There are those in leadership that do not like to use the word ‘retreat’…they somehow thinks it means giving less to God. That is simply immaturity, inexperience and lack of knowledge concerning military tactics talking. A retreat is a powerful military tactic that has changed the outcome of battles and wars. A retreat gives an army time to regroup, refresh, refocus and a chance to put all of its efforts in the area that will inflict the most damage on the enemy. Sometimes a momentary retreat can be the best warfare tactic to truly advance into the enemy’s territory.

As a leader I have no problem using the word ‘retreat’…or taking a retreat. It allows me time to recharge…and to make tactical plans for the next advance. It allows me the time to hear from God and be proactive with His directives…instead of being reactive to Satan’s attacks. An army that is always adavancing never gets resupplied, rested or re-energized. A leader that is always advancing…never stopping or backing up to regroup…will eventually burn out and not finish well. I wasn’t called by God to lead a church through the sprint of one battle…but to lead it through the marathon of the entire war. A retreat doesn’t mean defeat…it means finishing well.

Only a fool would leave the popularity and affirmation of the masses to venture into the quiet and unknown. Only a fool would walk away from the comforts of a modern city to walk an abandoned road. Only a fool would turn his back on speaking to the masses to speak to the one. That defies logic…common sense…and everything the world teaches as success. Yet that is exactly what Philip did.

In Acts 8:4-8 we find Philip speaking to crowds in a city in Samaria. He was the center of attention, speaking to large audiences, healing people from demonic activity and sharing the Gospel with thousands. And then God steps in with a job for only a fool. In Acts 8:26 God sends an angel to tell Philip to leave the crowds…the masses…the popularity…the successful…and head down a deserted road that almost no one used. Philip being the fool…took the job and immediately followed God. He left the success of the world and embraced the success of a fool. Philip had no clue that God would meet him on that road…that the method for which God would spread His Word in Ethiopia would be on that road…Philip only knew that God called him…and that he was a fool for God.

As a pastor and leader of a church it is not job to take in account the approval of man. I am to ignore success as defined by blogs, podcasts, magazines, conferences and top churches list. My job is to be a fool…a fool for God. I am to love like a fool…lead like a fool…serve like a fool…and follow like a fool. If I do not…I will never experience what Philip experienced…the success of a fool.

Part 1 – The Realities Of Reaching The Hard To Reach

Part 2 – The Rewards Of Reaching The Hard To Reach

Part 3 – The Methods For Reaching The Hard To Reach

Part 4 – Follow Up For Reaching The Hard To Reach

A couple of days a week Harvey ends up with some “pocket change” so he heads to a local coffee shop to hang out and fill his thermos with coffee.  One day I was at the coffee shop working because they have free wi-fi.  Harvey saw me working and started asking me some questions about the Internet.  One thing led to another and I ended up buying him lunch (the shop also makes the BEST gumbo in town).    These days I see Harvey a couple a times of month…we hang out…talk…occasionally grab breakfast together.  Until he talked to me I never really noticed Harvey…which was my loss.  Harvey is mentally challenged.  Harvey lives in a tent.  Harvey doesn’t always smell too good.  Harvey is a LOT of fun to talk to.  Harvey is now my friend.

One day I asked Harvey about how local churches and Christians treated him.  His answer wrecked me…and convicted me.

“Mr. Chris I come to this coffee place a lot.  While I’m waiting for them to fill my jug (thermos) with joe I see people sitting around talking about God’s Bible.  Those people walk right past me when they leave this place like I’m invisible.  Invisible people need God’s Bible too.”

I recently heard a podcast of sermon that a pastor blatantly ripped off from a very popular preacher.  I wasn’t bothered by the fact that he used the same text, points and insights.  I was disturbed that he also used the preacher’s personal stories as if they were his own.  To top it off…he just sucked in his delivery…like he was just going through the motions.  The truth is…he was just going through the motions.  It was “Saturday night special” sermon he lifted from an online resource that he “phoned in” on Sunday.  There was no “discovery process”…no attempt to make the sermon his own…just a blatant substandard thief.

Last week I was re-reading John MacArthurs book “Preaching: How To Preach Biblically“.  At the end of the book he has a FAQs section.  One of the questions he answered is about whether he minds other preachers using his sermons.  His answer sums up what I have been struggling to put into words:

Pastors sometimes ask me if they can use my material. I have given blanket permission for anyone to use my sermons and preach them in whole or in part if they wish, and I do not want any credit as the source. If what I say has value to someone, I am honored for him to use it for God’s glory. The truth is all His.

