Keeping A Team Mentality by Travis Sinks

"None of us are as smart as all of us.” -Pastor Daniel Williams

The reality is that we, as individuals can accomplish a lot on our own… But we’ll never be able to accomplish alone what can only be done with all of us together.

"Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.” Genesis 11:6

"Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” Psalm 133:1

Even in scripture, we learn how importance teamwork, but it can be so difficult to obtain. At Redemption Church, we strive to keep teamwork a priority and making sure that we’re emphasizing the body of Christ in all of its diversity of gifts, and personalities. Here are three things we keep as a priority in order to bring about a team mentality:

Share a vision, not a task list

Yes, tasks will be shared, but what is most important is for all of us to be centered around a common vision and goal. This is why we emphasize our mission statement so much: To Pursue and Proclaim Jesus. We want everything we do to emphasize these two points.

Play everyone's strengths

What makes teams so difficult is that everyone is different, but this can also be our greatest strength. It’s amazing that we are not only good at different things, but how some people can absolutely love doing what others would never do. Learning these things is crucial to our success as a group. Jesus has gifted each of us differently, and made us to enjoy different parts of the work that goes towards the same vision. We want everyone to be able to not only work well together, but to thrive in the place God has made them to be in His Church.

Delegate everything you can

This one has been, and always will be the thing most struggle with. Handing over important tasks, projects, and especially management is extremely difficult. The reality is that the biggest bottle neck most teams will face is their leader. The best advice I’ve ever heard is that if someone can do something 60% as well as you then you should have them do it instead. This may seem easy, but you realize very quickly that 60% is a very far way from 100%. Nonetheless, teaching others and delegating areas of responsibility (and truly letting them take it over without you micromanaging them) is the only way to utilize a team well and will encourage everyone to take part and work as a team rather than a one man show with many helpers.

In order for us to function well as a church, we need to all be aware of what keeps a team running smoothly. Let’s continue to pursue a great vision together, to encourage each other in our unique gifting, and to continue to include others in the work so that Jesus may continue to be even more glorified in not only in the work accomplished, but in the love and service we have towards one another.

Choose To Remember by Daniel Williams

My wife and I have been in the process of church-planting for about 5 years. We didn’t officially open the doors for Sunday services until much later, but the process of planting began much earlier. We still look back to those first days of when God told us to get ready to leave, the morning I heard His voice tell me where to plant, the visions He gave in the early days, the first person we shared Jesus with in our new city, the families who have come and gone, all those we’ve been so blessed to baptize… miracle after miracle of God’s provision, His goodness, His unexpected favor, His comfort, and His presence. It is these precious stories and moments of God working that remind us of Who God is and why we are here. And we all need that. We need to remember Who our God is and why we are doing what we are doing. God knows that, and that is why over and over again He tells us in His Word to REMEMBER.

WHY REMEMBER?

Why is it that we need to be told to remember such incredible things in our lives? The nation of Israel had to be told again and again not to forget the work of God. They were even told not to forget God Himself! Throughout the Old Testament, we see men building alters from piles of rocks as a place to worship and commemorate an encounter with God. It is almost funny that in order to remember a work of God, they would build a physical structure that people would have to walk around or literally trip on to force them to remember something special that God had done. 

Even in the New Testament, the Apostle Peter wrote about the importance of remembering. He said that he was writing to REMIND them of things they already knew (2 Peter 1:12-15). We need that! You know God is good. You know He has called you. Yet, we all need to be reminded of what God has done so that we do not forget! This has become one of the most important things about our church planting journey—choosing to look back and remember. Creating these alters of stones reminding us of the faithfulness of Jesus.

WHAT IS IMPORTANT?

It is very easy to get so caught up in the business of what planting a church involves, that we can forget what God is doing and has done. There is certainly much practical work to be done, and it is not unimportant, but the practice of looking back at all God has accomplished ALREADY will strengthen and spur you on in those moments where it does get tough! The urgency of this moment’s tasks will always be there, but the spiritual importance of creating this habit is immeasurable. You know the God stories you tend to tell over and over again? The people who you’ve seen God save and transform? As time goes on, you will forget these precious stones that God has given you to pile up for yourself to REMEMBER. We do not choose to forget these things, but we MUST choose to remember them. 

As we do look back and see the faithfulness of Jesus over and over, our hearts become full again of worship and trust in our Savior. Alters were not just a place of remembering, but a place of worship to God. And this makes so much sense when you’ve experienced God’s goodness and provision. The memories of all He has done creates such a sweet sense of true praise in our hearts. And as a church planter, this MUST be who we are! Before door hangers and connection cards, before worship sets and strategies, we need to have our hearts full of love and worship for our God for all the good things He has done for us. 

