Peter Mueller

Spiritual Formation – What is it Really, and is it Happening?

2012-01-07T16:36:00.000-06:00

One area of church life that is of importance to staff and volunteers in the church is spiritual formation; aka.. how to grow to be more like Christ. Yet, this is not always at the top of the list for most churchgoers. The demands of modern life, whether real or fabricated leave little time beyond the normal Sunday morning time allotted for the worship of God, or the gathering of the networked.

The development of a deep and relevant spiritual inner life is of great importance, and we have not really done a great job in helping to develop this spiritual inner side of the human being. Dallas Willard writes; “The reason for the recent abrupt emergence of the terminology into religious life is, I believe, a growing suspicion or realization that we have not done well with the reality and the need. We have counted on preaching, teaching, and knowledge or information to form faith in the hearer, and have counted on faith to form the inner life and outward behavior of the Christian.” [1]

Have we just counted on the preaching and Sunday school model to get the job done like Willard says? Rick Warren would seem to agree: “ The biggest mistake that churches make is we think that sermons will produce spiritual maturity. If people don’t take notes, they forget 95% of what they hear within 72 hours. That is not going to produce spiritual maturity.” [2]

We live in a time when community is shallow in all areas of life. We are part of a church community until something is said that offends, or another church has a larger and seemingly a better children’s program, or the church down the street is the happening high profile church. This is a reality that we in ministry face each day. In this climate of programming and resource shopping, how do make disciples that are rich in spirit and fruitful, disciples that look like Christ?

Andy Stanley offers this perspective:

A spiritually mature person is one who lives as if God is who He says He is and will do all He has promised to do.
A. A spiritually mature person is one who has big faith. Matt 8/Mark 7/Luke 6
B. Spiritual development is faith development.
Question: What fuels the development of faith? What are the ingredients that when stirred together, result in greater confidence in the person and promises of God? [3]

Practical Teaching
Providential Relationships
Private Disciplines
Personal Ministry
Pivotal Circumstances

In the next installment, we will tackle Stanley’s 5 points one or two at a time. For now take a look at your ministry and see if you are counting on preaching to make disciples.. Take a real gut check to see if you are spending any time sowing into the lives of others, and if someone is sowing into your life.

Peter Mueller is a pastor and church planter currently resides in the Cincinnati Ohio area with his wife Linda and children, he is a graduate of Liberty University and has studied at Wilmington College and Valparaiso University

[1] Spiritual Formation in Christ: A Perspective on What it is and How it Might be Done; Published in the Great Omission, San Francisco: Harper Collins, 2006

[2] Rick Warren on Effective Discipleship; http://churchrelevance.com/rick-warren-on-effective-discipleship/

[3] Andy Stanley presentation; Drive-In Conference Session 4

Electric Guitars in Worship- Turn them up already..

2012-01-02T15:29:00.000-06:00

I have had the opportunity over the last few months to visit churches as well as in the past, and I feel the need to write regarding the use of electric guitars and the volume positioning given to these instruments in many a church settings. Only one church that I visited had what I would call proper volume and positioning of the electric guitar / guitars in the mix.

Modern praise music is very electric guitar driven.. so, why does it seem that church ministries seem to be afraid of them? Now, you may be reading this and thinking not us.. I get it really; but just step back and reflect on it for a moment.

Professionals use real amplifiers and acoustic drums, versus Pods and electric drums. There is a reason, they produce the wanted and pleasing sounds that modern folk have become accustom to hearing. Using amplifiers in a church as well as acoustic drums is very manageable and possible with some fore thought and technical savvy.

Capturing and isolating speaker cabinets is a new art, enclosing and placing mics around a drum set is not new either. That being said, if a praise song is electric guitar driven and the electric is held back sonically, sounding more like a transistor radio sound; it takes away from the power of the song to open hearts. A bad mix is a bad mix! Hillsong does this well; many of their songs are electric guitar driven and have pronounceable rhythm hooks that ID the song. When you see them live, the acoustic guitars seem to disappear, and when the song goes soft they are right there carrying the song.

