GrowthStarts

Previously @ NorthStar ... Higher Ground

Sunday at NorthStar Marlon Longacre talked to us about the life of Noah in the message "Higher Ground."

Miss Sunday's service? Click here to download audio of Marlon's message or to view or print sermon notes.

Noah was a godly man and had a good name in the community (Genesis 6:9-10). God called Noah out to do something great for Him and upgrade his faith.

Four qualities God looks for to upgrade your faith...

1. God needs people He can call (Genesis 6:5-8). Availability is more important than ability.
2. God needs people who don't comply (Genesis 6:11-12; 2 Corinthians 5:15). Conformity is the enemy of Christianity. We were created to be an original masterpiece of God, but instead we become carbon copies of others. NorthStar didn't start to just plant another church, but to reach a community.
3. God needs people who follow His commands (Genesis 6:22). No excuses. Trust God even when it doesn't make sense.
4. God needs people who are committed (Genesis 6:3). When you're not committed, you're saying, "It's all about me."

Life is preparation for eternity. At the end of your life, God will ask you two questions:

1. What did you do with My Son?
2. What did you do with the talents I gave you?

Apply It

Volunteer to serve our kids in nursery, preschool, or elementary. You can make a difference in the life of a child! Check here to see the possibilities!

Next Steps

Is it time to take one of these next steps in your spiritual journey?

• Newcomers: Find out more about NorthStar in an informal setting. Next gathering on Sunday, August 16. Register or find more info here.
• The Women's League Fall Kickoff: Meet other women and find a Bible study to jump into this fall. Tuesday, August 25. More info here about this free event.

This Week

Coming up this week at NorthStar...

• August "Big Give" at MUST! Wednesday, August 5 will be our last opportunity to provide lunch this summer for 600+ kids! Volunteer online for this or other events in August.
• The True North venue returns this Sunday, August 9! Join us at 9:30 or 11 a.m.!
• United: New series starts this Sunday!
• The Clothesline: Bring your new or gently used clothing this Sunday to the trailer. The big giveaway takes place Saturday, September 12.

More Upcoming

Check out more upcoming events at NorthStar...

• Promotion Sunday: All kids move up a grade to their new class for the year on Sunday, August 16.
• Surviving Divorce: New class begins Sunday, August 16.
• Marriage Tune Up Conference: August 21-22.
• Premarital Seminar: Sunday, August 23.
• Quiet Time Seminar: Sunday, August 30.
• Men of NorthStar Fall Retreat: September 26-27.

Check out Digging Deeper this week! This week we conclude our two-week journey through the Gospel of John. Use these daily devotions on the back of your sermon notes. Or find them posted online each day at www.growthstarts.org!

To receive Previously @ NorthStar weekly  in your inbox, send your email address to randy.elster@northstarchurch.org  and request Previously @ NorthStar!

Why Do People Serve?

Why would someone volunteer to work with kids, take out the trash, park cars, change diapers, duplicate tapes, mow the lawn, feed the poor or counsel teenagers?

Three reasons people choose to serve...

1. They see a real need. Someone has shared the vision of helping kids or serving others--and they caught the vision.
2. They have confidence they can do it. It's in an area where they have a strength, a passion, or both. They aren't being asked to do something that will embarrass them or expose a weakness. It fits who they are.
3. There's not someone already doing it. That means there are always roles available for new people to fill.

Read more of Tim Stevens' insightful post HERE.

GrowthStarts QuickLink: Taking the volunteer experience to the next level

Each week I have the pleasure of speaking with churches all around the country.  One of the consistent questions I am asked is “how do you get volunteers to show up on time”.  If you’ve ever worked with people, you realize that question translates across all spectrums.

When I ask, “what are you doing to address the issue” I hear a wide array of answers.  Answers like “the volunteers that show up on time get donuts and the late ones have to watch” or “the ones that are on time have their names put in a raffle to win a prize.”

There’s a fundamental flaw in that perspective.

Read more of this post from Larry Brey HERE at the access:elevation blog.

Spiritual Gifts Analysis

For a quick, easy, free way to figure out what your spiritual gifts are and discover your strengths, check out this Spiritual Gifts Analysis from the Church Growth Institute.

American Idol auditions... lessons for the church

Perry Noble (senior pastor of NewSpring Church in Anderson, South Carolina...and one of my favorite bloggers) has a great entry today on why he's happy he can't play basketball and how that relates to American Idol. My wife Cheryl and I were having this same conversation about the show last night. It seems that in our society we have had several years now of training up our children to think that they really can do anything they set their minds to. Schools are not allowed to fail them in some cases and we have just been oh-so-careful to build up their little self-esteems to the point where they really have a distorted view of themselves. How else to you explain all the loo-loos that go on Idol and seem so shocked when someone suggests they are less than perfect? The problem is that they have so little true self-awareness.

One of the lessons Perry brings out for the church is that we need to help people realize what they can do and what they can't do and, therefore, help them find out what ministry they are most suited for and will be happiest at. Check out his advice at the end of the post. Makes sense to me!

