?"

Why was that important? It was not necessary in order to sell the car because she already bought it. It was a simple act that showed the lady that the car company cared about her. That ensures repeat business and encourages her to tell other people. Being thoughtful is a great way to show you care.

That is a great idea to consider when dealing with new Christians. Why not ask the question: "What is the first things a new Christian does?" When you discover the answer, help meet their needs by helping them do those first things.

I've found that one of the first things a Christian does is tell friends and family about his baptism. New Christians are naturally enthusiastic! They have many reasons to rejoice and they usually want to tell people about what they just experienced! So if you want to help them in their first steps, help them tell their friends and family! Here is a list of ways to accomplish that:

Joyous New Christian

1. Ask them if you can take them to see friends and family and be there when they spread the news. This will encourage them to do what they would naturally do later.
2. Give him a certificate or some piece of paper explaining baptism, what he did, and why he did it. That way when family and friends ask, he will have an answer that he might not normally have. Many times new converts know what they did and why, but they have trouble expressing themselves. They are sometimes easily confused by parents or friends who may not share their initial enthusiasm themselves. The information will help keep confusion to a minimum.
3. Throw a party and invite the person's friends and family. Have snacks and other things. Then announce the baptism to them and explain why he is so happy and why they might be seeing some pretty dramatic changes in his life as a result.
4. Ask him to invite friends and family to his home within a few evenings and have a "cottage meeting". Simply tell the person to invite everyone he knows to his home so that you can explain how they can also become Christians. You are likely to have a few new people to teach when you arrive.

When we think ahead we can help build on the excitement that new converts naturally project. They are some of the best people for inviting others to hear the Gospel! By following this we will not only help our new brother or sister do what comes naturally, but we will also be more effective at reaching more people.

What do you think a new Christian does first? How can we help them in their first steps?

Believing

There is a difference between believing God exists and believing in God.  Obviously to believe in God we must believe that He exists.  But there is more involved.  Hebrews 11:6 tells us that the one who pleases God not only believes He exists, he also believes God will reward those who seek His ways.

A friend of mine likes to use the illustration of medicine.  One person may believe medicine exists.  Another person may believe medicine exists and then he uses it knowing there will be a good result.  We must not just believe God exists but believe IN God!  We must not only have the intellectual knowledge that God is alive but also trust Him enough to follow Him.

James tells us that faith without works is a dead faith (James 2:20-26).  The kind of faith that does nothing is worthless and it is not what God wants from us.  The kind of faith that is helpful to us is one that is alive and active.  So what does that mean?

The word “faith” comes from the word that means “to believe”.  In the New Testament, when the noun is used it is almost always translated “faith”.  When the verb is used it is always translated “to believe”.  They both have the same root meaning!  These are action words.  Even the noun form (faith) implies action even though it is not a verb.  That simply means that “faith without works is dead” (James 2:26).  This little lesson in grammar is powerful.  We must understand that if we want a healthy and vibrant faith, it must be an active faith!

Faith implies trust.  When we see the promises of God and act upon them, we do so because we trust God to keep His promises!  So in order to build faith, we must learn to build trust in God.

Faith also implies knowledge.  We must know what God wants before we step out in faith to do it.  Romans 10:17 teaches that “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”  The context is about the need for preachers so that people can be saved.  Paul wrote, “How shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed?  And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?  And how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14).  

People cannot be saved unless they call on the name of the Lord to save them. (See Acts 22:16 for an explanation of that phrase.)  People cannot call on the name of the Lord to save them if they have never BELIEVED.  And they can never believe in something they have never HEARD.

We know that there are people in the world who are teaching all kinds of things as “facts” from the Bible which are not facts at all.  This is nothing new.  It has happened since Satan first tempted Eve in the Garden.  The New Testament is full of warnings about false teachers.  But let’s remember that people cannot be taught error and expect to have faith in God.  They might place their faith in error and in the false teacher, but if their (our) faith is not in GOD’S WORD then it is not faith in GOD.

Believing is vital to the Christian.  Let us study the word to ensure that we are believing TRUTH and that we are acting upon it.  As we do this we will be blessed by God!  Keep your faith in God and in no other.  Do not let yourself be deceived by anything that is contrary to the teaching of God.  Believing is important, but believing the RIGHT thing is the only way to be saved!