Jeff Iorg Blog


Community

Dec 15 2014

“Community” is a buzzword among many young adult Christians today. They long for it, insist it’s an elusive reality, and talk about how to achieve it. Community is important. But, unfortunately, the strategies and methods people today think produce community just don’t work. You can’t achieve community by sitting around your living room with a small group, drinking coffee, and talking about “doing life together.” That’s recipe for boredom, not community.

My mother’s recent death resulted in a powerful demonstration of community. More than 300 people came to her memorial service, including the mayor of a neighboring community and four commissioners from the county where she lived. Most of the crowd was her trail/parade/rodeo riding friends. For about 25 years, my mother, her matched team of horses, and her various wagons and buggies have been a staple in the cowboy culture in her area.

My mother and her friends have true community because they do something important together. They preserve a historic way of life and, along the way, raise money for and devote time to various children’s charities. When people do something important together, that involves personal investment (even sacrifice), community happens. That’s why men who fought in a war 40 years ago still have reunions, and picking up their annual conversations as if they had never been apart. That’s why women gather for sorority reunions with women from college days 30 years ago, and share the same bonds they had during those life-shaping experiences.

“Community” results from doing something together, from going through a shared experience doing something significant. Christian community results when Christians work together to accomplish God’s mission. As we pray intensely, work sacrificially, and share the pain and joy of hard-earned progress – community happens. Christian community results from living on mission together, not just talking about it.

So, this Christmas, rather than sit around discussing esoteric theological questions or musing about ministry conundrums with your small group – go serve the poor, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and share the gospel. Do it with a group and watch community develop out of mission, not as a precursor to it.

 

Super Bowl Week

Jul 21 2014

We are at Defcon-5 at our house. Ann is in the zone for Vacation Bible School. Its man your battle stations, all hands on deck, and every other get with the program cliché! Mission helpers have arrived from other states, dozens of church members have been mobilized as workers, and children have been registered and assigned to classes. Our house looks like a crafts factory exploded. Now, the work – and the fun – really begins. It’s Super Bowl week for preschool ministry at First Baptist Church, San Francisco. 

If Ann had punched a time clock on this project, I’m sure she would have spent more than 200 hours working on it. Saying she loves VBS doesn’t even come close to describing her commitment to this outreach and teaching effort. If you want a stirring presentation on how important this ministry is to a church, just ask. Believe me, she will be more than glad to preach you that sermon! 

When you do the math, a week of VBS equals more than three months of the teaching time in a typical weekly Sunday School. The intensive time also allows for compound learning, building more directly each day on what was learned the previous day or days. It also facilitates better relationship building with children, new children, and their parents. 

VBS is also a great time to recruit new workers and introduce them to ministry for children. Ann often recruits VBS “helpers” with an eye toward turning them into weekly Sunday School workers. They don’t even know it’s happening to them, since they are having so much fun. Next thing they know, they are signed up and working with kids on a weekly basis. Diabolical! My wife can be sneaky like that. 

I hope your church has someone like Ann who is passionate about young children. If you do, thank God for him or her! I am proud of my wife, her devotion to ministry, and how she takes seriously Jesus’ instructions to allow little children to come to him. 

Churches are still built by hard work, done by many, who make the phone calls, prepare the lessons, work the events, and clean up after it’s over. There’s really no shortcut to church growth – just people who dig in and get the job done. If you are in that multitude – particularly if you worked in VBS or some other summer program – thank you, and thank God for you!

 

Leaving Your Legacy

Oct 28 2013

Most people want to leave something behind to mark their contribution to a better world. Prominent people have buildings named after them, establish foundations, or create institutions. Frankly, most of us don’t think in those terms. We are more concerned about impacting the people around us, mainly our family and close friends, in a positive way. That’s the legacy most of us want to leave.

In my new book, Seasons of a Leader’s Life, I describe legacy this way. Your legacy is “the wisdom you have gained, the people you have influenced, and the convictions you modeled which inspires subsequent generations.” Christians gain wisdom through studying the Bible and putting it into practice in complicated situations. Passing that process and its results along to people you influence is the core of your legacy. This can be as simple as having a conversation with a grandchild in a teachable moment. Your legacy is also communicated through the convictions you model. People are watching you – more than listening to you – to discover what’s really important to you. Your example is also part of your legacy, whether you lead a large organization or are only observed by your immediate family.

You are a legacy-leaver. Don’t disqualify yourself because you can’t leave behind a lot of money, a big monument, or a building with your name on it. Focus on people as your legacy. Pass along what you have learned, model what really matters, and stay faithful to the end of your life. Your legacy will be revealed in the people you influence. If you want to learn more about how to do this, check out my new book!

 

Disaster Relief

Nov 26 2012

A few years ago, some Baptists were self-critical of our supposed failure at meeting the practical needs of people. People who parroted that line were woefully uninformed. Baptists support more hospitals, children’s homes, senior care facilities, inner city ministry centers, Christian schools, and other care-giving organizations than any other denominational group – second only to the Catholic Church in the scope of our work. 

The area we have emphasized the most in the past twenty years, however, has been disaster relief. Our teams show up – nationally and internationally – whenever a hurricane, tsunami, tornado, fire, or other natural disaster causes human misery. We have feeding units, shower trailers, portable child care centers, health clinics, and support units for groups who clear downed trees, remove debris, muck out muddy buildings, and otherwise clean up the mess. 

Most of our disaster relief vehicles and volunteers are organized through state conventions and local associations. While the mission boards coordinate the response, they depend on the larger Baptist family for the resources. There is only a handful of paid staff coordinating this effort. Most of those who serve are volunteers – trained and ready to deploy on a moment’s notice. Golden Gate has an unusual part in the training. We welcome chain saw crews-in-training each spring to take down dying trees on our campus. They get the practice and we get some free tree removal! 

Right now, Southern Baptist disaster relief teams are still working on the recovery from hurricane Sandy. That’s right, even though media attention has decreased; our teams are still there and will be until the work is done. If you have time to give, why not get the training so you can deploy to the next disaster? And, if you can’t do that, how about writing a check to help with the cause! Your association or state convention leaders can get you connected for either response.