I also know that some of you are saying, well it’s not a concert! Sure it is, it is a concert of praise for the Lord; the voices should loud and lifted toward heaven as well as we should be playing with skill and the power of the Holy Spirit. I am not saying it is to be crazy like a secular concert, but powerful like a spiritual concert. Do you think that music in and of heaven is going to be subdued? Read again..

Stop trying to go halfway with the modern worship team, let your worship time be produced well, allowing for Spirit inspired music to be inspiring.

Peter Mueller is a graduate of Liberty University, a pastor and church planter residing in Cincinnati Ohio with his wife Linda and their children.

So, YOU Want to Plant a Church..

2011-12-23T13:06:00.000-06:00

In his article "Why YOU Should Plant a Church", Bob Hyatt writes:

"There seem to be two distinct schools of thought in the church planting community. The first is “This is hard. Are you sure you want to do this? You don’t look like you’ve got what it takes… I’m not so sure you should do this! Have you prayed about it?”

Gee… thanks.

The second school of thought starts off sounding much like the first, but then takes a dramatic turn: “This is hard. What do you need? How can I help you? Man, what an adventure! Let me pray for you.”

Do you hear the difference?

Indeed, church palnting is hard, but if you are called by God to do it; it will be very rewarding at the deepest level. A church planter will need ample encouragment, they will need a pastor and a coach from the very beginning. If you have been called and have been assessed, take your time, you are not in a race to become another Rick Warren, or become a Northpoint or Lifechurch clone. You are on God's time and he is faithful. Read Bob's full article @

http://www.opensourcetheology.net/node/555

Thank you for the Small Church Lord..

2011-12-22T21:57:00.001-06:00

The Bridge Community Church's lifespan was about 8 years; in that 8 years we had certainly established ourselves as a community church. I have no issue with larger churches; I just know that the majority of churches in America are small churches. These churches are the core of Jesus' church and will be for sometime.

Truth is that as long as any body assembled under Christ is willing to fore go their own desires for the need of others all around them, they will be what Jesus had in mind.

What Are Your Plans?

2011-11-19T14:09:00.000-06:00

I remember graduating with ideas of going out and changing the world; I had my plans and they were good plans. The stark reality of having to live life, eat, have a place to live, electric, water, etc. etc. started to get in the way of those ideal plans.

I was finding myself, self-determining who I was and how I would live. I had not yet come to learn that God had already made me for the purpose he had intended; I was in a mode of feeling not yet fulfilled and always still seeking. Oh, I had been able to put a great face on it, pretending to be so happy and in control; I was not however in control or satisfied.

My daughters post on Facebook today:

"Jumping into a project without first consulting God is like walking down a pitch-black staircase without a flashlight."

Reminded me that its not about our plans, our intellect and talents; its all about using all those things for God’s plan that he has already written for each of us. What are your plans? Start with prayer and seek God’s will, then his plans will be fulfilled… because they were his plans for you!

Peter Mueller is a graduate of Liberty University, with 10 years of ministry experience in small groups, family and church planting. He and his family currently reside in the Cincinnati Ohio Area.

Really? - The Power Within! - Whose Power?

2011-11-01T11:01:00.009-05:00

Recently I have encountered many writings regarding the inner self, or the power to effect change in your life is within you (note: meaning unto your own ability). Carl Jung was just one of many who wrote regarding this idea. In Jung’s book “The Undiscovered Self” he writes in regard to the philosophy of life and how the primordial images that maintain the flow of instinctive energy cannot just be replaced, they are reoriented and readapted; they cannot just be replaced. His words not mine.

Say what? He is talking about the fabled power within doctrine of phycology and self help gurus. Why do I say fabled? Because the evidence about mans ability to rise above his own self outside the bar of a sovereign God does not exist in totality. Jung puts forth this thought: “this is in keeping with the aims of Marxist education, which seeks, like God himself, to mold man, but in the image of the State.” Yet, God never mentions his aim to mold man, he affirms that he has created him in His image. God has already outlined the best way to live in this broken world, a world broken by sin.

