Scott Cheatham’s Weblog

I'm Blessed

Today my wife turns……you didn’t think I’d share that did you?  She would kill me!

It doesn’t matter, she looks GREAT for her age and I’m blessed to have her in my life.  It’s hard enough being a pastor’s wife much less one that’s planting a church.  When she said “I Do” to me nearly 21 years ago, I had no idea how our lives would change over the years with careers, kids, ministry, and all the other things that go along with life in general.   What I do know is that she has always been a support for me even in the hardest of times.  I married above myself and couldn’t imagine life without her.  Happy Birthday Becky!

Monday, I stopped after sharing some thoughts about the subject of what discipleship is and what it seems to be in many places.  As I thought more about my words, I want to clarify that I’m not an anti-program type guy, just one who wants to make sure we don’t huddle all the cattle into the pen and think one way is the only way it’s going to get done.  If we want a fast-food discipleship program, then be my guest but I think it’s so much more than that and for the depth of what I think churches should be, it has to be more than that.

A Great Book

One of my favorite books on this subject was written by David Ping titled “Quick to Listen Leaders”.  The basic premise of the book is to learn to spend time listening to others in order to more effectively minister to them.  This applies to discipleship also.  Many times, we are ready to trust a willing person with a “mentor” to disciple and lead them through the ten followup lessons we have after they make a decision to follow Christ.  These are not bad at all but to think we can copy some lessons with bible quotations and expect the other guy to “get it” shows an extreme lack of concern for the fledgling Christian’s faith journey.

We must learn to understand the other person better in order to see to it that they are properly ministered to.  This does not happen unless you stop to get to know the other person.  There are many ways as a church body we can make this happen.  Among my peers, I am best known for my ministry to several Wal-Mart employees.  This didn’t happen as a result of a program but because I was asked to perform a funeral remembrance for a well-loved employee at my local store.  After the event was complete (We did this in full view of customers in the back of the store near the baby area!), I was asked to stay to console many who were crying and upset by their loss.  To be honest, it would have been quite easy for me to walk out of the store and let management know I had another commitment to attend to.  But instead, I made a phone call and moved the commitment and wound up staying the better part of the morning to talk to some of the employees.  This hasn’t been forgotten in the years since.  I still shop at that store, employees that know me stop and share their struggles, ask for prayer, and some even ask to meet with me at the local Starbucks nearby so they can just talk (and I can just LISTEN).  Several families from that store have attended or are still attending our church plant as a result.  Discipleship can happen anywhere.

What does discipleship look like to you?  For me, it’s about relationships and building up others with the truth of scripture.  But, I cannot pass along those truths unless I know exactly what that person needs in order to give the right words.  Think of it this way: You go to a doctor because you are not feeling well and instead of him taking the time to listen to you he asks a few general questions, makes a reasonable diagnosis based on your answers, and then gives you a medicine that is common to all.  He doesn’t ask if you are allergic to it.  If you are, tough!  You are in a minority and need to go elsewhere because the group approach is treating many others who are less concerned than you.  Is this what you want in medical care?  Than why would you settle for less in spiritual care?  Many do and don’t even know it because their needs haven’t been diagnosed properly and they are thrust into church life without having shared their struggles, needs, questions, and wonders.

My greatest joy as a pastor is spending time with my families, my elderly folks, my young newlyweds, and my kids.  When I can see a life changed for the better by the healing balm of Christ, I know that we’re doing the right things.  It’s a little messier this way.  It’s not always as easy as a program, but it’s the only way I see that Jesus ministered to others.  He not only did this but trained others to do so.  That’s our task!  To multiply discipleship amongst the gifts of our diverse congregation to make them disciples and teach them to do the same with others.

Let the journey begin!

Yea, I know, it’s not Wednesday yet but I wanted to pass along a quick link for you to pick up some free stuff. If you remember a few weeks ago, I wrote about reaching the 20-somethings in your community and I mentioned a friend of mine who is part of a creative team to develop small group material for this age group in an attempt to help in this area. Well “The Brink” is ready. If you go to this link, you can receive a free four week pilot of this new material. I’m excited as our church plans to use this in our ministry to this generation of folks. I’m not sure if supplies are limited but you should go there today, sign up and let me know what you think!

