New Schedule and New Series Start This Sunday

This Sunday (5-1-11) Calvary goes to its new Sunday schedule:


09:30 am  Classic Worship Service (Bible Fellowships)
11:00 am  Contemporary Worship Service (Bible Fellowships)
12:30 pm  Spanish Language Worship Service


We are excited about this change and we hope that God will use it to rally us as a church for his mission and vision.


We will also begin a new sermon series called "Radical: An Invitation to Extreme Living."  Taking a cue from David Platt's book "Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream," we will examine Jesus' call in the Gospels to follow him and to participate in his global purpose.  It is my hope that this would help us catch a vision for being authentic disciples who are on mission with God to make other disciples of all nations.


Note that there have been some changes in Adult Bible Fellowship schedules.  A new brochure with this information is available in magazine racks and tables around the church campus.


Please remember the following:

• Pray for the schedule change and the adjustments necessary.
• Pray for the new sermon series.
• Remember to leave the parking lots adjacent to the worship center for the elderly and handicapped.
• If you are in the 11:00 am service, help us fill the front and middle first so that new comers will find a place to sit on the sides and back.
• Remind your groups and teams about the schedule change and encourage them to pray also.
• Bring someone with you this Sunday.

May God be glorified in all we do.

Where are we on vision development?

For several months now, the pastoral staff and leadership at Calvary have been praying and working on vision development.  


Where are we?  Who are we?  Where are we trying to go?  How do we get there?  How do we know we're there when we get there?


These are the kinds of questions we are asking and attempting to answer.


Our starting point is prayer and the Scriptures.


Prayer
In addition to significant times of prayer as pastoral staff and to a weekly Wednesday night prayer group, we have asked the congregation to spend forty days of prayer seeking God's face.  During these forty days of prayer our focus has been on seeking the kingdom of God: the spread of the gospel, and the establishment of righteousness, peace and joy in our lives, city and world.  Not only have we been praying for God's direction but we are praying around the kingdom themes that should help us expand our vision!


Scriptures
There are several Scriptures that help shape our thinking about who we should be.  The two that speak to our purpose for existing are the Great Commandment (Mark 12:30-31) and the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20).  In fact, we are thinking that if we get the Great Commandment right, the Great Commission will be a natural result.  If we learn how to love God with all our being and to love others, God will bring Christ followers to himself through us.  In that sense, we should be about loving God and loving people!  Can you imagine what that would look like?


In terms of vision and strategy, several texts are of special interest: John 20:21-22 (sent as Jesus was sent); Luke 4:18-19 (Jesus' agenda becomes ours); John 15:1-12 (description of an authentic Christ follower); Luke 15:11-32 (the nature of the gospel of grace) and Acts 1:8 (a geographic strategy).  It is noteworthy that the focus in John 15:1-12 is about who we are rather than what we do.  Our essential task is to "remain connected to Christ."  The growth, obedience and multiplication, even the love for one another, are results of that connection.


Summary
Having said that, could we summarize the primary aspects of our church vision as (1) love God, (2) love people and (3) live his mission?


Values
As we ponder on this, there are several values that are important to identify: Biblical authority, Christ-centered teaching, grace gospel, spiritual & relational vitality, holistic ministry, kingdom living and multiplication.


Worship and Families
Furthermore, in terms of what we do as a congregation there are certain essentials.  We feel like congregational worship is key for God's people encountering his presence, having a sense of congregational identity, and receiving the power for being on mission.  (We hope our current change in Sunday worship schedule will help in this way).  We also feel strongly about the importance of families in the church.  That means we encourage the family to attend worship together.  (When parents attend worship only and take their elementary age children and/or students to Bible fellowship at the same hour, they are getting an unbalanced spiritual meal and the family misses the worship experience together).  It also means we want to find ways to do more intergenerational things so that we are not so divided along generational lines.


Bible Fellowships and Small Groups
We believe that disciples grow and multiply best in the context of community.  So Bible Fellowships and small groups remain a vital part of who we are.  The discipleship of our children and students is a great priority.  We do this in part through age-graded Bible Fellowships.  However, the key to it is to disciple parents so they can disciple their children.  How important it is also to identify adults who are willing to mentor children and students, especially in the absence of a believing parent.


Local and Global Impact
As a missional church, we further understand that we have the opportunity and the privilege of ministering to the needs of our community, helping plant churches in the valley, and partnering strategically in global endeavors to minister to the least of these and share the gospel of Jesus.


