Keith Burnett Ministries

Equipping for Evangelism

Website And Membership: Why?

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This website is going away (soon!). And our new site is built around website membership. So a word is in order (as promised) about the ideas, thoughts, and intentions behind that move. And it’s probably not what you think and simpler than you might guess!

Website Membership: The ‘Obvious’

One’s viewpoint leads to predictable conclusions. One view of ministry goes something like this: I like seeing people helped and projects get done. I am glad Keith and others are doing good things.

People can view this ministry and/or their local church in those terms. That view is held by those I call spectators. Every now and then spectators will do something helpful and they might contribute occasionally. But nominal involvement isn’t what makes them a spectator in their church or in ministries like this one. They are spectators because of how they view themselves. Spectators are betrayed by pronouns. Who is involved? They are involved. And They could be one’s pastor, Bible study leader, relief worker, Christian counselor, or leader of a ministry like this one. The missing pronoun is: We. Churches and parachurch ministries accomplish great things through those who frequently use We. They know ministry is something we do together.

Website MembershipA surface-only view suggests a membership site is about fund raising. Does ministry take resources? Yes. Does your local church have a budget? Are resources required for the work of the Red Cross or Samaritan’s Purse? We know the answer. But where ministry is concerned,  funds or resources are not an end in themselves. Resources are a means to an end. And it is with great gratitude I can say the Father has met the needs of this ministry out of His great riches. He continues to use ordinary people who understand the word: We. None of us answers God’s call alone. He puts others around us. So what is the deeper thought behind a membership site?

Website Membership: The Surprise (?)

The word is stewardship. Really! Think with me just a minute. God calls us to be good stewards of what He has given to us. And according to I Corinthians 4:7 we have been given everything. Now, let’s apply these thoughts to me and what I get to do.

First, I have been given the opportunity to have extensive Biblical education. What good is that if it doesn’t benefit others? Let’s continue. Eight years of writing, producing, compiling, and editing courses for pastor training has built up quite a body of work. What do we do with that? Was that meant to only benefit me, our teaching faculty, and our student pastors? That would not seem like good stewardship to me. And then there are the hands and hearts that made all that work possible? What??? Yes! There has been a host of We users who have contributed to this ministry. Their engagement has been just as necessary as mine in producing equipping resources for Kingdom ministry.

Matthew 10:42 presents a crystal clear picture of how GOD views our work together. His Word, not mine, says He rewards His workers equally with those who enable His work. Add to that Jesus’ words in His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:19-21) about putting up for ourselves treasure in heaven. To put past work on the shelf or limit its use would be a poor decision in two ways:

  • Poor stewardship by not expanding the reach of the material

  • Limit the potential, future rewards for those who helped produce it 

Now, how does a membership site help with stewardship?

Membership Goals

We are looking to increase the number of We users in this ministry. It really isn’t about the website. There needs to be a larger number of people who are invested in the ministry. Are there opportunities we can grasp if there are more resources available? Yes. But we will share those over time.

Equipping For LifeA little quirk of human nature may help us understand the membership idea. First, equipping the body of Christ means we reach as many as possible. So why not just build the biggest, baddest free site on the planet? Our nature makes that counterproductive. Many of you have learned this like I did. We found ourselves taking care of an unexpected litter of kittens. The kids thought it was great. But our ad in the paper wasn’t effective. It said: Free to a good home… Someone suggested a different ad. They said selling the kittens would move them faster than giving them away – even though I didn’t want anything for them. I placed the ad and the kittens were gone in a week.

And then membership needs a good perspective. Think back to the famous Christian societies that have existed in the past. People of faith banded together to accomplish Kingdom ministry. They didn’t have the internet or websites. But we had Bible societies, orphan ministries, and Christian women’s ministries. And younger readers won’t remember the time when many of our hospitals were ministries of the Baptist, Methodist or Presbyterian denominations. Christians joining hands for the Kingdom is not a new idea!

Modern Examples

We have modern versions of those societies/ministries. Blueletter Bible is a site I have linked to many times in this blog. We partner with Third Millennium ministries in developing teaching materials. Those ministries have members who make their work possible. And having a defined membership means you can spend some time reaching out to specators. But you can spend most of your time productively working together with those who enable the ministry.

