Darryn Scheske

You Are Free!

You have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another. So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.

But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.

Galatians 5:13–25 (NLT)

Help Me Understand, "Body, Soul & Spirit"

I was asked recently to give a little more explanation on the division of Body, Soul and Spirit that I referred to in the first message of the 21 Days of Prayer & Fasting called, The Fast & the Curious. I hope this is helpful.

We are all created in the image of God, who exists in three persons, Father, Son & Holy Spirit.

He is not three God's.   1+1+1=3  

One God.  1x1x1=1

In the same way, God made man in his image, male and female, made up of three parts -- body, soul and spirit.

The Apostle Paul writes: “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:23 NASB).

1. Body.

This is the most obvious of the three. Our physical being, created in the image of God.

2. Soul.

(From the Greek, “Psyche”) Genesis 2:7 God created people with a “living soul.” The soul consists of the mind (which includes the conscience), the will and the emotions.

Together these first two are the “natural” man, or some translations in the Bible, the “flesh.”

3. Spirit.

This is the eternal part of us, the part of us that can communicate with God. But the spirit part of us is not alive at our physical birth because of the curse of sin.

Paul describes people who are dead spiritually in 1 Corinthians 2 & 3.

1. The natural/unspiritual person.

People who aren’t spiritual (without the Spirit) can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. (1 Corinthians 2:14 NLT)

Jesus explained the need for a spiritual awakening. He called it being born again. Not a physical birth, but a moment that needs to occur in everyone’s life where they are born or come alive spiritually.  To the spiritually dead, or unspiritual person, spiritual things sound foolish to them and they can’t understand it. Paul says only those are spiritually awakened can understand what God's Spirit is saying.

A spiritual awakening is something God initiates in a person. “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. ( John 6:44 (NIV) Therefore, when the spirit within them is dead/not alive, they are understandably critical of the things of God. Until He reveals himself to them and they experience Him. When when they have an encounter with God, lights come on, they believe and the spirit awakes.

2. The spiritual person.

Paul now shows us the spiritually awake person who now can understand spiritual things.

Those who are spiritual (with the Spirit) can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. For, “Who can know the LORD’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?” But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:15-16 NLT)

When a person responds to the revelation of God's Spirit--that Jesus is Lord and that God raised Him from the dead--by believing it, they are born again. They have a spiritual awakening. The dead spirit inside comes to life forever. The spirit, the "real person" is eternally "saved." 

Even though the body, mind and emotions still struggle with sin and brokenness, our spirit is made holy, justified, made right with God. The spirit wants to please God and do His will. Spiritually awakened people can see spiritually. Spiritual things begin to make sense, things what don't make sense to people who are unspiritual, who do not have the spirit awakened. Or another way to say it, they are not just locked into the human way of evaluating things. Who can understand what God’s thoughts are? We can, who have been spiritually awakened. We can have the mind of Christ. 

3. The worldly, spiritual person.

Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ. I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world? (1 Corinthians 3:1–3 NLT)

Paul addresses believers, people who have been born again, spiritually awakened, but never grew. They are still infants and act just like the world. What does he mean, “worldly?” People who are spiritually dead only function according to the flesh...their physical, mental and emotional capacity. So Paul admonishing worldly believers who still have the body and soul (mind/emotions) running the show. They are still controlled by the body and soul, the flesh, the sinful nature.

Summary

• Body & Soul (Mind and Emotions) = The natural/the flesh
• Spirit (Eternal part of us that God saves) = The spiritual

Which part wants to be in charge! Both! The flesh AND the spirit. The natural human, and the awakened spirit.

Q: Who will be in charge? A: Whatever part is stronger!

Q: What causes one part to be stronger over the other. A: The part that gets fed the most.

Q: What causes one part to be weaker over the other. A: The part that gets starved the most.

Like the trinity, this is a mystery, difficult to understand. Where does the Soul end and the Spirit begin? It’s hard to tell. The soul and the spirit are mysteriously tied together and make up what the Scriptures call the "heart." However, the awakened spirit wants to do what the Spirit of God wants. The flesh, is opposed to the spirit. There is a division within us. The natural will fight the spiritual all our lives.

For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do (Gal 5:17 ESV)

God’s word can help us separate what is a desire of the flesh and a desire from the Spirit.

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Heb. 4:12 NASB).

This is why we do 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting.

• Prayer connects us to God, and feeds the spirit.
• Fasting disconnects us from the world, and reveals the desires of the flesh that still control us.

Think of what happens to us spiritually when we do this? 

This will be the best year of your life if it’s your best year of your life spiritually!

