Maximizing Your Membership: Volume One

By E. Dewey Smith

What would you do, as a pastor or ministry leader, if you had insight, directives, and keys to effectively nurture your membership, despite your church's resources, size, or current challenges? There is no need to wonder, guess, or assume with the unveiling of this timeless, profound, compelling, and transforming book by Dr. E. Dewey Smith, Jr. Maximizing Your Membership is an eye-opening journey on the road to not only church membership, growth, and retention, but also a unique handbook on leadership in any area of life, business, and faith. This powerful, yet practical guide for a successful 21st Century ministry model is ideal for any church, regardless of size, denomination, culture, or worship style. Give this book to every ministry leader, pastor, clergy person, and visionary you know! Maximizing Your Membership is an eye-opening journey on the road to not only church membership, growth, and retention, but also a unique handbook on leadership in any area of life, business, and faith. This powerful, yet practical guide for a successful 21st Century ministry model is ideal for any church, regardless of size, denomination, culture, or worship style. Give this book to every ministry leader, pastor, clergy person, and visionary you know!

• Language: English
• Publisher: MarkOne Publishing
• Release date: Jul 31, 2012
• ISBN: 9780985784911

Book preview

E. DEWEY SMITH

Maximizing Your Membership

Volume One

Seven Keys for Building Strong Leaders, Attracting Great Members, and Developing Church Growth

Published by MarkOne Publishing

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2012 by E. Dewey Smith

Smashwords Edition, Licensed Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or

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Section One

The Prophet

Chapter One

Defining the Role of the Pastor

Understanding the Shepherd to See YOUR Call

A PROCLAMATION, as defined by The American Heritage Dictionary is, a public or official announcement, especially one dealing with a matter of great importance. It has often been stated that the act of preaching is a PROCLAMATION in search of a response. Therefore, if you are a pastor, clergy person, or ministry leader, I would like to pose a few questions to you:

What has God called you to do?

What is your spiritual purpose within your call?

How have you been directed to fulfill your call?

If you believe that your calling is to preach the gospel, and this calling has led you to or towards a pastoral or ministry leaders’ role, you must be clear, adamant, and passionate about making this public announcement regarding your calling. Otherwise, you will never successfully begin the journey towards that which is your eternal calling.

Please recognize that once this call has been issued, you, as a targeted agent of the call, have been arrested and charged with proclaiming this word as your primary mission. If you abandon this mission, you have now been convicted of a crime.

What crime? you may ask.

The answer is murder!

You are a MURDERER!

Greatest Profession in the World

When God created the earth, He established a dwelling place for man. It took Him two chapters, Genesis 1 and 2, to give the details to man’s dwelling place. Today, scientists marvel at the existence of this vast detail and struggle to comprehend that only 4 percent of the universe consists of the matter that makes up humans, and every planet, star, and galaxy. The remaining 96 percent of the universe is completely unknown. Yet, greater in the mystery of God is the creation of His habitation — the tabernacle.

And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. Exodus 25:8

It took God more than 40 chapters to address the subject of His dwelling place, order of worship, and role of a priest. From Exodus 25 to 40 and Leviticus 1 to 27, God was placing emphasis on His church and the very materials He uses as a shadow of an everlasting redemption. He placed more value on His dwelling place —the church—and today, He dwells with us, amongst us, and in us.

Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Ephesians 2:20-24

The call of a Pastor is the greatest profession in the world because it took more time and detail to establish than any other profession. More than 17 times in Exodus we are told that Moses built the tabernacle as the Lord commanded Him. Everything was made according to God’s pattern. God can only bless a ministry that is done according to the standard of His word because spiritual success has to pattern God’s principle. Anything we do from research, writing, hospital visits, home visits, community organizing, counseling, teaching, planning, leading, and dreaming that doesn’t pattern His principle is useless. Moses did as the Lord commanded and finished the work. As a result, the cloud of Glory filled the Tabernacle.

And he reared up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the hanging of the court gate. So Moses finished the work. Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys: But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys. (Exodus 40:33-38)

The Foundation

God placed such great importance on the tabernacle and therefore makes more references to the pattern of worship than anything else in the Old Testament. God called, sanctified, and positioned the priests above all men. Aaron, brother of Moses, was made high priest over the people of Israel…along with Moses. God chose these men to be in a position of spiritual leadership. In the days of the Temple, they were responsible for the sacred service.

The priests serve as a conduit to bring down God's radiant blessing and influence into this world. In fact, it is on this account that they are commanded to deliver God's blessing of peace and love to the people, as well. Thus, while it is only God who has the power to bestow blessing upon people, the function of the priests was to serve as a vehicle, a medium, through which the Divine influence may descend.

The priests represent kindness, and the focusing of life's energies on sanctity and Divine purpose. It was the attribute of kindness, understanding and love for all which Aaron, the first High Priest, was best known for, and his descendants are entrusted to exemplify. Because of their ability to invoke Heavenly influence, church fathers record that the priestly families possessed distinctive character traits and qualities which were part of their special spiritual heritage: they were known to be joyful, giving, and driven by a lofty nature. In the era of the Temple, they were praised for their zeal and dedication to fulfill the commandments and give honor to the Creator.

I vividly recall, in the early stages of my youth, an overwhelming love for the Word of God, for His church, and His people. I can honestly never remember a time in my formative years when the church was not a priority. Yet, preaching was not an occupation I coveted. What I had was a passion for sports, and in that regard I excelled at an amazing pace. Simply put, I was not interested in becoming a preacher.

Despite my personal agenda, God had a bold and definitive plan for me to proclaim His word. As much as I tried to side step and negotiate an alternative, I was unable to successfully alter this destiny. The lack of response to the call on my behalf set in progress a succession of life altering events. Close friends of mine, whom it became clear would’ve heeded God’s voice were I to have directed the way, began to lose their lives over the course of several years.

These events segued into a series of dreams that easily could’ve been described as nightmares. In each, I was as the distributor of an unlimited amount of tickets to board a ship with unlimited space. The ship departed