Intersect

This is the second episode of three in a series called, "God-sized and Jesus Oriented Goals." In it, Matt brings his message from Kyiv, Ukraine. He starts with a brief update about his time in Kyiv so far, and then offers several reasons why, and how we avoid setting God-sized and Jesus oriented goals in the church. At the end of the episode, Matt offers several practical steps local pastors and churches can take to help prepare their church to set healing and righteous goals that fit within the powerful mission of God in the world. In the final episode of the series, Matt will teach about how to set clear, concise, and focused goals which help lead the church forward.

This week, Matt visited and interviewed Father Yuriy Kozlovsky, PhD., at Ukrainian (Greek) Catholic University, in Lviv (https://ucu.edu.ua/en/). In this episode, Father Yuriy and Matt talk about the history of the university, its understand of their local martyrs, and how their faith community has always worked to bless the marginalized in their society. Having roots in the 1920's, the seminary which eventually became a university, was pushed underground during the Soviet era, and now continues to educate, inspire, and train the next generation of Ukrainian leaders. All of this takes place on the land which the USSR once held its most western military base, poised to attack key locations in Europe. Father Yuriy celebrates God's victory: a location that was made for war was transformed by God into a institution that works for peace, develops faith, and educates students. In his own words, you will hear how Father Yuriy is motivated by his students and desires to help them be the future leaders of a stronger and healthier Ukraine.

This is the first episode of 3 in the series "God-sized and Jesus Oriented Goals." In this episode, Matt compares two churches with contrasting approaches to ministry. The first church has a wonderful institution with a beautiful building and amazing music. The second isn't as shiny and "professional." Which would you want to come alongside? Wait...the second has a growing and inspiring ministry to the most volunerable in their city. Now, which moves your heart the most? While we can celebrate a strong institution, we are looking for God-sized and Jesus oriented goals which are the heartbeat of every congregation. So, what is your next step? At the end Matt offers some actions steps, and claims ownership for not having a critical mass of churches who embrace big ministry goals, yet. In chapter 2, Matt will explore why we do not set God-sized and Jesus oriented goals, and in chapter 3, Matt will offer a process to help every church set their God-sized and Jesus oriented goals for healing, wholeness, and salvation.

Every church deserves at least three forms of leadership in this era. In this episode, Matt challenges all churches to find ways to put the leadership they need in place:   1. Organizational leadership who helps the church focus on its mission  2. Pastoral leadership whose primary goal is equipping the church for the work of ministry  3. Local mission leadership who walks with the church to meet human and spirit need by developing mission funnels/pipelines   Churches can build these leadership categories through church partnerships, or piecemeal.    To get started, write Matt!   matt@mvpresby.org  matt@intersectpodcast.org Watch this episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/0sB5In0CJw0

Some key things on the horizon!   1. We have our first Leadership Summit on February 11. The conversation will be lead by elder Jennifer Crow! She is amazing. Jennifer and Ben George helped design the conversations. Kudos to them:) The day is open to anyone who has a heart for God's mission in the world, and moving the church forward. Several people from outside our system will be there. To learn more or signup, visit: https://mvpresby.org/leadership-summit/ ; if you can not sign up on line, just send me an email.   2. Terri Bate is our new Director of Mission Development, her job is to raise funds so that we can call, train, and send local mission partners (missionaries) to work with churches around eastern Ohio. The mission partners will help churches engage and love their communities and emphasize both physical and spiritual care.  To connect with Terri, save her contact information: https://linqapp.com/terri_bate    3. We firmly believe that every church deserves 3 forms of leaders in this day: a) organizational leaders who can align the work of the church to the mission of God, b) pastoral leaders whose central focus is to equip others, and c) local mission leaders who help congregations love their local communities. One way we do this is through church partnerships. We have one partnership established and are excited that we have 2 others in progress. We are always looking for ways get these forms of leadership in every church, Presbyterian or not.   4. If you are new to our podcasts, there are a few great podcasts to nourish you and get you up to speed. You can listen through a web browser, or app on your phone.    The most recent is “Birthing Jesus,” in is a recap of a Christmas sermon I gave at Reedurban Presbyterian Church during Advent: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0SV7lwJc577beJe8aj4UFo?si=jH_4Jn4_TTKY7hTSd9HFdA This message is gentle and encouraging while it calls the church to birth Jesus in the world;    The second is called “Ministry Pipelines” with Pastor Mike Smith, and is focused on how to reach the masses, serve a subsets, and welcome as many as possible into a Christian community. https://anchor.fm/matt-skolnik/episodes/What-are-your-3-ministry-pipe-lines-e1qcijt/a-a8qoh88  5. We have changed contact information in the past year, and we are trying to stay in touch better. To save Matt's contact information, follow the link below, and click “save contact,” then “download contact.” Terri's contact information works the same way.  https://linqapp.com/matthew_j_skolnik  We want to do better at staying in church.  As elders, please sign up for our emails, so you can be up to speed on the exciting things that are going on around the presbytery. Currently, there is a sign up box at the top of our webpage https://mvpresby.org 6.  Finally, we are in a mode of equipping. We have a wonderful training that is designed to help individuals build skills and comfort with praying out loud with and for others. To learn more see: https://mvpresby.org/prayer-lab/ You are welcome to join one of the upcoming Prayer Labs, or work with Matt to schedule one in your area.    Thanks for everything! Much love, Matt

