October Trip

This coming October we will be traveling back to the States for a month. The Lord has provided “buddy passes” for our family which is extremely discounted airfare, so we are excited to take the trip.

This trip isn’t a furlough, but rather just a “drop in”. We hope to take a furlough late 2013 or 2014.

There are three reasons we will be making the trip

1. We would love to see family (or, family would love to see us). Our kids could use this break to see aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins.

2. We would love to visit our home church. It has been several years since being at Old Suwanee Baptist Church. We would love the opportunity to visit all our supporting churches; we hope to schedule that during a regular furlough.

3. We would love to visit new churches. It has been over four years since we left for the field and since then there have been some economic changes. Several churches have reduced support due to financial strains, the dollar has taken a global pounding, and two more of our kids have started school.

It would be our pleasure to share what the Lord has been doing these last four plus years. If you would like us to come by your church this October or could recommend us to a pastor, please contact me!

jasonkenney7@gmail.com

770-965-0119 vonage line direct to Chile

Take a look at this prayer card that was made about four/six months before we left for the field. What a difference several years will make!

Surviving The Waves Part 3

Use Mondays

For some reason Mondays have become the pastoral Sabbath (many pastors seem to make Monday their off day). We tend to follow that as well, depending on the week. I typically sleep in a little on Monday (guilt free and I enjoy it!), wake up refreshed, and use what’s left of Monday morning for two purposes.

• “Title and text” the messages that I plan on preaching throughout the coming week. It’s not message development, but just a  quick read over the key verses or passages while writing down any thought or supporting verse than may pop into my head. I then keep those papers that contain all those random thoughts and use them when I sit down later in the week to work on message development. By doing that on Monday it helps me to meditate and focus on those Scriptures throughout the week.
• Plan out the week. I heard someone say, "Failing to plan is planning to fail." Typically, I review all that is planned or needing to be planned for the week. Who do I need to visit/ disciple? Who I need to meet with? What needs to be purchased? What projects are going on? Etc.

By planning all this out in the beginning in the week it helps me to stay ahead of the game throughout the week. 

Extra - However, I do believe that before we treat a Monday (or any off day) as the sacred, untouchable family day, let us keep in mind what we often expect from the men in our church on their “family day”: visitation, workdays, youth activities, special meetings, etc.

Part One

Part Two

Surviving the Waves Part 2

Preach Series 

To survive the weekly demand of preaching and teaching I prefer to preach in series. Series or studies through books of the Bible keep me on track. I rarely ever preach stand alone messages. I say rarely because we ought to be sensitive enough and willing to change direction if the Holy Spirit should lead. Messages should be planned out and prayed over, not haphazardly thrown together because we thought of a catchy title.  Think of it like this; we are called “to feed the flock of God” and meals planned in advance are usually much better (and healthier) than those thrown together.

o   Plan a preaching calendar even if it is only a month or two at a time. Think of it as a road map to guide others to spiritual maturity.

o   Write down series ideas and keep them for future reference.

o   Change up lengths of series. Each series does not have to be a two year commitment. If you’re coming off a long series it might be good to preach a couple shorter ones.

o   Break up long series. If a study through a book is going to take two years it might be good to mix in a couple shorter studies to break up the monotony. Short studies on particular needs give the church people an opportunity to invite friends.

o   Plan the series out. Ask yourself how many weeks do you plan to teach through a given series or book? I love expository preaching, but sometimes it seems to drag out. I have never been quite sure why some like to brag about taking four years to complete a book study. By the time we’ve run a rabbit trail around each tree in the forest the listeners may have forgotten what forest they’re in.

Part 1 here (Read Constantly)

First English Class

Thursday night we had our first English class with over 50 in attendance. Forty-four of those who attended were new contacts for us. The rest are from the church. The class was a great mix of all age groups. 

We are looking forward to getting to know each of the students, and seeing how the Lord will use this avenue of teaching English as a way to be able to share the Gospel!

Surviving The Waves Part 1

Read Constantly

Preaching and teaching week after week leaves me feeling like a little child that wandered too close to the waves at the beach. An incoming wave knocks him off his feet; as the child struggles to get up another wave sends him back on his bottom. This isn’t a complaint, it’s just an admission that it can get a bit challenging. I enjoy what I do and thank the Lord for giving me the opportunity. However, several messages throughout the week combined with teaching four hours at the seminary, plus add in youth meetings, couple meetings, or whatever else might be scheduled and I begin to feel like the terrified three year old unable to catch his breath as wave after wave comes crashing down.  

Other than the obvious things like read the Bible, pray, seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance there are a few practical things that help me make it through the “preaching week”.  I am going to break them up into several posts.

Part 1. Read constantly

I read a lot because my shallow well needs constant replenishing.  A preacher is constantly giving out information so it is imperative that he be constantly receiving information. If a pastor doesn’t gather information all his messages will eventually sound like the same three-point alliterated outline. This is no joke, but I once heard three messages, by three different preachers from three different texts with the exact same three point outline. We owe the Lord and the people who come to be fed God’s Word through our preaching way more than that.

o   Read new and old. We should be careful no to feed on a diet of just the new and trendy. Throw in a couple of the older writers whose works have stood the test of time.

o   Read deep and practical. Deep might be theology based books while practical might be books on leadership, organization and administration.

o   Read books and blogs. There is a lot of good stuff to be read on blogs and in articles that pack the same punch as an entire book, but require just a fraction of the time. Selecting several good blogs and organizing them in Google reader is a great way to glean from what others are writing.

o   Read a variety of topics. Pastors and missionaries get asked a wide spectrum of questions. The more variety we put in our reading schedule the more apt we may be to answer the real tough ones.

o   Read outside your circle. The saying I heard in Bible College was “eat the meat and spit out the bones”.  Obviously Berean-like discernment (Acts 17:11) is always best and the Bible is the only final authority.