Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Take up your cross and follow Christ
Celebrity is shunned among the reformed. There is much that is wrong about celebrity. However, Jesus became a celebrity with his miracles and preaching. Many televangelists have garnered celebrity status. However, where they are different than our Lord is they do not drive the crowds away with truth. Rather, they find ways to assure that the crowds remain. Our Lord did utilize the means of becoming a celebrity. but he drove the crowds away, also. John 6 he talked about eating His flesh and drinking His blood that drove the entire group away except His immediate disciples. What is different about reformed pastors? They only know how to run crowds off. Our Lord gathered them and ran them off. The balance to this in our day would be the radio ministry idea I have. It would help gather the crowds then you reformed pastors can run those crowds off. However, out of those crowds there maybe some of God's elect that will stay. We reformed should not fear celebrity. We should not fear taking up the cross to follow Christ. Celebrity for a really righteous reformed preacher may lead to problems like our Lord had. Is that what you reformed ministers fear about holy celebrity? Then are you reformed preachers really taking up your cross and following Christ?
Sunday, March 22, 2015
Further thoughts about Presbytery doing a territory wide media ministry
Pastors need help in educating their own congregations. If they can go refer their congregations to a more localized media ministry that pastors could have a part in developing and sustaining. Pastors could be in control of the outcome better. People are looking at the internet a great deal. They might as well as look at their pastor's sermons being preached than many other things. It would be good for them to listen to other minister's sermons within the Presbytery, also.
Facebook, as I understand it, one can advertise locally to every Facebook account holder in a given area. Facebook has become widely used as a place to present messages and receive messages. If my radio ministry idea was to come fruition video from a call in talk show would be put up on in certain area on every Facebook account holder news feed section everyday. If this is done consistently many people will listen and watch the programming. It may lead some people to actually to start attending a local reformed Presbyterian church. Google could be utilized perhaps even for localized outreach also. I will check about Google, also.
Former pastor of Covenant Presbyterian in Jackson, TN is now pastor at Westminster Presbyterian in Rock Tavern, NY Kevin Chiarot is on the radio some with Redeemer Broadcasting in New York. He has his sermons on a couple times a week. Also, he has been on with Dan Elmendorf to talk about his book Shepherding the Wind. It is his sermons he did at Covenant in Jackson, TN over Ecclesiastes in book form. I have talked with Dan Elmendorf the head of Redeemer Broadcasting in Olivebridge, NY. They are local focused in their outreach to their communities. I think that Covenant Presbytery should have him brought down to speak to a Presbytery meeting to speak about what Redeemer Broadcasting is doing in New York. I will go further and say maybe he needs offered a position of starting a radio ministry in our part of the country. Those New Yorkers took Kevin Chiarot away from us. Maybe, we can take Dan Elmendorf away from them. I am sure their would be someone who could step into the position he has currently has. This is some thoughts to consider for the members of the Covenant Presbytery.
Facebook, as I understand it, one can advertise locally to every Facebook account holder in a given area. Facebook has become widely used as a place to present messages and receive messages. If my radio ministry idea was to come fruition video from a call in talk show would be put up on in certain area on every Facebook account holder news feed section everyday. If this is done consistently many people will listen and watch the programming. It may lead some people to actually to start attending a local reformed Presbyterian church. Google could be utilized perhaps even for localized outreach also. I will check about Google, also.
Former pastor of Covenant Presbyterian in Jackson, TN is now pastor at Westminster Presbyterian in Rock Tavern, NY Kevin Chiarot is on the radio some with Redeemer Broadcasting in New York. He has his sermons on a couple times a week. Also, he has been on with Dan Elmendorf to talk about his book Shepherding the Wind. It is his sermons he did at Covenant in Jackson, TN over Ecclesiastes in book form. I have talked with Dan Elmendorf the head of Redeemer Broadcasting in Olivebridge, NY. They are local focused in their outreach to their communities. I think that Covenant Presbytery should have him brought down to speak to a Presbytery meeting to speak about what Redeemer Broadcasting is doing in New York. I will go further and say maybe he needs offered a position of starting a radio ministry in our part of the country. Those New Yorkers took Kevin Chiarot away from us. Maybe, we can take Dan Elmendorf away from them. I am sure their would be someone who could step into the position he has currently has. This is some thoughts to consider for the members of the Covenant Presbytery.
Saturday, March 21, 2015
Communicating the Gospel to all kinds of People in our territory
Communicating the Gospel to all kinds of People
The limitations of the Gospel communication in our day and age are virtually gone. Do you want to evangelize the whole world? It is easier than every. Worldwide on the internet is one way. Yes, it takes money and/or special attention getting content to garner much attention. Going "viral" content may happen or not to have a great deal of attention to a message, but imagine this God calls churches to evangelize. If churches chose to utilize and maximize their resources including money there could be spiritual awakening and reformation like there has not been in the world before. Think, if the apostle Paul had internet, radio, television as available resources what would he be doing with such resources. He planted churches all over the area of land in which the country of Turkey is now without such resources at hand. He did not even have the printing press. The reformers at least had that to work with. If it was not for the printing press the reformation may not had happen like it did. Martin Luther read a printed copy of the Greek New Testament to come to his theological conclusions.