It’s A Wrap…membership

Let me grab just one more thought. Is the Word valuable? Absolutely! Do people always perceive that value? Unfortunately, No. And that’s the difference between spectators and participants. Those who participate in this ministry understand the value of the Word and the teaching/equipping we are able to provide. So my hope and prayer is the new site will help us continue to give something of great value and help grow the number of those who actively participate. Please pray for that!

The next post may be here. It may not! Please keep an eye on your inbox!

Soli Deo Gloria! 

 

Website Launch – Use Instructions, Pt. 2

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A website launch is no easy task. It’s not as big as the launch pictured here! And everyone knows there were hundreds or thousands of hands involved in launching the shuttle. It wasn’t just the finger that pushed the button! And that’s how it needs to be with a good website launch. More about that below. First, let’s finish up the discussion on the post categories on the opening page (new website).

Website Launch: More Info

Website LaunchThe previous post covered the first four groupings of posts on the opening page. This post addresses the remaining four.

As you can see, there is a brief description of each grouping below the corresponding graphic.

Believers need to be equipped (and well practiced!) in prayer. Clicking on this icon will take you to posts on the subject of prayer. Insights posted here can equip you and/or help you equip others. Remember, I am not the only equipper here!

Study

The eyeglasses on the open page tell you what this group of posts is about. I’ve posted several things in the last few months about how to study the Bible. In part, that was done in anticipation of this feature of the new website. But the bigger picture is the need for this kind of instruction. Please do no wait on me, your pastor, your small group leader, or anyone else to unpack the Word for you. Be as skillful as you can in this area. That doesn’t mean we won’t gain insight from the study of others. We will. But we need to dig for ourselves. We learn more that way!

The Mission Field

This grouping of posts will almost always be ‘open’ for viewing, i.e., not a members only section. Why? When we have mission volunteer teams on the ground (wherever that may be) we want anyone/everyone to be able to see what is happening. When people can see the work going on they know what they supported, how their prayers are being answered, and many are encouraged to join in as a future volunteer.

But there is another kind of post that will show up here. We get updates from time to time from friends in far away places. I share those as appropriate and this will be the place to look for all things described as the mission field. And of course, I use that term in its most commonly understood way. We all have a mission field behind our own front door and another one just outside of it! More about that elsewhere.

Christians & Culture

I have found myself addressing cultural concerns. How do we take the truths of Scripture and faithfully apply them to the crazy, mixed up world we live in? Like good study, we need to learn to do that. And when it’s appropriate there will be posts in this thread that help us do that very thing. This could have been titled: Being Salt & Light. You get the idea!

Website Launch: Help Needed

If you will be so kind as to help with the launch, please fill in this form. We expect to be done with this by mid-February. The process is to formally announce the site, then promote it, and have a brief sign-up period. We will then close membership in the site for a while. When we open it back up for new members, we will ask for a new launch team. So an agreement to help is NOT open ended! Just thought you’d like to know.  Launch helpers register HERE.

Soli Deo Gloria! 

Equipping For Life – Using New Website

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Equipping For Life: it’s what advertisers call a tagline. You will recognize many taglines. A short reminder list would include:

  • Coca Cola: the real thing.
  • Dollar Shave Club: Shave time, shave money (I’m a member – good service!).
  • Lay’s: Betcha can’t eat just one.
  • DeBeer’s: A diamond is forever.
  • M&Ms: Melts in your mouth, not in your hand.

But for you, me, and everyone who claims the name of Christ, Equipping For Life is much more than a tagline. It is what we are called and commissioned to do. And that divine calling is why the new website is put together around this theme. So this is our second post about using the new site – and when we open the new site these posts will be transferred so they will still be available and helpful.

Equipping For Life: Equip.Us Blog

Equipping For LifeYesterday’s post addressed the blog’s location in the new website. And even though the complete blog list is not on the opening page, a good deal of it is there. How much of it is viewable will depend on whether or not the viewer is a browsing guest or a website member. But the full membership discussion is for a later post.

Blog posts on the front page are arranged around eight categories I call life-missions. What God has commanded us to do is our mission. So, how many missions do we have? There are many. I addressed this briefly at the close of the previous post. Here, I’ll address these life-missions more completely. If you have questions, or comments, please feel free to share those below or send an email.