Yet if someone re-preaches one of my sermons without enriching it by going through the discovery process, that sermon will inevitably be flat and lifeless. The great Scottish preacher Alexander Maclaren once went to hear another man preach, a young man with a reputation for being a gifted preacher. Much to Maclaren’s surprise, the young man said at the outset of his message, “I’ve had such a busy week that I had no time to prepare a sermon of my own, so I’m going to preach one of Maclaren’s.” He did not know Maclaren was in the audience until Maclaren greeted him afterward. He was very embarrassed and became even more so when Maclaren looked him in the eye and said, “Young man, I don’t mind if you are going to preach my sermons, but if you are going to preach them like that, please don’t say they are mine.”

To rely too heavily on the sermons of others robs one of the joy of discovering biblical truth for himself. Such sermons will lack conviction and enthusiasm. Sermons by other preachers should be another study tool, like commentaries or illustration books.

I would like to hear others’ thoughts on this subject.  For that reason I have made the rare exception and left comments open on this post.  Feel free to weigh in on this subject below.

THE PROCESS
1. When we are going to start a new sermon series I usually get alone for a few days…turn off the phone, computers and mobile devices…and prayerfully prep the entire series.  This usually takes place about 6 to 8 weeks before the series is to begin.

2.  About 3 weeks out I give Pastor Kyle and Pastor Jonathan (our worship leader) an Overview of the the series.  This is basically the individual sermon titles, Scripture references and a sentence or two about the main idea of each sermon.

3. Two weeks prior to the series I give Pastor Kyle a One Sheet for the every sermon.  These sheets provide a more detailed look at each sermon including the actual  sermon notes I will be using.  I also update Planning Center with my notes and prepare the Keynote presentation I will be using on my iPad 2 to preach from.  Kyle will be 1 to 2 weeks out from the sermon with preparing the Group Notes.

4. One week before the sermon I email Pastor Kyle the Sermon Notes which he will photocopy on the back side of the Group Notes that each of our attenders are given on Sunday.  During the sermon Compass Point attenders fill in the blanks of the Sermon Notes with answers listed on the video screens.  During the week they complete the Group Notes before their small group meeting in preparation for discussion.

5. On Saturday night everything shuts down at my house around 8:00 p.m. and I look back over the Keynote presentation so I can memorize the sermon notes.  I only occasionally look at the notes while I’m preaching.

THE DOCUMENTS
Click the links below to download the PDF files.

1. Overview

2. One Sheet

3. Planning Center

4. Sermon Keynote

5. Sermon Notes

6. Group Notes

If you have any questions about the process, please feel free to email Pastor Kyle or myself.

As church pastors and leaders it’s time we died to ourselves. It’s time we died to our arrogance concerning styles, structures and strategies. It is time we put away our pride over “how our church is doing it the right way” mentality. What we do is not as important to God as the heart and attitude with which we do it. It’s also time to stop looking to the latest, greatest and coolest style, structure or strategy to get our church to the next level. God is the only thing that can…or will…create the atmosphere in which we see people come to Christ.

However, on September 21st Perry wrote an amazing blog post about numbers. In it he makes the case for letting the world know about salvation, baptism or attendance numbers so others can celebrate. I’d like to state for the record that not only does Perry write about celebrating this…he also practices it.

Perry pastors a very large church and I pastor a very small church. You know what? Perry has never treated me any different or made me feel inferior because of this. He has ALWAYS celebrated every good thing God has blessed Compass Point with. In turn I always get stoked about what God is doing at NewSpring. When we baptize 4 people (like this past Sunday) he gets as excited as when NewSpring baptizes over 1400 people (like they did two Sundays ago). If I blog or Twitter about someone coming to Christ at Compass Point I can alwaysncount on a call, email or text from Perry (and other NewSpring staff) celebrating with me. He understands that all numbers count no matter how big or small. Behind every number is a story of life change…and behind every story of life change is another person that will see Heaven some day.

You know what else? Perry isn’t the only one. I have had quite a few megachurch (I hate that term) pastors and staff members celebrate with us. You know why? Megachurch pastors don’t start off with the goal of pastoring megachurches…they just start off with the goal of reaching one person for Christ. They also realize that we as the Church are in this together. That means we work together, cry together and celebrate together.

So small church pastors/leaders…stop feeling inferior. If you baptize one person this year…let people know so we can all celebrate. If you break fifty people in attendance shout it out to the world. If you launched a second small group make it known. Blog it. Facebook it. Twitter it. And don’t be surprised if the Rick Warrens, Perry Nobles and Steven Furticks of the world celebrate with you…and retweet it…because they will.