Time To Be Thankful

Posted on November 13, 2020 by Servant | News

With Thanksgiving around the corner, it is a good time to be thankful.

This year will be a bit different, since the pandemic is raging. Instead of a big Thanksgiving Dinner with all of the family around one table, we may need to have multiple dinners in our homes and use videoconferencing afterwards. Why not have a videoconference with all the family groups as we enjoy dessert?

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Choosing a Streaming Service

Posted on October 11, 2020 by Servant | News| Tags: ,

Churches have adopted Web Streaming Services during this time of pandemic. They broadcast the worship service via that service to members and visitors every Sunday. But how do you go about choosing which streaming services to support?

The budgets of many Churches are hard-pressed right now. It is nearing the end of the year, so Stewardship campaigns are cranking up. Difficult choices often have to be made. Will the Church be able to afford to keep using the multiple web streaming services that they currently have? Or will they consolidate and only use one, or possibly none at all.

Web streaming is a great way to let people who are away from home join in with worship. I have used web streaming while in another state and on the road during worship time. It felt like I was at home. And it was one way to stay connected with my Church even on a trip.

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Audio Troubleshooting

Posted on September 13, 2020 by Servant | News

What do you do when your audio system is acting up during worship? Like all technology, there are minor technical issues that can come up during operation. Dealing with those is part of the responsibility of the technical ministry team.

The first consideration is what I will call “gravity.” Is this problem severe enough to interrupt the flow of the service? If the answer is “No,” then the best thing is to just put up with it until the service is over. You can then handle it in Followup time, while you’re putting gear away. Many times the issue is small enough that it only takes a couple of minutes to deal with.However, if you walk up to the pulpit to handle it, then the congregation will be paying more attention to you than the preacher! This is inappropriate, and should be avoided if at all possible. Worship is an encounter with the Divine, and doesn’t need to be subverted by technical issues.

A great example of a low gravity event is the failure of a wireless mike do to a battery going dead. The preacher should just switch to another mike and go on with the service. However, if you only have one mike and are recording the service, then this would become a high gravity event. You should then walk onto the stage and do the mike replacement. I have done this during sermons when it was high gravity. You don’t need to say anything. The preacher knows that the mike went dead, and hopefully is going on with the sermon. You just need to quietly and without much fuss swap out the battery and hand the now active mike back to the preacher so they can carry on. You can potentially edit the audio track for the sermon to handle the skipped part. Worship goes on.

A second consideration is the “impact” of the problem event. If the impact is small – I.e. it doesn’t really have much of an impact on the community – then it can be ignored. Usually, this is the best course. However, if it has a high impact – e.g. people won’t be able to listen to the sermon – then you have to deal with it immediately. The best way to gauge the impact is to consider what percentage of the community will notice the problem. if only a small percentage would even notice the audio issue, then it can be ignored. If everyone in the community is going to feel the impact, then it demands immediate action. This is particularly relevant while streaming worship. You need to get the sound audible again!

Hopefully, you are doing mike checks before the service to make sure all mikes are in good working order. If in doubt about a battery (e.g. have we used that one twice already? ) then just replace it. Batteries are fairly inexpensive, and you probably have a whole box in the closet. Supporting the Worship Service is the priority, so that everyone can worship!

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Next Best Thing To Being There

Posted on August 2, 2020 by Servant | News| Tags: , ,

Many Churches are “live streaming” their worship services these days during the pandemic. This is the next best thing to the congregation actually being there. The variety of methodologies and web services supporting this is encouraging to see. Some make it easy. Others provide all of the bells and whistles for the Technical Ministry team to use.

The goal of Streaming Live worship is to make it as close to “being there” as possible. The Service should start and stop on time, although the ending is flexible. You can go over 15 minutes and probably not incur any additional charge. But if you drag on for an hour, you will likely lose your audience. So keep the length of the service within the bounds of what people in the congregation normally expect.

What technology is your Church using to stream live worship services?

