Dennis wrote this book “The Tentmaking Pastor: The Joy of Bivocational Ministry” in 2000.http://www.amazon.com/Tentmaking-Pastor-Joy-Bivocational-Ministry/dp/0801090997/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t
Amazon.com: The Tentmaking Pastor: The Joy of Bivocational Ministry (9780801090998): Dennis W. Bicke
www.amazon.com
Amazon.com: The Tentmaking Pastor: The Joy of Bivocational Ministry (9780801090998): Dennis W. Bickers: BooksWant to upgrade your salary & benefits? Need to creatively fund your church plant? Get a real job!
One of the most famous tentmakers of all time was the Apostle Paul, the human author of two-thirds of the New Testament! In fact, that's where the term "tentmaker" comes from, because he and some of his close friends (Aquila & Priscilla) made tents for a living while they shared the Gospel in their particular context.
It's not that the Bible condemns paid, full-time ministers; in fact, it encourages the church to support such men, with the not-so-subtle reminder that "the Lord gave orders that those who preach the Good News should be supported by those who benefit from it" (1 Cor. 9:14, NLT). But sometimes, it is expedient or necessary or perhaps even more effective, for Gospel ministry to move forward with self-supporting ministers, particularly when the work involves planting new churches. That's why the Apostle Paul gave himself to this approach, and I don't think anyone would argue with his success!
So, why not seriously consider this approach to ministry? It has certain benefits and advantages, expecially for church planters who are trying to penetrate a new field of ministry. We'll explore some of those things on this site.
Friday, February 19, 2010
big week in the life of a bi-vocational pastor
One of the draw backs of being a bivopastor is that you sometimes you don't get to participate in the seminars and conferences that are held during the week. All but youth conferences are always during the week ( what would pastors do with 40 extra hours that bivo's dont get anyway). lol! Thankfully we live an 1 1/2 hours from atlanta so alot of big conferences come our way, like catalyst!
Being in Air cond. biz, we have our slow time of the year in jan. and feb.. We take advatage of it by going to conferences during this times. Summer conferences are a no go. My three favorite conferences all end up being in the same 8 day period. thankfully they are of different sorts. We are taking our youth to vision2010.com in columbus to see david crowder band, jeremy camp and ricardo sanchez. Next mon. and tue. we go to churchplanters.com in atl. to see rick warren, ed young and steven furtick. Then we come back and get a van load(p.s. we really don't have a van -but we need one!) and go to north atl. to freechapel church for a marriage conf. with my favorite preacher jentzen franklin and ed young. This makes up for all the stuff we don't get to go to. Catalyst and freechapels youth conf. "forward" are the other 2 confs. we go to each year. keep us in your prayers that we would recieve refreshing and guidance and for safe travel
. we are finishing up nicoles new cd and it contains powerful worship! Not a filler song on the project.
Being in Air cond. biz, we have our slow time of the year in jan. and feb.. We take advatage of it by going to conferences during this times. Summer conferences are a no go. My three favorite conferences all end up being in the same 8 day period. thankfully they are of different sorts. We are taking our youth to vision2010.com in columbus to see david crowder band, jeremy camp and ricardo sanchez. Next mon. and tue. we go to churchplanters.com in atl. to see rick warren, ed young and steven furtick. Then we come back and get a van load(p.s. we really don't have a van -but we need one!) and go to north atl. to freechapel church for a marriage conf. with my favorite preacher jentzen franklin and ed young. This makes up for all the stuff we don't get to go to. Catalyst and freechapels youth conf. "forward" are the other 2 confs. we go to each year. keep us in your prayers that we would recieve refreshing and guidance and for safe travel
. we are finishing up nicoles new cd and it contains powerful worship! Not a filler song on the project.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
what does a church staff pastor and wife look like?
I just read a new post from a pastor near Auburn.(MatthewThrower.com) It is some of the best and "truly honest" advice I've heard recently. And it comes from the Bible. Had the chance to know pastor Matt and his more talented brother(ha ha) while we were leading a Bible study for college aged students at our home church before we entered church planting .
