David Whiting Live

Advent Readings

Don't forget our Advent Conspiracy! The first application of our Advent Conspiracy is to use resources to help you focus on Christ this Christmas.

Many Advent resources began this past Sunday. Others begin December 1st. Choose one and go for it! Even if you are starting late (if you have a resource that began Sunday) - don't quit!

If you don't yet have a resource, there are plenty of free ones online. YouVersion is a free Bible app for your smartphone, and there is a great website (all for free). You can download the smartphone app HERE (click on mobile to pick your smartphone) and you can see the website HERE.

Here are some options for Advent Reading plans (all from YouVersion.com).

1. Countdown to Christmas 29 days
   A fun Advent activity calendar to teach your whole family the significance of Christmas
2. Christmas Begins with Christ 28 days
   Devotional focusing on the joy, peace, and hope surrounding Jesus’ birth
3. Rediscovering the Christmas Season 25 days
   Scriptures and reflections that will help you center each day on Christ
4. Carols: A Christmas Devotional 25 days
   Devotional revealing the biblical roots of classical Christmas songs
5. The Christmas Story 5 days
   Biblical prophetic context and historical Gospel accounts of the Savior’s birth

Of course, YouVersion.com and the Bible App now have many other Reading Plans—more than 200, in fact, including many in different languages.

 

What an amazing, free resource!

 

Thought on Accountability...

In light of tomorrow's sermon, I was thinking about some questions I came across month's ago that I think are important. Human beings (especially men), don't like accountability. But there are huge benefits to accountability done well. These questions make me think of some of the benefits:

• Who looks you in the eye and says, "given your skills, you could do better..."
• Who have you given the right to ask, "What would happen if you doubled the amount you donated?"
• Who would you listen to when they asked, "Could you set aside the fear and go for it?"
• Who would you hear when told, "I know you're holding back..."
• Who are you humble enough to respond well to when they say, "You handled that wrong and you need to apologize..."
• Who is willing to say you to, "Your approach isn't working. You need to try something else."?

It takes love and kindness and confidence to bring the truth to a friend you care about. If you're insulating yourself from these conversations, who benefits? Find that friend! It is worth the time you give to it and the money you spend over breakfast or coffee on a weekly basis.

Changes in EQUIP - part 5 (final post on topic... for now)

I've been asked several times about videoing the SPIRITUAL INFLUENCE classes and letting people watch them. The simple answer is "yes" - BUT - the plan will be to only have the videos accessible to those that sign up for the class and do the assignments.  I firmly believe the "lecture" part of the class will only be effective long-term if people are doing the readings and assignment.  So, for those of you who work on Saturday mornings or will be out of town one of the Saturdays, or for those interested who don't live in Rochester - STAYED TUNED. We will make it possible!

Finally, I made a video that was shown in EQUIP classes last Sunday.  If you'd like to hear and see me explain the coming changes to EQUIP rather than just read them - you could watch this video. (MO

Equip from David Whiting on Vimeo.

 

As always, if you receive this by email, you need to click HERE, on the title above, or just click on the EQUIP logo below. 

And one more thing!  This is exciting news (for those who have struggled to watch videos on my blog).  The "code" now allows for viewing on ipads, ipods, and iphones!  I hope it really works!

Changes in EQUIP - part 4

Read the previous posts on this topic HERE (part 1), HERE (part 2), and HERE (part 3):

In parts 1 & 2, I told you two of the main reasons we are changing the format of EQUIP. In part 3, I explained what we will do instead (Saturday AM).  There are several other factors involved in the decision, but I will just share one more for now - - changing Sunday morning service times.

We recently had a consultant here in November (Jim Tomberlin - check him out HERE). He was here to consult with us about multi-site.  The biggest challenge he laid out to me was basically this:

• For a majority of unchurched people - IF they decide to attend church, will attend on Sunday mornings. It is ONLY already committed church people that will attend early Sunday mornings or Saturday nights (committed Catholics would also be willing to attend Saturday night, but if they are committed, they aren't likely to visit).
• Our worship center sits EMPTY from 9:45 until 11:00 AM.  Out of 180 minutes of PRIME Sunday morning time (9 AM until noon), our worship center is empty 75 of those minutes.  It is during our EQUIP hour.
• Jim's strong words to me were, "Solve that problem."