Equipping For Life – The Life-Missions

The first graphic is a link to posts/teaching on the Church. This is a life-mission shared by all believers. Why? We are members of the body of Christ, which He named His Church. He is the Head of the body. Scripture has a great deal to say about what the Church is, how it is to function, and what it is meant to accomplish. The problem is we all think we know all that stuff. Let me tell you why I disagree and what we will do about that through the new website.

Equipping For LifeIt is my privilege to do some fun but challenging things. I get to study and research course materials to equip pastors and churches. That is possible because people participate with me in this Equipping For Life ministry. They do that through direct support, volunteering, and prayer. One course we worked through is what I entitled, The Essential Nature of the Church. What made it so challenging was my methodology in putting it together. The goal was to define and describe the Church without reference to tradition, culture, denomination, or expectation. If you try that, you will see it is anything but easy. You’d be surprised how often we bring our traditions and/or culture to bear in defining a Biblical concept. So posts linked to this section help equip readers/supporters as effective members of the body of Christ.

Discipleship Mission

Every believer is a disciple. The Holy Spirit’s job is to conform each of us into the image of Christ. And since that task won’t be complete until we see Him face to face (it’s then we will be fully like Him), our discipleship-mission is never over. We don’t graduate from discipleship school – well… not as long as we are breathing! So this body of posts would apply to any and all.

God-First Living

Jesus had a way of distilling Scriptural truth into memorable, simple ways to live. He gave us two great commandments. We know to love God first and foremost with all of our being, And we know to love our neighbor as ourselves. Jesus also commissioned us to represent Him and His Kingdom in this world. We are to make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey all that He has commanded us. Wow! That sounds a lot like equipping for life. O wait! That’s what all of us are supposed to do. And that is why your help in this ministry is so essential. I am not the only equipper. We, together, are equipping others. Please keep that in mind. Posts in this section will provide practical insights and application regarding Jesus’ two great commands and His commission.

The Marriage Mission

This body of posts will help equip believers who are married. Marriage is God’s idea and His Word addresses the subject. And this mission serves to illustrate the fact that Christians have missions in common but we also have missions we don’t share with others. Some people are single. They might be single again, widowed, or divorced. But the posts can still apply to all. Marriage could be part of the future for ourselves or our loved ones. And it’s much more likely to be a great marriage if we are properly equipped.

There are four other sections of posts on the front page. We will address those subjects in the next post. Please let us hear from you if you have comments or questions.

Soli Deo Gloria! 

 

New Website – The Launch Is Here!

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Our website is changing – in many, many ways. Actually, it’s a new website. And we are finally at the place to start making announcements and giving helpful hints for a smooth transition. So this post is the first of several along that line.

Website – Finding The Latest Post

On the current site, the latest blog post shows up at the top of the opening page. And it has been that way for a long time (too long). The length of time we’ve used the current website has contributed to some of the difficulties in making changes and upgrades. We didn’t want to lose anything in the transition, but the amount of material, data, and/or images was massive. So my note-to-self is not to wait this long before upgrading the site again!

Finding the latest blog post on the new site is still easy. But blog posts do not appear on the opening page. And that is why I thought a picture would be helpful. The featured image for this post is an edited screenshot of the new website. The arrows on the picture address today’s subject.

New Website – New Name

new websiteThe arrows point to the blog link. You may notice it says: EquipUs. You might also remember I used that term in this recent post. That was intentional, but unexplained. Part of the process of reworking the site was defining its purpose – or, the essential focus of this ministry. Ideally, those two things should be the same. Questions were asked and I am thankful that you responded to them. Your responses and our self-evaluations said this ministry is about equipping. That’s not a surprise since equipping believers is God’s instruction for pastors.

In the long process of getting the site ready to launch, I actually bought the E-quip.Us domain name. You will see that name more and more in the coming days. But, for the moment, it is the name we are giving to the blog portion of our new site. The blog now has a name and that name is what we do! More about that below.

Those of you who have subscribed to our rss feed get the latest posts in your email. That will not change. The EquipUs blog will still be searchable in the usual ways. But there are some upgrades to help you access Biblical insights and comments on various topics.

EquipUs – Our Life-Missions

If the latest blog post isn’t on the front page, what is? Well, that’s what we will cover in the next post! Until then, think about the missions of your life. You have quite a few. I call some of them big-picture missions. They cover all of life for every believer. Then we have those life-missions that are more individual in nature. I share some of those with other pastors because the Word carries God’s instruction for what we do and how we are to do it. That’s an example of a Biblical mission I don’t share with every believer – just those the Father has called as under shepherds. There are many other examples.

