How To Make Your Church Hum, by Paul W. Powell (Book Review)

© Melinda Nagy | Dreamstime Stock Photos

I read a great little book this week. It wasn't exactly a book that is "hot of the press"! "How To Make Your Church Hum" was written in 1977, and it came into my possession the same way most of my books do...via a used bookstore. A few years ago I saw this book for sale, and it's title caught my attention. It was written by a Southern Baptist pastor named Paul Powell. The book is short (just 92 pages) and very readable, and it includes lots of great advice. You can see the simplicity of his writing style as well as the direction of the book by simply scanning the chapter titles:

1. Major on the Basics

2. Pray Much

3. Build Spirit

4. Wake Up The Worship

5. Preach the Word

6. Give Dynamic Leadership

7. Plan Ahead

8. Work Hard

9. Involve The People

10. Major On Outreach

11. Minister To People

12. Shape Up The Plant

13. Advertise Well

14. Cut Excess Meetings

15. Develop Good Stewards

All of the chapters were good, but there were several chapters that really stood out to me because of a great illustration or profound quote. Here are three of my favorites chapters and why I like them:

Candace Playing The Offertory

Our three older daughters are learning to play the piano. Yesterday our oldest daughter, Candace (who just turned 12 last week) played for the offering in our morning service. The song is "Always The Same" by Ron Hamilton. I hope you enjoy it. I know I did!

A Very Inspiring Quote That Is Too Long To Tweet :)

I came across this statement by William Arthur Ward recently and loved it so much I just had to share it! When you read it the first time, it will sound nice and maybe even a bit trite. But read it again slowly, pausing to meditate and consider each phrase and what it really means. It was when I did this that the statement went from nice to profound. It is about not being content with the status quo. It is about striving for excellence instead of mere existence. In a nutshell it is about "second-mile" Christianity, as presented in the following verses.

"And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain." (Matthew 5:41)

"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might..." (Ecclesiastes 9:10)

"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;" (Colossians 3:23)

Now for the quote...

Who Is Indispensable In Missions?

The NFL's 2011 season isn't looking too good right now. I haven't followed it too closely, but apparently the players are dissatisfied with the amount of money they are making and the benefits they are receiving. I know, that's hard to imagine, but that's what I have read. A runningback for the Minnesota Vikings recently was quoted as saying that the way the NFL team owners are treating the players is "modern-day slavery". Oh, and the guy that made that ridiculous assertion was paid over 10 million dollars last season. Don't get me wrong. I'm not taking the owners' side on this. For all I know, they are just as greedy and selfish as many of the players, and perhaps they are keeping more than their fair share of the profits and cutting some corners on some of the players' benefits. I don't really know. I'm a long time football fan who does enjoy watching football games, but I'm not losing any sleep over the prospects of having no professional football for awhile. Actually, sports has become such a god in America that it may do this country good to take a break from it. 

My New Favorite Song

I have a new favorite song! The song is called "Only Jesus". I don't know who wrote it. I have tried to search for information about the song, but so far I have been unsuccessful. The group that I heard sing it is the Calvary Quartet. I highly recommend the Calvary Quartet, but this song in particular is amazing. I have listened to it numerous times, and I don't think I have made it through the song one time without getting tears in my eyes and goosebumps on my arms. After listening to this song about a dozen times and having the same reaction every time, I began to analyze the song closely. I wanted to know what were the components that made this song pure gold. Here's what I came up with:

1. The words

Words, of course, are a very important part of a song, and the words in this song are about as uplifting as anything I have ever heard. The first verse lays out scenarios where a person is feeling sad, tired, disappointed, or discouraged, and points them to Jesus. The second verse speaks to those who have fainted or failed along the way and encourages them to consider Jesus, the only one who can renew their spirit. The chorus asks, "Who can wash my sin away, who can give victory every day, who is with me all the way?" Then comes the solid, unshakeable, and resounding answer - "Only Jesus"!

A Word Of Praise For Japan

I really don't know what to say about the situation in Japan. It is indescribably sad, and I am praying for their country during this devastating time. I hope you will enjoy this beautiful picture from Japan instead of all of the pictures of destruction we are seeing on the news.

Today I read something nice and admirable about Japan in our local paper that I wanted to share briefly. A headline in the Cambodia Daily said, "Despite Crisis, Japan Gives $94 Million Aid to Cambodia". When I read the headline, I assumed that the aid surely was given a few weeks ago, before the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster. But such was not the case. The very first sentence of the article said that yesterday (about 4 days after the earthquake and tsunami struck their country) Japan signed an agreement to give Cambodia nearly $100 million in aid for various infrastructure projects and demining efforts. Cambodia's Prime Minister said in a speech on Monday that Cambodia should be prepared for Japan to have to cut back on its foreign aid budget due to the severity of their current crisis. I do not know the amount of aid that Japan gave to Cambodia last year. They have been one of the top (if not the top) foreign country investing in Cambodia's rebuilding for many years. I can stand on our back porch and see the Japanese Friendship Bridge spanning the Tonle Sap River. Perhaps what they gave this year didn't equal what they gave last year. I don't know. But I do know that $94 million is not "pocket change". That's a huge amount of money for a country to give to help another country when they themselves are facing extensive and expensive damages in their country. It has been said that this current crisis is the greatest damage that Japan has faced since WWII. I find it to be very admirable that even in the face of this current crisis, Japan would still desire to be a help to others in need.

Being a preacher, almost every news article reminds me of a verse of Scripture, and this one was no different.

Bible Memory Awards

"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. 

My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth."     

Psalm 121:1-2

Next Sunday we will be presenting some awards for this past year's Bible memory efforts in our church. The awards include some new Bibles as well as some beautiful, framed Scripture pictures (one of them is pictured above), depending on how many verses each person said. I am always touched by how desirable these simple prizes are to our church people. Yesterday I bought two new kinds of Bibles that have just been printed, and I showed them around after last night's church service. Everybody loved them! One of the young ladies didn't say much or step forward to look at the new Bibles. When I asked her if she wanted to take a look, she sighed and said, "No, it will just make me sorry I didn't memorize more verses." I'm still waiting for the final list from my verse monitors, but when I get the final number of verses quoted, I'll include it in the next email update.  I'm looking forward to next Sunday when we will get to award these Bibles and pictures. This year's pictures turned out so nice that I wanted to share them with my blog readers. Enjoy!