Click through to the Resurgence if you can't see the video.

In part two of this interview, I continue my conversation with with Bob Thune (Lead Pastor of Coram Deo Church, A29) about what is making the work “work” in Omaha and preaching.

If you missed it, watch Part 1 of the interview.

For more from Dustin Neeley, visit Church Planting for the Rest of Us.

Resurgence Literature

Re:Lit is a ministry of Resurgence. There you will find a growing line of books to help guide the resurgence of the new reformed. Find out more.

At the recent AMBITION conference in Louisville, I had the opportunity to sit down with Matt Chandler and talk about a number of topics. In part one of our conversation, we discuss success in church planting, preaching, and leadership. As you would expect, Chandler does not disappoint. Listen, learn, and link, tweet, facebook, blog…whatever. Help us get this great content out there to as many folks as we can. There's more coming from this interview, so stay tuned.

In addition to pastoring Crossing Church and writing for the Resurgence, Dustin is also the founder of "Church Planting for the Rest of Us," a ministry aimed at encouraging and equipping small and medium-sized church planters and pastors. For more information, please visit www.cp4us.org.

Resurgence Literature

Re:Lit is a ministry of Resurgence. There you will find a growing line of books to help guide the resurgence of the new reformed. Find out more.

A Diverging Church and Culture

Increasingly, ministry in North America is an exercise in crossing cultures. As the culture moves its own way with everyone “doing right in his own eyes,” the church and the culture look increasingly divergent. Thus, Christians are left with a challenging task: how do we faithfully proclaim a clear biblical gospel in the shifting sands of culture?

It would be arrogant to think our culture different from all the others where the gospel is preached. For two millennia, Christians have addressed cultural questions.  Honestly, it has not always gone well. In every cultural encounter, some go too far and many don’t go far enough.


Joining Jesus In His Mission

Thus, in the Re:Train course "Missional Missiology," we will be asking missiological questions from a missional framework. The title of the class gets at the issues. First, we will look at things from a “missional” perspective. In other words, we will seek to join Jesus in his mission. That will require us to understand things like the mission of God, the Kingdom of Christ, the work of the church, and the cultural context.

The last point, the cultural context, gets at the missiological question. Missiology asks, “How can we most effectively be engaged in mission here, now, in this place and culture?”

We stand at a crucial time in the North American church, but the answers are always the same— a biblically faithful culture engaging and transforming its culture for the glory of God, the redemption of men and women, and the advance of his Kingdom.

Dr. Ed Stetzer teaches a course on Missional Missiology at the Resurgence Training Center. For more info, go to ReTrain.org.

Books By Ed Stetzer:

• Compelled by Love: The Most Excellent Way to Missional Living
• Comeback Churches: How 300 Churches Turned Around and Yours Can, Too
• Breaking the Missional Code: Your Church Can Become a Missionary in Your Community
• Planting Missional Churches
• 11 Innovations in the Local Church: How Today's Leaders Can Learn, Discern and Move Into the Future
• Lost and Found: The Younger Unchurched and the Churches that Reach Them
• Perimeters of Light

Re:Sound

The musical arm of the Resurgence offers music that is theologically unified, stylistically diverse, and musically excellent. Find out more.

Sometimes the Christmas season can be the toughest for a preacher. Why? Because while the incarnation of Jesus Christ is amazing, communicating it afresh year after year can be trying. Recently on our online social networking site The City, some of my brothers in the Acts 29 Church Planting Network were sharing some sermon ideas and I thought posting some of their suggestions along with my own may be of some help to those graced by God to preach and teach this holiday season. I also want to sincerely thank all the Christian leaders who let me speak into their life and ministry, as it’s a great honor to serve those who serve others.