We used the front page to equip these life-missions. And I’ll get into some specifics in the next post!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Technical Difficulties – Apologies!

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Technical Difficulties and My Apologies

Technical difficulties

What I wanted to do!!! 🙂

In the world of modern electronics, it’s often impossible to address or explain technical diffictulties while they are happening. That is the case here. The servers for our website had some issues earlier this week. While that was happening, it was not possible to access the website. The problems were resolved late Thursday (yesterday).

It was probably more frustrating to me than anyone else since I have several things that need to be posted regarding next year’s ministry opportunities. I apologize for the delays. As you can guess, I had no control over server interruptions.

Technical Difficulties = Delays 

thank you smileyIn light of all the above, please be aware posts will resume no later than Monday. Additionally, subscribers and those on our e-newsletter mailing list will be receiving an important email update. Please be on alert for that. Other important news and ministry updates will be posted over the weekend.

Thanks for your continued prayers and support! That said, your prayers are vital. It’s easy to for us to say we need prayer when we face a challenge. The end-of-year work has been a challenge. I am tempted, like many, to say that is a cause for urgent prayer. The truth is, we all need prayer all the time. Sometimes we are just more aware than others of our own great need of our Great Savior!

Soli Deo Gloria!

The Question That Answers Prayer

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Cleverness is seen in answers; Wisdom in questions

Which of us hasn’t had difficulties and challenges? Help comes in many forms:

  • Counsel from the Word
  • Counsel from friends
  • Prayer with others
  • Prayer alone
  • Encouragement
  • Proper questions

Prayer is asking for God’s answers. He answers prayer and this ministry is testimony to that fact. Sometimes His answers come in the form of Godly counsel.

There is wisdom in many counselors – Proverbs

I have been blessed with a wife and Christian friends who can help me ask the right questions. That’s incredibly valuable because we often suffer from asking the wrong questions. To quote a favorite movie, That, detective, is the correct question! Another great example is a woman who described her own website as:

A collection of answers people don’t want to hear to questions they didn’t ask.

request a blog wallA devotional blog is just one part of this ministry. The feedback is extremely encouraging. But anything worth doing is worth doing better. That’s where YOU come in. I want to give you the opportunity to start the discussion, not just respond to what is written by me or guest writers.

Questions are not limited to a small group of people. People of all walks of life have questions:

  • Husbands have questions
  • Wives have questions
  • Parents have questions
  • Students have questions
  • Teachers have questions
  • Doctors have questions
  • Retirees have questions
  • Pastors have questions
  • Bible study leaders have questions

Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers – Voltaire

That list could be longer, but it makes my point. The list of questions offered in prayer are even more numerous. People want to know what the Word says about:

  • Money
  • Relationships
  • Family
  • Heaven
  • Church
  • Ministry
  • Daily living
  • Hell
  • Raising children

Prayer and the WordThe goal is to allow readers to request a post on a subject of their choice. The intent is to help offer Biblical counsel. God’s Word is the light we all need in any situation. I also know one reader’s question could help with another reader’s prayer. God does work in mysterious ways.

This section of the website will need a name. There is wisdom in many counselors and YOUR idea may be the one needed. Please help. Once we get a name we will create the necessary graphics and a submission form.

In the meantime, feel free to comment on the bottom of this post or any post this week. Since I know many of you will take this option anyway, you can also send an email! 🙂

Soli Deo Gloria! 

request a blog 2PS – Most of the graphics in this post were found in a web search on blog post requests. I created some of what you see and combined other search elements. They are examples of what will be done when we get a good name for this new website option.

How Can You Improve Yourself and Support Missions?

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Reviews and Recommendations 2Missions is what we’re about. You know that. I spoke to a church group today and shared some of the ways nearly anyone can be involved with missions. If you would like a very simple way to be involved, without going anywhere, then this post is for you!

Getting the obvious out of the way, missions takes money just like ministry in your local church. R.O.W. employs some very innovative technology on the mission field. That stuff isn’t free. A person who puts their mind to it can come up with a way to help. It doesn’t have to be huge amounts, there just needs to be a large number of people helping. One person in today’s meeting wanted to buy a solar Bible for one of our upcoming missions. Will we need more than one solar Bible? Yes. But other people around the country are also supplying them for our teams. Whether we get them one at a time or ten at a time, we’re always able to distribute Bibles wherever we go. Here is something even easier!