What's next?
These are the basic things that we have identified thus far.  We need to unpack these things, to grasp God's dream of what our church could look like when these kinds of things are a reality, and to identify the steps necessary to move in that direction.


Our pastoral staff will be having a spring retreat in early May to work on these things.  Shortly after that we hope to have another leadership lab to share and hear from key leaders what God is saying.


In the meantime, here's what I am asking from you as a leader:

• keep praying for God's direction and power;
• reflect on the things discussed above;
• as the Lord confirms some of these things in your heart, pass them on to your respective teams and circles of influence within Calvary;
• give us your feedback and input as to the vision;
• feel free to ask whatever question you may have.

May God get the glory both, now in the process, and when we get to where He is leading us!

Moving Forward with Combining Contemporary Services

The decision has been made, after much prayer, consideration and discussion, to move forward with combining the contemporary services at Calvary.  I sense the excitement in the air already!


Allow me to review the decision making process.


After posting the idea on this blog last week, I received several e-mail replies and read several posted comments on the blog.  Some of these had suggestions.  Others had expressed opinions.  And some had questions.  All of them were affirming of the general idea of combining services.  The e-mail for blog posts goes out to approximately to 160 Calvary leaders.  Approximately 66 have viewed the blog.  About 20 have replied with e-mails or comments.  There are eight posted comments on that blog post.


On Wednesday (3-30-11), I met with the coordinating council which consists of the chairpersons of all committees and the chairman of deacons (Karrie Fogle, Victor Valenzuela, Bobby Byrnes, Steve Ahlenius, Hector Garza and Mark Southwell).  After discussion, the council voted unanimously to move forward with the proposed change.


On Sunday (4-3-11), I met with the deacon body.  Twenty-four of us were present (19 deacons and 5 pastors).  We discussed the proposed change, after a period of prayer, and arrived at a general consensus that this is where we felt God leading us.


On Monday (4-4-11), I met with the pastoral staff to pray and review the feedback received throughout the week.  As a staff we agreed to implement this change which has been agreed to by the leadership of Calvary without opposition.  We have discussed issues of concern and logistical details and are working hard to prepare for this change.


The nature of the concerns which have been expressed in the discussions are how will this impact the Children and Student Bible Fellowships, how will that impact parking lot space, and what will be the plan for when we grow.  There were multiple alternatives to the scheduled times that were submitted, ranging from starting earlier, to flip-flopping classic and contemporary and to placing the Spanish service in the middle of the two English services.  There were various other concerns and suggestions.  These are the most salient ones.  We have discussed each area of concern and considered the options thoroughly.  Although each of these concerns could occupy an entire blog entry, I will give a very summary comment to each of them.


The children and student buildings have sufficient rooms to handle this change.  What may be lacking are teachers.  However, this need exists now.  In other words, whether this change took place or not, we are still needing to communicate to our parents and congregation the value of discipling our children and students and increasing the number of people who invest in this important ministry.  As a staff we will take steps to call out those teachers and potential teachers in our congregation.


One of the aspects which will be lost in the children and student areas is the integration of children and students from the English and Spanish services that was possible at the 11:15 ABF time.  However, this opportunity will now be afforded for children of families who attend the classic service.  It is our desire that this integration continue to happen on Wednesday nights and events of the children and student ministries.


Our church campus counts on sufficient parking space to handle the proposed change.  Since there will be more people on campus at one time, we do encourage our congregation to leave the parking lots closer to the worship center for our guests, the elderly and the handicapped.  That leaves the parking lots on the west end of our property and the one on Daffodil (on the north end of the family life center) for the rest of us.


The pastoral staff will be working almost immediately on the plan for when we grow so that space is provided for further growth.


We considered the schedule time and placement of services suggestions.  There are many advantages and disadvantages to each of them.  The decision is to move forward with the originally proposed schedule:


09:30 am Classic worship (contemporary ABFs)
11:00 am Contemporary worship (classic and Spanish ABFs)
12:30 pm Spanish worship


This new schedule will be effective May 1 in order to give us sufficient time for implementation before the summer begins.


We ask for your prayers and your support as we move forward in the direction that we feel God is leading us.  I am excited about what God is doing at Calvary!


May God be glorified in all that we do!

Combining Contemporary Services for Momentum?

