Another biblical metaphor used by Jesus Himself is salt. ““You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.” Matthew 5:13

Each one of us who claim Jesus as Lord and Savior should envision ourselves as salt. Salt is used as a preservative. Have you ever considered yourself as God’s preservative? You are. As the salt of the earth, believers on earth are God’s preservative of the world as we know it. When God removes His salt, His preservative, then comes the judgment.

Also, salt is used for flavoring. As a child of God, you are God’s flavoring for the spread of the gospel. We are to be God’s flavoring of life (abundant and eternal) to those around us. When the salt of the earth loses its flavor how then will it be seasoned for eternity? What transforming flavoring can be credited to your being God’s salt in the lives around you? Pray, asking God to use you as His transforming seasoning in those around you.

Salt also brings thirst. Salt can sting in a cut or open sore, or even in your taste buds if not used in the right amount. The sting of salt begs for water to quench a thirst or wash away the sting from an open wound. Likewise, you are to be the salt of the earth and at times that salt will sting those around you. Pray that that sting would awaken a thirst for the living water that comes only through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

Salt cannot help but be a preservative, seasoning, and a thirst awakening agent. Jesus called you and I “the salt of the earth”. How are you this week being all three, a preservative, seasoning, and a thirst awakening agent for Christ our Lord?

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life. Click here to receive this blog in your email inbox each Tuesday.

God uses some really great word pictures in His Word, the Holy Scriptures. Hosea 14:5 is one of them. “I will be like the dew to [my people], Israel.” Have you considered God’s reasoning for this statement?

Where does dew come from? Does it rise from the ground in the night? Does it fall from the sky? Why does it appear some mornings and not others?

Dew neither rises from the ground or falls from the sky. Dew only appears when certain climatic conditions align. As temperatures drop overnight, moisture in the air condenses and adheres to cooler surfaces like grass. Dew never appears on hard, heat-keeping surfaces as concrete or blacktop.

God ‘s word says He will be like the dew to His people. When the conditions of your heart are right, God does not fall on you, God does not rise to meet you. God mystically appears not rising or falling, but He is there. When our hearts are right with God and with man according to scripture, God manifests Himself to guide us and keep us on His track.

Do not be like concrete or asphalt where God cannot manifest a good work in you. Align your heart, mind, and soul so He can adhere to you as the dew to blades of grass. This is where God begins to work in and through you manifesting His power and love.

Yes, God is like the dew to his people!

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life. Click here to receive this blog in your email inbox each Tuesday.

As believers we are called to live in biblical community with fellow Christians. Have you ever wondered what biblical community really is? Biblical community is a group of Christ-centered believers not only sharing worship, prayer, and spiritual experiences, but sharing life with mutual respect and support, and a shared purpose to reflect God’s love.

Building biblical community requires fostering faith-based relationships that embrace compassion, mutual support, and unity among members with a mindset, draw everyone closer to God. With faith as the foundation of our community, build upon it with consistent heartfelt prayer for one another, compassionate empathy, and corporate assisted support.

Keys to Biblical community also include;

• Genuine relationships – vulnerability on everyone’s part to share and to listen to the cares, concerns, and situations of others. All masks are stripped away. We want to be around each other. We feed off each other for strength, support, and resourcefulness.
• Practicing mutual accountability – Friendly accountability does not tear down and destroy but builds one another up and encourages everyone. “What can I do to help you through that situation?”
• Humility in action through service – Everyone ready to serve one another as each is gifted and available. “Health permitting, I will be there, no matter what the need or time.”
• Personal respect for all others – treating others with respect and dignity, showing kindness and attentiveness, builds trust and reciprocating values. Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, by your love to one another.” John 13:35
• Transparent in authenticity – practicing authenticity creates an environment of trust and transparency. When people trust your actions toward them, they will reciprocate the transparent authenticity. Without transparent authenticity coming from you, you cannot expect it in return.
• Teaching Biblical stewardship – stewardship is more than finances. Biblical community cannot exist without biblical stewardship. “I avail my time, talents, and resources to the individuals in my biblical community as they have needs presented through our community.”
• Spiritual maturation – living out what is studied in the Bible, members of the group support, encourage, and resource one another in spiritual growth through sharing personal experience and through shared experiences.