Now, the printing press was invented around twenty years or so before Luther's 95 theses. We are now twenty five years or so from the invention of the internet. It has advanced and evolved since then in many ways. Radio, although, has been around as we generally understand it for seventy five years or so. It has become a great place to communicate extremely important ideas including religious convictions. Television which is harder to define now. Anything with video and/or motion picture and audio transmission to a electronic device with a viewable screen and speakers is television loosely defined. The company Youtube has shown this idea without a doubt. Radio even if there is an over the air signal usually has programming on the internet. There also "radio" on the internet with audio only programming on websites.
Although, there is some use of these outlets among those who are reformed. The means of communications are vastly under utilized for God's glory and our enjoyment of him. We are accountable to our neighbors to explain the gospel and invite them to come worship God in spirit and in truth. However, we must find places that they are actually paying attention to our Gospel communication. They are staring at their smart phones all day. That is where they are paying attention to something in our day. We need to go were they are paying attention. Who should we present messaging of the Gospel to? Local churches should focus their energies on the entire population of their assigned territories. In the Presbyterian system of government a set of churches have what is called a Presbytery. That is a set of churches that send their elders to cover a particular territory. The presbytery has oversight of churches in that given territory. It has authority to start new churches in that territory.
What if a presbytery decided to authorize a radio ministry that is promoted on websites that are widely viewed such as Facebook and Google? The radio ministry would be a television ministry and internet ministry all at the same time. There would video of in studio programming and video of preaching and teaching of ministers and Sunday school teachers. Why have video along with audio? It is because certain people might pay attention more with video along with audio. Many radio stations are now several stations in one. They share the building, studios, and tower, but each "station" has it's own programming, over the air frequencies, distinct websites, and call letters. Individual churches could pay to have access to already existing stations with different over the air frequencies and websites with live programming. Presbytery could have access to several stations in various locations within the presbytery territory because of internet access ease the programming could be all the same. Such ministries would be to potential grow the numbers of existing Presbyterian churches and to start new churches in the Presbytery territory. It would to educate Christians inside or outside membership of Presbyterian churches on various Bible content.
I would like reformed Presbyterians to give me your thoughts about this idea.
The limitations of the Gospel communication in our day and age are virtually gone. Do you want to evangelize the whole world? It is easier than every. Worldwide on the internet is one way. Yes, it takes money and/or special attention getting content to garner much attention. Going "viral" content may happen or not to have a great deal of attention to a message, but imagine this God calls churches to evangelize. If churches chose to utilize and maximize their resources including money there could be spiritual awakening and reformation like there has not been in the world before. Think, if the apostle Paul had internet, radio, television as available resources what would he be doing with such resources. He planted churches all over the area of land in which the country of Turkey is now without such resources at hand. He did not even have the printing press. The reformers at least had that to work with. If it was not for the printing press the reformation may not had happen like it did. Martin Luther read a printed copy of the Greek New Testament to come to his theological conclusions.
Now, the printing press was invented around twenty years or so before Luther's 95 theses. We are now twenty five years or so from the invention of the internet. It has advanced and evolved since then in many ways. Radio, although, has been around as we generally understand it for seventy five years or so. It has become a great place to communicate extremely important ideas including religious convictions. Television which is harder to define now. Anything with video and/or motion picture and audio transmission to a electronic device with a viewable screen and speakers is television loosely defined. The company Youtube has shown this idea without a doubt. Radio even if there is an over the air signal usually has programming on the internet. There also "radio" on the internet with audio only programming on websites.
Although, there is some use of these outlets among those who are reformed. The means of communications are vastly under utilized for God's glory and our enjoyment of him. We are accountable to our neighbors to explain the gospel and invite them to come worship God in spirit and in truth. However, we must find places that they are actually paying attention to our Gospel communication. They are staring at their smart phones all day. That is where they are paying attention to something in our day. We need to go were they are paying attention. Who should we present messaging of the Gospel to? Local churches should focus their energies on the entire population of their assigned territories. In the Presbyterian system of government a set of churches have what is called a Presbytery. That is a set of churches that send their elders to cover a particular territory. The presbytery has oversight of churches in that given territory. It has authority to start new churches in that territory.
What if a presbytery decided to authorize a radio ministry that is promoted on websites that are widely viewed such as Facebook and Google? The radio ministry would be a television ministry and internet ministry all at the same time. There would video of in studio programming and video of preaching and teaching of ministers and Sunday school teachers. Why have video along with audio? It is because certain people might pay attention more with video along with audio. Many radio stations are now several stations in one. They share the building, studios, and tower, but each "station" has it's own programming, over the air frequencies, distinct websites, and call letters. Individual churches could pay to have access to already existing stations with different over the air frequencies and websites with live programming. Presbytery could have access to several stations in various locations within the presbytery territory because of internet access ease the programming could be all the same. Such ministries would be to potential grow the numbers of existing Presbyterian churches and to start new churches in the Presbytery territory. It would to educate Christians inside or outside membership of Presbyterian churches on various Bible content.
I would like reformed Presbyterians to give me your thoughts about this idea.
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