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Freedom To Love Your Neighbor

Posted on July 19, 2020 by Servant | News

The Church has long embraced the freedom that comes with Christ. As Paul states in Galatians 5:1, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” The Church in Galatia was struggling with those who argued that Gentile Christians should be obeying the Law of Moses. Paul counters that they should simply Love your neighbor.

How do we Love our neighbor during this time of pandemic? Some would say that we should just steer clear of them – i.e. keep to ourselves. That would certainly maintain a social distance. By doing so, we avoid the possibility of exposing them to the virus. Others would say that we should reach out to our neighbors more, since we are all home alone right now. We should remind them that we care about them and what they are going through. By sharing, we enter into community and fellowship.

Many are finding ways to do both through technology. With modern communications and the Internet, you can reach out to not only the people in your neighborhood, but the global village as well. How about contacting old friends over a teleconference? Or simply send them an email expressing your concern and caring? Or invite a coworker to just meet over videoconferencing for a cup of coffee together? Technology offers unique ways to overcome the isolation that these times have brought. It is High Tech, High Touch. Through it, we have the Freedom to Love our Neighbor in new ways!

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Enhanced Worship

Posted on June 21, 2020 by Servant | News

Since Churches are worshipping online through streaming services, there is an opportunity for enhancing worship. The typical pattern is:

  • Welcome
  • Call to Worship
  • Music
  • Reading Scripture
  • Prayer
  • Sermon
  • Music
  • Benediction

Why not add some new items? This is a chance to be creative. You could have a drama. You could have people singing the hymns from their homes all over the community. You could include former members who are now far away in reading the scripture. You could have children sharing the prayer (i.e. using multiple takes if needed.)

The Welcome and the Benediction should be by the same person. This brings a sense of wholeness to the service. Some elements will be the same as the Church did in “live worship” before the pandemic. That gives a sense of familiarity. Finding new ways to worship online is like filling new wine in new wineskins. It allows the Church to grow and try out new items. And you may find that the congregation likes a new item so much that you’ll decide to incorporate it in “live worship” when you resume meeting in the sanctuary!

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Worship at Home

Posted on May 9, 2020 by Servant | News| Tags: , ,

How do you worship at home? The early Church always worshipped at home. They didn’t have Church buildings. The great cathedrals would come much later. And some have organized new Churches around the concept of a small group meeting in a home. Maybe that’s a good idea.

With the Coronavirus pandemic still underway, many Churches are providing worship services online. That allows us to still worship together, but it is hard to feel like you’re in worship. One alternative is to provide a multi-window screen, consisting of lots of people in a matrix format. This gives a sense of the fact that the streaming worship service is touching many people.

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Easter At Home

Posted on April 4, 2020 by Servant | News| Tags: , ,

This year many of us will be celebrating Easter At Home. That seems strange. We’re all used to great services on Easter, starting at Sunrise and extending throughout the day. Most Churches have multiple services on Easter to support the crowds. A lot of people attend worship on Easter out of respect for family tradition, as well as nourishing their faith.

The early Church didn’t have any large buildings. They always met in one another homes – i.e. often in secret. There was some fear, that they might be found out. The early Christians faced persecution as their largest fear. Today, in most places, we don’t have to worry about persecution. But this year we are faced with the fear of disease. Let us return to meeting in our Homes as a way of celebrating Easter like the early Church. As you gather together, you might reflect on Easter memories and just what Easter means.

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Worship Alternatives

Posted on March 15, 2020 by Servant | News| Tags: , , ,

With a pandemic in progress, it will be challenging for congregations to continue holding worship services. Perhaps it is time to consider some Worship Alternatives.

The obvious alternative to consider is Live Streaming. This is where you hold the worship service with no one in the sanctuary. However, you broadcast the live video over the internet. This allows people to participate from their homes, or for that matter anywhere on a mobile phone. All they need is an Internet connection. While not quite the same as being there in person, it is a valid alternative. You’ll need to provide links to resources such as hymns and liturgy, either through email or chat. The Good News is that you can participate in the worship service through the stream. You can sing the same hymns, listen to the same sermon. The only thing you can’t do is hug or shake hands with other worshipers in the sanctuary (which might spread the virus). I would recommend that you hug your family instead.