The new website design is more user friendly than the old one. I have often reviewed things I found helpful and recommended them to you. They were published as Reviews and Recommendations. Those items are now much easier to keep up with. Here is why that’s important and why it’s helpful for you to know it.

Difficult Doctrine LoveOne of my favorite authors is D. A. Carson. I am recommending one of his books for you: The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God. The more critical thought we apply to God’s love, the more awesome it becomes. Jacob is an illustration of this point. God said, Jacob have I loved but Esau have I hated. We read over that real quick and don’t even slow down. I’m just calling it like it was, but Jacob was a snake! He lied, cheated, and stole from others. Just let that sink in. Dr. Carson has a great way of breaking down the truth and letting us get a handle on it. The book isn’t long, but you should find it helpful and engaging. And how does that help?

Below is a link to Dr. Carson’s book on Amazon.com. You can click the link and go directly to the Amazon website. Amazon’s price is their price. It would be the same if you got to their site another way. By connecting to them from this site, their computer knows you came to them from this website. If you make a purchase, they will send a marketing commission (maybe $1.00) to Keith Burnett Ministries. That recommendation is intended to help you. If you, hopefully many of you, take advantage of it, you and I will both be helping our main objective which is missions! It’s an easy way to help and you don’t have to go anywhere!

Soli Deo Gloria!  

Website RE-Launch – Update

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website under constructionAnyone who has traveled on mission with me knows my mission beatitude: Blessed are the flexible for they shall not get bent out of shape! Mission teams need to remember that and so do website owners, managers, and developers! Most of the website makeover is done. The part that isn’t done is not a technical difficulty or failure of any sort. Here’s the deal – there are only 24 hours in a day.

I know that’s not profound, but time is a factor in these things. Upload speeds determine how fast one can make changes to a website. The bottom line is, it’s just going to take little bit longer. However….blessed  are the flexible!

So, today you can see just about everything the new website design has. As of this post there are some links that need to be connected and some material that still has to be created. Those things will done as quickly as we can make them happen. Based on my Friday post, a dear friend sent me an email telling me how much he would enjoy spending this week being critical. Based on this post, that will need to wait for at least one more day. Then, give us all that feedback and reporting I asked for!

On this post you should be able to see the new rating system for posts on this website. Please take just a second as you read the posts to get well acquainted with the rating system. If you will use it, your feedback will help us continually make things better.

Comments from anywhere on the website should be a little easier than they have been. The comment program is new and it’s easier for readers. And by the way, that part is functional. You can start helping right now by commenting on this post or anything you see on the site.

Soli Deo Gloria! 

Website Re-Launch – Thanks!

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Thank you and starsThe website re-launch is scheduled for this weekend. More than one “Thank You” is in order. Some alerts are also in order.

Some downtime is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. Some readers/subscribers have let me know they do a week’s worth of blog reading on the weekends. If you are one of those, please be aware of the coming downtime. Let me express my thanks to you in advance for your understanding.

thank you smileyThanks is also in order for your prayers leading up to this scheduled makeover. I am absolutely positive we will have most everything in place by Sunday evening. I am also sure there may need to be some ‘tweaking’ next week. Again, thanks for your prayers and support. Please know ahead of time I am aware of the debt of thanks due to you in this makeover/relaunch.

ThanksAnother “alert” is the posts for next week. I’ll post some helpful things to help you take advantage of the new website. Some of these “how to” posts are meant to help you and that in turn helps us. A couple of things in particular are intended to help make the site more interactive. Let me express my thanks in advance for your feedback!!! If you find something that doesn’t work, or something that is confusing, or maybe something that looks like it got scrambled in the changeover process, please let us know. Put a comment on the blog page (they come to my email/iPhone), send an email, or make a call. The bottom line is we want to hear from you as soon as possible, as often as possible so we can make things as smooth as possible.

The next post — MONDAY, JULY 21 — on the new site! See you there.

Soli Deo Gloria! 

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Keith Burnett Ministries
P.O. Box 803
Scottsboro, AL 35768
(256) 244-5453
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