3 Types of Children in Every Children’s Ministry
February 14, 2011 Leave a comment
Winter Ministry Opportunities
December 16, 2010 Leave a comment
The months of January & February are going to be popping! I am honored to be asked to teach/lead several different types of ministries this winter season and I am really excited about each of these.
- Amman, Jordan - January 5-13 – Leading 3-day professional development workshop for the teachers. Can’t wait to travel overseas to equip teachers who equip Christian workers who serve in very hard places.
- Salem BC, Campbellsville - Jan. 30-Feb. 2 – Teaching a 4-session study through the book of Galatians for the annual LifeWay January Bible Study. Honored to be invited by Pastor Michael Goodwin.
- The IMAGINE Preschool & Children’s Conference at Parkway Bapt. Church sponsored by the KY Baptist Convention – Feb. 11-12 – I will be speaking in the Friday evening main session and then leading a breakout session on Equipping and Empowering Parents to be spiritual disciplers of their children.
- Good Hope BC & Friendship BC, Campbellsville – Feb. 27-Mar. 2 – Teaching the Galatians Bible study again for these two wonderful churches who come together for this annual event.
- Anchor BC, Richmond - TBA – Plans are in the works for Maple Trail to come alongside Pastor Chris Carroll and lead the church leadership through a strategic planning and visioning process. Details are still being arranged.
- Last but certainty not least, Bethany Baptist Church in Louisville, KY – I continue to serve as Bethany’s interim pastor. I’ve been with them since September. The pastor search process is moving on, but I am thrilled to be in the pulpit each Sunday morning.
I am absolutely in awe of a good and gracious God who makes these ministry opportunities possible.
KBC Imagine Conference Feb. 11-12
December 11, 2010 Leave a comment
I am thrilled to be a small part of the best children’s ministry conference in the state of KY, Imagine Conference hosted by the Kentucky Baptist Convention and Parkway Baptist Church in Bardstown. This conference is going to set the bar high for equipping children’s ministry leaders throughout our state. The conference will be Friday & Saturday, February 11-12.
The conference is going to present excellent breakouts sessions by national leaders. There are going to be exceptional tools for children pastors, Sunday school teachers, parents, literally anyone who has a passion for children and sharing Jesus with them.
I will be sharing my personal story on Friday night in the main session and leading a breakout session called “Equipping and Empowering Parents.”
Click here for more information.
Variations in Worship Expression
November 15, 2010 Leave a comment
I am currently serving in a church with a very different worship expression than the last four I’ve served. I won’t use the phrase “worship style” because that has too many emotions attributed to it, but regardless to say I’m in a different world.
In past churches (both as a staff member and as an interim) the worship atmosphere has been contemporary and enthusiastic or more relaxed and informal. In my Texas church experience, I would say things were rather ”rodeo” or even “cowboy.” I have become quite comfortable seeing people wearing jeans, clapping and raising their hands, seeing more creative elements in worship and technology being a regular, natural part of my Sunday morning experience.
But currently, I am learning to be more reflective, more still in my mind and heart, more contemplative and reverent in my worship expression. I am finding the joy in a more liturgical offering of worship based heavily in the Word, in deep theological hymns, and more silent listening to the preaching. This has been a real eye-opening experience for me.
The variations of church worship are so widespread. The spectrum is so vast. It is hard to believe that I really have only been connected to Southern Baptist churches in my lifetime and even among the same denomination the worship expressions are as different as could be.
Final conclusion: Worship is about the heart of the person reflecting praise and glory to God for who He is and what’s He’s done and that can be accomplished in all sorts of ways through all sorts of worship expressions.
Staying On at Bethany
November 8, 2010 Leave a comment
Great news to share! I have been asked to stay on at Bethany Baptist Church in Louisville, KY as their “permanent” interim pastor.
I have been preaching weekly at Bethany since mid-September. As of yesterday, I will stay on until they secure a senior pastorwhether it be a few months or longer. I am thrilled and honored to serve such a fine church in Old Louisville.
Bethany BC is located on the corner of Taylorsville and Bardstown Road in the Highlands district. It is a historic church with many connections to Southern Seminary, Campbellsville University and numerous mission organizations in Jefferson County.