Building a culture of biblical community could be one of the greatest elements of discipleship your church could ever encounter. Today, perhaps the best way to build biblical community is through small Bible study groups (Sunday School or other long-term groups).

How will you begin praying today for greater commitment to biblical community. Biblical community will not happen without continual prayer for one another and the community of Christ.

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life. Click here to receive this blog in your email inbox each Tuesday.

A little fun post this week. One of my first writing projects was a work titled Improve Your Job Seeking Skills. Having conducted more than 5,000 job interviews, I had acquired quite a lot of information and experience. One session/chapter was Preparing for the Interview, partly dealing with the question, “How much perfume, cologne, or aftershave should you wear into an interview?” Whether you are going to a job interview, or any other place this is something to consider, and many people get it wrong.

If you were meeting with another person for lunch at a public restaurant or for a job interview and you knew this person was allergic to perfumes/colognes, how much would you wear? I trust you answered “none.” Is it worth taking the risk if you do not know whether the people you will be with each day are allergic?

Following a fifteen month Interim pastorate in another city, my wife and I returned to our home church for Sunday service. A husband and wife who had joined while we were away walked down the aisle past us and sat two to three rows in front of us. As they passed near our seats a heavy scent of perfume consumed the area – and it consumed the entire area the whole service. As we left church I told my wife, “Never again will we sit that close to her.” It was a nauseating 90 minutes. She simply did not realize the heavy chemical scent her perfume carried.

How many scents are you leaving the house with each day? When you shower you likely use soap, correct? I highly recommend it. Is soap scented or unscented? As you wash your hair you use shampoo. Is shampoo scented or unscented? Do you use conditioner? Scented or unscented? In addition, my wife also has other scented items in her shower, sprits, moisturizers, etc. Before leaving the shower you have 3-5 scents.

You will then put on deodorant. Scented or unscented? Hair products, spray, gel, mousse, they are all scented. Do you put on any lotion, hand, body, baby? Scented. Before you leave the bathroom don’t forget to brush your teeth with your scented toothpaste. Men, shave cream or some liquid to stand your beard up for a closer shave? They are all scented. Women, isn’t your make-up scented? Different manufacturers, different scents for each brand applied.

Anyone counting? We’re up to eight to twelve scents already. What about your clothing? They were washed in laundry detergent, correct? Scented! Fabric softener and possibly scented beads, both scented. That fabric softener sheet you tossed in the dryer, scented.

You have already added 12-16 scents to your body without the thought of coffee or breakfast scents. Do you really think one more – cologne or perfume is necessary? I think you can leave it at home in the bottle. I wonder how much money I have saved over the years not purchasing cologne or aftershave – and no one has ever noticed.

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life. Click here to receive this blog in your email inbox each Tuesday.

Every healthy, growing organism or organization has particular attributes that when maintained keep it healthy and growing. Neglecting any of these attributes will lead to deteriorating health and decline. As individual members of the body of Christ and as the local church body, there are certain attributes we must attend to as well. One aid to your individual, spiritual growth and the body of Christ is your engagement in healthy small groups.

Five attributes to guide your individual spiritual health and that of your small groups.

Biblically Centered – Discipleship – In many churches small groups have drifted from being truly Bible centered to more social centered. As we will see later, social connections are integral in the health of all small groups. However, it is easy to drift from God’s design, The Great Commission. Teaching knowledge does not a Disciple make.

Others Oriented – Evangelism – Every declining church I have worked with over the years had become inward turned. These start innocently and without notice. Yet the longer they neglect the need for outward biblical influence to their community, the deeper they fall inward. If we were Great Commission churches, we would not see decades of declining baptisms. Gratefully, we are seeing some pockets of resurgence. Assist your group in finding God’s design for members to be Evangelism oriented.

Service Minded – Ministry –Small groups are not for distributing Bible knowledge only. If we are not also teaching and encouraging application of biblical wisdom, we may only be building trivia buffs, and that is not God’s directive. Every person should leave each small group meeting with a challenge to serve someone without expecting anything in return. Your church can set a goal or imperative for every small group to have regular, scheduled ministry opportunities serving the community together.