I’ve been asked to write a piece for a nationally published magazine on the subject of discipleship and more importantly, what that looks like in my ministry context here in Denver. What follows will be my research into this idea and as always, your input through comments is welcome.

Discipleship is a complex or simple term depending on who you ask. Some have the perception that it is merely teaching others about Jesus. Others feel that a 12 step program with resultant manuals for classes is necessary. Still others take folks around a baseball diamond which eventually leads them home and, rhetorically, to completion in their initial journey. For all of these methods, there are many others too numerous to name. All have the goal of helping someone achieve a stronger bond with Jesus. At least, most of them do.

For me, discipleship is what the dictionary says it is: “One who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another” or “A convinced adherent of a school or individual”. Of course, for our purposes that person is Jesus. As his disciple, I accept his teaching and have taken on the responsibility of spreading that teaching to others. What that looks like to others is the subject of many books, programs, and seminars.

There is so much that could be written on this topic. For the purposes of publication, I will condense as best I can. For here, I can write a bit more and explore my thoughts even as I express them. As a pastor, this subject is always at the front of my mind. As a church planter, discipleship is crucial if the fledgling church is to have any lasting effect in the community it serves. How do we reach people? Once reached, how do we disciple them? How do we bring back injured sheep who’ve made horrible mistakes? All are questions I’ve asked recently even before I was asked to write.

I do want to explore this further on Wednesday and perhaps even next Monday. We’ll see. For now, it’s enough for me to say this. I’m convinced discipleship is more about the time I spend with someone modeling the life of Christ as best I can rather than the amount of information I try to cram into their head. That’s not to say doctrine isn’t important. It most certainly is. The key for me is to train others to be disciples. It sounds so simple but really, why can’t we do it more successfully then? That is where my thoughts take me as I consider this further. I’ll have more on Wednesday.

Well, it’s nice to be back again. I haven’t posted this week because of the business I’ve had working on our new church location. Today, I go back to finish my window washing chore. I used to clean windows for the Hardees chain of restaurants before I got married and entered the broadcast industry in 1987 (Yea, I know 21 years ago!) In the weeks to come, I’ll share more about our journey to the new site and I’ll have some photos of our first service there hopefully late next month if I have my wish.

For now, here’s a few blogs for you to check out over the weekend. I promise you, I’ll be back writing next week for sure.

Thursday Bram writes a nice piece on doing something with those leftover cellphones you have. With so many folks drinking the Apple IPhone Kool-Aid, a bunch of cellphones have bit the dust in recent weeks. Here’s some good ideas on how you can help keep those things out of the landfill for a while longer.

Do you have “anchors” in your life? You should. This week, Nelson Searcy discusses the topic and gives you a few “anchors” to get you started.

Here’s a funny cartoon from “Out of Ur” to make you laugh about the church growth craze. A few years ago, I was that guy in the seat. I can relate!

And last but not least…

David Foster writes about an issue I’ve considered for a while now; “The Death of the Christian Market.” I have seen this death firsthand here in Denver as the local Christian bookstore is drying up and the only LifeWay store in our state moved its doors further south to attract people who may still shop there. Independent Christian stores are gone and only the chains survive but even then, they are cutting hours and inventory and moving to smaller quarters. I’ll have my own take on this in a future post but suffice it to say, the Christian publishing industry will be drastically changed in the next few years. Technology will see to it.

That’s it for the week. Have a blessed weekend!

Well, I DID promise you a Friday rundown of blogs. I just didn’t plan on it being late Sunday night my time when I did this. That’s the way the week has went. I’ll blog more about that later (perhaps a series on patience!). For now, I wanted to give my usual weekly shout-out to some others whose posts are worth reading..

I’ve always appreciated Ben Arment’s thoughts and ideas. This past week, he wrote about a key component to building solid church teams; a “vision” breakfast. Consider his thoughts and plan your own!

