LifeWay Church Resources – Page 5

November 7, 2013November 6, 2013 Matt Capps Christian Theology, Christianity, LifeWay, LifeWay Church Resources, Media and Technology, Pastoral Ministry, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention

Ministry Grid: Training Made Simple

It’s finally here. Whether you have been waiting with baited breath or this is your first time hearing about it, Ministry Grid has launched. We are excited about this dynamic platform for training the church. We believe it will provide unprecedented opportunity for churches to develop leaders and servants in every area from the parking lot to the pulpit and are pleased to partner with them.

Ministry Grid bases their entire ministry on the vision of Ephesians 4:11-13:

“11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds[a] and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. . .”

Their vision is to see churches built up and equipped to do the work of the Kingdom, and they have provided a unique and unparalleled resource to do this.

WHAT IS MINISTRY GRID?

Ministry Grid is a customizable platform designed to help churches develop all their leaders, no matter which area they serve in. Ministry Grid makes training leaders simple with content available to leaders anytime, anywhere, while giving pastors unprecedented control and insight into how their people learn. Launching with more than 1,500 training videos for pastors, staff, volunteer leaders, and every-day church goers, Ministry Grid covers, or will cover, every topic a church needs from the parking lot to the pulpit.

HOW DOES MINISTRY GRID WORK?

Ministry Grid’s Learning Management System enables your church to customize training to fit the unique needs and goals of your people. Select built-in tracks, choose from Ministry Grid’s 1,500+ video sessions, or add videos to create your own customized training. With tracking and administrative tools, Ministry Grid allows leaders to assess an individual or group’s skill level, assign training content, and view progress. It is accessible from computers, tablets, and smartphones with a native app that allows offline training, so users can train anywhere, at any time.

WHAT DOES A LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM DO?

While video training itself is not a new concept, it has historically lacked a way to manage and track a user’s progress. A Learning Management System like Ministry Grid’s allows you to assign content and track the progress of every person using Ministry Grid in your ministry or organization. Ministry Grid’s Learning Management System gives unprecedented insight into how training is taking place, allowing you to easily view a group at a glance or see an individual’s progress, provide accountability, and measure effectiveness. Ministry Grid comes with built-in training tracks and assessment tools that can be customized according to your needs. You can also build your own.

WHO CAN USE MINISTRY GRID?

Ministry Grid is for the entire church, with pricing based on your church’s average weekly attendance. Content is organized into four areas of development—pastoral, church staff, lay leader/volunteer, and personal development—with a wide range of topics videos averaging 15 minutes in length. Ministry Grid works with churches of any size, and because you can upload your own content, there’s no limit to how you can utilize the platform. Ministry Grid is also perfect for organizations and non-profits that are developing Christian leaders on matters relevant to their ministry.

WHAT MAKES THE MINISTRY GRID PLATFORM SO SIGNIFICANT?

Ministry Grid is unprecedented in terms of the quantity, quality, and range of training content available. Every aspect is customizable according to your church’s needs, including the ability to skin the site with your own colors, drop in your logo and church branding, and upload your own content. You may also choose from Ministry Grid’s 1,500+ video sessions or disable access to content not relevant to your assigned users. No other training platform comes close in its ability to perfectly fit your specific needs.

CAN I USE MINISTRY GRID ON MY MOBILE DEVICE?

Yes. Ministry Grid features apps for iOS devices and Kindle Fire. The mobile app allows people to watch training content on the go. You can even download content to your device to watch when offline, and connect your mobile device to a project—perfect for churches that do not have wi-fi access readily available. The Ministry Grid app is a free download, but requires a Ministry Grid subscription to use.

http://www.ministrygrid.com/

November 5, 2013 Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Books, Christian Theology, Christianity, Faith, Gospel, LifeWay, LifeWay Church Resources, Pastoral Ministry, Religion, The Gospel Project, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

The Importance of Biblical Community

Eric Geiger writes:

“Small groups in the life of a local church community are invaluable. This is why the writer of Hebrews admonished the early church to “…encourage each other daily, while it is still called today.” God uses community to supernaturally mature his people over time. He has designed us to grow together as a body. In many ways, Christian sanctification is a group project.

At LifeWay, we partner with pastors, writers, and ministry leaders to develop Bible studies for groups. In recent years, we have introduced or re-introduced ongoing Bible studies that are built around distinct starting points. While all of our studies are rooted in Scripture and focused on Christ, by clarifying unique group starting points we are able to bring greater focus to each line of studies.