⁴This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created. When the Lord God made the earth and the heavens— ⁵and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, ⁶but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground— ⁷the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Genesis 2:4-7

For Jung its primordial, for me it’s a creator, not that we came to be by chance. God is not molding me; he has already molded me in his image. Sin has blocked my view of the real self and my potential in Christ.

Jung in his book has to give way to the rationale of faith, even though he writes that it is mythological. He writes: “Nothing is more characteristic and symptomatic in this respect than the gulf that has opened out between faith and knowledge…. Theology rejects any tendency to take the statements of its earliest records as written myths and accordingly, to understand them symbolically.”

¹⁹But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. ²⁰For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” Acts 4:19-20

Seen and heard, would Jung conclude that these men and thousands of others are mentally deluded, that they are not knowledgeable of and for their day? We tend to believe what we see and hear, including that which we have not really seen (aka ghost). I firmly have come to believe, having lived for sometime now in this world that we (man) alone is not the answer. Fallen (sinful) man cannot outside of God bring about peace on earth, and act solely and collectively for the good. Neither can poser Christians! Want to realize your full potential in this limited life? Seek who God made you to be and what he purposed you for, in that you will find fulfillment and true living.. likely more than you can handle at first.

¹⁷So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. ¹⁸They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. ¹⁹Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more. Eph. 4:17-19

God has never asked you to check your mind at the door of the worship assembly; some men may have, but never almighty God. He made your mind and purposed it. Find real power and real life by getting out of yourself not deeper within.

Peter Mueller is a graduate of Liberty University, with 10 years of ministry experience in small groups, family and church planting. He and his family currently reside in the Cincinnati Ohio Area.

Faith and Other Matters of Eternity

2011-10-27T15:31:00.000-05:00

In Luke 18, Jesus tells the parable of the Persistent Widow.. At the end of this parable Jesus asks a startling question. "when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"

This ending captured my attention today, knowing I have read this numerous times! I thought about us Western Christians as compared to Christians around the world. Many of our brothers and sisters are not concerned with the coffee ministry, bowling leagues, basketball, etc. They have much more immediate concerns; concerns like eating enough and not being throw in prison or killed for their profession of Jesus Christ as Lord.

So, what was Jesus thinking? Was he thinking aloud regarding what he will encounter when he returns? Perhaps Jesus was acknowledging that we live in great difficulty here on earth; and a greater time of hardship is coming before his return. His main point is that God hears and will respond to our prayers; scripture tells us that many will fall away during the end and return of Jesus.

“The really vital question is not whether God will respond to prayer, but whether there will be faithful people who have persisted in prayer and not lost hope when the Son of Man comes. The parable is essentially an encouragement to continue in prayer without losing heart right through the difficult times of waiting before the Son of Man comes.^{^[1]}”

So, will you be found faithful if Jesus came today or tomorrow etc.? Strengthen your faith; find a church where you are learning and growing closer to Jesus. Jesus has a church for everybody. Find out where he wants you and then support it with all the gifts the Holy Spirit has blessed you with.

Peter Mueller is a graduate of Liberty University, with 10 years of ministry experience in small groups, family and church planting. He and his family currently reside in the Cincinnati Ohio Area.

^{^[1]} D. A. Carson, New Bible Commentary : 21st Century Edition, 4th ed. (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., USA: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), Lk 18:1–8.

In God's Waiting Room

2011-10-26T11:55:00.000-05:00

Up until recently, I had only been unemployed 2 weeks in the last 32 years; that record is now being challenged. Couple of nights ago, my mother-in-law (aka Mom) recalled being told once "you are in God's waiting room."

In deed I am waiting and searching God's word waiting for whatever God has purposed us for next in Kingdom work. I have never been good at waiting, or patience regarding things getting done that i wanted to have done.. Perhaps indeed our family is in "God's waiting room" and I have to confess I don't like it. When I don't like something happening in my life I seek out God's wisdom in his word; or he sends it through my beautiful bride to speak to me. Here are some words of truth regarding waiting on the Lord.