The “Ministry Marketing Coach” has a new spin on the tired church newsletter. Can it be of use to you. Chris seems to think so!

Leo at Zen Habits has written about a “Life Laundry Day” to help you plan your week. Check this out and get moving with a weekly to daily routine. I’ve done this on Sunday nights for a few years now and it really helps me plan my weeks and break them down into days.

I think tomorrow I will order Nelson Searcy’s “Time Management for Busy Pastors” for my staff. I’ve read a number of great books on time management and use my GTD+R system faithfully each day to manage my tasks. However, the audio medium is appealing to busy pastors who can listen in their cars, while exercising, etc.. The resource is a bit expensive for our little church plant, $87 for the boxed set, but I think it will pay large dividends in the long run. Nelson’s stuff is good and gives you many things to think about.

Well, have a good start to your week. I will try to post sometime tomorrow as time allows! Be blessed.

To my readers I apologize for my lack of posting this week. As I mentioned in my blog Friday, we are in the process of moving the church I pastor from a school to a storefront and that has eaten up much of the time I give to my writing. I skipped Monday and have had no time to write for today other than this little announcement.

I will be back Friday with my blog links for the week and hopefully, will find some time to write for Monday.

Keep reading and thanks for stopping by!

I’m sooo late with this post. It’s been a long week as we prepare to move our church into a storefront from a school building where we’ve been meeting for nearly three years. Please pray for us!

Here’s a look at some posts that caught my eye this week…

I have been a big fan of Google Docs since it’s release. Now, the folks at Google have added some fantastic templates to the mix. Merlin Mann speaks for many in his blog post on this topic when he says that Google has upped the ante on Microsoft with these templates. Over 300 are now available.

J. Mark Bertrand writes at a few different sites but I’ve always enjoyed his posts on Bible design. His love of quality mimics mine but I don’t think I have his budget with my three kids still at home. One day perhaps but not now! This week, Bertrand writes about his soon to arrive Allan’s ESV Bible. I think he’s just about convinced me to order one sometime this fall!

If you just can’t enough lists on productivity hacks for your life, Leo Babauta has taken it a notch higher with his post this week on “The List to Beat all Lists”. Check it out here.

Another post from Merlin Mann. This time it’s tips from Kurt Vonnegut on “Writing Better”. Anyone who blogs should read this.

…and finally

Nelson Searcy referenced some information he had posted on how to have a Newcomers Reception at your churches. Connecting with newcomers is so key to all that we do to try to build our churches. I think you’ll benefit from reading this little bit.

That’s it for today. Have fun reading these and I’ll catch you again on Monday!

When PDA’s were all the rage several years ago, I never could quite get into having one. Oh, I thought the idea was cool but they were just too pricey and the idea of carrying it around gave me nightmares about dropping it, getting it wet, or misplacing it. I finally relented a few years ago when a friend of mine gave me his old black and white PALM but I only used it for a few months before deciding to sell it on Craig’s List for $35.

Managing information doesn’t have to be so labor intensive. Take, for example, the simplicity offered by the “PocketMod” organizer.

The PocketMod is an organizer that is prepared with a single sheet of paper. A little folding and cutting is required (An instructional video on the site gets you started) but after a few times, you won’t need those anymore.

You can create the pages that you need most at their site or even take it a step farther and custom design templates (I’ve never done that) if you wish. The process is simple. Go to the site and enter the template area. From there, pick out what you need from their drag and drop menus. Organize the pages in any order you wish and then print it out, fold it, cut it, and you’re done. The process takes a few minutes at the beginning and seconds each day if you use one daily. Templates include the standard calendars, weekly notes, daily plans, eating plans, checkbook register, and appointment calendars. Other templates includes games like dots, sudoku, and tic-tac-toe while still others are designed for goal setting. You can craft them however you wish. I will warn you though, it does get addictive trying to find the perfect mix.

With a PocketMod, you can have a disposable, take-it-with-you, planner that you can easily transfer information from into your digital tools during the day. If you lose it, no big deal. If you drop it or get it wet, who cares! You don’t have to worry about sitting on it. Just stuff it in your pocket and get on with your day.