For groups that want to start with real life issues and apply the Bible to those issues, we offer Bible Studies for Life. For groups who want to start with the text and walk through books of the Bible, we offer Explore the Bible. For groups that want to begin with theology to understand how the themes of Scripture fit together and point to Jesus, we offer The Gospel Project.

God has used the intentionality and focus to allow us to serve more groups/classes. While we have a great history at LifeWay, our ongoing Bible studies were on a 29-year decline. But in the last 18 months, the decline has turned. The Lord has been so good and gracious to us. We are honored to be serving groups/classes in churches around the world with trustworthy content.

If you are interested in The Gospel Project, we offer ongoing studies released every few months OR you can use the new small group study series. Regardless, The Gospel Project provides you with solid biblical theology along with missionally-driven application for your small group context.”

October 25, 2013October 25, 2013 Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Christian Theology, Christianity, Faith, Gospel, LifeWay, LifeWay Church Resources, Pastoral Ministry, The Gospel Project, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

Free eBook on “Christ-Centered Preaching and Teaching”

This past Wednesday The Gospel Project released a free eBook on Christ-centered preaching and teaching. We have been blown away by the initial response – thousands of people have already downloaded this free eBook. One thing is for certain, Christ-centered hermeneutics is a much debated issue in some theological circles. As Ed Stetzer noticed:

Interestingly enough, I have found that while many pastors argue for the importance of Christ-centeredness, there is disagreement on what it should look like. For this reason I recently asked several leading pastors and theologians to examine and discuss Christ-Centered preaching at my blog.

The pastors and theologians who discussed this issue in the eBook include:

Dr. Daniel Block (Wheaton College)
Dr. David Murray (Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary)
Dr. Walt Kaiser (Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary)
Dr. Bryan Chapell (Grace Presbyterian in Peoria, IL)

Read and enjoy!

October 21, 2013October 18, 2013 Matt Capps Christian Theology, Christianity, Faith, LifeWay, LifeWay Church Resources, Pastoral Ministry, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

Pastoring Is Not a Very Glamorous Job

A recent interview with Eugene Peterson by Religion News Service’s Jonathan Merritt was a refreshing view into the iconic pastor’s life. Here is a great quote by Peterson on the pastoral vocation:

“… Pastoring is not a very glamorous job. It’s a very taking-out-the-laundry and changing-the-diapers kind of job. And I think I would try to disabuse them of any romantic ideas of what it is. As a pastor, you’ve got to be willing to take people as they are. And live with them where they are. And not impose your will on them. Because God has different ways of being with people, and you don’t always know what they are.

The one thing I think is at the root of a lot of pastors’ restlessness and dissatisfaction is impatience. They think if they get the right system, the right programs, the right place, the right location, the right demographics, it’ll be a snap. And for some people it is: if you’re a good actor, if you have a big smile, if you are an extrovert. In some ways, a religious crowd is the easiest crowd to gather in the world. Our country’s full of examples of that. But for most, pastoring is a very ordinary way to live. And it is difficult in many ways because your time is not your own, for the most part, and the whole culture is against you. This consumer culture, people grow up determining what they want to do by what they can consume. And the Christian gospel is just quite the opposite of that. And people don’t know that. And pastors don’t know that when they start out. We’ve got a whole culture that is programmed to please people, telling them what they want. And if you do that, you might end up with a big church, but you won’t be a pastor.”

HT: Leadership Journal

September 16, 2013September 10, 2013 Matt Capps Books, Christian Theology, Christianity, Faith, Gospel, Life, LifeWay, LifeWay Church Resources, Pastoral Ministry, Personal, Religion, Theology

New Book: Michael Kelley’s “Boring”

My friend and co-worker (and fellow fruit flavored candy lover) Michael Kelley has written an extremely helpful book titled Boring. Not only is Michael a good writer, he is also a good thinker. He applies these two God given gifts to challenge our perceptions of everyday average life.

“What if we are looking so hard for these grandiose experiences of significance that we are missing the opportunities for significance right in front of us,” he writes. “What if there is no such thing as ordinary when you follow an extraordinary God?” (8)

In Boring, Michael seeks to reorient the reader to this important and often neglected truth. Too many of us fear that our lives will be ordinary. However, for the Christian, an ordinary life is a paralyzing myth. If you are a follower of Christ – you are the child of a God that is anything but ordinary. The God of the Bible is the God who created, sustains, and providentially directs all things – including the seemingly mundane details of your life. This is not an abstract theological truth that has no impact on your daily activities, but should shape every aspect of your life.