Sermon Ideas

• A series based on the women associated with Jesus’ birth, such as Elizabeth and Mary.
• An expositional series on all or part of Matthew 1–2 or Luke 1–2.
• A comparison between how John, Matthew, and Luke each explain the incarnation of Jesus Christ in the opening chapters of their gospels.
• A study of either Matthew or Luke’s genealogy, or a comparison and contrast of the two.
• A series on the songs sung around the birth of Jesus, such as the one by Mary and the one by the angels.
• A study of the “I am the light of the world” statements of Jesus in John’s gospel.

Examine OT Prophecies about Jesus

Another idea is to do an examination of the Old Testament prophecies that foretold Jesus’ birth, such as:

• 4000 BC: Adam and Eve receive the prophecy that the Messiah (Jesus) would be born of a woman.
  • Promise: Genesis 3:15 – “’I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.’”
  • Fulfillment: Galatians 4:4 – “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law . . .”
• 700 BC: Isaiah prophesies that Jesus’ mother would be a virgin who conceived by a miracle and that Jesus would be God who became a man.
  • Promise: Isaiah 7:14 – “’Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.’”
  • Fulfillment: Matthew 1:18–23 – “Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel’ (which means, God with us).”
• 700 BC: Micah prophesies that Jesus would be born in the town of Bethlehem.
  • Promise: Micah 5:2 – “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days [eternity].”
  • Fulfillment: Luke 2:1–7 – “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. . . . And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.”
• 400 BC: Malachi prophesies that Jesus would enter the temple, which was destroyed in 70 AD, meaning the Messiah had to come before then.
  • Promise: Malachi 3:1 – “’Behold, I send my messenger and he will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord whom you seek will come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.’”
  • Fulfillment: Luke 2:25–27 – “Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law . . .”

Helpful Resources

The following resources may also be helpful in your studies.

• The Miracle of Christmas: God With Us by John MacArthur is an older book that has some good examples of how to explain the birth of Jesus. It also includes some good historical information on how we got Christmas cards, Christmas trees, and more.
• The Purpose of Christmas by Rick Warren is a good and simple devotional book looking at the implications of Jesus’ humility in coming among us.
• Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Christmas Sermons by Edwin H. Robertson is a good collection of sermons from a great Christian leader.
• Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus: Experiencing the Peace and Promise of Christmas by Nancy Guthrie includes chapters from John Piper, Randy Alcorn, John MacArthur, Francis A. Schaeffer, R. C. Sproul, Joni Eareckson Tada, George Whitefield, Martin Luther, J. Ligon Duncan, Timothy J. Keller, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Jonathan Edwards, Charles H. Spurgeon, and Augustine.
• Incarnation (Truth and the Christian Imagination Series) by Alister E. McGrath is a devotional-type book that includes beautiful holiday art and great insights.
• The Virgin Birth of Christ by J. Gresham Machen remains the best book outside of Scripture defending the virgin conception of Jesus Christ and is helpful for any teacher/preacher needing to shore up this aspect of their theology.
• Also, in our book Vintage Jesus, Gerry Breshears and I answer the following questions, with chapters 1–5 and 11 being obvious fits for the holiday season:
  • Chapter 1 – Is Jesus the Only God?
  • Chapter 2 – How Human Was Jesus?
  • Chapter 3 – How Did People Know Jesus Was Coming?
  • Chapter 4 – Why Did Jesus Come to Earth?
  • Chapter 5 – Why Did Jesus’ Mom Need to Be a Virgin?
  • Chapter 6 – What Did Jesus Accomplish on the Cross?
  • Chapter 7 – Did Jesus Rise from Death?
  • Chapter 8 – Where Is Jesus Today?
  • Chapter 9 – Why Should We Worship Jesus?
  • Chapter 10 – What Makes Jesus Superior to Other Saviors?
  • Chapter 11 – What Difference Has Jesus Made in History?
  • Chapter 12 – What Will Jesus Do upon His Return?

Christmas Sermons for Study

Lastly, some transcripts of good Christmas sermons may be helpful.