About six months ago (9-23-10) I posted on this blog my decision (supported by the pastoral staff) for not changing the amount and times of worship services Calvary offered.  I stated the reasons for such a decision.  (See the post at http://leadingcalvary.blogspot.com/2010_09_01_archive.html).  During these six months, we have continued to pray for the Lord's direction, observe closely what is happening and listen to what He might be saying.  At this point, I feel like God may be leading us to combine our contemporary worship services in order to gain momentum as we move forward.


As I stated in the 9-23-10 post, one of the primary reasons for having multiple services is to provide room for growth.  We want to be a congregation whose heart is on reaching those without Christ and making sure that there is room for them.  However, providing space for growth does not automatically produce growth.  There are other elements that are important for growth to take place.

Genuine growth can only be produced by God's Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 3:6-7).  So must seek Him and allow his power to work through us and around us.  Another aspect necessary for growth is what I would call momentum.  According to Wikipedia,

In classical mechanics, momentum is the product of the mass and velocity of an object (p = mv). Like velocity, momentum is a vector quantity, possessing a direction as well as a magnitude. 

But when I use the word, I mean the combination of congregational identity, confidence, enthusiasm, energy and shared sense of purpose.  Perhaps another way of describing it is a "snowball effect."  Once the snowball gets rolling, it picks up speed and size.  I believe this is part of what we need at Calvary in order to experience significant growth.  I also think that combining the two contemporary worship services can position us to gain that kind of momentum.

We are reminded that our objective is not numerical growth but to be a vibrant church that is well connected to God and that loves people.  We refer to this as spiritual and relational vitality.  Nevertheless when there is this kind of vibrant health, numerical growth will be a natural by product.

The reality is that we have not experienced growth in attendance to our English worship services for the last eight months or so.  In September I reported that our 8:15 am service attendance had been averaging below 200, our 9:45 am below 300, our 11:15 am fluctuated between 200 and 250 and our 12:45 pm (Spanish) service about 240.  Since then, the average attendance to the 8:15 am service has been about 180, 9:45 am about 250, 11:15 am about 200, and 12:45 pm (Spanish) right below 300.  (The actual average of the Spanish service for the first quarter of 2011 is 307.  The Spanish service is the only one growing in attendance at this time).  Our combined worship attendance is a little above 900.

Compared to previous years, the combined attendance to English services is at a low point for the first quarter of 2011.  In the previous four years, the highest combined worship attendance took place in the 2008--2009 school year.  For the 2010--2011 school year our combined worship attendance is very compatible with that.  The growth in the Spanish service has helped our combined attendance remain strong.

In the 9-23-10 blog post I noted that the combined attendance of the two contemporary worship services had been under 500 except for five occasions in the 2010 calendar year where it came close to 600.  Since then, there have only been two occasions where the 500 mark has been surpassed in the combined contemporary services.  I anticipate that Easter Sunday would be a third occasion in which this would be the case.  Having observed the patterns and trends, if we combine the two contemporary services, there would still be space for growth.  We may have to be creative on future Easter and Christmas musical Sundays.

The questions that arise when making such a move include:

• what time will the classic, contemporary and Spanish services be at?
• how will the Bible Fellowships work?
• when should such a change be implemented?
• what are some of the implications of such a change?

I have discussed this matter with the pastoral staff and with some leaders.  I have also received e-mails from church members regarding the issue.

The pastoral staff and I feel like the best option for times of services will be as follows:

09:30 am  Classic Worship (Contemporary Bible Fellowships)

11:00 am  Contemporary Worship (Classic & Spanish Bible Fellowships)

12:30 pm  Spanish Worship

Furthermore, we feel the best time to implement such a change will be May 1 of this year.

There are many implications of this.  We know that it will take prayer, cooperation, an effort to fill the worship center in such a way that we leave room for guests, longer walks from the parking lot, and continued volunteers in the children's area.  Furthermore, we hope that the momentum that builds up will leave us open for the possibility of starting a new worship service once God gives us the growth.  We don't want to become inward focused but to remain missional.

Before we announce this to the congregation, I am seeking the input of each Calvary leader.  Please pray about this and comment on this post.  I am also having meetings with the coordinating council and the deacons to seek their input.

I am confident that as we seek God's direction, he will make things clear.  May we be obedient in faith.  May he empower us to be all that he has called us to be.  May we lift his name high in such a way that others will be drawn to Him.

Can We Really Change the World?