The problem is that too many of us miss what God is doing in the valley, because we are longing for the mountain top experience. However, all of us know that the majority of the Christian life is lived in the valley. According to Kelley, “…The truth is that we will all spend 90 percent of our time here on earth just doing life. Just being ordinary.” So, the heart of the problem is not with the routines of life, but with our understanding and expectations of them. Kelley argues that we should reorient our thinking to see the profound nature of our extraordinary God, and how that impacts the activities of daily life.

“What if God actually doesn’t want you to escape from the ordinary, but to find significance and meaning inside of it?”

The question isn’t whether or not God is present and active; the question is just how aware we are of that presence and activity.

“This greater reality is happening right in the middle of the ordinary people, singing in their off-key kind of way, trying to wrangle their ornery children. In the middle of the mundane there is something of cosmic significance going on…A regular life isn’t just a series of physical times and moment strung together; it’s a progression of being formed into the image of Jesus…Because an extraordinary and active God is there, constantly working, there is no such thing as ordinary anymore.”

Pick up this book and read. Prayerfully, Michael will show you how to see every relationship, every act of kindness, and every moment for what it is: a part of God’s exciting plan for your life.

August 14, 2013August 14, 2013 Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Christian Theology, Christianity, Faith, Gospel, LifeWay, LifeWay Church Resources, Pastoral Ministry, Religion, The Gospel Project, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

Teaching a Class on The Doctrine of Humanity

Next week I will begin teaching a class on the doctrine of humanity with Philip Nation at The Fellowship, Two Rivers. The class will last 8 weeks and will roughly follow the outline of The Gospel Project’s Fall study titled “Bearing God’s Image”.

August 21st – Created to Reflect: Reflecting the Image of God
August 28th – Created to Relate: Relating to God, Others, and the World
September 4th – Created to Work: Vocation and Labor
September 11th – Created to Rest: Resting from Work, Resting in Christ
September 18th – Created to Rule: Authority in Representing God
September 25th – Living in Redemption: Salvation and Sanctification
October 2nd – Learning to Trust: Perseverance and Assurance
October 9th – Longing for Restoration: Future Glorification

If you are in the Nashville area, come and join us!

It is an honor to serve on The Gospel Project team! I am excited to join over 400,000 other believers who will dig into this study over the next few months.

In my preparation for the class I have found several resources helpful, and wanted to share them here.

John Hammett’s chapter on “The Doctrine of Humanity” in A Theology for the Church, edited by Daniel Akin. Hammett’s chapter is a great introductory work on this topic.
Also, check out Anthony Hoekema’s book Created in God’s Image. Hoekema’s work is an excellent volume for someone who would like to dig a little deeper into the doctrine of humanity.
Charles Sherlock’s book The Doctrine of Humanity in the Contours of Christian Theology series is also a great resource to have in your library. While Sherlock’s work the most dense of these three, its scope and depth is well worth its weight.

If you are teaching through The Gospel Project this fall, be sure to check out these resources which we have made available at The Gospel Project’s website.

Consider the words of one theologian, “…our wisdom, in so far as it ought to be deemed true and solid wisdom, consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves.” My prayer is that we would come to know God in this study, and come to know ourselves in the way God has created us and redeemed us to be.

August 9, 2013August 8, 2013 Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Christian Theology, Christianity, Faith, Gospel, Life, LifeWay, LifeWay Church Resources, Personal, Religion, The Gospel Project, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

Why Do We Need Physical Rest?

This was originally posted at The Gospel Project site. To see the entire series click here.

The Need for Physical Rest

As we get older, it is inevitable that we will wear down physically. In turn, our need for rest and recuperation becomes more noticeable. At least, that’s been my experience in the last few years. When I do not get as much rest as I need, I become impatient and irritable towards my family and friends. So, the older I get, the more I cherish rest. Many nights I collapse into the bed exhausted, and sink into the mattress from the weight of the day’s activity.

Physical rest repairs and rebuilds the body and mind. When we exert ourselves physically or mentally, we long for the restoration of our energy. Researchers have shown that both the physical stress of manual labor and even the emotional stress of a desk job require subsequent rest for the body and mind to recuperate.

Many of us need more rest; we live in a culture that forfeits rest to chronically overwork. Studies have shown that the average American doesn’t get nearly enough sleep for what their body requires to function at peak performance. This scientific information is good and all, but research can only offer observations about rest and our need for rest. The Bible, on the other hand, can actually offer the deeper reasons for unrest and lasting motivations for rest.

A Theology of Rest?

What actually drives us to unrest is rooted in our hearts, usually idolatry. For example, the workaholic sacrifices rest to the god of success, power, and productivity. This pattern can be seen in almost all areas of our life. The good news is, God is not silent about our need for rest nor has He left us without good reason or motivation for rest. The Bible is very clear that humans need rest, and interestingly enough, rest teaches us something about God.