Luther
Sermon for Christmas Day
Sermon for Christmas Eve

Spurgeon
Joy Born at Bethlehem
A Christmas Question
The First Christmas Carol

Piper
Why the Son of God Came into the World
The Word Became Flesh

Keller (audio form)
The Courage of Christmas
Christmas War
The Begats
Christmas Wisdom

Total Church

Tim Chester and Steve Timmis present a vision for churches centered on gospel community. Find out more.

The Preacher’s Voice series: Click | View Series

There are primarily four areas of concern when it comes to the use and care of the preacher’s voice:

• Strain
• Tension
• Digestion
• Immune Health

Strain

Preaching is not the only thing preachers do. They teach, counsel, speak at different events, and have casual conversations. You might see your preacher at a sports event yelling with excitement on Saturday, but then he’ll be preaching on Sunday. Or you may see your bi-vocational rock star preacher jamming on Saturday, but then preaching Sunday morning, which contradicts all principles of healthy voice care. Whether jamming or preaching your voice needs to rest and recover.

Strain is the number one killer of the preacher’s voice, and the number one cause of strain is lack of a proper night’s sleep. When we sleep, the brain recovers from the previous day’s activity, as does the voice. Relaxation, gentle conversation, and proper rest and recovery of the voice are essential elements for planned healthy voice projection like preaching.

Tips to Preventing Voice Strain

• Rise early and drink warm liquid, such as water with fresh lemon juice.
• Do not have a large meal before speaking.
• Exercise early and lightly on the day of preaching.
• Do not nap before public speaking.
• Stay calm and avoid strain the night before preaching.
• Do some light public speaking before preaching.
• Pronounce words clearly and distinctly; mispronounced words cause strain.
• Keep room temperature water with you and sip throughout preaching.
• Do not force excitement; let it come naturally.
• Adequately test the PA system before preaching.
• Do not use excessive bass in the PA system.
• Change up your pace during the message.
• Rest your voice after preaching.

Preach Jesus clearly, firmly, and lovingly, with conviction, grace, and action. Mostly, preach in faith with a loud and healthy voice.

To be continued

Rain City Hymnal

The first offering from Re:Sound is the Rain City Hymnal. Listen online and get the record from the Re:Sound website. Find out more.

The Preacher's Voice: Click | View Series

The focus of this series is to understand the importance of preserving the health of a preacher's voice.

The Preacher Needs Energy

The preacher needs an incredible amount of energy to meet the preaching demand. I have heard through the years that preaching is not a difficult task, and that it doesn't require much energy. This is based upon the fact that most preachers are overweight, unfit, and indulge in poor eating habits. However, I believe that this results from the stress of the job itself.

Quick Energy Fixes

Sustained intake of carbohydrates with constant adrenalin output can be a vicious cycle. In cases like this, the preacher looks for quick energy fixes to keep on going, and often these choices are loaded with sugar and stimulant agents, like caffeine. If the tank is empty, an octane booster won't fill the tank. It will just give a bad message to the complex regulating systems of the body that metabolize and burn calories.

Burn Off Those Calories

Billy Graham once said that before a preaching event he would have a carbohydrate meal the night before and a steak dinner afterward. Fitness, however, was an essential item on his list. He ate this way with the understanding that consuming higher calories required exercise to burn those calories. He didn't just rely on the sweat produced from his preaching.

Preacher, if the greater omentum (Latin for the fat mesh of the tummy) is gaining momentum (gaining more weight), then you are consuming more than what you are sweating off! This increases the risk of poor health and takes away from your voice energy in more ways than one.

Unfit Preachers are like Unfit Doctors

Would you listen to an overweight and unfit doctor giving you health advice on diet, cholesterol, sugar management, and exercise? An unfit preacher demonstrates poor discipline with his health, and he similarly hampers the effectiveness of communicating the disciplined life of the Christian.

If the evangelical message is to be taken seriously, the preacher must strengthen his voice through the support of healthy disciplines.

To be continued.

