Baptismal Service

We are holding a baptismal service at the Kershaw County Aquatic Center located on Battleship Road on Sunday, August 19th at 7:00 p.m. We did this last year and it was an awesome experience. We will also have a ice cream social after the service. Bring a gallon of your favorite ice cream, or better yet, bring some homemade ice cream. If you would like to be baptized, contact the church office at 803-438-2611, or email me at mtgallo@juno.com. See you there.

Fat Christians

Are you a fat Christian? Click here and find out.

Books To Read To Help You Understand Why We Do Church The Way We Do It

1) Inside the Mind of Unchurched Harry and Mary by Lee Strobel - Great book on what those outside the church think about those inside the church. It is a little dated. It was written in 1993, but it is still a great book.

2) Simple Church by Thom Rainer - This book is the result of a research project that shows that the churches with the simplest approaches to ministry are the most effective in reaching and growing people. A key idea that it teaches is that in church life - less is more.

3) 7 Practices of Effective Ministry by Andy Stanley and Lane Jones - Great book on the strategy of church. By the way, most churches don't have a strategy to accomplish anything. Most only have a vague idea of what they want to accomplish.

4) Can We Do That? by Andy Stanley and Ed Young - These two pastors talk about the innovative approaches that their churches use to reach people and grow people. It begins to help you think outside the box that most churches are locked in to.

5) The Bible (especially the Book of Acts)by Jesus - There is nothing like a fresh reading through the Bible to point you outward to the fields that are white unto harvest. Nowadays it seems like many pastors (and churches) just want to blame those in the fields for not being spiritual enough to come to church. I think we missed the part about going to get them.

The Power of An Invitation

It is said that 85% of unchurched people will come to church if you invite them. Think about that. 85% of people that don't go to church would come at your invitation.

An invitation has power. My wife is one of the greatest inviters I know. It doesn't matter who you are, if you are close to her in a checkout line, in the produce aisle, in the doctor's office, you are probably going to get invited to church. Just last week, we had a family come that my wife invited from Wal Mart and another young man that my wife invited from Burger King. There was another family from the Dollar Tree that is supposed to be here this week.

My wife doesn't have some special gift. She has just learned about the power of an invitation. You can do the same thing. Maybe you aren't comfortable inviting that stranger, then invite that person you know - your neighbor - your sister - you coworker. There is power in an invitation.

Upcoming Services

You will not want to miss the next couple of weeks at Friendship. This weekend I am continuing the series entitled, "Is There Something More?" This series helps us understand how we can have a close, intimate walk with God and how to eliminate the obstacles that sometimes prevent that from happening.

On August 5th, my friend, Billy Wilson, will be here talking about how God is at work in China. Billy is a missionary to China. He teaches there at one of the country's biggest universities. Incredibly, he has been invited to teach Bible at this large secular universities in an atheistic country. You will not want to miss what he has to share.

Roots, Hidden Stink, and a Missing Wall of Defense

The past 24 hours at the Galloway household has been interesting. Tuesday night about 7:00 our septic system began to back up. The kids came running in telling me the toilet was overflowing, and then the next thing we know the septic system was backing up in the bathtub. What a mess!

It was so late that we couldn't get a plumber, so we had to wait until the next day. When the plumbers came they discovered roots had grown up around the pipe leading to the septic tank. All of a sudden the memory came flooding back. We had the same problem just a few years ago. Hidden stink came shooting out in the tub and the toilet, and roots were to blame. We were told that we needed to do something about them, but once the problem was cleared out, we forgot to deal with the "root" of the problem. Not until the mess started spewing out again did we remember our previous problems.

Our spiritual life is often like our septic tank. Sometimes in our life, hidden stink begins to back up into our life, and the problem is some roots in our life - a root of bitterness, a root of greed, a root of lust. But often once the crisis is over, we forget about the roots and never deal with them.

As the plumbers dealt with the "root" of our problem, he discovered another problem with our septic system. Most systems have a wall of concrete around the pipe leading to the tank to act as a wall of defense to protect against roots. Our system never had such a wall of protection.

All of us need a wall of defense against hidden stink backing up into our life. That may be accountability partners, a home group of fellow believers, and the practice of a regular quiet time with God. Don't neglect to build a wall of defense in your life to protect yourself. If not, your life may end up filled with hidden stink.