Another alternative is to have the preacher record the sermon and distribute it via the Church web site. Likely you already have the sermons online in some form, either as video or audio files. This would just abbreviate the process, maybe recording the sermon in their office instead of the sanctuary. That way, people will be able to listen to the sermon at home via the Church Web Site. All they need is an Internet connection.

Speaking as one who has listened at home during a long illness, I can attest to the importance of providing these alternatives. In my case, the Tech Team recorded the sermon on CD and brought me a copy every week. Although I could not go to Church, I could still worship. If you provide access to the whole service via streaming, then your remote worshipers will also hear the same announcements, see the people, etc. The Church is the body of Christ wherever and however it worships! (1 Cor 12:27)

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Internet Campus

Posted on March 9, 2020 by Servant | News| Tags: ,

Does your Church include multiple buildings and/or multiple locations? Then it is an Internet Campus. This means that you have a network that defines all of the buildings. It may be a subnetwork in the cloud, to which all buildings are connected. Or it may be that you link routers together into a local network that covers your campus.

The advantages to an Internet Campus lie in security and efficiency. When staff in one building want to share information with staff in another building, they can do so quickly through the Internet Campus. They can logically see other equipment across the Internet Campus, such as printers and shared file systems. And they thus move information around more efficiently. If you have a school – i.e. even a preschool – then the Internet Campus supports the weekday programs of that school.

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Thanks Gregory

Posted on February 29, 2020 by Servant | News

When Pope Gregory XIII introduced the Gregorian Calendar in October 1582 AD, it solved a problem that had been growing worse every year. Basically, the Roman era Julian Calendar didn’t match the solar year. The difference was slight, but through the centuries it had accumulated. And people were noticing that the Equinoxes were now off by 10 days.

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Leadership vs Management

Posted on January 5, 2020 by Servant | News

There is a difference between Leadership and Management. Management applies to the technical functions of an organization. It includes the day to day organizational meetings and events that carry out the mission of the organization. It focuses on metrics of organizational efficiency and effectiveness. And it reminds everyone of the policies that procedures that keep the organization intact and functioning.

Leadership sets a vision before the organization. It lifts everyone’s sights up to a higher calling that the organization is striving to reach. Epiphany is a time to focus on our vision of the Church at its best. It calls everyone to put out some extra effort, to change to better meet it, to become more capable of reaching that vision. It should be the case that the Leader has a vision and knows how to communicate it to others. It is up the Leader to lead.

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Advent Time

Posted on December 1, 2019 by Servant | News| Tags: , ,

Advent is really the beginning of the Christian Year. What better time to start than the birth of the Christ child! Every year, we look for new ways to announce His coming. We celebrate Christmas with musical specials, children’s plays, small group celebrations, and Christmas Eve Communion. It truly is Advent Time.

But Advent can also be a time for some to struggle. It may be the seasonal change as winter sets in and we all stay inside more. Or it may be that some tragic event is remembered. Yet, in the midst of all of that, Hope is born again in our hearts through the Christ Child. Let Him come anew into your heart this Christmas!

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Churches In Retrenchment

Posted on November 1, 2019 by Servant | News| Tags: , ,

Not every Church is on a rapid growth curve. Some are stable. Others are in decline. Local Churches have a life cycle of their own, just like other organizations. I’ve seen Churches at every stage of this life circle (including startup.) While it is true that God created the Church (at Pentecost) and supports it, local Churches are also human institutions and susceptible to human influence. This affects the organization of the Church.