The Church – The role of a Pastor/Church Leader18 02 2010
Over some time I want to attempt to post about how I feel a healthy church should look like. Hopefully you will find these posts helpful and give you an idea of how Refuge Point Church will look. Before we get into the role of the church I think it’s fitting to get an idea of what the Bible says the role of a pastor and/or church leader should be.
Let’s look at 1 Timothy 3: if anyone wants to provide leadership in the church, good! But there are preconditions: A leader (pastor, elder…) must be well thought of, committed to his wife, cool and collected, (I LOVE that part) accessible, and hospitable. He must know what he’s talking about, not be over fond of wine, not pushy but gentle, not thin-skinned, not money-hungry. He must handle his own affairs well, attentive to his own children and having their respect. For if someone is unable to handle his own affairs, how can he take care of God’s church? He must not be a new believer, lest the position go to his head and the Devil trip him up. Outsiders must think well of him, or else the Devil will figure out a way to lure him into his trap…No exceptions are to be made for women—same qualifications: serious, dependable, not sharp-tongued…
Here’s the deal: Churches don’t need kings…(Absolute power always goes bad.) I’ve seen this ‘pastor King model’ and it’s not biblical or healthy. You know…the men who wear the super hero capes, have the guards surrounding them, bla bla…? We just read that a church leader/pastor is accessible and hospitable. Pastor, stop hiding in your office with your door shut all of the time. You are not a god.
What churches need are pastors who will lead by example and who are servants. By the way…isn’t that what Jesus came to do…serve? In fact it seems like he came with a towel in his hand to wash peoples feet, not sit behind a title.
The Pastor’s wife: Same applies bro… and I love what the writer also included on the list: NOT SHARP-TONGUED! Dear Beloved Pastor-if you can’t handle the affairs of your family and can’t keep your wife from gossiping and being slanderous…then you are not fit to lead a church. Apply for something in the corporate world.
Here’s what you should expect from any church leader:
1. That they are continuously growing in their walk with Christ.
2. That they pastor their family – bathe them in the word and bathe them with their love and support.
3. To Pastors – Instead of being a CEO Pastor, try being a spiritual director. Care for the spiritual life of your staff. Support your staff at any cost, because it will cost you.
4. Serve.
5. Lead.
It’s not about advancing a “pastor’s” kingdom…it’s about advancing HIS Kingdom. “let Your kingdom come, Lord.”
Love You, mean it-
Matthew
I am so thankful for the role modeling we received under Pastors Rudet and Betty Atkinson, Mike and Sue Wright, Whit and Jan Sasser. Will never forget my favorite 2 youth pastors growing up Keith Jones and Scott Smith. They poured countless hours into Nicole and I. They modeled what it means to be a Christ follower. I served under some great men of God but was also exposed to every different type of attitude and styles from those in ministry. One of my professors at Southeastern Univ. in Lakeland, FL.(a/g), said 90% of pastors are good as gold and the other 10% are bologna. I recently heard Pastor Chris Hodges of the fast growing church in America and one of the founders of ARC say in his opinion @ 50% of those in ministry should not be ( due to sin or not really being a real leader). Well here's Pastors Matt's blog. Boy it sounds like he's been exposed to the same stuff we all have been. enjoy!
The Church – The role of a Pastor/Church Leader18 02 2010
Over some time I want to attempt to post about how I feel a healthy church should look like. Hopefully you will find these posts helpful and give you an idea of how Refuge Point Church will look. Before we get into the role of the church I think it’s fitting to get an idea of what the Bible says the role of a pastor and/or church leader should be.