Community Driven – Fellowship – God implanted in each one of us an innate desire for relationships – with Him and our brothers and sisters in Christ. Relationships are an integral attribute to keeping people actively engaged in attendance and spiritual maturation. Each small group is its own community. Each small group should plan group outings and ministry endeavors to include everyone in the group while also encouraging fostering spiritual relationships among members.

God Honoring – Worship – Worship does not only happen in the “sanctuary” on Sunday morning. Worship should be part of our individual lives seven days a week. Many a great worship service are had while driving. With a love for the outdoors, I regularly enjoy personal worship of God outside. I worship in my daily devotion time. Train, equip, and encourage personal worship for all your small group members. Call for reports of personal worship in some of your sessions.

Paying attention to these five attributes with personal and group objectives to continue increasing in each one will keep your group healthy and growing. Spiritual maturation and awareness is a beautiful outcome awaiting each individual in every small group.  

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life. Click here to receive this blog in your email inbox each Tuesday.

In my younger days I would ride horses with friends. One day we went to a particular stable to ride their horses. One of the girls in our group asked for a mild-tempered horse. She got what she wanted and more. This horse practically had to be dragged along by one of the other riders. We nicknamed this horse “Muley” because she was as stubborn as a mule.

Some of the horses in our group wanted to run. We named these horses fireballs. Still other horses were content to stroll down the path at a leisurely pace. We called these the happy trails horses. I was on one of the happy trails horses. However, our leisurely pace was halted every few minutes while someone tried to drag, push, or spur ol’ “Muley” to catch up. I believe we spent as much time sitting on the horses (not moving) as we did riding that day.

In life and in ministry there are many horses to ride. Perhaps you’ve been on a Fireball before, a ministry that is a runner. And maybe you’ve been on a Happy Trails horse, one that is content to meander down the ministry trail. And it’s possible you’ve experienced Ol’ Muley too.

Finding the right horse to ride is vital to your ministry. Let me encourage you to revisit the stables of ministry often to check out the horses in your stable. What does it look like? What kind of shape is your ministry in today?

Let’s go inside and look at the horses you’ve been riding. We come to your first horse – Evangelism. What kind of horse is she? Is she a runner, a fireball? Perhaps she’s a Happy Trails horse. Or could it be she’s an Ol’ Muley? Is this the horse you want to be riding to fulfill The Great Commission?

Training your Evangelism horse: Mobilize your people for harvest, Develop outreach oriented ministries, Assimilate newcomers into the life and ministry of your church.

Ask God; For effective outreach strategies that will win many lost people to Christ, To help you value lost people’s future freedom above your present comfort, and To break your heart with the things that break His.

The next stall houses a horse named Discipleship. What kind of horse is discipleship? Fireball, Happy Trails, or Muley? Which traits are displayed through your discipleship process? Spiritual maturity should be measured by the lifestyle a person leads, and not by the amount of Bible knowledge one has. What training is needed for a better discipleship ministry in your stables?

On the door of the next stall is the name Fellowship. Is fellowship a fireball, happy trails, or Muley?  Close, loving relationships are at the heart of a healthy, growing church and relationships cannot be built without healthy fellowship. Fellowship is at the heart of Christianity, Develops healthy interpersonal relationships, Cultivates authentic community, & Incorporates the love of God to a lost world.

As we continue to the next stall we see a golden stallion, Ministry. Is ministry a working horse in your stable? Is she a stable horse only? Or does ministry like to get out of the barn and run? Are the tasks of the church distributed according to the spiritual gift mix of individuals or based on the needs of present ministries inside the church?

Inside the fifth stall we see the black horse, worship. Is this horse a mighty, sleek coated warrior, a big footed, broad shouldered work horse, an underfed swayback has been, or a newborn weak-kneed hopeful? Worship’s lifeline is prayer. Without fervent prayer your worship horse is dead.

When worship is inspiring it draws people to services and to God. Inspiring worship is infused with the presence of God, and results in times of joyous exaltation and quiet reverence. Inspiring worship is not driven by a particular style or focus – but by the shared experience of God’s awesome presence.

What do the horses in your ministry stable look like? Where is your stable headed? What horse(s) are you going to ride to victory?

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life. Click here to receive this blog in your email inbox each Tuesday.