So, starting in April, we will be moving to a 9:15 and 11:00 AM services.  That will help us with space at the second service also. It seems, that no matter how much I beg people to move to the early service, we haven't gotten a lot of response, and for as many people as move to the early service, we grow by that many in the second service.  So it doesn't solve the problem for long.  Right now, probably 80% to 90% of our visitors come to the 11:00 service.  Having a 9:15 instead of 8:30 service should help with both of those issues.

In fact, in the fall, we hope to begin several short-term elective-style EQUIP classes on Sunday mornings.

But because of those changing times, it creates even MORE challenges for EQUIP that is already struggling (posts 1 & 2). 

• It would increase our parking problem in a BIG way.  Right now, we don't have two things happening at the same time for adults.  If we had a service AND EQUIP happening simultaneously, then we would have a full auditorium PLUS however many people are attending EQUIP.  We hope to add parking spaces this summer or fall, but until then, we can't have a lot of things happening at the same time.
• It would also increase the length of the classes from 45 minutes to 75 minutes (so we don't disrupt HIGH POINT). Only teachers want EQUIP to be longer in time. Since the classes are already struggling, if we ADD teaching time, it won't help us grow more.
• It takes me out of the teaching of EQUIP. It probably is important that I be involved as much as possible in any EQUIP environment.

The most common questions that I have been receiving are these:

• What does it mean for childrens' ministry?
• What does it mean for teens?
• What does it mean for college-aged kids?

I will be talking about those on Sunday night at VERTICAL WORSHIP.

Changes in EQUIP - part 3

Read the previous posts on this topic HERE (part 1) and HERE (part 2)...

The summary of the first two posts is that EQUIP is not as successful as we had hoped for.  So - we are going to try something different. In summary, here it is:

• We will continue two classes for now on Sunday mornings: Starting Point and the Ambassadors class (times to be determined because of service schedule changes).
• The other classes will no longer meet on Sunday morning.
• The PRIMARY EQUIP class will take place one Saturday morning a month. I will be the teacher, and the subject will be SPIRITUAL INFLUENCE.  
• The amount of instruction will be the same (two hours a month).
• In the fall, we plan to offer occasional, short-term EQUIP classes on Sunday mornings (Financial Peace, Parenting, Theological topics, etc...).  But they won't be age-based.

More details on the format of the Saturday AM class:

• This class will meet once a month for a year.
• Participants will be expected to read (approximately one book per month). This is hard work, but will triple the value of the class.
• The format of the class will include book discussion, group discussion at tables, teaching from me, and a Q&A time.
• There will be no childcare.  Each family needs to work out their own childcare solutions. (If you will pay to go on a date, why not pay to learn how to impact people for eternity?)

What I Will Be Teaching:

• I will focus on teaching you to use the Bible to help people solve their problems.
• I will teach you to lovingly confront people and speak the truth in love to them.
• More than anything, it the class will probably help you solve your own sin problems (and mine).
• I will focus on how God's Word truly is enough for answers in life.
• We will compare/contrast secular psychology and counseling with biblical counseling.
• We will study specific issues that most commonly arise in people's lives. 
• We will learn how to think through a problem to help people get to the root of the issue, supply hope, and provide biblical solutions.

Dates you can mark on your calendar right now (at the first meeting, the entire year's calendar will be set up):

• April 16
• May 14
• June 11
• July 9

Changes in EQUIP - part 2

To read part 1 - click HERE

The second reason we are looking to change HOW we do EQUIP is because of the lack of spiritual results.  We took a detailed survey of 208 of our attendees. It was focused on newer people, but over 1/3 of those who filled out the survey have been here for three years or more. 