HOW TO DO IT

Making this a priority in your life does take time. It takes discipline. Building an alter from heavy rock was hard work! But once completed, it was a testimony to what God had done. This is also something that can become a habit for you as you do it more and more. You can get creative in the ways you choose to record and remember God’s work in your life and your church planting journey. 

One of the things I see working best is keeping a written journal of God stories as you go. Remember, the things you think you’ll never forget will be forgotten if you don’t write them down! Write down the person you saw come to church for the first time and get saved. Write down the money that came in at the last second when God provided. Write down the scripture that God gave you when you first felt Him calling you. 

Another great way to remember is to make it visual. Pictures and videos are an incredible gift from God that allow us to literally look and see the people and places God has moved. I started making short baptism videos ( http://www.redemptionindelraybeach.com/baptism) of each person we’ve baptized from the beginning, and though it seemed silly at first, I am so thankful now to have these to look back on and watch life after life that God has redeemed here again and again. It’s beautiful and moving to have these things that stir us so deeply when we remember them.

READY, GO!

Whether you are just beginning your journey to plant a church or are simply in the midst of daily life with Jesus, today is always the best time to start remembering the goodness of God. It is never too late to write down something unexpected that God did for you or a miracle when it happens. I hope you will experience the joy that comes from looking back at these things months and years from now and will rejoice and find comfort in the faithfulness of our God.

Be blessed,

Pastor Daniel

MY STORY by Colleen Sloan

Easier Next Time by Alesha Sinks

Every habit starts with a decision. That is all it is...one same decision made over and over again.

When you’re at the very beginning of a new habit or routine and you look down the daunting string of daily repetition of decision making to come, it can begin to feel overwhelming. And the weight of repetition can crush you from that perspective.

A habit is a decision that you make today and tomorrow and then next day…forever.

But as painful and overwhelming as the weight of decision can feel on the first day, that first time, it won’t always be that hard. Because…

Each decision you make, will make a future decision easier.

No matter what path you take, left of right or indecisions, every decision made will make another decision easier the next time…which decision do you want that to be?

Make the decision you want to be the easier choice next time.

Make the decision you want to be come default.

Make the decision that is the first step on a path you want to travel.

Make the decision you plan to make tomorrow, next week, next year.

Make that decision today.

Because if you don’t make that decision today, you are making that decision harder for tomorrow. If you don’t make that decision now, you are instead making the opposite decision…a decision you plan to reverse later anyways or that you know is wrong or that is one step closer to a far worse decision that you never plan on making but are heading toward nonetheless.

And it might sound dramatic, but it’s true. Each decision you make is a step on a path, one direction or the other, with all the implications that lie farther down that decision pathway.

In the moment of difficulty…

In the moment of pause before action...

In the moment of putting off a decision…

…in those moments, we tend to rationalize and minimize the importance of the choice before us. We forget that each action we take or choose not to take in turn makes the next decision in that same direction a little easier to make.

I want to remind myself of this as I stare at my ringing alarm clock wishing for more sleep, as I feel the angry words rising hot in my throat, as I reach for a distraction when I really need Jesus. In the hard moments, in the decision making moments of life, I want to remember that how I make the little decisions before me will impact the way I make those same decisions the next time and the next and the next.

Make the decision you want to be the easier choice next time.

Perhaps you find yourself down a long path of bad decision making already. You’re looking back sad and overwhelmed and realizing how far the journey back will be…

Remember, there is grace for past mistakes and there is strength not our own to be found in Jesus.

So take the grace and strength that is offered you and make the decision that you want to be easier tomorrow and the next day and the next.

What little decisions are facing you today? What paths do you find yourself on that you are thankful for? What paths are you on that you wish you’d never started down?

Be blessed

Sundae Sunday (a photo essay)

Expect The Mess (pt2) by Daniel Williams

We all want to see God do amazing things, but we can forget about the hard work it takes to see the fruit. Hard work is just that: hard work! And it can be very easy to become uncomfortable and even overwhelmed by the mess of ministry to the lost. Remember this scripture from last time:

Prov 14:4 Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox. 

Ministry gets messy when there are people involved! And the gospel is always the answer. Only Jesus has the power to save and to truly change a person. 

As we continue to do ministry and reach out to the lost in our community, I have seen a few things that have become invaluable as we learn to minister to those far from God. So, here are just three things that I have found to be helpful and some practical ways to disciple people through the mess of life. 

EXPLAIN WHAT YOU ARE PREACHING

1 They won’t know much — We have to understand that many people have never heard the gospel and have never been to church. This may seem hard to believe in certain cultures, but in our community we are dealing with people who didn’t grow up in Christian homes and haven’t been to church much—if at all. So they don’t understand many terms that are found in the Bible because they have never read it. They don’t know what a church service is supposed to look like because they have never been. They don’t know much about Jesus; and if they do, it is usually is skewed because they learned from culture, media and friends—not from God’s Word. 