So what do you do when your Church is in Retrenchment? In most Churches, the technical ministry equipment is already bought and paid for. Typically, the volunteers contribute to this; but I have seen capital budget items for it as well. If this is the case, then you don’t have much to worry about. Until the Church stops worshiping, there will be a need for the technical equipment. However, the Church may decide to shift worship to another building. You may be called upon to reinstall technical equipment in another worship space. Or you may find the budget has been cut for some of the technical subscriptions that you use. For example, the Church may no longer be able to afford to broadcast the worship service live. Or it may no longer make sense to keep the premier Website Hosting Service. Or it may no longer make sense to provide a giving kiosk. In all of these cases, I suggest scaling down the services rather than abandoning them. If you were involved in scaling them up, then you should remember what it was like before you went to the current level. Or you may be able to find Church members willing to support the service over and above their regular giving to the Church. Either way, making the service less expensive will help ensure that the Church continues to provide it. You should also look at documenting the effectiveness and impact of the service. How many people watch or listen to the sermons every week? How many people give online, rather than through the offering plate? These facts will help you make the case for continuing the service.

Technical ministry can survive a retrenchment in the programs and ministries of the Church. Indeed, it is likely that you can do more with less cost. Be ready to support the budget item with facts, so that you can make your case before the finance committee.

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Old Churches Can Live Again

Posted on October 5, 2019 by Servant | News

What happens to old Churches when the members die off or move away? More and more, this seems to be happening in small towns and villages. It is hard to realize, but Churches have a life cycle of their own. They are started by a few people with a desire to see a Church in that location. They grow up and mature as a congregation that serves their community and nation. And they decline and sometimes die off when the community changes. If your Church is in the late stage of this process, then several possibilities come to mind:

  • The Church can be donated to a non-profit organization.
  • A Mission organization can take over the building and use it.
  • A new Church plant can occupy the building and reach the community.

If your Church is in a decline, you can just let it happen. Or you can be intentional about transitioning the building and grounds to another use. May God grant you the wisdom to celebrate the life and ministry of your Church, and then move on to better things.

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Rebounding From Disasters

Posted on September 8, 2019 by Servant | News| Tags: , ,

Disasters happen. They make the news. And they impact Churches in the Disaster Community. If the Church building is spared, then it often becomes part of the recovery effort. Your Church building can provide shelter to those who are homeless. It can provide logistical support for organizations – e.g. UMCOR – that are bringing in relief. It can provide support groups and comfort to those who are traumatized by the event.

When the Church building is damaged, as in a storm or fire, then it too has to be rebuilt. Generally, there will be property insurance to help pay the bills. There may need to be an alternative worship plan for a time while reconstruction happens. Sometimes a neighboring Church will share facilities. Or a school auditorium may be used. Churches and communities need to pull together to rebound from the disaster. That’s what the Christian Community does.

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When Disaster Strikes

Posted on August 4, 2019 by Servant | News| Tags: , , , ,

When a disaster strikes a community, the Church is often there immediately to help. Whether it is a hurricane, tornado, flood, fire or earthquake, the Church is part of the community response. Usually, this happens after the first responders have completed their mission. Churches will reach out with people, resources and service to help in the recovery. This is part of the Church’s caring for others ministry.

How does your Church respond when a disaster strikes? Some Churches will take up a collection and send money. Others will gather supplies and get them delivered. Still others will organize a team to go and help. It might be covering damaged roofs with tarps to keep out more rain. It might be repairing damaged homes for those without insurance. It might be sending cleaning supplies and home goods to help those who have suffered. Whatever the method, the Church is called to reach out and help. And I have been amazed at the generosity and helpfulness of those in the Church.

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Church Building Security

Posted on July 4, 2019 by Servant | News| Tags: ,

Church buildings need security systems. In the past, there have been incidents at Churches. These make the news. But do they mean that the Church building needs for security are being ignored?

In the past, the Church – especially the sanctuary – was considered a place of safety. It was a refuge to those in trouble. People respected this, so the Church building was secure and safe. This is no longer the case. So staff need to take steps to make the Church building secure.

Property alarm systems can be installed, but who monitors the alarm in the middle of the night. One Church I was involved with had the alarm system connected to the police station, which was 2 blocks away. This meant that if there was a break in, the police arrived in 2 minutes. However, what happens if the youth are having an overnight event and accidentally trip the alarm. Better to have someone in the Church also get the alarm, and be able to override it before it goes to the police station. And that person should be up to date with the scheduled events of the calendar. That way, you don’t have an issue on the 4th of July.

