Video Transcript: Seven Connections Ministry Model

Pastoring the traditional biblical model, and as we think about that, at Christian leaders Institute, you've, if your round here very much, you've heard of the seven connections, and what those seven connections are basically, you know, we relate to God in a talking, listening, repeated relationship. And we believe, you know, talking is prayer to God, listening is that Bible peace, repeatedly as these habits of doing that, and we also talk in in that discipleship mode about that you think about those habits of talking, listening, repeatedly, interacting with seven connections. Seven areas of connection and the First connection is, Personally, the next connection is in Marriage. The next connection is in Family. The next connection is in a Small groups of friends. The next connection is with at the Church level, the worship service. The next connection is the Kingdom level, where you know, what's talking and listening to repeatedly at the kingdom level? 

Well, in some ways, that's what CLI is about. It's, it's talking about talking about a relationship with God, so that you as a pastor know how to relate to God, and how to minister to others who are relating to God. And then in connection six, what do other professors what do other people say? What do books say? What does the church of Christ say for 2000 years? That's connection, six, and then there's connection seven. And that's the connection for Evangelism, reaching people. 

Now, when you're a pasture, you'll find that all of your activity goes in one of those connections. That's right. And you're going to be dealing with a lot of situations. Now as I read through this. Try to in your mind, ask yourself, What connection? Do these situations fit in? Depression?

You are at connection, one, you know, drug addiction, that's the one connection. Sexual struggles. Well, that's a connection two issue. It could be a marriage, it could even be at a friendship or a Association, one other person level that would be the connection to you and one other person, you appreciate at another person. 

Sin Well, you know, if you look at San Diego, there's a fair some of sexuality, call marriages, changing marriages, those were all in that connection two that sexual sin. struggles, on slot issues, that's the connection, one parent child breakdown. pastors have stuff like that. Well, that's connection three, grief counseling. That could be connection one, two or three, you could be ministering to people personally. There could be a family grieving. There could even be a church grieving that could be a connection five connection four small groups and connection five, suicide threats or suicide. The connection one conflict of that could be all over the map bitterness. Often we think of that as a connection, one issue. There are going to be tough questions that as a pastor, you will be asked about ethical, political, ooh! political, that almost feels like the big Kingdom Connection, six issues. There will be personal God's Will decisions. There will be medical issues, permission issues, where people will want to do something, and they're cannot do it. Until they talk to the pastor. There's career counseling. There's a man plan for a young man who's wondering what to do a woman plan for a young woman their spiritual direction. As you look at these various things, you'll see your ministry effectiveness comes in a whole range of things. So I'm just gonna pick a few more out, like the parent children relationship, you're gonna find that so often as a pastor, you're gonna find grief issues, you're gonna find courtship issues. Now, macro and micro issues such as, okay, people come to church, believers are connecting together, and they're looking for partners and mates. And as a pastor, you're going to be connecting people, but you're going to connecting people in that understanding of balance, that everything works together, there is people come to your church with having previous church issues, you know, they got frustrated, they, they often come back and now you're gonna be ministering through some of these things, there's going to be bitterness is that you don't even know what people bring to the table when they come to your church. You know, I often joke at pastors conferences, and various wouldn't be neat,  if someone comes to your church, they get a questionnaire, and they fill out all their bitternesses that they've had in the past, whether it's from family or whether previous churches or if they had gone, or whether it's previous work relationships, or previous relationships, just to know where the lay mind is, as you're ministering to people. So the church and ministry class, we're going to be dealing with a lot of issues relating to the whole tapestry of human existence. As people believers come in, and many times seekers who are not believers yet, one of the sections in this class was is just simply about giving a gospel presentation, how to minister how to bring someone into a walk with God.

A home discipleship community model, basically, a keeps addressing those seven connections. Those seven connections, where each connection has a god peace. If you're married, for instance, a Christian marriage has a praying in a Bible in a directing from the Lord side to it as well. If you have a family, there's those habits and patterns. That's a godly family, a covenantal. Family, if you will, if you have friends, you associate with believers like they did in the book of Acts.

You're in your worship service in worship service, what is the worship service, the worship service is just a more complicated form of talking and listening, all the worship songs, you know, many of them are very much vertical, their prayers, some of them, God is speaking. So there's like a scripture passage. That's the song and then we are encouraged that we a sermon is really speaking from God's Word, you see the dialogue, even in the Kingdom connection, connection, six, you see the discussions about talking and listening as fundamental and how we think of Theology in think of the world.

In connection, seven, Evangelism, you know, there, the whole wide world is out there, and we are to be a missional church, a reaching church for people who do not know God. So, in this home discipleship, so to speak, model, essentially what is all about is as we walk with God, and help others walk with God, we as a pastor, lead a community and build a culture of people who walk with God, who are the body of Christ, and we are called to be leaders in that body.