So, how have we practically dealt with this? We explain what we are preaching. I take the time to explain a lot of what I preach and don’t assume that people have heard any of it before. You would be surprised to know how often we assume that people already know the things we know. But listen, many people have never heard that God loves them and that they can have a relationship with Him. Or that they can personally know Him and have their guilt and shame forgiven. So, we tell them! We explain the uncommon words like “justification, sanctification, propitiation, atonement” etc. We explain what we are doing in the service and WHY. Things like why we sing, why we study the Bible, why we give, why we take communion, etc. We have also given hundreds of Bibles away because most people we interact with don’t own one. So we explain the story of who Paul is when referencing Him. We also put the page number of the text on the screen so people know where to find it in the Bible we gave them. We try to EXPLAIN what we are preaching and WHY and what we are doing because most people don’t understand the things we do. We want to communicate clearly.

SHARE VISION

2 Their values won’t match yours — We must understand that non-believers won’t have all the same values as a follower of Jesus because Jesus isn’t their Lord. A few examples of this could be parenting or language. It is quite common for there to be people that use inappropriate language around us. The Bible tells us that what is in our hearts will come out, so if you are ministering to non-believers you should expect that their language with represent their heart. 

Proverbs 28:19 says, “Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.” We must preach that there is a better way in Jesus and let them know where we stand on issues. It is ok to call sin “sin” and to have requirements to serve. For example, we always have people that work with our kids go through background checks, and they must be walking with God. We understand that everyone in our church won’t fit those requirements, but to ensure safety and make sure the kids during service are being discipled, we have placed a standard there. We also take a large portion of our service to preach God’s prophetic vision from the Bible which is our primary authority and standard. We want to teach the heart of God and what He values as right and wrong. We understand that it is not about morals, but we must also understand that we can please God through obedience by the power of His Spirit. They must see that the law of God is perfect and good. And that our faith has works. We want people to observe the commandments of God; and when people become born again, they are able to be transformed and no longer slaves of sin. So, we preach though the Bible in order to help people understand the person of Jesus and His ways. 

SET AN EXAMPLE

3 They won’t be mature in the faith - It has been so amazing to see so many lives transformed by Jesus at Redemption Church. But just because you say a prayer doesn’t make you mature. People are immediately forgiven from their sin, but the consequences are still with some people. So we have seen saved people still fight addictions, still serve time in jail, still go through a divorce, still live with the sin that bought death in their lives. I have seen a heart change immediately, but understanding and maturity come more slowly. Some may not give finances immediately or sign up to serve or even be in fellowship. So, many of the people that call Redemption Church their home don’t come every week because they never grew up with that discipline. Most of them have never read through the Bible. So what are we to do about this? 

Preach to them with our lives. Set an example! We have to show them a better way. Many of us learn by example and are more visual. The Bible tells us we aren’t to merely love in word but also in action (1 John 3:16-18). It has also been said that vision is caught not taught…so we must show them what it means to walk with God with our lives. It is our responsibility to walk with others and to disciple them. This is one of the main reasons we are to have patience with others because this process takes time. So, give time to non-believers to ask questions, to pray with them, and to teach them. Include them in your life even if they aren’t “acting like Christians” yet. Include them even if they haven’t accepted Jesus into their lives yet either! 

The Bible tells us that the strong are to help the weak, and we have come to find out that many people need us to help them. They need to see what a godly marriage looks like or how a single person is to live in purity. They need to see the vision we so often preach to them so they can understand it better and follow our example. We know we are far from perfect, but this is also a good thing. People need to see imperfect people, leaning on the grace and mercy of Jesus, following after Him with their whole lives. So, we try to have people in our lives as much as possible during the week—not just on Sundays.

We are all in the business of making disciples, and we need to get messy with people right where they are in order to see the fruit of God working in them. This takes a lot of work and patience, BUT it is totally worth it. May the Lord bless our efforts in reaching people far from Him and may our church always be messy! 

Be blessed,

Pastor Daniel

Have The Faith Of Jonah by Travis Sinks

It’s not often that Jonah is used as a good example for us to follow. Many of us have learned how hardheaded, unloving, and rebellious Jonah was. But have any of us taken the time to consider what an example of faith Jonah is to us?

Jonah was a man of great patriotism. He was so pro-Israel, that he didn’t want to bring the good news of a gracious God to Nineveh, a city that had brought great trouble and pain among many nations, including Israel. This patriotism ending up being Jonah's downfall. It caused Jonah to try to run away from both his calling and from God Himself. Thankfully, God didn’t let Jonah get away.

That’s how the story goes, but have you considered Jonah’s faith in God’s gracious love?

"And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.” Jonah 4:2

Jonah Believed That God’s Grace, Mercy, Patience, And Love Was So Great That It Could Bring Even So Evil A City As Nineveh To Repentance.