Who would have thought that a single piece of paper could be so efficient!

Enjoy.

Last week, I wrote about the need to have our church connect more with the 20-something generation. In doing so, I acknowledged that the problem of churches connecting with this age group lies not only with the church itself but also with the priorities of the 20-something generation. This group is largely new to their freedoms as more and more adults wait to move out of their parents’ homes into places of their own. Once out, the routine they were so used to is no longer there and priorities change. Staying up late, seeing no real reason to spend any weekend time in a church, and lack of ministry ownership are just a few of the many responses that are given by this age group when asked about their lack of participation in churches today.So what should we do? Many churches are just now beginning to take notice as their longtime members pass away. In a recent article in “One” magazine (The official magazine for the Free Will Baptist denomination), author Richard Atwood lamented this problem when he said: “Many congregations today are filled with older people, and a lot of pastors are conducting a great number of funerals.” You can read the entire article here. I would concur with his thoughts and appeciated the comments his daughter added at the very end. The problem is clear but the answer is still one that will be debated by countless others. The issue I have with this predicament is that as we discuss and consider ideas the generation gets older and further removed from the church. We must take action and do it quickly if we are to see another generation of people discipled and ready to serve in our churches.

The have never know television without the option of a VCR (now DVR) to record their favorite shows and basic cable was always on. Nickelodeon, MTV, and the Cartoon Network were always available. In my generation, I had to share a black and white TV set with my older sister and our choices were rationed since the local independent station aired the cartoons, Gilligan’s Island, and the Monkees reruns all in one place.

Cellphones and the internet have been common with them since they were old enough to care. When I was in high school, my friends and I used to joke about the very few people we knew who had “Car Phones” (Remember the big bricks those things used to be?). Now, not only can you make a call but you can text, surf the net, and play video games on a device that fits in your pocket. Computers are common too. My high school graduation gift was a Commodore 64 computer. I remember in my early 20’s thinking I had hit the jackpot when I finally added a modem to it so I could access bulletin boards! (For you younger folks, this was the precursor to the internet!) I remember monitoring my phone usage when calling the BBS’s (as they were called) since the best ones were always long distance calls. Now, I surf the internet for free in my local coffee shop (I am writing this over a cup).

None of them remember the Reagan years in our country and formed their opinions about politics growing up in the Clinton era. This is a biggie. The hate speech from both sides of the aisles (and there was plenty) led them to form a different worldview about politics than I did.

As for church, they grew up during the Jimmy Swaggart and Jim Bakker scandals. Their parents were likely sickened by the transgressions of these well known televangelists and the child abuse of many young boys by Catholic priests and their thoughts about church leaders (of which I am one) were formed with much less trust than I was raised with. When I shook a preacher’s (or priest’s) hand, I felt I was shaking the hand of someone who could be trusted and who was to be respected greatly. If I didn’t, I’d find myself in the crying room getting a whipping if I didn’t stay quiet during the service.

One other thought and this is purely my own but I also see many in this generation who grew up with the megachurch and the decadence of such ministries soured many on where their money and time would be spent. I have nothing against the megachurch but many in this generation I talk to ask me about why such elaborate buildings are needed. Why do we need all of the stuff that makes up a church? Some things are certanly necessary but it can be argued that others are about satisfying someone within the church who has an itch for a certain ministry. I’ve been questioned about how the money is spent and if it really goes to those who need salvation and true life change.

There is no simple answer but as I ponder my thoughts about outreach in general I know this much to be true: People need the Lord in their lives today. It’s true of the 20-somethings just as it is true of my own generation. Finding ways to connect by involving and allowing this group to grow and take leadership (and be willing to let them make mistakes) will be paramount as we move forward. If we continue to stifle their own growth and not allow any change in our ministries to take place as this group makes suggestions, we will continue to lose them. We do not have to compromise to be successful here. We merely need to be willing to grow in our own spiritual life and leave the comfort of our own little ministry circle to reach out to someone in this group and invite them to church. Will you be that one? I hope so.