Monday, September 28, 2009
My dear friends in Christ! The apostle Paul once wrote "Ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers" (Ephesians 1:15-16).
So with that thought on this otherwise cloudy Monday morning I want to thank you and bring a little sunshine into your world.
Yesterday at worship we had 140 people in attendance. This is awesome!
Yesterday also my Mission Counselor, Pastor Ed Schuppe, visited our church and worshiped with us for the first time at Showtime Cinema. Ed is a consultant and a mentor to me. He oversees dozens of newly planted churches, travels extensively, and devotes all his time to reading and studying and helping new churches.
When he visits churches he always comes as a "secret shopper" of sorts. He writes very detailed reports on everything from signage to friendliness of people to the music, the sermon, etc.
Ed is a man I highly respect and whose opinion I know I am always wise to seek. And with that said I want to thank God for all of you in the spirit of the apostle Paul and encourage you all to keep up the good work!
Ed wrote me a comprehensive 3 page report on his experience at VotL which he concluded by saying "Thanks for the great worship experience!"
In three pages of his report, nearly every comment was praise and encouragement. It was in every respect a glowing report and that is to your credit. Thank you! As a church committed to loving and reaching the unchurched with the gospel it is so important to do the little things to welcome people…and you’re doing them. Continue to look beyond yourselves to others and do these things more and more!
Here’s just a small sample of his comments to give you an idea of the things Ed from experience knows are vital to a church’s health in being able to reach others:
Before the service: Greeter outside at the door was very welcoming and conversant. Great job!
People were very friendly, even the teens. They often initiated the greeting and were willing to talk.
Very welcoming atmosphere before the service. Ushers were also welcoming and conversant.
The bulletin: Very nicely laid out, informative, and easy to follow. I especially appreciated the back of the bulletin. Nice format and very well worded. Nice use of VICTORY.
The service: Great welcome and greeting. I appreciate the energy and enthusiasm you project. Your people did a great job with the greeting time.
Great music! The Apostles’ Creed song – Great! Great use of video clip in the sermon.
— Like I said, these are just a sample of Ed’s comments. Ed also has been a great help to me in evaluating my own attitudes, preaching, leadership, vision, etc. I appreciate this very much.
So…I pray that y’all have a great week in the Lord. I’ll be at a pastor’s (sic) conference in Two Rivers Tuesday – Wednesday but I will be back for our Adult Bible Fellowship Group on Wednesday evening. I hope to see you there and I look forward to worshiping our Savior with you again this Sunday.
Remember that if you happen to miss a Sunday or two you can go to our website www.victoryofthelamb.com and get the sermon. We’re also more frequently updating our music as well. Yesterday’s sermon should be posted by this evening.
God bless! Pastor Ben
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Ed Schuppe
By admin: on Jul.26.2009
Filed In: Bio
Schuppe, age 58, has been in the ministry 24 years. He has been a mission counselor for the last eight years and currently serves the South Atlantic, South Central, and Southeastern Wisconsin Districts. He and his wife, Joyce, attend a new mission congregation: Hope in Hampton, Ga.
Schuppe will be serving on the floor committee dealing with miscellaneous memorials. “I am looking forward to see how we, as a synod, will continue to reach out to the lost with limited funded, mindful that outreach is and will remain a primary focus of our church body,” he says. “I am also looking forward to seeing the future course we delegates will set, trusting God rather than financial forecasting, and committing ourselves to reach more of the lost with the gospel of Jesus Christ through personal outreach and innovative ways of attracting the unchurched.”
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AP says:
07/27/2009
“innovative ways of attracting the unchurched”
I have serious concerns about this statement. As President Schroeder pointed out in his address this morning, the message of the cross is not attractive to unbelievers at all; it is foolishness. When we water down that message in order to attract people, we are not being faithful to God or his Word.
And, as President Schroeder also mentioned, the times we are living in are no different than any other times. The problem is the same (sin) and the solution is the same (the gospel). To say that we need new “innovative” methods now is to imply that the gospel is no longer effective.
JL says:
07/27/2009
Can’t the pure gospel be brought to people in innovative ways? To say it can’t seems to allude that it’s limited in its scope. Wasn’t Christ “innovative” in the way he preached the gospel, compared to the Jewish church of his day?
AP says:
07/27/2009
But notice that Pastor Schuppe didn’t say we should “bring the gospel to people in innovative ways”. He said that we need innovative ways to attract people. Those are two very different things. His words imply that we need to use our own ingenuity to bring people into the church rather than relying on the Holy Spirit’s work, that the success of the church relies on our creativity, not the power of the Word.
When Christ sent his apostles out, he didn’t tell them to rely on their own ingenuity to attract people. He told them to preach the Word, whether people were attracted or not.
Empowerment
- Presenter: Rev. Ed Schuppe - Mission Counselor for the South Atlantic and Southeastern Wisconsin Districts of WELS. He has presented repeated for the Congregational Team Workshops.
Description: Mission Counselor Ed Schuppe will deliver our key note address this year on empowerment. He will look at the biblical encouragement for unity. He will also direct our attention to the frustrations we may feel as both lay persons and called workers. He will show us ways in which we can draw empowerment from the Holy Spirit through the Means of Grace.
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Taking Risks And Failing Forward
Presenter: Rev. Ed Schuppe - Mission Counselor for the South Atlantic and Southeastern Wisconsin Districts of WELS.
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Pots of Pietism:
About Us - Jars of Clay Ministries
Two WELS pastoral advisers Steve Witte and Ed Schuppe provide ongoing support and spiritual guidance to help JOCM meet its goals.