In this episode, Matt reviews a message he delivered on Sunday, December 11 at Reedurban Presbyterian Church. There, Matt preached on Luke 1, Mary's Song, and encourages the church to consider how we are called to birth Jesus in our time and location. This message is short, but it is encouraging and powerful. In addition, Matt asks churches to invite him to walk with them so that he can help them birth Jesus in their local towns, cities, and regions.

In this episode Matt and Chip touch base on two recent articles that they published about moving the church beyond an inward focus on Word and Sacrament. Then they wrestle with the 6 goals of the Presbyterian Church, explore how people may turn each inward, and how we can think of each in ways that help us focus on sharing God’s love in the world. It’s time to rethink Calvin’s definition of “true church," by Matt Skolnik Word and sacrament as a springboard, by Chip Hardwick

Matt interviews Courtney Brown from Habitat for Humanity.  Courtney brings knowledge, passion, and love for God’s people. She is all about building homes and communities, not just houses. And she wants as many people as possible to be involved. For Courtney, Habitat for Humanity is not just about swinging hammers. Anyone can get involved.  All of this points to the reality that from Courtney's perspective, Habitat for Humanity is all about building God’s Kingdom, and this Kingdom is a community. And, in fact, the need for community the does not end when people settle into their homes. Courtney shares in this interview, that as we live in a post Christian world and people do not go to church as much as they use to, people get use to be surrounded by Christian community durning builds, but when the build is over, they still desire Christian community that has moved on to the next home. Does anyone see an opportunity??!?!?!  To find out how you and your church can help build Christian community, write: matt@intersectpodcast.org www.intersectpodcast.org

In this episode, Matt interviews Mike Smith, pastor of John Knox Presbyterian Church. Mike's church is growing in faith and numbers for many reasons. One of them is that Mike teaches his community to love the masses and individuals. But their church is also growing because Mike is intentionally about reaching out into their local community. As part of this conversation, Matt asks Mike about his experience in the insurance business and how some of the skills he developed there are helpful in ministry. Together, Mike and Matt explore what it is like to provide easy stepping stones for people to slowly become vital members of the Body of Christ, the church. Matt calls these series of pathways Ministry Funnels or Ministry Pipe Lines. Mike, from the insurance world, calls them leads. For help developing 3 Ministry Pipelines or Ministry Funnels, write Matt at matt@intersectpodcast.org. To help train, commission, and send the next generation of Christian leaders, give at www.intersectpodcast.org.

Linda Leon is the Director or Spiritual Formation at Malone University, and has been in college ministry for 30 years! Don't worry Linda! You are eternally 25:) Linda is a strong pastor who loves her students. Impressively, Linda starts her ministry plan from scratch every 5 years with yearly detailed evaluations. When was the last time you wrote a ministry plan for your church or ministry from scratch?!?!?! Maybe never... Just as importantly, do you have a ministry funnel or pipeline that lets people outside of your church get to know you? Then do you have a plan to serve them, love them, and welcome them into a Christian community? Can you create a ministry pipeline for college age students? Of course you can! To learn more from Linda, or to develop a series of ministry pipelines with Matt, write: matt@intersectpodcast.org

In this episode, Matt visits his home church who brought him to faith as a teenager. During his visit, Matt preached on Mark 1, which outlines 5 specific actions and ministries of Jesus from his early ministry. These ministries are important in every era, but are all the more needed today. These actions of ministry are the building blocks and the basic call of the church. Is your church struggling? Maybe it is because we are not following Jesus in these specific ways. This sermon is only an introduction to each of these 5 specific ministries. In future editions, Matt will discuss each of these 5 ministry activities with others. If you would like Matt to come to your church, or a group of churches to teach about how you can more fully live into these ministries, write: matt@intersectpodcast.org If you want to help train, commission, and send the three key types of leaders who help these ministries unfolded, please give at www.intersectpodcast.org.