Sadly, this led to the wrong response, since he didn’t want the Ninevites to be saved. But the point is that he believed so strongly in God's forgiveness and love that he was willing to walk away from his entire lifestyle, friends, family, and even God Himself.

What about you?

Do you believe so strongly in the grace and love of God?

I know I personally struggle with this often. I worry that the people we’ve seen come to Jesus will fade away, and that the people we’ve known for years will never come to Him. That the constant church and personal outreach to the lost will be all for nothing. But I remember the faith others, like Jonah, have had in God’s power to save, and it helps me keep a right perspective.

Unlike Jonah, this faith in God’s love should cause a different response. But our response should be just as passionate.

Jonah, a man who was willing to leave everything and even risk a dangerous ocean voyage over his strong faith should remind and encourage us that we also should be doing everything we can, even to death, so that we may share the good news of Jesus Christ, because God is working.

May you have great joy and faith in Jesus our Savior, knowing that His grace, mercy, patience, and love is greater than anything else, and that He plans to do great things in you, through you, and in your area of ministry and outreach.

Beth's Baptism (3-15-16)

Expect The Mess (pt1) by Daniel Williams

When you are a part of a church plant, having the right expectations is one of the most helpful things when it comes to overcoming discouragement and maintaining a right perspective. There is nothing so sad as seeing someone who starts out excited to go and preach the gospel give up because it was more difficult than they expected. I don’t think anyone thinks starting a church will be easy, but sometimes we can be caught off guard by exactly why it is so hard. Jesus tell us we are to count the costs and follow Him. I believe that as we have a heart to reach nonbelievers and unchurched people in our communities, we need to also consider the mess that will bring. What do I mean by that? Ministry is messy!

I want to share something with you that I have come to expect when ministering to those that aren’t following Jesus yet…they act that way! I have come to a place where this doesn’t surprise me and I am not offended by it. I have seen first hand in my own life that the only way to overcome this is to be changed from the inside out through a personal revelation of who Jesus is and then accepting His grace by faith. This is what Jesus means when He talks about being spiritually born again (John 3:3-8). I was spiritually dead before I accepted God’s grace and lost in sin (Eph 2:1-5) and so is everyone who has yet put their faith in Jesus. Paul would even tell people that if they think Jesus Christ didn’t rise from the dead, they should be sinning as much as possible because this is the only life they have! (1 Cor 15:13-19). So I have come to expect people to live what they truly believe. And for those that don’t believe in Jesus as Lord, I expect them to be living in sin. The Bible teaches us that sin brings death. And that death is messy. 

I have to remember that the mess of ministry is actually an answer to many of our prayers. We prayed for many people to get saved and find life in Jesus Christ. And God has sent us to preach the gospel to people so they would have hope. I have had to understand that we are called to love people right where they are, and they don’t need to clean up their lives before they come to Jesus. God sends us into the brokenness, hurt, pain, and mess of people’s lives to shine the light of Jesus into their darkness. The Bible warns us that if we are to make disciples, this will take work and things won’t always be neat and tidy like we tend to like. 

Prov 14:4 Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.

The more you serve people that are far from God, the more you will start to see that if you want to see life change around you, you are going to have to work in the messiness of people’s lives. Remember we are to love people, and that love makes a real difference in people’s lives. It was the real love of God that changed our lives when we were still in our mess of sin. The Bible tells us that Jesus died for us while we were still enemies of God, and because of that great love we are now able to know Him. God wants us to be His ambassadors not only with our words but our deeds as well. We have been given a true love that the world doesn't offer. We have the great chance to love people right in their mess of sin just as Jesus loved us. 

This is the answer for true life change. PREACHING THE GOSPEL! Paul believed this was the very power to save, so he needed to be preaching all the time! I have taken this to heart and have seen God work in people’s lives in ways I never could dream of on my own. This is one of the main reasons we have communion every week at our church.  This allows me to explain the Gospel and the implications of it every week. I believe if we can’t point people to Jesus through His Word every time we meet, we have failed. Jesus said that all scripture points to Him, so it should be very easy for us to use Scripture to bring people to Jesus and His heart. It is the only hope that truly satisfies and we need to be preaching Jesus every week as we gather as His bride. Not only is this good for our hearts as children of God, but for those that are far from God because they see it is only God’s grace that can truly change their lives. This is why we highly prioritize preaching the gospel: because only Jesus has the power to save! 

So, over time, I have come expect and the messiness and the difficulty that comes from pouring our lives into the lost and broken. And also to see that the only answer is always going to be Jesus. I hope you can join me in learning to embrace this beautiful of this side of ministry. 

In part 2 of this article, I will address 3 very practical ways I have found to love people through the messiness of life and reaching those far from God.

Be blessed,

Pastor Daniel

Passing Out Door Hangers (photo essay)