Psalm 40:1-3

1 I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand. 3 He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.

Isaiah 40:27-31

27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God”?
28 Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.
29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Find a great church community this week and worship this God that is everlasting!!!

Peter Mueller is a graduate of Liberty University, with 10 years of ministry experience in small groups, family and church planting. He and his family currently reside in the Cincinnati Ohio Area.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-15T10:29:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas Everyone,

This has been a long year of struggle, change and personal growth. Not a very pretty string of words in that last sentence, but apparently much needed. God has a way of giving you all and just what you need; so it is with personal growth. Growing (if you remember) is difficult at times, friendships made and broken, first loves, broken hearts, great times, times of sorrow, and all growing us. God came into this world as a child, grew up into adulthood for the express purpose of freely giving over that life in ransom of all of mankind. Let that sink in for just a moment. If faced with that kind of decision, would you freely give your life? We are celebrating once again (and I have celebrated many) Christmas; it’s not about gifts although they are very nice and fun to receive. No, it’s all about the God who made everything and gave it all for you and me. This God could have shown up anyway he desired, and he chose to show up as an infant. Why? Not sure I can answer that question. Perhaps he came as something we see as weak and helpless as a demonstration of his real power; in that perceived weakness came the strongest thing on earth, love! So, this Christmas make Christ the real centerpiece and remember this: Love Wins!

The ME Church

2010-09-21T12:33:00.000-05:00

We live in a ‘me first’ society. The world encourages us to think of ourselves first and others . . . well, rarely. We can sometimes be so consumed with this mentality that we even expect our church to cater to us. It is a reminder that we should not ask our church to serve us.

We should eliminate our grumblings about the style of music, whether I’m hearing my favorite words spoken, our dislikes and other issues. We should instead remember that Christ came to serve, not to be served. If we then are following, living like Christ; then we are part of the local Church to serve and grow the Kingdom of God. We do look out for one another to be sure; it is not however about making the Lord's Church customized to our liking, but to pursue and make his vision for the local body a reality on earth.

The Offering - Is it a break in Worship or part of Worship

2010-09-12T08:56:00.000-05:00

Offering should be every bit a spiritual part of worship and obedience to God. Check this article for one perspective. http://manofdepravity.com/2010/04/13/church-offering/

2010-09-12T08:05:00.000-05:00

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully around hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless- it will change. It will be not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, and irredeemable. The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers of love is Hell."

C.S. Lewis in the Four Loves

Wondering About the Term De-Churched?

2010-03-30T13:45:00.000-05:00

My wife shared with me recently that she heard a radio program discussing the term dechurched. The program, she said indicated that the conversation within the church world was turning from the unchurched to the dechurched. So I did some surfing and have found a fair amount of information flaoting around. Pleanty of articles and even a Facebook page. So, I will contiune to dig in and learn some things about this idea over the next few months. If it is worth talking about, I will post here my thoughts as well as resources that are sound.

Worship Music & Style

2009-07-24T12:56:00.007-05:00

Here is a brief comparison between some of what John Macarthur vs Rick Warren think about Worship music and style.

Both men seek to reach God’s people through the use of music, and agree that music is not a bad thing in the church. There is a divergence when it comes to style and purpose in the detail analysis of their positions. In Macarthur’s historical discussion he attributes the rise in gospel songs for the decline in focus on doctrinal truth for that of personal experience.

“the rise of gospel song in congregational singing signaled a diminishing emphasis on objective doctrinal truth and a magnification of subjective personal experience.” (pg 114)

Macarthur sees the hymns prior to Ira Sankey as a body of music that challenged the intellect as well as the emotional aspects of worship. He saw these songs written as tools for continued and repeatable teaching as well as edification.

“They set the standard of worship that was cerebral as it was emotional.” (pg116)

Although Macarthur says he does not see all Praise Choruses and all Contemporary music as devoid of language and intention of glorifying God, modern worship, he thinks has led to the watering down of the content of the message and the educational depth of the congregation.