Last week during my vacation, as I read the hotel-provided issue of USA TODAY (3-14-11), I read an article entitled "America's churches can help change the world."  I found it to be an interesting and compelling treatment of the role the church and religious leaders have historically played in being "prophetic" and transformational agents (sometimes negatively and sometimes positively).  Additionally, the need and the urgency for us to step up to the plate today in a world of turmoil and change is recognized.  In church circles, we often talk about "changing the world."  Sometimes that becomes cliche.  However, it is interesting when a secular newspaper says to the church and religious leaders, "C'mon, it's up to you to do something for the moral well-being of our world!"

You can read the article yourself here:

America's churches can help change the world

As we continue in our forty days of prayer "Seek God for the City" and we pray for the world, one country at a time, we need to have the conviction that we can actually make a difference!  As the people of God, we can be transformational agents in our city, our nation and in the world.  We don't do this on our own strength and wisdom but God does it through us.  We are his ambassadors!

When Pastor Rick Warren introduced his P.E.A.C.E. plan (http://thepeaceplan.com/), he argued that the church (not one local expression but the body of Christ globally) is the best agency, above governments and business, for addressing the world's largest problems.  In my opinion, one of the reasons we are not making a difference at that scale is that we really don't believe that we can.  I also believe another reason we fail in being global transformational agents is our preoccupation with internal affairs.  We are looking through a microscope when we should be using a telescope.

I believe that our God can use Calvary Baptist Church in McAllen, Texas to be a local and global change agent.  Calvary has already done so but the potential is so much greater.  For this to happen at a greater scale than ever before, there are certain necessary ingredients:

• a complete dependance on the Holy Spirit through constant fervent prayer;
• a clear sense of who we are and what we are about;
• a increasing vision of God's kingdom in the world;
• an intentional plan to partner with other churches, agencies and movements in prayer and work

None of these have magic or instant formulas.  They each involve a process of growth and development over time.  But we have to start somewhere.  Below I list some of the steps that we are taking in that direction.

1. Our forty days of prayer "Seek God for the City" have the intent of emphasizing our dependence on the Holy Spirit and the need for constant spiritual preparation for our mission as a church.  The themes and topics of our prayer guide are also intended to broaden our vision as a church as we pray for our city and our world.  I hope that this kind of thing does not end after the forty days but it becomes part of who we are as a congregation.
2. Our pastoral staff has been working on refining our strategy focus for a couple of months now.  In addition to our regular staff meetings, the staff is having extended day-long meetings and is planning a spring retreat.  Furthermore, we have calendared another leadership lab for key Calvary leaders on May 1 and a possible follow up on May 22 where we can get input from each.
3. In light of the financial situation in our area, and particularly in our church, the personnel committee has asked that I evaluate our current staff structure and recommend changes that are conducive to greater efficiency.  The stewardship and missions committee have endorsed that request and have expressed concerned about finding ways to reduce budget expenses.  In the next several weeks I will be working to identify areas where we can be more efficient as a church.
4. Given the above three steps, I expect that by the fall of this year there will be some ministry and program adjustments in our week-to-week operations.  I do not foresee major changes or a rebranding of our church.  However, I do see the need to refine what we are doing so that we can be a more effective disciple-making missional church.
5. We are looking at the possibilities of several strategic partnerships locally and globally also.  These should be in development and implementation by the second part of this year and the beginning of 2012, Lord willing.

These small steps, I believe, get us closer to positioning ourselves where God can use us in a bigger and greater way as transformational agents in the world.

Your role as a leader is crucial.  Pray, participate and believe God!  I know I am!

Forty Days of Prayer Begin Today

We are beginning our forty days of prayer today.  This emphasis which culminates on Palm Sunday is a focused effort in our congregation (and for churches around the world) to seek God's power and kingdom for the transformation of our cities and our world.


As a church we understand that being missional hangs on our dependence from God.  We seek God for vision, direction and power.  We understand that spiritual vitality is essential to the mission.


There is much work for Calvary to do as it lives out its mission in the city of McAllen, in the Rio Grande Valley and around the world.  However, our church must be spiritually healthy, relationally strong and infilled with the power of God's Holy Spirit if we are going to make a difference.  That is why it's so important for us to pray together seeking God's face.


This week's emphasis (March 9 through March 19) is,


"Seeking God's FACE"


Psalm 24:6 and 27:8 speak of "seeking God's face."  We are praying that God would give us a hunger for being in his presence and that as we encounter his presence, He would do in us what it is His desire to do.  I hope that we earnestly do that this week.