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The Preacher's Voice: Click | View Series

The focus of this series is to understand the importance of preserving the health of a preacher's voice. Practical points will be given to protect and enhance the preacher's vocal ability. We will also discuss the importance of health and energy, vocal preservation, elements that may compromise the voice, and actions required to enhance the vibrancy and longevity of it.

"The Voice"

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea… For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.'" Now John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Matthew 3:1-4

John the Baptizer came in the verve and passion of the Old Testament prophet Elijah. He was the voice of one crying in the wilderness, heralding the message that Jesus Christ, the greatest preacher of all time, was coming with an evangelical thrust that would not be ignored.

He received a diversified response from his listeners: casual hearing, deep conviction, total rejection, and complete acceptance. He received both applause and thumbs down (or the traditional Roman thumbs up) from the common crowd, his own people, politicians, and religious leaders.

Bugs and Honey?

John needed to be in great health to have the energy in spirit, soul, and body to herald this world-changing event. The world was never the same after John proclaimed Jesus as the answer to all of the world's conflicts. He required nutritious and sustaining food for this athletically demanding message. Preacher, so do you!

No way would your pastor agree to eating bugs and honey as a main staple of his diet before preaching, unless there was some odd behavioral thing going on. Well, John didn't either. According to some New Testament experts, John's diet in the rough and arid terrain consisted of dates, date honey, and bread cakes that were made from the bean of the locust tree. This seems to make more sense. This diet would provide immediate energy to meet the exhausting task of preaching to the masses the message of the Messiah.

To be continued.

Rain City Hymnal

The first offering from Re:Sound is the Rain City Hymnal. Listen online and get the record from the Re:Sound website. Find out more.

Church leadership is complicated. It must start with deference to Jesus as the Chief Shepherd and ultimate head of the body (Eph 5:23). He’s in charge, and we need to submit our plans and leadership to him.

Human Leadership: Elders

In addition, the Holy Spirit appoints human overseers who must follow Jesus’ leading (Acts 20:28). The highest office of leadership in a church is that of elder (1 Tim 3:1–7).

The elders must fulfill a wide range of responsibilities and address a variety of issues which grow in complexity as a church grows in size. The law of the land, for example, is extraordinarily complicated for large churches, and the elders must ensure that operations remain in compliance (2 Cor 8:20–21).

A Trinity of Complexity

The complexity must be dealt with in order to ensure a healthy and fruitful church. Therefore, the elders must organize in order to properly govern, manage, and shepherd the church as an organization and as a people. Every church needs these three functions to develop in concert:

• Govern: An overseeing body must ensure that proper systems and controls are in place to promote wise stewardship of all the resources entrusted to the organization’s care. Resources include the mission, leaders, finances, and people.
• Manage: Delegated leadership is responsible for day-to-day decision-making and operations oversight.
• Shepherd: Pastoral care includes preaching, teaching, counseling, and discipling the people of the church.

Case in Point

Here is how this plays out at Mars Hill: our Board of Directors is responsible for the governance of the church; our executive elders, department heads, and campus pastors are responsible for the management of different components of the church; and our shepherding is led by the campus pastors and their elder teams.

Specialized

As a church organization grows, leaders become more and more specialized. Each elder at Mars Hill has a general obligation to govern, manage, and shepherd, but typically specializes in one of these three areas (Rom 12:4).

Our aim as church leaders is to build an organization under the authority of Jesus and his Word, governed diligently, managed faithfully, and shepherded with great care for its people.

Jamie Munson is Lead Pastor of Mars Hill Church. Find him on Twitter and Facebook:

• twitter.com/jamiemunson
• facebook.com/jamiemunson

Re:Train

We are launching The Resurgence Training Center (Re:Train) to prepare leaders for ministry locally and around the world. Additional details and downloadable application form here.

There are two ways to read the Bible. We can read it as law and threat, or we can read it as promise and assurance.

If we read the Bible as law, every page will feel like God glaring at us: “If you ever . . . .” And since we are all law-breakers at heart, the Bible will crush us. Even the promises will come across as law: “God will bless sinners—well, the ones who deserve it.”