Good News for Everyone

“...anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” ‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭5:17-21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The Importance of Rest & Renewal

Dear Heartland Church Family,

I love you! I love our church. I love our city! This is our home and we intend to serve the Lord in ministry right here for the rest of our lives. What God has done in and through all of us at Heartland Church together these past 14 years has been awesome. We’ve seen the greatest attendance growth in our history this last year. We are celebrating the thousands of people baptized, nine churches planted, unprecedented generosity to the lost, the least and the left out. We’re celebrating our wonderful diversity. We are in awe of the incredible presence of God in our services. We are inspired by the spiritual and relational vitality of our congregation. This church knows how to love people well! You are generous. You are wonderful!

We have so much to be grateful for! Spiritually, we are in one of the greatest seasons of our lives. But physically and emotionally, we're as tired as we’ve ever been in a long time. The pace of ministry has been very demanding and ultimately unsustainable over the long haul. My pastor, our leadership team, and my close friends have all been encouraging us to take some extended time off to rest, renew and recover. In their recommendation, our leaders have set a sabbatical policy in place, not just for me, but for all of our pastoral team because they serve 24/7, all the time. The ministry never stops.

We are are taking that break in June and through the first part of July. I’m really looking forward to it. We have many milestones to celebrate, including our 25th wedding anniversary.

Over the past few months, I’ve been working with our team to plan the services that I’ll be away. I’ve invited some of the best pastors and spiritual leaders to share their life message in a new series called, THE ONE THING. You will LOVE each of these guests and be inspired and encouraged.

The ONE thing I’d ask of you. Would you pray for me, Loree and for our family? Here’s how to pray for us specifically.

• Pray for our REST.
• Pray for emotional and physical RECOVERY.
• Pray for our RENEWAL of our relationships.
• Pray for the RESETTING of our priorities.
• Pray for fresh REVELATION of God’s vision for our church.

You've heard me teach it and I believe it: Priority determines capacity. We want to rest and recover to be ready to serve you with greater effectiveness in the years ahead. Thank you for praying for us often. Even as regularly as the set time you gather for a meal, if you’d mention us in prayer, I would really, really appreciate it. 

I’m looking forward to seeing you in July! I love you so much,
On the journey with you,

Darryn Scheske
Senior Pastor

Top Questions Church Planters Ask About Easter

About this time every year, most Church Planters are already thinking about and planning that great sermon for the greatest day of the year: EASTER! But planning a great Easter Celebration is more than having a great sermon. Here are the top questions I'm responding to about Easter. 

1. What should I speak about on Easter?

The sermon must center around the difference Jesus makes. What does his resurrection matter and what does it mean for every person? I think simple and clear is far better than complicated and cute. Your guests and those who invited them are expecting you to talk about Jesus. Deliver! 

 

2. Should I add services for Easter? 

YES! Absolutely yes! You can be sure your attendance will multiply on this day. Statistically, the research is overwhelming that more people will say, "Yes" to an invitation to attend church at Easter than any other time of the year. It all depends on how easy you make it for the congregation to invite.

• Adding another service create options and makes it easier for your people to invite their family and friends. People love options! Options will allow your church to grow.
• Adding another service gives people who are serving at chance to serve on and experience one. Your volunteers will love you for it.
• Adding another service helps your church "see the future." You might try adding a service at Easter and then add it permanently in the Fall. Use the reason of a high attendance day to lead change.

Most do not come every week. Some research indicates that for every person who attends your church today, there at 2.1 people who identify as an attender of you church, but they just don't come every week. That means, at any given time, more than half the people who identify with your church are not present. Your MOST faithful core members will probably miss 6 to 8 Sunday's a year for illness, work travel, vacations, kids activities, etc. How many Sunday's will your regular member miss? 12? How about the crowd of attenders? Probably every other Sunday. Add occasional attenders who come only once a month at most and you realize your influence is much greater than what you see each week.

 

This is why you should not fear adding a service or services on Easter. Design opportunities to make room for your current attendance multiplied by 2.1. Remember that service attendance will not be distributed equally. Plan for 80% capacity at the highest attended time of 11:00am. Factor that a second service will have at most 50-60% of the prime service attendance.  

 

Plus you are going to motivate your attenders to invite friends and family, and advertise for guest. Easter could be a big day. So you need to plan big.

 

There will always be the objection from someone that it's not going to be the same if we can't all be together. My answer is to ask the person who doesn't want to add services to stand at the door and when we reach capacity, tell guests, "You can't come in. We're too full." We can't do that. We are here for those who are not here yet. Let's make room by freeing up seats at the optimum time.