The prayer guides we are providing give daily Scriptures, topics and prayers to help us focus on this theme.  Furthermore, it suggests specific prayer for segments of the population in our city.  This week we are praying for:

• women (March 9)
• youth (March 10)
• ethnic communities (March 11)
• the sick (March 12)
• families (March 13)
• the military (March 14)
• the poor (March 15)
• the homeless (March 16)
• pastors (March 17)
• agricultural workers (March 18)
• men (March 19)

Also, we are praying for each country in the world beginning with the Americas this week and ending with Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.  Each day of the week will have a list of countries as we pray for God's kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven.

As we pray specifically for Calvary Baptist Church we pray that God would give us a clear sense of identity as a missional church.  That we would have a greater sense of what it means to be authentic disciples on mission.  That we would grow in our sense of purpose as the people of God as we practice the Great Commandment and the Great Commission.  May we love God with all of our being, love others, and may that love be so evident that others would want to be a part of such a community of authentic disciples.

Take time to pray today and each day this week!

"Seek God for the City"

We are calling for a forty days of prayer emphasis from March 9 through April 17.  The theme will be "Seek God for the City: Prayers of Biblical Hope."

Why?

As a church we understand that being missional hangs on our dependence from God.  We seek God for vision, direction and power.  We understand that spiritual vitality is essential to the mission.


We also understand that, according to Acts 1:8, our mission begins in “our Jerusalem.”  We pray for the transformation of our own city without taking our eyes off the “ends of the earth.”  In fact, we understand that transformation flows from the inside out: from the individual heart to the church, from the church to the community, from the community to the city, from the city to the region, and from the region to the ends of the earth.


When?


As we look forward to Palm Sunday, we remember Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.  This event was an event marked with hope.  We anticipate the increasing presence of His kingdom in our city.  Ultimately, we look with hope to his return.  It is with this kind of hope that we pray for our church, for our city and for our world.  Furthermore, taking our cue from the significance of periods of "forty" in the Bible:

• 40 days of testing for Noah in the ark (Genesis 7);
• Moses' 40 years of preparation before leading his people;
• Moses' 40 days on Mount Sinai (Exodus 24);
• Israel's 40 years of testing in the wilderness (Deuteronomy 8);
• Jesus fasted for 40 days before beginning his ministry (Matthew 4);
• the preparation of the disciples for 40 days after Jesus' resurrection (Acts 1);

we dedicate 40 days as a church for focused prayer.  Counting back 40 days from Palm Sunday (April 17), we will begin our season of prayer on March 9.  Some traditions call this the Lent season.  We may or may not like to call it that but we will want it to be forty days of fervent prayer.

How?


Prayer guides for the “Seek God for the City” emphasis will be available in English or Spanish at the Calvary campus for those who are interested beginning this Sunday, February 27.


These prayer guides provide daily direction on how to pray for the city and for the world.  Each day has Scripture verses, a theme of prayer for city transformation, a population to pray for, and a list of countries.  During those six weeks we will pray seeking: (1) God’s face; (2) the gospel of the kingdom; (3) the righteousness of His kingdom; (4) the peace of the kingdom; (5) the joy of the kingdom; and (6) the visitation of Christ the king.  Each week we will pray for a different continent and its respective countries beginning with the Americas and ending with Jerusalem.


These prayer guides can be used in your individual devotional time, at the dinner table with the family, in Bible Fellowships, Choir and praise team rehearsals, men’s fraternity, GROW and WIT groups and in worship services.  No additional prayer meetings are being calendared for this emphasis.  We would like this emphasis to be incorporated into the existing events of the church.  However, if you feel led to form a prayer group for this purpose, feel free to do so.  The prayer guides will be made available in the bulletin table and in the foyer.  If you are able to, you may put a $1 cost-recovery donation for the booklet in an offering envelope and label it “prayer guide,” placing it in the offering plate.


I hope that as a Calvary leader, you will be intentional in both, your individual participation in prayer in these forty days, and in intentionally finding ways to lead your ministry to participate.


Additionally, we will be following the themes of this prayer guide in the Wednesday night prayer group that meets in the Slayton building at 6:30 pm beginning on March 9.



It is my hope and prayer that as his people we will grow closer in intimacy with him, we will experience his transforming power in our lives, we will grow in our compassion for our city and our world, and we will be thrust into his mission of redeeming the world to Himself.  Only God can do that!  That's why we are "seeking God" for our church and city!