Myers-Briggs and Ministry

At our most recent LLC, Gary Oliver mentioned the Myers Briggs personality sorter. If any of you are interested you can take the test and see your profile at http://www.advisorteam.com/temperament_sorter/register.asp?partid=1
or
http://typelogic.com/typelinks.shtml#tests This one lists a bunch of links to tests and information.
Bill Johnson

So I Stand By The Door

At LLC a week ago, I mentioned a poem written by Sam Shoemaker, the father of the modern "small group" movement. Intervarsity, Campus Crusade, Young Life, even Billy Graham ministries have their origins in Sam's work as a pastor in Pittsburgh. By the way, Sam also was the founding pastor of Alcoholics Anonymous. Anyway, here is the poem. I think it is worthy of discussion in the context of being a "missional" church. If any of you are interested in reading Sam's life story, his wife wrote a very good biography titled, "I Stand By The Door"

So I Stay Near The Door

An Apologia for My Life

Sam Shoemaker

I stay near the door,

I neither go too far in, nor too far out.

The door is the most important door in the world--

It is the door through which men must walk when they find God.

There's no use my going way inside and staying there,

When so many are still outside and they, as much as I,

Crave to know where the door is.

And all that so many ever find

is only the wall where the door ought to be.

They creep along the wall like blind men,

With outstretched, groping hands,

Feeling for a door, knowing there must be a door,

So I stay by near the door.

The most tremendous things in the world

Is for men to find that door--the door to God.

The most important thing any man can do

Is to take hold of one of those blind groping hands,

and put it on the latch--the latch that only clicks

And opens to the man's own touch.

Men die outside that door, as starving beggars die

On cold nights in cruel cities in the dead of winter--

Die for want of what is within their grasp.

They live, on the other side of it--live because they have found it.

And open it, and walk in, and find Him...

So I stay near the door.

Go in, great saints, go all the way in--

Go way down into the cavernous cellars,

And way up into the spacious attics--

It is a vast, roomy house, this house where God is.

Go into the deepest of hidden casements.

Of withdrawal, of silence, of sainthood.

Some must inhabit those inner rooms,

and know the depths and heights of God.

And call outside to the rest of us how wonderful it is.

sometimes I take a deeper look in

Sometimes venture in a little farther,

But my place seems closer to the opening...

So I stay near the door.

There is another reason why I stay there.

Some people get part way in and become afraid

Lest God and the zeal of His house devour them;

For God is so very great, and asks all of us.

And these people feel a cosmic claustrophobia,

And want to get out, "Let me out!" they cry.

And the people way inside only terrify them more.

Somebody must be by the door to tell them that they are spoiled

For the old life, they have seen too much!

Once taste God, an nothing but God will do any more.

Somebody must be watching for the frightened

Who seek to sneak out just where they came in,

To tell them how much better it is in the inside.

The people too far in do not see how near these are

To leaving--preoccupied with the wonder of it all.

Somebody must watch for those who have entered the door,

But would like to run away. So for them too,

I stay near the door.

I admire the people who go way in

But I wish they would not forget how it was

Before they got in. They would be able to help

The people who have not yet even found the door.

Or the people who want to run away again from God.

You can go in too deeply, and stay in too long,

And forget the people outside the door.

As for me, I shall take my old accustomed place,

Near enough to God to hear Him, and know He is there.

But not so far from them as not to hear them,

And remember that they are there, too.

Where? Outside the door--

Thousands of them, millions of them.

But-- most important for me--

One of them, two of them, ten of them,

Whose hands I am intended to put on the latch.

I shall stay by the door and wait

For those who seek it.

"I had rather be a door-keeper..."

So I stay near the door.

II Corinthians 5:11-6:13

John 10:1-10

Bill Johnson

Some Helpful Links

Hi here are some links that are helpful
www.census.gov great for doing demographic research- check out the "factfinder" feature.
www.thearda.org great for doing religious demographic research- its the American Religious Data Archive- or something like that.
Then I mentioned in our last meeting a preacher that makes me walk away saying "What an amazing God"- well for me that's Rob Bell. His sermons can be downloaded for free in an MP3 format. www.mhbcmi.org/listen/index.php
He is the teaching pastor at Mars Hill Bible Church in Michigan- near Grand Rapids, I think.
A couple of other sites we mentioned at the meeting were: www.sermoncentral.com and www.sermonspice.com and www.youtube.com [secular site- so just beware] lots of good video.
We also mentioned Google images- for pictures and such for power point presentations and sermon illustrations- just go to www.google.com and look for the "images" link
Let me know if you read this by leaving a comment.

Welcome Pastors- feel free to experiment

Hello Pastors,
I sent out a bunch of invites hoping some would respond and look into using this blog. Hopefully it becomes a resource and not a burden.
By the way if you find blogging fun and easy- they are free and any pastor or church can set one up in under an hour. It is an easy way to publish your sermons for out of town or travelling folks. You simply cut and paste your manuscript. I used to do this, but I no longer use a manuscript. You can see my sermon blog at: www.coreysermons.blogspot.com
Its not much- but a lot of our out of town people and some friends and family would visit it and it helped keep people in the loop.
peace,
Corey

Welcome to our Blog!

We hope to post ideas from our meetings- Upcoming Meeting Dates and Times- Resources both online and "terrestial" (you know: books, programs and such)
We can also post online comments on this blog.
Corey