Here are a few definitions that I found for exposure:

• disclosure
• revealing or unmasking
• presentation to view
• subjecting to influence

What, you ask, does this have to do with the church?  It’s one of the ways to learn what’s going on in ministry outside of your own realm of influence.

About once a year our staff schedules a visit to a local church that is different from ours.  Last week we visited The Church at Chapel Hill in Douglasville, Georgia.  Last year we visited North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia.  In previous years we visited World Changers Church International in College Park, Georgia and New Birth Baptist Church in Lithonia, Georgia.  By visiting with these ministries some of what we learned was:

• different ways to think about television production
• ideas for our academy
• the value of a good creative team
• excellence in hospitality

Exposure is good for any ministry because there is always something to be learned.  Even though our ministry is open to learn from other ministries, we also have ministries or pastors who schedule visits with us because they want to gain some insight from us.  There’s always someone who does something better than you.

Church visits are just one way to gain exposure.  Other ways include, but are not limited to:

• attending conferences
• mission trips
• volunteering with other churches during disasters
• inviting people to share with your ministry leaders

During the Atlanta floods in September 2009, my daughter and I volunteered with HopeAtl, an effort initiated by Pastor Shaun King of Courageous Church.  We were impressed with the people we met who came from around the country to help Atlanta’s flood victims.  Neither my daughter or I had been involved with an effort like HopeAtl.  We were blessed by the experience and gained new friends.

The whole point of this post is to encourage ministry leaders to learn from and share with other ministries.  Your denomination, race or income level should not matter.  What matters is what we as Christians can do for each other and for the community.

Take the challenge and expose yourself.  I promise you won’t feel naked.

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This training is sponsored by Keepers of the Temple Ministries.  The host is Pastor Delton Ellis and the training will be held in Nassau, Bahamas.  I am aware that in this economy it may be a stretch to travel to the Bahamas for an Armorbearer Retreat, however, if you can fit it into your budget, I guarantee you that it will be worth the sacrifice.

Pastor Delton Ellis is one of my friends in ministry.  I am very familiar with his church (Mount Tabor) and his pastor (Bishop Neil Ellis). I have visited his church many times and have been influenced by his ministry and very impressed with the armor bearers in his church.  If you are serious about your armor bearer ministry, this training is worth the expense.

For more information, check his web site, space is limited.

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Genesis 1: 26 – Then God said, “Let us make man in our image . . . and let them rule over . . . all the earth . . .

When God have us control over all of the earth, what did he have in mind?  I can’t speak for God but like everyone else, I have an opinion .  Of course God is all knowing, so he knew what would eventually happen to the earth; but that doesn’t mean it’s what He wanted to happen.

On Earth Day 1988, my youngest daughter’s school had Earth Day programs for the students.  That was when our awareness of recycling and saving energy began because our daughter, Anita, hounded us mercilessly to recycle paper, cans and plastic.  At that time it was about reducing the waste in landfills.

Will You Commit to Change 3 Things?

All of us can do something to help save our environment.  Take a look at the list below and choose three things that you don’t do that you will commit to change in honor of Earth Day.  Not a one day change, but a permanent change.

Recycle

• paper
• plastic
• cans
• cardboard
• glass
• yard waste into compost

Proper Disposal

• batteries
• oil
• styrofoam
• computers
• televisions
• appliances

Buy Recycled Products

• paper
• pencils
• trash bags
• facial tissues
• toilet paper
• paper towels
• napkins
• greeting cards

Reuse

• books (used book stores, swap shops, yard sales)
• reusable shopping bags

Other Ways to Change

• buy recycled products
• use eco-friendly light bulbs
• pay bills online
• online banking
• paperless bills/statements
• use environmentally friendly cleaning products
• plan your trips to cut down on gas use
• consider using public transportation
• take short showers
• use rechargeable batteries

These are just a few ways to help save our environment.  Research or make your own list, but make a commitment to do something – not just for Earth Day but everyday.

Related Articles:  It’s Time For the Church to Go Green

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In the past I’ve conducted armor bearer workshops.  If you live in Metro Atlanta I can still work that out.  Unfortunately, if you live outside of the greater Atlanta area, I can no longer travel to do armor bearer training.  If you have read my other blog, A Caregivers Journal, you know that I take care of my 83 year old god-sister who has dementia.  Taking care of her precludes travel outside of greater Atlanta.

For additional information, please see the following posts on this blog:

So You Want to Be An Armor Bearer Part 1

So You Want to Be An Armor Bearer Part 2

Friends Serving Friends In Ministry

Another source of information is the book, God’s Armor Bearer Volumes 1 & 2: Serving God’s Leaders ; There is also a link to this book in the sidebar.  If you purchase the book through my link, I make a few pennies commission .

For all of you who feel called to this ministry, please remember that this ministry calls for dedication and commitment.  It can be very time consuming and is not for the feint of heart.  I hope that each of you will pray about your decision to become an armor bearer.

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Twitter is a great social network and can be used for many things.  Friends keeping in touch, like-minded people sharing information, a marketing forum or an electronic bulletin board.  I know teenagers and college students act badly on MySpace, Facebook and Twitter, but I expect more from adults.  Especially Christian adults.

Gary Lamb, Twitter and C3 Church

Last year Pastor Gary Lamb was involved in a scandal that ended up with him losing his pastorate, his wife and many friends.  He admitted what he had done, apologized and moved on.  Recently, however, Gary announced that he is in the process of starting another church.  He put together a team, tweeted and blogged about his new endeavor.  He explained what he planned to do and why.

Does Gary have the right to start a new church?  Yes.  Is it too soon for him to start a new church.  In my opinion it is, but I don’t know.  Should he start a new church in the same community?  I believe that’s a bad idea because there are too many open wounds that still need tending.  That said, what Gary Lamb does is his business.  If he is out of order, God will deal with him.

Cyber Stalking and Harassment

I am intrigued about what happens in the life of a pastor who steps down and begins over; so about twice a month I look at Gary Lamb’s Twitter page.  When I looked yesterday and saw he was starting a new church, I also began to see the chatter about him and his new church.  Some of the tweets were positive, some were negative and some were down right malicious.  So I began to follow the trail.

I could not believe that people had created fake ID’s so they could send malicious tweets about the church and about Gary’s personal life.  To me, the magnitude and malice of the tweets are the equivalence of cyber stalking.  The people sending these tweets are not unsaved, unchurched people.  They are Bible totin’, scripture quotin’ believers.  Since when did Christians begin to think that we have the right to stalk and harass someone because we don’t believe in what they are doing?  Oh, I forgot, we do it all the time!

When I was a child,

I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me (1 Cor. 13: 11).  These people need to grow up.  Their actions are childish at best and un-Christian at worst.  If they don’t like what he’s doing, they shouldn’t attend his services.  If they want to criticize him, they shouldn’t do so behind the mask of a fake identity.  If they think their friends are making a mistake by attending his services tell their friends why they believe he may not be qualified to lead, but not all the gossip that goes with it.

There’s a way to criticize with love.  Jesus showed us how.  These people should try it, they might like it.

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