The act of complete absorption and integration of people, ideas, or culture into a wider society or culture. This is the definition of assimilation. Notice it is not partial, somewhat, or limited, but it is complete, full integration. We’ve been looking at Assimilation for the past three posts. I want to continue this series with the following ten critical points for an assimilating culture in your church.

1, Assimilation does not happen by accident. A church must be intentional about assimilating people into the culture of your group having a planned and purposeful process.

2, A church must project a warm, welcoming atmosphere to outsiders and newcomers. Without realizing it churches today tend to be closed societal groups. We sing “Just as I am without one plea.” Yet newcomers experience, “Just as I Am, As long as you dress and talk just like me.”

3, Assimilation begins at the first contact with the church. The rule of sevens is a good basis to remember. The first seven minutes in each of these is critical to keeping and assimilating newcomers. The first seven minutes on your property (driveway entrance and parking lot), in your buildings, in the classroom, in the worship service. Is each one warm, friendly, and accepting?

4, Guests need to be contacted in the first 36 hours. If clergy makes the initial contact it is good, but if made by a lay person. These are twice as effective.

5, Newcomers must begin building relationships within the church immediately. Without fostering new relationships within the church they will depart. See previous posts.

6, Structured Small Groups. Organized/structured small group Bible studies are vital to the sustained growth of a church and inclusion of newcomers.

7, Expectations. Civic groups like rotary clubs have more member expectations than the average church. People need and desire expectations. The church in North America lost more than 22 million people in the early 1990’s. The number one reason, no expectations.

8, The process of bonding must be ever present. Newcomers need multiple avenues for interfacing and connecting where they experience acceptance, belonging, community and continuity.

9, Outreach and Lay involvement. Churches that reach out to others will keep more of their own membership. Lay involvement is needed in all ten areas and critical as related in # 3, 4, & 5.

10, Implement and Strengthen these Ministries. discovery and utilization of Spiritual Gifts, Lay Mobilization, Specific discipleship, Student and family ministries.

Churches who follow these ten critical points will greatly increase assimilation and keeping members for kingdom focused work. A byproduct will be increased outreach as more people are looking for what your members are talking about. Which of these ten is your church’s strongest. Which ones need immediate attention?

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life. Click here to receive this blog in your email inbox each Tuesday.

“Whatever happened to Tom & Jane? We thought they were going to be really committed. They must not have been as committed as we thought.” When people, especially newcomers drop out of church we question why, and we nearly always place the blame on them for dropping out. We never consider what we did (or didn’t do) that helped lead to their departure.

We never consider the inward culture of our church. A closed culture is hard to crack for newcomers. Yet we believe ourselves to have an open culture. After all, “everyone is welcome” – unspoken caveat; “as long as they fit in to our liking”. Consider the friendship factor described in our previous post. And not only the friendship factor; all newcomers need at least one new fostering relationship with church members within the first thirty days of attendance. (five with in six months.)

Along with this they also need an area of service within ninety days (3 months). This does not mean you are going to let them teach or preach, but if God brought them to your church, they have some gifting, some talent to offer. It only takes a smile to be a greeter or usher. Sunday school classes have a plethora of opportunities for people to serve. Be attentive to the Holy Spirit and creative for engaging newcomers into ministry.

For people to remain actively involved they must have a task they consider significant to the kingdom’s work.

What about Bob and Mary who were active members for two decades and have suddenly dropped out? Do we spend more time talking about them or do we genuinely reach out attempting to assist in prayer for, physical, spiritual, personal matters in their life – without using each for gossip.

People do not usually drop out due to one incident but from a series of experiences. Those could be experiences inside or outside of the church. If from within the church, certainly this needs to be addressed. If the point of crisis came from outside the church, it could be personal, family, work, or health issues. Regardless, we as church family should handle each with discretion and respect while lovingly attempting to restore broken relationships with the church family.

Four opportunities every church has at your disposal to assist whether newcomers or long-time members. Use each prayerfully (full of prayer) with discretion.

Observation is perhaps the greatest tool of opportunity. Especially when you are using it before that crisis hits. But afterwards as well.

Research can help you identify causes that may exist in your church and within individual lives. Use validated research as a tool for God to assist your church.