This episode bears witness to the hope we have in a new age of ministry. Matt interviews Kathryn Ophardt just before she is ordained as a pastor. Together, they review her early call to ministry, her journey of faith through college, her ministry of accompaniment in Mexico City, and her call to serve on a gift based ministry team who walks alongside three churches.

In this edition, Matt interviews Pastor Tom Roepke. Tom lives and serves in Richland and Ashland counties in Ohio. Together, Tom and Matt unfold the nature of ministering with men who are incarcerated, and how the church often does not know how to speak and work with men. There is also a brief discussion about what it means to develop a ministry flow that reaches the crowds and helps people funnel themselves into being a vibrant part of a congregation. To help fund the training, commissioning, and sending of the next generation of Christian leaders, please visit www.intersectpodcast.org.  To contact Matt, write: matt@intersectpodcast.org

Domestic Violence is a difficult and painful issue. Unfortunately it is all too common. This is an important episode. It may be your first introduction, or you may have personal experience. In either case, know that the statistics of domestic violence are staggering, and there is a great intersection point between God, the world, and the church at this issue. At least there should be. To learn a little bit, get inspired, or fund the training and commissioning of leaders like Lisa, take your time, and listen. Then act. Lead a study, invite Lisa to speak, donate. Pray. What ever you do. Act. When we proclaim the Kingdom of God is near, we proclaim it's healing, salvation, and deliverance. The National Domestic Violence Hotline  1−800−799−7233 https://www.thehotline.org/ To help Lisa grow a ministry, donate at www.intersectpodcast.org For statistics: https://www.socialsolutions.com/blog/domestic-violence-statistics/

Unfortunately, denominational and non-denominational churches have at least 1700 years of history to overcome. Some how we have been taught that the essences of Christian life is a weekly worship service. The good news is that God is remaking the church. To understand where we are going, we must understand our current struggles at the moment. In this episode, Matt interviews a local elder who knows all to well the stress the modern church is experiencing. Thank you to all the people like Jim out there who are growing, helping hold the church together, and who are open to deep personal and communal change. To add your voice to the conversation, reach out to Matt at matt@intersectpodcast.org.  To donate to the training and commissioning of the next generation of church leaders, please visit www.intersectpodcast.org.

Matt has a lively conversation with Tabitha Williams. Together they talk about how she helps pastor a ministry who reaches out to more than 100 kids in a small Ohio town every week. In this episode, Matt also highlights the importance of always having an easy next step for people to take on their faith journey.

In this episode, Matt interviews Bert Smith. Together they talk about how Bert shares his dog Allie in a local school. Allie is trained to sit and be a healthy presence to two students at a time as they read to her.  We also learn that Bert shares Allie's love with senior citizens who are home bound. Bert and Allie got involved in this ministry by the invitation of two 6th grade girls and through www.petpartners.org. In addition, after the interview Matt speaks to three groups of people at the end of the podcast. Here, Matt encourages individuals to find their unique way to share Christ's love in the world. Matt also invites people who are already sharing Jesus' love in the world to try be trained and commissioned by MVP to be mission partners who help local congregations strategically build relationships in their communities. Finally, Matt invites people to help fund these mission partners. To give, please visit, www.intersectpodcast.org. If you want to connect to Matt, you can write: matt@intersectpodcast.org 

This is a quiet devotional format. It can be used to help inspire, and form our hearts and minds to serve God at the intersections of life.

Matt interviews Rev. Dr. Juliann Joy, pastor of Central Presbyterian, in Massillon, OH. The interview not only celebrates her new ministry, it also begins to explore Jules’ field of study, which provides a pathway of conversations between sciences and theologies. We also celebrate how Dr. Joy sees ministry unfolding in her new city. She references “Redeeming Fear” by Jason C. Whitehead.  In addition, if you want to learn more about the basics of “Flipping Your Lid” see Dan Siegel, the guru.  To support the in-place training and commissioning of the next generation of church leaders, please visit: www.intersectpodcast.org