Physical Rest is a Gift from God

God building in the need for rest in the lives of His creatures is a gift of grace. In Psalm 127, we read that God “gives to His beloved in his sleep.” The nights that I sleep well lead to mornings when I am most refreshed and days that I am most productive. Let’s face it; the anxieties of everyday life can wear us down to the point of physical and emotional fatigue. I am thankful that the infinite God granted this finite man the need for rest. In fact, it is impossible for a finite being like you and I to live well without rest.

Physical Rest Reminds us that We are not God

Again, the psalmist proclaims that God will “neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 121:4). How different from us? We need rest. If we do not rest it has massive implications for our physical, emotional, and mental health. However, God does not need rest. Not only is God all-powerful (not needing rest), He is ever-watchful (watching us while we rest). For some of us it is a scary thing to consider that we lay down all control and consciousness when we sleep. The most powerful people in all of humanity spend a third of their lives asleep, as helpless as an infant, and the world still progresses. Simply put, we are not God.

Physical Rest requires us to Relinquish Control

God handles the world quite well while on His own. God is sovereign over our world while we are awake, even more so when we are at rest. John Piper once said, “…Sleep is like a broken record that comes around with the same message every day: Man is not sovereign.” We’ve all heard the hard worker wax all self-righteously about his/her early morning and late night working hours, as if they run the world. How silly. It’s better to work well and sleep well, rather than to sacrifice rest in an effort to stay in control.

Lying Down and Laying it Down

God intended sleep to be a gift, a time every day where we remind ourselves that we are not God, and that God is in control. If you are like me, you probably have trouble sleeping when you are worried about something. Well, Jesus is pretty clear on the fact that worrying accomplishes nothing (Matthew 6:27-29).

So, I’ve learned that when I lie down to sleep it helps me to say to myself, “God, I am powering down, even though there is a ton to do, and lots to worry about, You are awake, working, and in perfect control, so I trust You to handle what I can’t.” It helps me rest well knowing that everything is in His hands.

August 5, 2013August 4, 2013 Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Christian Theology, Christianity, Faith, Gospel, LifeWay, LifeWay Church Resources, Pastoral Ministry, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

The Discipleship Interview with Eric Geiger

I recently had the opportunity to dialog with Eric Geiger about discipleship at his blog. Eric serves as one of the Vice Presidents at LifeWay Christian Resources, leading the Church Resources Division, which means he is my boss. I highly respect Eric and count it a joy to work under him on the church resources team. For the interview, Eric asked me three questions concerning discipleship in the local church. I have posted the interview in its entirety below.

Eric: Discipleship is such a broad term, often a junk-drawer term that has been used to describe many things. How do you define it?

Matt: The term discipleship is somewhat convoluted in today’s church. I’ve seen churches call everything from bible classes, financial courses, theology groups, marriage seminars, and speculative classes on the end times, ‘discipleship’. Certainly, discipleship involves having a biblical understanding of every aspect of life. However, calling everything done under the auspices of the local church ‘discipleship’ is unhelpful at best. When Jesus called the twelve to make disciples, baptize them, and teach them to observe all he commanded them, I doubt he had in mind what most churches call discipleship today. (see Matthew 28:19-20)

The word translated ‘disciple’ in the New Testament communicates the idea of a ‘learner’. A Christian disciple is one who learns the good news of the gospel and applies it to all of life. If you read through all that Jesus commanded the disciples you will find both gospel proclamation and kingdom demonstration. That is, teaching on the Scriptures and application of those teachings. Discipleship should be gospel-centered, word focused, and mission oriented. So, what is discipleship? To use the words of J.I. Packer, discipleship involves “grounding and growing God’s people in the gospel and its implications for doctrine, devotion, duty, and delight” (Grounded in the Gospel, 29). Discipleship is the intentional passing on of the biblical faith.

Moreover, disciples are not merely learners but fruit-bearing disciple-makers; they multiply themselves. (Acts 20:26-35; 2 Timothy 2:2) Those who follow Jesus are called and charged to be people who, having themselves learned, now reach out to teach what they have learned. This involves both formal and informal discipleship. Formal discipleship would include bible teaching and doctrinal instruction, what the church once called catechesis. (Jeremiah 6:16; Galatians 6:6) While informal discipleship would be intentional gospel centered encouragement and accountability in more intimate relationships. (Deuteronomy 6:6-7)

Eric: In terms of discipling new believers, what is of chief importance?