I am joined by Dr. Tom Bolton who serves as Minister of Music and Bro. Nick Webb who is the Youth and Children’s Minister. Dr. Bolton serves on the music faculty at SBTS in the School of Church Ministries and was formerly the Dean of the School of Music. Bro. Nick is a seminary student pursuing his M.Div.
Bethany’s people are quite eclectic. There is a strong number of senior adult members and a good number of young families, including many seminary connected couples. There is diversity in the church as we have attenders from India, Korea, China, Africa and all parts of Louisville. There is even a Korean church that use the facility called True Light Korean Baptist Church.
In all the church is seeking to reach more people for Christ and become a light in their neighborhood. I am honored to partner with them in the Gospel ministry.
Millennials on Clear Communicators
October 14, 2010 Leave a comment
This week I had one of my ministry classes find examples of clear communication. They were to find a video clip that demonstrated a clear communicator, show the clip to the class, and then describe what they saw in this person.
Here is a brief list of what Millennials value in communication.
- Clarity – keeping the idea or concept simple and to the point.
- Use of Visuals – they all love when the speaker uses objects to illustrate their point.
- Passionate – communication must come from the heart and exude passion and vitality.
- Embodiment – they all chose communicators who embody their message in their live. They want communicators to live out what they are speaking on.
- Creativity – words alone don’t work for Millennials, they want to see a creative demonstration.
- Authentic – the communicators were very real and down to earth in their communication style.
Finally, all of the communicators my Millennials selected were digital. Meaning, my students easily found a useable clip online on YouTube or Vimeo.
These communicators consistently put their content out into the virtual world for people to interact with. There was a public nature about these sermons, talks and messages. They were not confined to a particular church service or conference which only the attenders could benefit. Their material was published for the masses with the hope of encouraging and challenging more.
Conclusion: If you are going to communicate to Millennials and emerging generations, you must included these 6 characteristics. Otherwise, you probably won’t be heard.
Fall Ministry Opportunities
August 8, 2010 Leave a comment
I am honored to be invited to serve in a variety of settings this fall. Here is brief overview of the fall schedule (s0 far). Hopefully God will open up more doors and avenues to encourage believers and reach others for the Gospel.
- August 5: January Bible Study Preview: Galatians at Campbellsville University. I will be leading two sessions on Galatians 3 -4 helping pastors and teachers dissect this important New Testament Book.
- August 22: I will be preaching @ Bethany Baptist Church, Louisville, KY. I am being considered for Bethany’s interim pastor.
- September 11: KBC Super Saturday, Williamsburg. I will be working with Sunday school leaders and teachers in 3 workshops entitled Great Expectations for Sunday School, Moving Attenders from Spectators to Participants, and Reaching Adults for My Class.
- September 13: I will be presenting for the Campbellsville Univ. School of Theology Biblical and Theological Lecture Series. His paper topic is “Postmodernity and the Shift in Millennial Christianity.”
- September 18: KBC Super Saturday, Bowling Green. I will be leading two deacon ministry sessions entitled Deacon Teams and Healthy Conflict Management.
- September 23-24: Campbellsville Univ. Pastors and Church Leaders Conference. I will be leading a workshop entitled “Leadership Across the Generations” along with my mentor,hero and colleague, Dr. Ted Taylor.
- October 5 – 9: I will be taking a group of students to the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta, GA.
- October 16: I will be preaching at the annual Youth Revival hosted by St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Columbia, KY.
John’s Last Sermon
July 7, 2010 Leave a comment
To watch or listen to the final message at Parkway entitled “John Last Sermon” taken from John 3:22-36, please select the links below. July 4, 2010 – Shane Garrison from Parkway Baptist Church on Vimeo.
Preparing for Your Pastor
July 3, 2010 1 Comment
Soul Searching at the Lord’s Table
June 26, 2010 Leave a comment
Mill-Stoning – June 13, 2010
June 15, 2010 1 Comment
This sermon contains my testimony to coming to faith in Jesus Christ. I would love for all those at Lewisport Baptist Church in Lewisport, KY, to watch this message and know how much I love you. In every way, I am a product of your good and faithful ministry to children and teenagers. I am so thankful for you.