 

3. Is it a good idea to start a new series the week after Easter? 

No. A big attendance day like Easter will cycle all your guests and attenders onto a single day. The following Sunday will typically be a low attendance day because most do not come to church every week. Instead, start the new series the 2nd week after Easter. Make it a "come and see" series that will interest guests to come back. On Easter Sunday heavily promote. "In two weeks, we start a Brand New Series on Love, Sex and Dating." If you preach through books of the Bible, give the series a title that answers the question, "Why should I come and hear this?"

 

4. What are leadership essentials for Easter?

• Love. Love. Love. Love people well! It's not what you say, it's what do. Love is in the details. Think through every environment from the eyes of a guest. How will you love them well from the street to the seat and back to the street again? The sermon begins in the parking lot. Details matter.
• Exude love and peace. What will it take to be rested and at peace on Easter. How will you show with your whole body, your tone, the expression of your eyes, that you are experiencing the grace and love of Jesus? Too many pastors get stressed out about the big day and communicate anxiety to everyone. The messenger must match the message. Details matter, but a calm, non-anxious you matters more.
• Greet guests wisely. My friend, Carey Nieuwhof, wrote a great post on why we're still greeting people in church like its 1999. You've got to read it.
• Don't just sing AT them. Include them. Choose at least one song that everyone will know and can participate on, like Amazing Grace.
• Do an Easter Survey. This is the one chance that you have everyone one Sunday. Ask them to write down on your Connection Card, "I'd like to hear a message on what the Bible says about ___?" This will give you great material to preach on all year. 
• Cast vision. Tell them about the next series that starts in TWO weeks. Why does it matter? For example, "So many families are falling apart. In two weeks I start a new series called God's Dream for the Modern Family. In this series we'll talk about starting over, navigating a spiritual mismatch, and how to discipline without anger." Show a promo video if you can.
• Honor time commitments. Start and end on time, when you say you're going to start and end. This forms a huge credibility impression for good or for bad. Love is in the details.
• How will you capture decisions? You do this FOR them, not because you need numbers. Help people take the next step wherever they are on their Spiritual Journey. I use the Spiritual Journey Guide developed by my coach, Gary Rohrmayer. Put one of these guides in everyone's hand and walk them through it. It's 100 guides for $10...one of the best investments for Easter. Show people the clear next step you want them to take. For example, if you're ready to believe in Christ today, (next step). When you make it clear you'll be amazed at the response.

5. How much advertising is best?

First of all it's not "advertising." It's evangelism. You are inviting people to hear the gospel. Therefore, use every means at your disposal to tell people the difference Jesus can make in their life.

 

Strategies:

• Personal Invite Cards. This should be bus. card size or double bus. card size folded in half.  For example, #Jesus...He's Not What You Expect. Find out more on EASTER at (churchname) Add times, locations, map, website. 
• Social Media.  Have an Easter Invitation page on your website. Do an in-church text invite. During church pause and Ask people to text or Facebook all their friends in church. "Will you join me for Easter? (link)" Mass send.
• Updated Your Website! (Amazing people forget to do this. Fix broken links and remove old items).
• Yard Signs (check local ordinances)
• Community billboards and circulars
• Direct mail.*

*If you plan to use a direct mail postcard, don't waste the money on one postcard. It's not enough. You need to do at least five in a row for five weeks: Three to get awareness, and five to create action. This can seem expensive but it's pennies per person in your community to reach people. It works! That's why you still get so much junk mail at home. Success is in the mass numbers and repetitions. 

 

Bonus: And one question I'm not being asked...What is the role of prayer in preparing for Easter?

I wish more Pastors were thinking about this. Jesus said, "Apart from Me you can do nothing."  You cannot expect God to bless what you've not prayed for. 

 

I truly believe God will not allow me to make it happen in my own strength? 1) I would think I accomplished it. 2) I'd probably end up thinking I deserved it cause you I'm smart or special. Jesus wants to say, "Stop. Watch me work…I have a miracle for you. Trust me." 

 

Never compare yourself

Never stop learning

Never give up!

 

What other questions do you have? Write me or leave a comment.

The Mood Elevator

Today's Scriptures:

“… Take captive every thought, to make it obedient to Christ.”  2 Cor. 10:5

“Be self-controlled and alert.  Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”  1 Pet. 5:8

Today's Thought:

 "Why pray? If God already knows what he is going to do and he is in total control, what is the point of praying?" 

Remember, Prayer is not so much about moving God as it is about Him moving us. You cannot be in the presence of God and come away from that experienced unchanged. One of the most profound changes that can take place is the changing in our quality of thinking.