We listed thirteen of our programs and asked them to name the ones that made the biggest impact on their spiritual maturity. The results are below. The percentage is NOT how many listed that on their survey. The percentage only is given IF they have attended that particular program. For example, only 73 of those who took the survey have attended Starting Point.  42% of those 73 people indicated that Starting Point was one of the 3 most significant programs in their spiritual journey. That number is based on those who have experienced the program (73 people) not all 208 of those surveyed.

Here are the results of 13 of our major programs:

• 95% of those who attend Sunday AM services indicated that Sunday morning teaching is one of the top 3 influences on their spiritual journey.
• 67% said that Sunday AM worship music was one of the top 3 influences
• 60% said Small Groups
• 51% said Youth Ministry was a top 3 influence on them or their teens
• 42% said Starting Point
• 27% said Celebrate Recovery
• 26% said technology (videos, video testimonies, website)
• 25% said Children's Ministry was a top 3 influence on them or their children
• 19% said ROC
• 16% said Vertical Worship
• 14% said Northridge Christian School
• 11% said EQUIP
• 10% said MOPS

That statistic is very important. We claim to have 3 major programs (Sunday AM, Small Groups, and EQUIP).  Sunday AM and EQUIP do well in the survey, but EQUIP rates 12 out of 13 programs.  And the thirteenth program (MOPS) isn't designed for radical spiritual growth, but rather for encouragement and fellowship of new moms.

Bottom line = EQUIP isn't working.  It isn't working in numbers or in spiritual impact.

Tomorrow - what we will be doing instead...

Changes in EQUIP - part 1

Hey Northridge

We are making a significant change in our EQUIP program. I want to spend this week attempting to explain what we will do and why we will do it. Today, I want to start with a couple of reasons why we need to try something different.

Remember that we are attempting to do three programs with excellence: Sunday AM (worshipping God), Small Groups (sharing life), and EQUIP (emulating or growing in Christ).

REASON #1:

Our numbers tell us something is broken.

• In the last 13 months our Sunday AM attendance has grown by 42%.
• In that same 13 months our Small Groups have grown by 43%.
• And in that same 13 months our Sunday AM Equip has shrunk by 29%.

That's pretty bad.  Shrinking by almost 30% is terrible, but when you compare it to the 42% growth on Sunday morning - it is really bad!

Every quarter our numbers are shrinking:

• The Spring quarter of Equip in 2010 started with 326 attendees.
• The Summer quarter of Equip in 2010 started with 263 attendees.
• The Fall quarter of Equip in 2010 started with 279 attendees.
• The Winter quarter of Equip in 2011 started with 250 attendees.

BUT - our attrition rate inside each quarter is fairly shocking.

• Spring quarter 2010 dropped from 326 attendees to 217 by the last week. (33% loss)
• Summer quarter 2010 dropped from 263 to 161 by the last week. (39% loss)
• Fall quarter 2010 dropped from 279 to 129 by the last week. (54% loss)
• The current quarter started at 250 and six weeks into this quarter we had 187. (27% loss in 8 weeks)

Thinking through those numbers is SOBERING!

I often say that a responsibility of a leader is to be a frank proclaimer of reality. The reality is - EQUIP is broken, but not beyond repair.

We DO manage to get people to START attending a quarter, but they lose interest and stop attending. And after talking them into a couple of quarters, they quit believing it is worth attending. And all the while, our weekly Sunday AM and Small Group numbers continue to climb.  Imagine if in 12 weeks, our Sunday AM attendance shrank by 33% or more!  If that happened in our small groups, we'd be doing something radically different. We need to do something different with EQUIP.

That is the first reason we need to do SOMETHING!  More tomorrow...

"Who Cares? I'm Going to Heaven!"

OK - I found out I have some parents upset with me... :)  I've received an email and I got pulled aside in the parking lot on Monday. 

On Sunday, I talked about having our HOPE in the future (Ephesians 1).  And how I can't have a bad day because I'm going to heaven. Let's keep the struggles in THIS LIFE all in perspective.

Lost my job? That's a bummer, but come on - I'm going to heaven!
Girlfriend broke up with me? No big deal... I'm going to heaven!