Buttpaste?!?

Perry Noble, pastor of Newspring Church in Anderson, SC, is one of my favorite bloggers. Here is one of his best.

What's The Point?

Last week I wrote "Church members are not to view themselves as consumers. They are not just club members. Instead church members are partners in the mission."

You can read about it here.

So what is the mission of the church? Even better, what is the point? You can put a mission statement on the wall or print it in the bulletin, and no one pays attention to it. But a better question is "what is the point?" What is the goal we are shooting for? The point is this: we exist to reach people and to help them reach their potential in Christ. We exist not for ourselves. We exist for those who are not here.

If that ceases to be the point, we will begin to turn inward. We will fall into the trap of just fillng up the schedule with church activities that make us happy. We will cease to be a church on a mission and instead become a club full of self-serving members. Every activity should be accompanied with the question: "why are we doing that? What is the point?"

Everything we do should be filtered through this question. And if it the answer is not the point...then doing it is pointless.

Life is too short; resources are too scarce; time is too limited...to waste time on stuff that isn't the point.

Top Five All-Time Favorite Country Songs

I am not a country music fan. In fact, I never listen to it now. But when I was a child I was forced to listen to countless hours of it while I rode around in the car with my Mom and Dad. From those formative years, several songs are ingrained in my memory. I can still recite the chorus to most of these, and can sing almost the whole song on another. So here it goes, not in any particular order.

1) Drop Kick Me Jesus Through the Goalposts of Life - "End over end, neither left nor the right." I had to start with this Bobby Bare classic. Being a pastor, I had to start with a song with great spiritual content. There is absolutely no truth that the praise team is working on this for next week.

2) If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body - "Would You Hold it Against Me? If I swore you were an angel, would you treat me like the devil tonight?" I had to include another one with spiritual themes. Great song by the Bellamy Brothers.

3) Put Another Log on the Fire - "Cook me up some bacon and some beans, go out to the car and change the tires. Wash my socks and sew my old blue jeans. You can fill my pipe and then go fetch my slippers, and pour me up another pot of tea. Then put another log on the fire, babe, and come and tell me why you're leaving me." Glaser brother classic. Enough said.

4) Kawlijah - "Poor old Kawlijah, well he never got a kiss. Poor old Kawlijah he don't know what he missed." Originally done by Hank Williams (not junior), I am partial to the Charley Pride version.

5) Okay, so there are really only four country songs I really like.

A Tribute to Elease

Last Thursday I attended the funeral service for Elease. Elease was an African-American lady who used to babysit me and my brother and sister when we were young. I learned several things from Elease during those years she kept us. Just a few are:

*The power of example. One of my clearest memories of Elease is her sitting at the kitchen table reading her little, green Gideon Bible. This impacted me to want to know God more and read His Word.

*Homemade french fries are awesome. She made the best.

*Women can preach. I know that should stir up some comments. The thing I remember most about Elease is how she would line me and my brother and sister up and preach to us. Not just lecture us - she preached to us. By the way, she was an ordained minister (Don't send me nasty comments. I didn't ordain her.) and I guess she felt we were her congregation.

*You can eat a tomato just like an apple. Yep, she used to just pick it up and bite into it.

*God often speaks in ways you don't expect. Elease used to tell me over and over that one day I was going to be a preacher. Now this was hard for me to believe since I was so shy I wouldn't talk to relatives, let alone strangers. But she was sure I would one day be a preacher. Years later when I felt the call to ministry - I remembered what Elease used to tell me.

Elease, thank you for impacting my life.

Join now...no obligation...money back guarantee

I am always skeptical of the no obligation, money back guarantee thing. It doesn't matter what it is. It may be a book club, CD club, and jelly of the month club. I never believe the no obligation thing. I always think there is a catch.

However, many people go for that kind of offer. It is the consumer within them that just can't pass up a "good" deal. Over my years in ministry I have noticed that many church members view membership like they are joining a club. If they decide they are not getting the service they need, then it is time to move on to another club that will better meet their needs. I have even seen some ask to get some things back that they have donated!