A friend gave me a book called, "The Human Operating System: An Owner's Manual" by the Senn Delany Company. It contained one of the most helpful and practical tools I have ever come across, and it has become a part of my prayer time. This little tool called, "The Mood Elevator" is now taped in the cover of my prayer journal.

The moment-to-moment fluctuations in the quality of our thinking affect the way we feel, or our moods.  When experiencing higher-quality thinking, we have feelings at the higher end of the elevator, such as gratitude, generosity, creativity, insight, appreciation, compassion and understanding. When we are experiencing lower-quality thinking, we have feelings like impatience, frustration, hostility, anxiety and judgment.  

Higher-quality thinking gives us greater "emotional intelligence." If we can learn to identify the quality of our thinking, we will begin to make better choices, exhibit more effective behaviors more often, and avoid less-than-effective behaviors.

We’re all human … we all ride up and down the Mood Elevator. We cannot always be at the top of our game, nor will we always be at the bottom. We may visit a level like "judgmental" or "frustrated," but its human to feel…sometimes we feel good and sometimes we don't. But if it’s just a feeling I can choose different thoughts to dwell on that will move me up a few levels.

Unfortunately, you've probably met people who seem to have permanently set up shop on these levels. Being aware can help us avoid being "trapped" at the bottom of the Mood Elevator.

Every day, I simply begin by logging my mood state. This helps me to get present to what is driving me and what I need to bring before the Lord. I pray specifically to move up .

Getting quiet in the presence of God, "counting your blessings," choosing gratitude, will actually improve the quality of your thinking and improve your relationships. When we live according to our feelings. We will miss out on God-given opportunities. Doors will close for us that should have been opened.

On the journey with you,

Darryn Scheske

 

I Don't Have a Problem With God, I Just Don't Like Church People

It doesn't matter how great your sermon is.

As long as the what you have to say is perceived by culture as judgmental, unhelpful and irrelevant, people will ignore you.

Seth Godin points us to a story in the Washington Post. (World-class violinist plays for hours in a subway station, almost no one stops to listen.)

He writes, "The experiment just proved what we already know about context, permission and worldview. If your worldview is that music in the subway isn't worth your time, you're not going to notice when the music is better than usual (or when a famous violinist is playing). It doesn't match the story you tell yourself, so you ignore it. Without permission to get through to you, the marketer/violinist is invisible."

I meet people all the time who believe in God. They pray often. They want to develop their spirituality. But they quit going to church somewhere along the way because of a bad experience. Not because of theological reason, because of a relationship reason.

They would say, "I don’t have a problem with God. I just don’t like church people. There were some church people once who treated me like …" You fill in the blank.

My theory is this: I think most people  would love to have a real relationship with God. I just think the church hasn’t helped very much!

Lot of guys who do what I do feel like their primary responsibility is to educate people on what’s in the Bible. Their idea of spiritual development is all about learning a lot, memorizing information, and knowing how to work your way through scripture. They’re very good at pointing out wrong, majoring on minors, and keeping preoccupied with the church calendar.

The result is that it’s easy to get the idea that a good Christian is someone who knows a lot, but not necessarily loves a lot.  Somewhere along the way, we just decided to be smart and knowledgeable and dogmatic. Somewhere along the way we decided that we were “right”, which means everybody else was “wrong” and we needed to treat wrong people, um, “wrongly!”  Our history as Christians is full of it, and it’s grieving!

The number one enemies of Jesus were biblically the smartest guys around. Jesus was constantly saying to them, "You’re not paying attention to what you’ve memorized and what you teach everybody else." 

And unfortunately, all over this country, (maybe you’re one of them) people have missed God because of the people who were supposedly representing Jesus.

Maybe Seth doesn’t know he’s a preacher, but he has the right message: "I don't think the answer is to yell louder. Instead, I think we have an opportunity to create beauty and genius and insight and offer it in ways that train people to maybe, just maybe, loosen up those worldviews and begin the trust."

If you've had that bad experience, Jesus would say to you, "I was misrepresented to you, because the one thing that will mark a person who is truly a follower of mine is not what they know, and not what they say, and not their church membership, or even a practice in their private lives, … its how well they love other people!"

I know. It sounds simplistic, but if you simply love people well through genuine acceptance, practical help, and personal sacrifice, you earn the right to be heard. Kindness unlocks the door of the heart.You will pleasantly surprise people, which is the first step of building trust ... "I wasn’t expecting that!"  That's when the life-changing message get's through.

When people of Indianapolis encounter the people of Heartland Church, I long for them to say: "If this is what God is like, then I want to know Him." Suddenly, what previously was irrelevant becomes a place where you’d have to bar the doors to keep people from coming.

On the journey with you,

Darryn Scheske