A Clutter Free House – May 30, 2010
June 2, 2010 Leave a comment
To watch or listen to the message “A Clutter Free House” taken from Titus 3:8-11, select one of the links below.
May 30, 2010 – Shane Garrison from Parkway Baptist Church on Vimeo.
Memory Loss – May 23, 2010
May 25, 2010 Leave a comment
To watch the message “Memory Loss” from Titus 3:1-7, you can click the link below.
May 23, 2010 – Dr. Shane Garrison from Parkway Baptist Church on Vimeo.
Homily, Sermon, Message or Talk
May 12, 2010 2 Comments
What should we call it?
What should we call the thing we preacher-types do during the worship service?
In the Catholic mass, it is called a homily. This is where we get the term “homiletics” or the study of preaching. A homily is not central to the Catholic mass, the Lords’ Supper is. The homily is usually 10 to 15 minutes and the priest can choose any range of topics to speak on: the Bible, personal spiritual issues, political topics, or community affairs.
During the 19th and 20th century, Evangelicals and Protestants shifted away from the homily and took on the more prominent title of sermon. The sermon replaced communion as the central act in the worship service. It became the central teaching ministry of the church, over all others forms of discipleship. The sermon length was longer, 30 to 50 minutes, and more directly tied to the explanation and application of the Word of God to the people of God. Biblical literacy was on the rise and therefore a longer teaching time was necessary.
In more recent years, many pastors wanted to move away from the term “sermon” for something less pointed. They have chosen the term message. A message from the pastor seemed more acceptable to both believers and non-believers alike. A message had a personal touch to it. A message is the same length as the sermon, but more pastoral. A message is less directed toward fiery evangelism and revivalism and more toward Christian discipleship and building up of the congregation.
In even more recent years, a new term has emerged for what preacher-types do: a talk. I’ve heard younger preachers introduce their sermon with the phrase, “Today I am going to talk about…” or “My talk today focus on…” If the sermon was too dogmatic and the message to therapeutic, then a talk might be in order. A talk removes all the “Christianese” and places the pastor in the role of communicator. A talk is asking for dialogue, interaction, and meaningful consideration of the content included in the talk.
What other words could we use? I think the word speech is probably inappropriate for preaching. Politicians give speeches, we are delivering the Word of God. Prophetic word is tattered with all sorts of baggage of Pentecostalism and crazy street preachers. The monologue is only appropriate for late night TV.
Could we go with the revelation, or the exposition of the Bible or the spoken word or just “preach’n” as my friend from North Carolina calls it.
What should we call it? What should we call this most essential part of Christian worship in the 21st century? Will new titles be given to this thing?
Needed: Intergenerational Life – May 9, 2010
May 10, 2010 Leave a comment
If you would like to watch the message “Needed: Intergenerational Life” taken from Titus 2:2-8, click on the link below.
May 9, 2010 – Shane Garrison from Parkway Baptist Church on Vimeo.
Teach the Right Things – May 2, 2010
May 7, 2010 Leave a comment
“Teach the Right Things” from Titus 2:1. 10 Doctrines in 20 Minutes or Less.
May 2, 2010 – Shane Garrison from Parkway Baptist Church on Vimeo.
Train New Believers Well – April 25, 2010
April 26, 2010 Leave a comment
To hear/watch the Parkway message fr0m April 25 entitled “Train New Believers Well” from Titus 1:10-16, click the link below.
April 25, 2010 – Shane Garrison from Parkway Baptist Church on Vimeo.
The Leadership Vacuum – April 18, 2010
April 19, 2010 Leave a comment
To watch the message from Parkway, click the links below.
April, 18, 2010 – Shane Garrison from Parkway Baptist Church on Vimeo.
A message concerning biblical leadership from Titus 1:5-9.
Parkway Week 5
February 2, 2010 Leave a comment
January 31, 2010 – Shane Garrison from Parkway Baptist Church on Vimeo.
A Three Fold Cord is Not Easily Broken – from Ecclesiastes 4:7-12.
Thank you Parkway for a great month of ministry together. May God continue to bless you and your church.
Parkway Week 4
January 26, 2010 Leave a comment
January 24, 2010 – Shane Garrison from Parkway Baptist Church on Vimeo.
“Playing into the Post Season” from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.
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