So a home discipleship model looks at this at our steps to see ourselves honestly, in the light of scripture in all of the connections. It's about biblical love. You know, it says in first 1 Corinthians 13, " if I have tons and I have knowledge, I have everything. But I have that love, I have nothing".

In this model. The church as a community is a place of accountability and encouragement. That is a balanced community. It's a community that basically relates to each other. In giving you some a practical example of why this is very important. You know, a lot of people are like sort of going down a direction of saying, Okay, if I have a relationship with God, in connection one personally, why do I need church?

Or if I have, my husband, or my wife and I, my husband and I relate to God, why do I need to relate to anybody else, or maybe we have our family, and we do our family devotions, and I really don't have to engage with the other believers. 

That is not biblical. The Bible is about the body of Christ is the church. And the church is for every man, woman and child who names the name of Jesus. And as we relate to God, we relate in all of these connections. And it's important that we keep these connections in good balance. You know, in recently in the American in the international church scene, you'll see a lot of these balances. And I'll give you an example of unbalanceness or something that's not balanced, you'll see like, the church is about the worshiping community that, this church service that happens on Sunday, so everything is about that. But then the home life is not supported. Now, what happens is the home becomes out of balance, then or the church becomes out of balance, they become out of balance in different ways. And if that happens, you'll find people will look at churches sort of entertaining and be spectators, but they will not be players in their personal life, their marriage, their family. So as a pastor, we're looking for that balance. You know, I love those balance passages in the Bible. And there are many. Later on, in another class, that you may be taken here about how to play the church, and maybe not, but I'll give you a little insight from that class. It talks about how a Elder Deacon must be sincere, balanced, not too much wine, not empliate the idea, there is balance in Ecclesiastes 7, do not be over righteous, neither be over wise, Why destroy yourself, do not be over wicked. Do not be a fool, why died before your time it is good to grasp the one and not let go the other, the man of fears God avoids all extremes. And thou in the Church of God too, the seven connections, in balance, as a pastor are kind of a good way to sort of see really the operating system of your church ministry.

You know, I'm going to conclude by just throwing out some various terms here. And again, this is just for you to sort of be introduced to the seven connections, those relational connections, and think about how we have words that already sort of talk this, talk about this, I'm going to make up a few words just for fun. Well, we've had person hood, that's connection one. We could also have single hood, that's somebody who's not married and as a pastor, you're in the minister to people who are single, or marriage hood, that's not a word. But if you're married, you're in that state, and you need ministry, not only as a person, but also in marriage. How about husband hood or wife hood? That's right. As a pastor, you will many times speak a word to a husband, and how to be a better husband before the face of God, or, or more supportive and better wife before the face of God. There's friendship, you know, friendship hood, I can probably add that word How to Be a friend, like a friend is talked about in the book of Proverbs. There's fatherhood that isn't word and motherhood. And that's that connection. Three words, notice these words are in those connections. There's childhood, if, you know, how do we encourage people within our congregation in that role of childhood?

Here's some other ones. How about church member hood? That's right. If someone attends your church, where are those expectations? Where are those things that make going to a church encouraging and supportive in someone's life? Now in a church, you need leaders, so leader hood or follower hood? What makes a good church member? Someone who, who is just there who's following the program, not divisive, not going against leader? What about a leader how to how to servant leaders serve in the church. What are the roles How does it function? Kingdom hood? That's right. You know, a lot of in a sense, a lot of times a sermon is a combination of connections five sort of like you're preaching to a church, but also you're you're preaching from knowledge of Theology, and maybe you read a book, and you're bringing in the kingdom of God, God's Kingdom, the talking about talking and listening repeatedly, so to speak, you're bringing it to that the church level, you're bringing it to friends, you're sharing it one on one, Kingdom hood. And then last witness hood, or Evangelism, or the world hood, you know, what about missions, all of these things are connections that function in a church. So when we talk about the church and ministry class, we are going to function within the grid of the seven connections, and you'll find everything you do has everything to do with that balance. If all of a sudden you pick one area, let's say the worship service and make it everything, and you forget the roles that people play within your church, that can be very dangerous, and you could put things out of balance. So as we are looking in this next church and ministry class, we're gonna have this as our operating system. It's the same operating system that you've learned about if you take in the Evangelism and discipleship class. It's the operating system is very, very historic. These words and these concepts and these roles are all over the Bible. They're everywhere in the Bible, and you can place most stories and most encouragement in one of these seven connections. And these connections always we're in this beautiful balance, this balance that serves God and that serves one another. So welcome to the church and ministry class. I trust that you are going to have a great year