Matt: A new believer needs to understand the gospel first and foremost. What is the good news, what does it means for me, and why does it matter? And honestly, this process of understanding and applying the gospel will last a lifetime. So, of central importance is grasping the gospel. The initial steps of discipleship with a new believer might be more informal, almost like craftsmanship. It takes time, energy, patience, and skill to walk a new believer through the gospel and its implications, applying it to every area of life.

At the same time, I also think that new believers need to be involved in the formal process of discipleship, again, it used to be called catechesis. While the modern church rarely uses the word catechesis, we often engaged in catechesis training, which is simply doctrinal instruction. This involves spiritual, moral, and theological foundations that can help mature a young believer. Many old Saints from church history have argued that a faithful catechesis was absolutely essential to the healthy continuance of Christ’s church. In pastoral ministry I gave much thought to teaching the essentials of the Christian faith for the maturity of the body. Out of this time of study I developed five courses designed to be taught and discussed in both formal and informal settings.

Gospel – The gospel in its simplicity and depth.
Story – The story of redemption of which the gospel is the climax. (Biblical Theology)
Theology – The doctrines of the faith that conform to the gospel. (Systematic Theology)
Community – The power in the gospel that flows from our relationship with God and to others. (Ecclesiology and Biblical Counseling)
Mission – The manner of living that conforms to the truth of the gospel. (Missions, Missional Living, Ethics, and Culture)

These courses charted out with an end goal in mind, as not to perpetuate the continual learner but to train and equip every person for fruitful personal ministry. The end aim of these courses is to fully equip our people with essential theological understanding so that they can minister with discernment within their spheres of influence. I wrote and taught these classes with the new believer in mind. The initial question that set everything into motion was, what are the essential things I want every member of this church to believe and understand? After several semesters of teaching the courses, it was encouraging to see other church members who had completed the courses teaching them alongside me and the other pastors.

Eric: When thinking or training on discipleship, what passages are anchor passages for you?

Matt: The Apostle Paul charged the leaders in the Ephesian church to “equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood” (4:12). God has gifted His church with pastors, elders, and leaders with various gifts who are called to equip the church body to do the work of ministry (Ephesians 4:11). Notice Paul’s words, equip the saints for ministry.

Too often pastors operate as if they are the only ones capable of ministry. This has been called the professionalization of the ministry. However, it seems that Paul had a different ministry philosophy in mind. I think Michael Green captures this idea in his classic work Evangelism in the Early Church:

“It would be a gross mistake to suppose that the apostles sat down and worked out a plan of campaign: the spread of Christianity was, as we have seen, largely accomplished by informal missionaries, and must have been to a large extent haphazard and spontaneous.”

In other words, ministry was the prerogative of every church member. The ordinary people of the Church saw it as their prerogative. In fact, if one studies church history they will see that Christianity has been supremely a lay movement, spread by informal missionaries. As Green said, “The spontaneous outreach of the total Christian community gave immense [momentum] to the movement from the very outset.”

One of the keys of a multiplying discipleship ministry is intentionality in both informal relationships and formal training structures. All Christians have spiritual gifts that are to be used in ministering to others (1 Cor. 12:7, 11; 1 Pet. 4:10). All training and discipleship should be aimed at these ends, gospel proclamation and kingdom demonstration. In becoming a Christian, each one of us becomes a disciple. As Christians we never stop being disciples. We never reach the point where we no longer require daily discipleship by the gospel word and the gospel community. Moreover, as Christians, we are all called to make disciples.

July 22, 2013July 16, 2013 Matt Capps Books, Christian Theology, Christianity, Faith, LifeWay, LifeWay Church Resources, Pastoral Ministry, The Gospel Project, Theology

The Gospel Project is now available with ESV Bible text!

The Gospel Project is now available with the ESV Bible text in the curriculum. As part of this exciting news, LifeWay and Crossway are partnering together to give away 15 Group Starter Kits worth $100, each including:

ESV Heritage Bible
2 Gospel Project leader guides
10 Gospel Project personal study guides

Win this, and you’ll have all you need to start a new small group, home group, or bible study class. To earn your chance to win simply follow these steps!

Sign up to download free samples of The Gospel Project with ESV text at gospelproject.com/esv
Post about The Gospel Project and ESV combination on your blog including the Gospel Project and ESV graphic, linking back to the download page (gospelproject.com/esv).
For a greater chance to win, include #2 in a blog post related to the importance of studying the Bible with others. These posts can focus on a range of issues from teaching, leading, or being involved in small groups, homes groups, or Sunday school. If you have an earlier post related to these topics, dust if off and add #2.
Feed your blog post through twitter (make sure to tag @gospel_project) and facebook.

On August 19th the 15 winners of the Group Starter Kits will be announced!