Answering Hot Topics – Introduction

Answering Hot Topics – Introduction

Answering Hot Topics from Bret Capranica on Vimeo. Last Sunday, August 29, the elders of Summit Woods Baptist Church, publicly presented me as the candidate to become the church”™s next Senior Pastor.  Kelly and I are very excited to bring our family out to Lee”™s Summit next week in view of being called to serve at Summit Woods.  We have had a tremendously warm reception by a number of people from the church already (via Facebook, e-mail, and Twitter).  Our fellowship with the elders has been abundantly sweet. In our continued to dialogue since we were presented to the church, the elders and I thought it might be helpful to put out some more answers to questions that people have raised.  I”™m happy to do that.  So, for the next few days, you”™ll see some posts here at the blog to answer further questions people have posed.  I call them, “Answering Hot Topics.”  I”™ll hit the following topics: Are You a Calvinist? How Long Should A Sermon Be? An Affirmation About Alcohol Thoughts on Educating Our Children Stewardship and Local Church Giving I am sure there are many more questions that I could address.  If you have other topics, please feel free to e-mail them to me or leave a note in the comment section of this post.  If I don”™t answer them before our arrival in Lee”™s Summit next week, be sure to ask them of me in the public Q&A time, or come introduce yourself to me personally and put me on the spot. We look forward to serving you next...
The Next Phase Begins . . .

The Next Phase Begins . . .

Just a few minutes ago I read the following to our congregation: After many months of discussion and prayer, the Pastors”™ Council has recognized that our present leadership make-up has reached an impasse in how we function as a team.  When considering what would be best for the long-term benefit for the majority of the congregation, I have concurred with my other two team members, that I should step down from my position as Co-Senior Pastor of FBCSJ.  Therefore, today I am accepting a severance offered by the Pastors”™ Council and will resign my ministry here effective June 1, 2010. We, as a team, have not reached this conclusion hastily.  We have been discussing it for many months.  My leaving is not due to any issue of sin (either within myself or anyone on the team) and there is no fundamental doctrinal or seminal philosophy of ministry division.  We have, however, recognized that it would serve this church and the kingdom of God best if we separate. I do affirm my love, support, friendship, and loyalty to both Marvin and Stacy.  Our parting is very much mutual and will in no way dissolve our personal relationships. We on the Pastors”™ Council affirm the strategic and God-wrought blessings of the past eight years in our team approach to ministry.  None of us regrets our approach and we believe what we have accomplished together has been from the Lord. We do, however, recognize that our leadership structure has changed and needs further change to be most healthy for the long-term benefit of the church.  We believe God was the author of...
Pastoral Productivity – Roles & Goals

Pastoral Productivity – Roles & Goals

Values impact who you are and what you do. Roles and goals define who you are and what you need to do. What roles do you play in life? Husband, father, pastor, teacher, son, friend, neighbor? You know what they are. Think through the following questions in determining the roles you have in life and the biblical injunctions that best speak to how those roles should be lived out: 1. List your roles. 2. Assign specific Scriptures appropriate to each role. 3. List any key people associated with these roles. 4. Write a clarifying statement that describes specifically how you would want to fulfill this role If you have listed more than 7 roles, you may need to consolidate a few of them. Or you may even need to consider letting go of some of them – especially as you see more and more what is most important in your life and ministry. The Franklin-Covey approach to defining roles and goals suggests that you consider four other areas in addition to the roles you have listed. Covey calls them “Sharpening the Saw.” These are the areas of mental, physical, social, and spiritual priorities you should pursue and keep sharp. These roles/relationships will have a significant impact on the next step in the process of becoming more focused and hopefully more productive in life and ministry: Weekly Planning (more on that next week). Goals follow your roles. Ask yourself in regard to each of your roles, “What do I want to see accomplished in this role?” “Why?” “What would be a reasonable timeline in which to accomplish this goal?” Think...
Pastoral Productivity – The Big Picture

Pastoral Productivity – The Big Picture

The big picture is where productivity begins, whether for a pastor or really anyone. What’s the biblical rationale for life? What are your biblical values and how are they What roles do you providentially have in life? What does the Bible say about each of them? As you analyze your life circumstances, biblical priorities, and personal giftedness, what do you believe would be the best end product to shoot for in each of these roles you have in your life? That’s where goals come in. Goals will shed light on how you plan each week and evaluate how your doing as time goes on. Weekly planning helps to guide how you think about each day. Overly intentional? Maybe. But I think these are merely practical ways to look at life and ministry and make sure you are aligning life and ministry along a biblical track. So in this post I want to concentrate on identifying and defining biblical values. What are the core principles that govern your thinking and your behavior? Perhaps you could ask yourself, when I die, what do I most want my life to leave behind that were the obvious commitments of my life and ministry? Answer that question with a list of one word responses. Then begin to clarify those words in a short sentence or two. Here’s a few steps to take in defining and clarifying your values: 1. Brainstorm a list of one-word standards, ideals and priorities that are biblically based and very important to you. 2. List each one word value and then write a present-tense, first person affirmation statement about how...