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Church Building Automation

Posted on June 10, 2019 by Servant | News| Tags: ,

Church buildings have various systems and security needs. Some are open only on the weekends. Others are almost open 24×7. They need utility services. They need security services. Your Church probably has a programmable thermostat. This saves energy and lowers electricity bills by running the HVAC system only when the sanctuary is in use. It might start cooling down the sanctuary early on Sunday morning and shut it off again after worship services are concluded.

Church staff need to know how to control these systems. There might be an morning children’s worship service during VBS week. Someone needs to reprogram the thermostat so everyone stays cool. Or there might be special evening event open to the community. Someone needs to unlock the doors and ensure that the heat is on in the winter. Whatever the reason, make sure that staff know how to control these systems and understand their responsibility to ensure that the building is used responsibly and used well.

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Eastertide

Posted on May 2, 2019 by Servant | News

Eastertide is the period of time between Easter and Pentecost. On Easter, we all think about the empty tomb. It is the defining characteristic of Christianity. Other religions have great leaders, but only Christianity has a leader who rose from the dead. And for good measure, he did it after 3 days!

Many Churches have special celebrations during Eastertide. Some Churches have a sunrise service, to celebrate the empty tomb. Some Churches have special events for children, like Easter Festivals. I even heard of a Church that clipped the Church. Clipping the Church is an English custom where you form a human chain around the Church building, facing outward. You then sing hymns to celebrate the fact that the Church is reaching out to the community.

However you celebrate Eastertide, always remember that it is because of the Risen Lord that we have Easter!

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Bad For Your Health?

Posted on April 19, 2019 by Servant | News| Tags: ,

There is so much that goes into the Easter season. It can get a little hectic. And you may be asking yourself, is serving on the Church Staff bad for my Spiritual Life? Let’s reflect on this a bit.

In one sense, yes. You are involved in almost everything the Church does, and it can become spiritually draining. But in another sense, you are continually inspired by worship – even when you lead it!

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Social Network Branch Blogs

Posted on March 3, 2019 by Servant | Reflections| Tags: , , , ,

Most Churches have added Social Networking sites through some group starting a facebook page. Maybe it was the youth group that came up with that idea, because the youth minister wanted to share pictures from the youth retreat. Or maybe it was the women’s group that wanted to share video clips from a women’s event via instagram. Or maybe it was a men’s group that wanted to coordinate the BBQ cookout via twitter. Whatever the source, the Social Networking sites just sort of sprung up by themselves, with little if any coordination with the Church staff. That’s okay. It’s creative, and it met an immediate need by these groups to communicate.

If you look at how the Church communicates overall with the community of believers, then you might perceive a problem here, though. The Church is stronger when it speaks with one voice to the community. If you have many voices saying different things, then it gets confusing and is less effective. Suppose the women’s event is scheduled on the Church calendar for Friday night at 7:00 PM in Room 300. The Church bulletin announces it for that time and place. However, the organizers discover that they’ve got more people signed up than they anticipated – a great problem to have! So they decide to move the event to the Fellowship Hall at 6:00 PM. They announce the change at the last minute on instagram, which they expect all of the women to see. However, they don’t update the Church calendar. The consequence is that half of the women show up late and at the wrong room. Some are frustrated to find the room empty. Checking the Church calendar online confirms the information that they had in their personal calendar. So they conclude that the event was cancelled and go home. In other words, they miss out!

What is needed is more coordination. What if we started looking at all of those Social Networking sites as Branch Blogs – i.e. extensions to the Church’s web site. Information and updates would flow in both directions – i.e. from the Church Web Site to the Branch Blog, and from the Branch Blog to the Church Web Site. That way, communication is increased and the message of the Church is one voice on each subject. Why not simply assign staff to the task of coordinating with the editors of these various Social Networking sites. The Youth Minister would simply make sure that anything going onto the Youth facebook page also gets updated on the Church Web Site. And anything that the Youth Minister adds to the Church Web site for the youth also gets reported on the facebook page. This is likely already happening if the Youth Minister also edits the facebook page.