But that is the wrong picture of church membership. Church members are not to view themselves as consumers. They are not just club members. Instead church members are partners in the mission. They have decided they believe in the mission of the church and they agree to partner with the church to fulfill that mission. They partner with their gifts and abilities, with their influence, with their giving. When you join the mission, it is not a "no obligation" type of commitment. Being a church member should focus you outward toward others and the world, not focus you inward towards yourself.

A church will never become all God wants it to be when its members have a consumerist, no obligation, money back guarantee attitude. A church is to be made up of people who believe that God is up to something big and He wants to use us in the process of reaching people for Him and helping them reach their potential in Christ.

A Trip Outside the Comfort Zone

This past week I took a trip outside of of my comfort zone. Friday I had an MRI for my shoulder that I injured a couple of months ago. It hadn't responded to physical therapy, so an MRI was the next step.

For most people that would be no big deal. 20 minutes in a confined space shaped like a coffin - no big deal. But I am a big chicken when it comes to tight, closed in spaces shaped like coffins. I checked on the form they gave me that I was "slightly" claustrophobic. I was "slightly" claustrophobic just thinking about it. Once I was in the "chamber of fear", I began to get outright panicky. I told her I "needed to get out". I seriously thought of walking out right then. After all, I can deal with some pain in my shoulder for the rest of my life.

But here is where the skill and care of the technician kicked in. She acted like my fear was normal and natural. She did a wonderful job of assuring me that everything would be okay. She gave me some helpful tips to alleviate my fear and she walked me through the next 20 minutes step by step.

I know some of you are wondering why your hyper-phobic pastor is sharing this story. But after I was finished with the MRI, it occurred to me that there are some who we invite to our church or who would like to come to our church, who are faced with the same type of fear. (Will I be expected to know what's in the Bible?, Will I be judged for my clothes or my lifestyle?, Will I even know what to do?) And while many may say that their fears are irrational (like my claustrophobia), they are still real.

And just as I almost decided to walk away from the MRI because of my fear, many make the decision to walk away from church (and therefore Christ) because of fear. We have the responsibility to help others through those barriers, just as the technician helped me through my fear. We need to create an environment that is friendly and warm and where we help people find comfort outside their comfort zone. That can come in small things like a greeter who volunteers to walk a new couple in to help them and their child find the right place to be, proper signage that points the way to the restrooms, and people who reach out in kindness before and after a service. Maybe not in so many words, but they indicate if you need anything, I will be right here to help you.

Being outside your comfort zone is not fun. It is downright scary. And if we desire to reach people for Jesus, we have to be committed to helping those who are taking that step into the unknown. We have to help those who are scared and full of fears. I'm so glad someone did that for me.

The Church in the Bubble

I have been back from vacation for a little over a week now, and during that time away I had plenty of time to think about the question, "why do I do what I do?" Not just why am I a pastor, but why am I leading our church to get out of the "church" bubble and become a powerful connecting force in our community? It sure isn't because I like to just stir things up for the sake of stirring things up. I hate controversy. I like people to like me. So why bother trying to become a church that is going to reach this generation? Why bother getting out of the bubble?

Believe me, I have contemplated that question quite a bit. And sometimes I am frustrated and throw up my hands and say, "why bother?" But the thing that keeps me going is Jesus command to us to go and make disciples in Matthew 28. He is saying go and reach people for me and help them reach their potential. And that is what drives me on.

If you look around, the church in North America has totally forgotten the mission. We talk about it. We give lip service to it. But if you want to see what the church's focus is - look at where we spend our money, where we devote our time, and on what we expend our energy and passion. Over what are we frustrated or over what are we saying, "if only..."? And when you look at those things it is clear the church in North America's focus is on being a clubhouse for religious people who like to hang out with people like them. It is all about us.

Most churches live in a bubble. Inside that bubble they have their own church culture with their music, language, dress, etc. But people outside the bubble see "the church in the bubble" as increasingly irrelevant. They are interested in spiritual things and how to connect with God. They are interested in Jesus. They simply don't think that the church in America has any answers for them. They don't want to live in the bubble.

For most churches, if you want to connect with God, you have to come inside the bubble, learn to like the way things are done inside the bubble, and then you can connect with God. I am afraid that the church is substituting being immersed in church culture for an authentic, intimate relationship with Christ and real Christlike character. I want our church to get outside of the bubble and connect with people,and help them connect with God. Pray that God will help us get out of the bubble.