“It has led to a decreasing emphasis on preaching and teaching and an increasing emphasis on entertaining the congregation and making them feel good.” (pg 117)

Warren, admits that many of the hymns and older praise chorus hold a special place in his heart because they are attached to special events in his life; he also understands that music is cultural and subject to regions within one lives.

“The kind of music you like is determined by your background and culture. Certain tones and scales sound pleasant to Asian ears; other tones and scales sound pleasant to Middle Eastern ears. Africans enjoy different rhythms than South Americans.” (pg 281)

He firmly believes that limiting our historical frame of reference to hymns is setting that body of work above all the rest as being single-minded and elite.

“To insist that all “good “music was written in Europe two hundred years ago is cultural elitism.” (pg 281)

Warren gives his insight that this emotional topic of worship styles is so personal, because it is an expression of us personally and therefore if anyone is critical; it is received as a reflection of us. (pg 284-285)

Personal Summary:

From my perspective, music is very helpful in opening a corporate time of worship, setting the tone of the whole experience. I see the gathering of the church (people) as an experience. We are to experience God together, adore him, ask for forgiveness, fellowship in his presence and learn from his word. That experience needs to cover all forms of learning styles, based on the tools available to us. Incorporating all learning styles, i.e. auditory, visual, tactile etc. is far easier than trying to cover musical style and taste.

We seek to reach an age group lost to the church, that really calls for incorporating elements that make this group feel safe being with us. We have never changed the message to suit, just environment. I learn best when the learning is appealing, not troublesome in that it is boring, not understandable; yet challenging is alright.

I think it is the same for all those who have yet to come or come back to the church. It can be challenging, but they have to feel safe and we have to be real, not artificially holy.

All Macarhtur ref. Taken from his book, Fool's Gold? Discerning truth in an age of error.
All Warren ref. from his book, The Purpose Driven Church.

About Accountability Groups

2009-07-17T12:32:00.001-05:00

Here is an article regarding Accountability Groups.. Check it out and let me know how you feel about this kind of group.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/religion/post/2009/07/68494598/1

Just Be Quiet

2009-07-01T09:07:00.005-05:00

We are finding more and more challenges to the expression of the Christian faith. Oh, its not that we are persecuted to the point of giving up our lives at the hand of murders, just for professing Jesus Christ as Lord. No, we fight to keep the right to do so in the public arena of our schools as our children become more and more inculcated with a genuine dislike for the Christian faith.

Brittany McComb had her microphone shutoff in 2006 during her commencement speech, when she began referring to God, the Bible and her faith in Jesus. In Colorado, a nine year old Wade was not allowed to give his report on his favorite hero to the class because he had picked Jesus. He had to give the report in private to the teacher. ¹

In her article, “Islam in America public schools: Education or Indoctrination, written in June of 2008; she says “Islamist have taken what’s come to be called the “soft jihad” into America’s classrooms and children in K-12 are the first casualties. ²

In 2007, Barbara Pytel wrote in an article: “Christian prayer has been banned in public schools. Now, Muslims are demanding prayer time and getting it. ³

All that brings me to this thought; I feel as if the church has given away its proper place at the head of society in terms of its care, outspokenness and influence. We have in many ways either through budgetary concerns, or government threat from the IRS brought on by others, or by lack of inner strength given way to the progression of humanism on a grand scale.

The church seems to be so busy competing among itself that we have no voice, no focus and by proxy then, no mission. For me as a pastor of a new, young and small church; it is about moving past the competition, moving past the fear of ridicule, moving past the stereo types and the integrity bashing and going after the mission: The transformation of lives and the right of God’s people including their children to honor and worship their God.

Peter

1 Israel My Glory, May June 2009, pg 34

2 Cinnamon Stillwell, “Islam in America’s public schools: Education or Indoctrination, “June 11, 2008

3 Barbara Pytel, “Muslim Prayer in Public Schools: Are Public Schools Accommodating Islam over Christianity?”

Jeremiah Project

2009-06-29T21:05:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone,

Just started a blog to talk about almost anything and all things regarding faith, living, challenges of life and once awhile goofy stuff that happens. I hope you will at some point join in the journey.

Peace,

Peter Mueller