If we read the Bible as promise, every page will be hope from God. It will breathe new life into us. Even the commands will be sweetened with grace: “God will bless sinners—yes, sinners who break these laws.”

Which way of reading of the Bible is correct?

The apostle Paul explains: “The law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. . . . God gave it to Abraham by a promise” (Gal 3:17-18).

Here is Paul’s point. If we want to know whether we should read the Bible through the lens of law or promise, we can start reading on page one and see which comes first. And in fact, promise comes first—God’s covenant with Abraham in Genesis 12. The law is a later sidebar, in Exodus 20. The category “promise” is the larger, wraparound framework for everything else.

The deepest message of the Bible is the grace of God for sinners. The Bible presents itself this way. The laws and commands and examples and warnings are all there. Let’s revere them. But we can read them with this as our foremost thought: “Jesus obeyed it all. He died for all my failure. And now he is changing my heart. I can read this page of the Bible with hope in his grace.”

It's possible that your preaching is killing your church plant.

Don't freak out. This is the Resurgence, after all. We are absolutely committed to the powerful, masculine, authoritative preaching of God's Word. I'm not going to ask you to trade preaching for sharing, prayer labyrinths, or finger painting, but I am going to argue that your teaching style must fit the size dynamics of your church in order to be effective.

You're Not Preaching to Thousands

Preachers like Piper, Keller, Driscoll, and Chandler speak to thousands each week, and it's great to learn from those guys. But if you're trying to preach like those guys, you're probably making a mistake. Because let's be honest: you're not preaching to thousands.

I spoke with a church planter recently who couldn't understand why his core group of 30 wasn't bringing anyone to church. Answer? Because it's awkward to sit in a room with a few dozen people and get yelled at through a big sound system! It just doesn't fit the environment. I met another guy a few years ago (a Baptist brother, stereotypically) who was setting up a big wooden pulpit in his living room every week so he could preach to his core team of seven people.

Confusing the Practice with the Mode of Preaching

These well-meaning men have confused the practice of preaching with a particular mode of preaching. To preach is to authoritatively communicate the word of God. The normal mode of preaching in larger churches is to stand before the people, Bible open, with a microphone and a message.

But you can also preach sitting on a stool among 20 or 30 people. You can even preach from the couch in your living room if you have a core team of seven. You shouldn't ignore God's call to "preach the word" (2 Tim 4:2), but you should contextualize your preaching for the size dynamics of your church, especially if you ever want your church to grow.

Tailor Preaching to the Size of Your Church

People have an innate sense of what "fits" in a certain setting. You don't expect arena rock at a coffeehouse. Similarly, you don't expect a pulpit and lots of yelling in a small church plant. What will grow your church in the early stages is not the formality or power of your preaching, but rather how accessible and engaging it is.

Tailor your preaching for the size dynamics of your church. Think of venues where 25 to 75 people gather—coffee shops, college classes, house-show concerts—and then aim for that sort of feel.

Engage the audience in dialogue by asking questions, inviting feedback, and answering objections. Build your sermons around missional conversations you're having during the week. Three things will happen: non-Christians will feel honored and welcomed; Christians will learn how to have authentic gospel dialogue with outsiders; and your church will grow.

Preach Like Spurgeon When Your Church Gets Bigger

Here's a good rule of thumb (don't make it a law, but take it for what it's worth): if you have less than 80 people in your church, you shouldn't be preaching in the same way as the guys you podcast. I know Spurgeon is your hero, but don't worry, you can preach like him when your church gets bigger. For now, restrain your inner Whitefield and preach in a way that fits your context.

And hey, Baptist dude: if you wonder why your church hasn't outgrown your living room yet, I might have an answer.

A Book You'll Actually Read:

Clear, biblical answers to some of the most common questions—all in concise books you'll actually read! Mark Driscoll boils down the big ideas into little books. Find out more.