Let’s look at 1 Timothy 3: if anyone wants to provide leadership in the church, good! But there are preconditions: A leader (pastor, elder…) must be well thought of, committed to his wife, cool and collected, (I LOVE that part) accessible, and hospitable. He must know what he’s talking about, not be over fond of wine, not pushy but gentle, not thin-skinned, not money-hungry. He must handle his own affairs well, attentive to his own children and having their respect. For if someone is unable to handle his own affairs, how can he take care of God’s church? He must not be a new believer, lest the position go to his head and the Devil trip him up. Outsiders must think well of him, or else the Devil will figure out a way to lure him into his trap…No exceptions are to be made for women—same qualifications: serious, dependable, not sharp-tongued…
Here’s the deal: Churches don’t need kings…(Absolute power always goes bad.) I’ve seen this ‘pastor King model’ and it’s not biblical or healthy. You know…the men who wear the super hero capes, have the guards surrounding them, bla bla…? We just read that a church leader/pastor is accessible and hospitable. Pastor, stop hiding in your office with your door shut all of the time. You are not a god.
What churches need are pastors who will lead by example and who are servants. By the way…isn’t that what Jesus came to do…serve? In fact it seems like he came with a towel in his hand to wash peoples feet, not sit behind a title.
The Pastor’s wife: Same applies bro… and I love what the writer also included on the list: NOT SHARP-TONGUED! Dear Beloved Pastor-if you can’t handle the affairs of your family and can’t keep your wife from gossiping and being slanderous…then you are not fit to lead a church. Apply for something in the corporate world.
Here’s what you should expect from any church leader:
1. That they are continuously growing in their walk with Christ.
2. That they pastor their family – bathe them in the word and bathe them with their love and support.
3. To Pastors – Instead of being a CEO Pastor, try being a spiritual director. Care for the spiritual life of your staff. Support your staff at any cost, because it will cost you.
4. Serve.
5. Lead.
It’s not about advancing a “pastor’s” kingdom…it’s about advancing HIS Kingdom. “let Your kingdom come, Lord.”
Love You, mean it-
Matthew
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
old school preachin
want to see what happens to a church and pastor after a daniel fast?http://www.youtube.com/user/bivopastor#p/u/4/DRhN8iuALCw
once saved, always saved?
http://www.youtube.com/user/bivopastor#p/u/3/oL1iuirR8lQ
once saved, always saved?
http://www.youtube.com/user/bivopastor#p/u/3/oL1iuirR8lQ
Monday, February 15, 2010
new youtube channel
if you would like to learn more about restorationchurchauburn.com or the ministry of mark and nicole jenkins please check out our new youtube channel under the name --- bivopastor. the church has an older channel with a few sermons under-- restorationchurchaub (no urn on end)
welcome!!
I hope you find 2010 to be a your best year yet. As i set at on this new venture i hope to encourage leaders and those that serve the body of Christ in various areas of ministry. We had no idea when we followed the call of God to plant a church just 3 years ago of the challenges, delays, and victories that would come our way. Its is still a humbling experience to realize God could use us to fullfill His vision and destiny for our city. It is a honor to be partenered with God in what He is doing thru the lives and families that He has entrusted us with.
We may have a different perspective on ministry due to our backgrounds and the fact that we have a staff that is completely bivocational. We hope to encourage one of the most overlooked sector of ministers. I may be one of the few pastors that went into bible college (as a 17 yr. old)with the notion that i would be involved in bivocational ministry from the onset. Thus it has never been a source of bitterness or disappointment many pastors experience as a result of being in a "less than perfect" situation. hope you will stay tuned in to what God is during through restorationchurchauburn.com P.s. my wife nicole will have a new praise and worship cd out in a few weeks. It will be a cd you put in when you want to go to be in the presence of God for sure!
We may have a different perspective on ministry due to our backgrounds and the fact that we have a staff that is completely bivocational. We hope to encourage one of the most overlooked sector of ministers. I may be one of the few pastors that went into bible college (as a 17 yr. old)with the notion that i would be involved in bivocational ministry from the onset. Thus it has never been a source of bitterness or disappointment many pastors experience as a result of being in a "less than perfect" situation. hope you will stay tuned in to what God is during through restorationchurchauburn.com P.s. my wife nicole will have a new praise and worship cd out in a few weeks. It will be a cd you put in when you want to go to be in the presence of God for sure!
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