In summary, take time to think through the process of how do we coordinate between the various ministry groups and their related Social Networking sites. Identify the staff member or volunteer that needs to coordinate between the Church Web Site and the group. Make sure they also know who publishes the Social Networking site. Or, better yet, get them access to the Social Networking site so they can publish the information themselves. Social Networking is then another channel through which the Church spreads the Gospel Message. It will be more accurate, and more timely, if it is coordinated with the Church Web Site.

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Staff Leadership Challenges

Posted on February 1, 2019 by Servant | Reflections| Tags: , ,

We expect a lot from our Senior Pastor. They are expected to be the best preacher in town, so the congregation will feel disappointed if they miss their sermon. They are expected to be a shining example of the faith, so others can follow. They are expected to always be caring and loving, so members can turn to them in times of crisis or need. They are expected to provide leadership to the Church as an organization, so that administrative matters are handled efficiently and effectively. All of that is tough to live up to. I know, I used to be a pastor.

The truth is that pastors are human beings, with all of the gifts, graces, anxieties, and troubles that others have. And leading a Church is a tough job. You don’t do it for the money; most Churches don’t pay that much. You don’t do it for the prestige; the local Church has lost a lot of its prestige in most cities. You do it because you feel called to it by Christ. And the Lord has blessed you with those gifts and graces, so you seek to use them to build up the Kingdom of God in this neighborhood. And you’re always mindful that you only have a little bit of time to do that. Others will follow, and you hope that they can build on what you accomplished.

In larger Churches, the Pastor is expected to lead the Staff as well as the Church. They need to get to know personally all of the staff members – even the custodians. Andy they need to be a source of encouragement to each Staff member in whatever responsibilities they are trying to carry out. The Pastor should pitch in and help when the staff gets overwhelmed. And they need to open doors when the staff needs to go in a new direction. In short, the Pastor needs to be a Servant Leader to both the staff and the Church.

So pray for your Pastor(s). Pray that they will be blessed with more grace and less frustration in everything that they do. And pray that they can grow as a Servant Leader in the midst of this community of faith!

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Using Multiple Factors to Login

Posted on January 31, 2019 by Servant | Resources| Tags: , ,

Typically, users login by entering 2 factors – i.e. a username and a password. For a lot of web sites, the rule is to make the username an email address. I suppose that makes it easier to respond when the user loses there password. 🙁

These days, 2 factors is not enough; so a lot of web sites are going to multiple factors for logging in securely. For example, you can add a 3rd factor, which could be one of the following:

  • Text message to a mobile phone
  • Phone call to a telephone number
  • Random numbers generated by an Authentication App
  • Biometric response – e.g. a fingerprint reader

The web sites for our Churches need to be secure. So perhaps it makes sense to add multiple factors for login to your staff’s accounts. But is it appropriate to ask Church members to use Multiple Factor login? Please comment if your Church is doing that.

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Scrooge Turned Around

Posted on December 2, 2018 by Servant | Reflections| Tags: , ,

During Advent, we hear a lot of familiar stories. One of my favorites is “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens. Written in 1843 AD, it is a classic. It tells the story of how an elderly miser named Ebenezer Scrooge was confronted at Christmas time by his past, present and future. It was published on December 19th, and immediately sold out. Dickens went on to perform live “story telling” events based on A Christmas Carol until his death in 1870.

Ebenezer turned his life around. In the light of the Gospel, he chose a new path of generosity and love. As a result the Cratchit family was blessed. Tiny Tim no doubt got the operation that saved his life.

What are some ways that your Church could use A Christmas Carol to further the Gospel? Here are just a few ideas:

  • Small Group study – looking at Advent through A Christmas Carol
  • Movie Night – Show one of the many movies based on A Christmas Carol
  • Christmas Event – Give to the poor like Ebenezer learned to do
  • Web page listing local charity events that people can participate in

May Advent be a time of reckoning, a time of joy as we anticipate the arrival of the Christ together.

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