If we really GET how big of a deal heaven is and how RICH we are because of heaven - the difficulties here and now truly are minor.

Well, apparently, more than one high school student has been saying, "Mom, who cares about that English project? I'm going to heaven!" or other statements like that.

I know that your students are kidding, I think, but just in case, here is a response:

• In the big scope of life - you are right - who cares?
• BUT - the illustrations I used had to do with thing happening TO us, not things we CAUSED to happen.
• We wouldn't say, "Who cares whether or not I do drugs - I'm going to heaven!"  That is a biblical issue that Paul deals with directly (Romans 6:1). We aren't supposed to sin or be irresponsible because God is so great.
• When it comes to grades, our work reflects our character... so we DO CARE what and how we do when it comes to working hard on grades because our character is a reflection of our Savior.

Sorry kids... Mom and Dad care... and so should you...

BUT (on the other hand) - if you don't make the basketball team, if you drop your lunch tray and everyone laughs, if your girlfriend wants to "take a break", if you get in a fender bender, or if you don't get accepted into THAT college - THEN you can say, "Who cares!?!?! I'm going to heaven!"

(I love that you are paying attention, though...)

What Makes You Angry?

In Tuesday's paper I read about a crowd of 200 people that gathered at East Ridge High School to voice their dissatisfaction over new lane markings at Routes 590-104 interchange. (You can read the article HERE.)

I've driven through that exchange a few times in recent months and noticed it was different, but to find out that 200 people showed up and there was plenty of yelling and screaming surprises me. The reasoning, apparently, had to do with improving safety. It didn't seem like a big deal to me, but I only drive that interchange occasionally.

The article starts this way: "What surprises me is that the article said this, "Often, the crowd of 200 of more shouted down state transportation officials trying to explain the method to the markings..."

Two primary thoughts come into my mind:

1. Is that the best things to do with one's time? Show up at a Monday night meeting to talk about traffic patterns?  Maybe it is.  I suppose it is just as valuable as 100 other ways to spend a Monday night.
2. Is it worth getting angry over and yelling? That seems crazy to me.

A few random thoughts on anger:

• I think anger reveals our priorities. You get angry surrounding things that are most important to you (Have you ever watched parent's at their child's sporting events when a bad call is made by officials?)
• Anger also reveals our character. How quickly one gets angry says more about the angry person than the issue they are angry about.
• There are almost always more issues behind the anger than the presentation issue (certainly priorities and character, but also other life circumstances). Being on the receiving side of anger as a leader, I've learned to ask myself, "Why is he angry, REALLY?" That can help me attempt to get to the bottom of the problem and maybe solve more than one issue.
• Just because someone is angry doesn't mean they are right, or even well-informed.
• The ugliness of anger is this: sinful people tend to respond sinfully when sinned against. Perhaps that is never more clear than when anger is involved.
• Finally, strong emotions (such as anger) sometimes spring from the truth. More often, they spring from our own depravity.

My wife loves to make fun of me because I like to watch town hall meetings. I agree, it probably is mock-worthy, but I can't turn my eyes away from watching how ridiculously angry people can get when officials make decisions THEY don't like.

Seven of Us in Atlanta at ORANGE

Seven of us from Northridge are at a children's conference in Atlanta. We are enjoying it. Here is a view of what it looks like when 4000 people leave an arena to walk to the conference center for break-outs...

 

John Ortberg was one of the speakers today. One of the things he said that I loved was about a discussion he had with Dallas Willard (one of my favorite authors). And he said something like this (my paraphrase):

We must find a way to define spirituality apart from spiritual "activities" or the Pharisees win every time. So Dallas Willard likes to ask himself, "Am I more or less irritable these days?" and "Am I more or less discouraged these days?"

I LOVE that! And it started me thinking - what other specific measurements can help us understand our spiritual condition? I thought of these three for me:

• Am I more or less broken about my sinfulness these days?
• Am I more or less caring of others these days?
• Do I find myself serving others without thought or is it taking great effort?

What other ideas/questions would you think would be good personal measurements? I would love to make a list for myself.