Surveys, conducted in house or community to assist you in learning how God will use your church in reaching, keeping, and ministering to those going through any crisis.

Personal reflection can be revealing when we reflect openly, with a true intent to find needed improvement personally and as a church body.

What is your reaction when people drop out?

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life. Click here to receive this blog in your email inbox each Tuesday.

The number one factor for assimilating newcomers into the church is “The Friendship Factor”. In the church we often hear our church is a friendly church. This is often stated and believed to be true because all of our friends are there and we are friendly to those we know. I’ve often heard, “If you want to see how friendly we are, come and see how long we stay around after the service and talk with each other.” To which I usually inquire, “Talk to who?” Our friends, not the stranger or newcomer among us.

It is important to be a friendly church. However, when people enter your church for the first time, they are not simply looking for a friendly church. They are looking for friends. There have been several studies completed about this issue. One study of 100 newcomers into churches identified 50 who dropped out within six months and 50 who remained in the church beyond six months.

Of the fifty who dropped out, most had zero friendships in the church. They attended, they were greeted and verbally welcomed. Only two of the fifty said they considered two people as friends from the church. Three others had one friendship. Not one of the other 45 could identify that any relationships were established with members of the church. (90%)

On the other side, the fifty who were still involved in the church after the six month period had three or more new relationships within the church. These are new fostering relationships with people they had not known. The majority (over 90%) could name more than five new fostering relationships with others in the church. Five versus zero.

That statistic alone should be enough to convict us of becoming more intentional in building an inviting, assimilating culture or fostering relationships. Yet, some read those paragraphs and began making excuses, passing the blame to the “outsiders” or others in the church. We get so wrapped up with our current friends that we neglect the newcomers.

The term “it takes a village” is not only for raising children. It is for assimilating people into the culture of the Christ-centered church. Are you part of a friendly church, or are you an individual Christ follower thirsting to build new relationships that will assist you and others in maturing together as Disciples?

What will you do this week to start the conversations in moving your entire church forward in being a Christ-centered relationship fostering family of God for every person God brings into your fellowship?

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life. Click here to receive this blog in your email inbox each Tuesday.

Walking into a new church, a new environment, unfamiliar territory can be daunting. Most people come in with trepidation. They approach unsure of what is beyond that door, trusting it is safe and welcoming. What do they truly find when they come into your church for the first time? Every person I have ever asked always says, “They find a friendly church.” Yet what guests have shared over the years is often a different story.

Abraham Maslow developed a Hierarchy of Needs, showing five levels of needs of every human in various aspects of life. He shaped it as a pyramid with the broadest need at the base. The base level is physiological or survival. Maslow’s theory is that before a person can move to a higher level each of the previous levels must be fulfilled in that persons “needs”.

The second level is safety. Before a person can feel safe, he must be secure he can survive in this environment. Without the solace of survival he cannot move beyond his safety concerns. Before moving to the third level that person’s survival and safety requirements must be fulfilled and so it goes throughout the five levels, each subsequent level must be satisfied in each person’s life.

The third level is Love and Affection. This is the level most people enter your church. They will not come through a door unless they believe survival and a safe environment resides on the other side. They enter looking for love and acceptance. When they walk in, they are not certain they will be welcomed and accepted. Yet, looking for those attributes, they enter.

While most churches believe they are friendly, welcoming, and accepting of others, some of the best responses guests often share include, “It seemed superficial. They did it because the pastor told them to.” Or “It wasn’t sincere.”

Our words may say welcome, yet we hold newcomers at arm’s length as if they must pass a trial or probationary period before we show them true welcome and acceptance. In most cases we do not intend to, but this is what we convey. When a newcomer shows giftedness and talent that we can use, we welcome them with open arms (while holding our reservations) as long as their giftedness do not threaten our positions in the church.

People cannot move to levels four and five of the Hierarchy of Needs without sensing true love and acceptance (level 3). Level four is esteem and is where people begin to understand his/her value in Christ through the local body. Level five is self-actualization in Christ, where each individual recognizes his/her value in Christ serving in the body, welcoming others with heart-felt acceptance.

What will you do this week to demonstrate true love and acceptance? This is where true assimilation begins.

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life. Click here to receive this blog in your email inbox each Tuesday.