the local church

April Sweersl is a wife, mother, bible study writer and teacher, host of the Her God Speaks Podcast, and fellow bible nerd. She is an amazing follow on Instagram, in fact thats the first place I found her! She has an amazing ability to take hard topics like theology and doctrine and throw a comedic twist on them. Today we are going to talk about doctrine. May sound deep and serious, but instead we are talking about Christian doctrine for the everyday believer, with some humor of course! We also talk about what to do if you begin to rethink some of the doctrine you may have grown up with or learned as a child and why  discipleship and community are so important to developing sound doctrine.

Show Notes

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Sometimes the growth and expansion of the church can create a good problem as in the case in Acts 6. How does the church continue to proclaim the word of God, while at the same time care for a growing congregation? The answer might be more simple than you think.

5 Implications:
1) There Is No Perfect Church
2) Unity Is Essential in a Church
3) Ecclesiology Matters
4) The Church Uses Ordinary Means
5) Christ Will Continue to Build His Church

Text: Acts 6:1-7

In this episode, Stan reflects on three things that he would have done differently in his early pastoral years if he could wind the tape back 10-15 years: 

1. Invest a lot more time in the men of the church.
2. Have more people share their testimonies regularly in the service.
3. Develop the elders' passion for the Gospel and discipleship more.

Links mentioned in this episode:

On The Power of Testimonies

Be sure to follow 6:14 Ministries:

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Twitter: @614rebuild

Learn more at 614ministries.org

Stan & Josh kick off the start of a three-part discussion on imagery used in the Bible to represent and describe the Local Church. In this episode, they'll cover 1) the imagery of the flock and 2) the imagery of the building. 

Resources mentioned in this episode:

"They Smell Like Sheep" by Dr. Lynn Anderson

"They Smell Like Sheep: Volume 2" by Dr. Lynn Anderson 

Links mentioned in this episode: 

Register for the Shepherd's Summit

karlvaters.com

Karl on Facebook

Be sure to follow 6:14 Ministries:

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Instagram: @614rebuild
Twitter: @614rebuild

Learn more at 614ministries.org

Stan & Josh discuss some recent Barna Group research and statistics on young family church attendance and how pastors can reach and relate to the young family demographic. 

Be sure to follow 6:14 Ministries:

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Learn more at 614ministries.org

Last year was certainly one of the most difficult, stressful, and exhausting for many pastors and their churches. COVID forced them to move into the digital sphere like never before and find new and innovative ways to engage with their communities while juggling state guidelines and regulations. 

Whether you're leading a megachurch in a large city or a small flock in a rural town, you were probably already low on energy and working overtime just to make everything happen. Then the pandemic came along and yanked the tracks out from under the rollercoaster. 

This week, Josh & Stan put forth five practical and effective suggestions for pastors & church leaders coming out of 2020:

1. K.I.S.S. — Keep It Simple, Stupid
2. Invest in a good planner/calendar of some kind. 
3. Try to be more active in 2021. 
4. Adopt a church-planter attitude. 
5. Keep your expectations realistic. 

Links mentioned in this episode: 

Opus One Daily Planner Mac App

Evernote App

Be sure to follow 6:14 Ministries:

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Instagram: @614rebuild
Twitter: @614rebuild

Learn more at 614ministries.org

Stan and Josh discuss five of the worst things pastors can do when their church is in crisis mode or decline: 

1. Whining and grumbling. 
2. Vent on social media. 
3. Doubt 
4. Despair 
5. Quit 

Scripture references mentioned in this episode: 

• Matthew 11:28-29 
• 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 
• John 21 
• Ephesians 4:29 
• Philippians 2:14 
• James 5:9 

Be sure to follow 6:14 Ministries:

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Learn more at 614ministries.org

As recent as May 2020, Barna Research found that: 

• 3/10 pastors (31%) say they’re struggling w/ their emotional wellbeing. 
• 26% admit to struggling w/ their relational wellbeing.
• Over half admit to being tired. (51%)
• 2 in 5 admit to feeling primarily exhausted (41%)
• Sad (41%) 

We discussed these statistics in our episode On Why Rest Matters For Pastors. 

In this episode, Stan & Josh take a look at the deeper issue of pastoral discouragement and discuss five ways that pastors can handle those times when they're having a terrible day, week, month, or year. 

Be sure to follow 6:14 Ministries:

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Twitter: @614rebuild

Learn more at 614ministries.org

Let's take a look at these four dangerous mindsets that pastors and churches can easily fall into if they are not careful. 

Want to send us your pastoral thoughts on the COVID-19 situation? Reach out to us at 614rebuild@gmail.com. 

"Letters To The Church" by Francis Chan — https://letterstothechurchbook.com/

Be sure to follow 6:14 Ministries:

facebook.com/614rebuild
Instagram: @614rebuild
Twitter: @614rebuild

Learn more at 614ministries.org

Hebrews 10:24-25.