Read Perry's entire entry here.

How Valuable Are You?

I read an article last week on ajc.com that two of the original stop-motion puppets from the 1964 Rankin/Bass TV special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer were found a couple of years ago, restored, and are currently on display at Atlanta's Center for Puppetry Arts (through January 13). These days it seems many people own the DVD or videocassette of this special Boomer memory and it's not like it was when I was a kid. It was truly an event for the whole family every December when CBS would air the show.

It seems that when they were finished creating the legendary holiday program, very little value was placed on the figures and they were thrown in a closet. Years later, when they were about to be thrown away (!), a Rankin/Bass secretary got permission to take them home, where they were played with by her kids every Christmas for several years. (Imagine having that memory from your childhood!)

Over the years, many of the puppets broke or melted, leaving only the Santa figure and one of the three Rudolph figures. In 2004 they were brought down from the attic and a collector purchased them.

It just goes to show you that some things we take for granted ought to be really precious to us. (And, on the flip side, many things we hold dear will hold little value later...especially when we pass the curtain into Heaven and can't take any of it with us.)

It also makes me think about how many of us consider ourselves and what we have to offer in such a different light than God views us. We may think we don't have much to offer, but God looks much differently at us...He sees great value in us and sees all our talents and abilities and all that we have to offer.

The people at Rankin/Bass saw no value in those incredible puppets. They could not foresee how valuable they might be in future years.

So if you see yourself as having nothing (or very little) to offer, just remember this story and realize that you can't see the full story. God has gifted you with incredible spiritual gifts, passions, abilities, a unique personality, and your own personal experiences to make someone who has so much to offer to the Body of Christ and to the world. He has paid an incredible price for you and has an awesome plan for your life.

By the way, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer airs on CBS yet again tomorrow night (Thursday, December 21) at 8 p.m. Get your kids (and yourself) in your PJs, pop some popcorn, and make some memories.

The Volunteer Revolution

My friend Brian Dodd loaned me a CD recording from Bill Hybels. It was his "Leader's Edge" message from Willow Creek Association's 2004 Leadership Summit and the subject is on volunteers. Here are some great highlights from the talk:

• His church was at a point where they had a great need but didn't have the monetary resources to hire more staff. They realized that unpaid volunteers would be the key. Paid staff + volunteers = great fruit.
• He asked a senior staff person to become their "volunteer champion" (nothing happens without great leadership). This person helped them think through: the theology of volunteerism; how they invite volunteers into service; how a person could have a first-serve opportunity that would excite them and cause them to come back and serve again; how to give volunteers permission to migrate throughout the church so they finally come to that place where they really love to serve; and how to train volunteers.
• Bill Hybels wrote a book on volunteerism (The Volunteer Revolution: Unleashing the Power of Everybody).
• As a result of this effort they went from 7000 volunteers to 11,000 volunteers.
• When someone steps forward to volunteer, far more happens than meets the eye. They cross a line. It begins to catalyze spiritual dynamics in their life. They pray more, they invite people to church more, they advocate for the vision of the church more, they are more generous...they become pillars of the church.
• Churches need to have an Ephesians 4 culture rather than a clergy-centered culture. In an Ephesians 4 culture, the job of the paid staff is to equip, mobilize, coach, train, inspire, and cheer on the members to be the ministers. See 1 Corinthians 12 & 14. If you are a paid staff member, don't do what you can train a volunteer to do.
• In clergy-centered churches, the paid staff are the ministers and the few volunteers only do what the paid staff doesn't want to do.
• Demonstrate the value of servanthood. "How may I serve you?"
• Every member is a minister.
• About 95% of churches are clergy-centered and this is patently unbiblical!
• In volunteer-healthy churches, volunteers get in the game because someone asked them to.
• What leaders do when they lead is they (1) cast bold vision and (2) make big "asks."
• Ask: "Beyond your work, what do you love doing? What are you passionate about?"
• Ask: "Would you give it a try?" (Not: "Would you sign up for the rest of your life?")
• They developed the "first-serve" concept: They had every ministry design a first-time volunteer opportunity that was entry level and team oriented and designed to give them a great first experience in serving. You cannot disappoint the first-time volunteer.
• The principle of capacity...there are high-capacity volunteers, mid-capacity volunteers, and low-capacity volunteers. High-capacity volunteers will not step up to low-capacity positions, and low-capacity volunteers will not step up to high-capacity positions.
• The principle of community...design volunteer positions so that they form relationships on a team.
• Make sure that volunteers see their jobs as directly connected to the vision of the church. They need to see that they are building something for God and for the church's great vision.
• Commendation is important. Volunteers should serve because Christ asks us to, but a little commendation is sweet, and we are commanded to lift each other up.
• Bill Hybels tells his staff that they are to be thanking machines...constantly blessing and commending and thanking.
• Budget for it...volunteer dinners, parties, retreats, etc.
• Have a volunteer celebration. Willow had a Night of 10,000 Stars with a red carpet, etc.