What is effectiveness?

A leader has nothing to do except to decide what is to be done; to tell somebody to do it; to listen to reasons why it should not be done, why it should be done by someone else, or why it should be done in a different way; to follow up to see if the thing has been done; to discover that it has not; to inquire why; to listen to excuses from the person who should have done it; to follow up again to see if it has been done, only to discover it has been done incorrectly; to point out how it should have been done; to conclude that as long as it has been done, it may as well be left where it is; to wonder if it is not time to remove the person who cannot do a thing right; to reflect that they have a busy schedule with work, kids, sports and homework, and that certainly any successor would be just as bad, or maybe worse; to consider how much simpler and better the thing would have been done if you had done it yourself in the first place; to reflect sadly that you could have done it right in twenty minutes, and, as things turned out, you have to spend two days to find out why it has taken three weeks for somebody else to do it wrong.'

How effective are you?

A leader has people who follow. The true measure of leadership is influence. The problem with popular thinking is that you do not have to think for yourself. Popularity is not leadership but results are. When what you are and what you do is consistent the result is clear. When what you are and what you do is inconsistent the result is unclear. When what you are and what you do is the same the result is security. When what you are and what you do is not the same the result is insecurity. (Romans 10:10) "For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." Effectiveness comes when the lips of your mouth speak the same thing as the lips of your heart.

There are two types of people: Those who bring the result and those who bring a reason why they could not bring a result. Those who bring results rarely bring reasons and those who bring reasons rarely bring results.

* He reached rock bottom and then started to dig

* I have him a penny for his thoughts and still got change

* Works well under supervision and cornered like a rat

* The gates were down, the lights were flashing but there was not train

* Some drink from the fountain of experience but most gargle

Effectiveness

Gaining relevance by doing the right thing. There are many things that can be done but the effective person looks for the right thing to do. Paul wrote to the Corinthian church about being effective in Ephesus. (1 Corinthians 16:8-9) "But I will stay on in Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me." Ephesus had been closed to the Gospel. Demetrius the silversmith had the door to his store open selling images of Artimis worshipping the goddess Diana. The theater doors were open displaying all that is sinful. But an opportune door for effectiveness had not been open until now. But like the vision of the 'man' from Macedonia where Paul found a group of women washing clothes by the river, the door in Ephesus was open but the context looked like it was tightly shut up. Demetrius stood as a union representative in his trade of idols seizing Gaius and Aristarchus who traveled with Paul. (Acts 19:29) "Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul's traveling companions from Macedonia, and rushed as one man into the theater." A door of opportunity looked like a lynch mob. (Acts 19:32) "The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there." God was calling Paul to be effective in that context. Effectiveness is doing the right thing and gaining relevance. It is not popular thinking or popularity but result.

The city of Ephesus

It had 300 000 people with no high-rise buildings making the temple dedicated to the goddess Diana prominent. People had worshipped there for 513 years before Paul's effective door had opened. Diana represented all creation with a body of gold, silver, ebony and black stone covered in breasts. Her name meant 'female butcher.' Her influence was over all things agricultural, fertility and whether patterns. The people believed she had fallen from the sky. Trade and commerce prospered because of her like tourist trinkets. There was a high priest with his priests and a high priestess with her priests who prostituted themselves at night in the city for temple profits. People sold books on the black arts, incantations rolled up in silk bags and images of Diana in every home and school.

What did Paul have to work with?

He found in the city just twelve people who had believed John the Baptists message. (Acts 19:2) "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?' They answered, 'No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit." Paul has a small group of conservative Christians. (v6) "When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them…" The first goal of effective ministry is not money, talent, ability, scheduling, managing, administration or training but the baptism of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 18:24-26) "Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately." Your ministry may be accurate like Apollos but it is not adequate to be effective. This is why a man of instruction needed to be instructed in the Holy Spirit. Accuracy does not change anything but simple adequacy in the Holy Spirit changes everything. (Acts 19:17-20) "When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power."

That is a powerful result. God spoke to Paul about being effective. Incantations, books on the black arts and idols were stacked high in the open street and burned. In current terms the physical evidence of change amounted to $24 million.

Halloween and Ephesus

The word 'pagan' must be understood to grasp the history. To be pagan was to be anything except Christian, Judaism or Muslim. It is belief in many gods like the ancient empires of Greece, Rome, Persia or Babylonia. To be pagan is hedonistic or seeking pleasure and self-gratification. It is a religion in itself and not atheist. Halloween has its roots in paganism and pre-dates Christianity. It was a festival of the Druids and witches of Paganism to usher in the New Year beginning on October 31st by lighting bonfires and offering sacrifices ending the summer season entering into a dark winter season. All fires for cooking over were extinguished and embers of November 1st from the bonfires relit the fire at home for cooking. It was when the invisible door of the spiritual world was opened to the natural world. In 1700's Pope Gregory 3rd moved All Saints Day to November 1st making October 31st All Hallows Eve claiming it for Christianity. Hallow means to 'sanctify.' But changing its name does not make a thing holy. Some of the symbols and colors we see come from paganism. Orange was the Druid bonfire and black was the night. Food was placed outside the home to feed the spirits and prevent them from be mischievous. This became the jack-o-lantern to ward them off. When Pope Gregory 3rd made Halloween All Hallows Eve the poor would come and ask for a food treat or they too would be mischievous where 'trick or treat' comes from.

1. Complete freedom to observe it with all it entails

2. Run away and hide from it as though it is not happening

3. Boycott it like a Harry Potter movie

4. Celebrate it by alternative means seeing an effective door standing open Harvest party (Matthew 9:38) "…Lord of the harvest…"

Opportunity

* 30 cars in the parking lot for 'trunk or treat.' Trunk filled with candy and decorated. No costumes or decoration that depicts death, evil, witches, etc.

* 300lbs candy in the lobby

* 6:00pm - 7:30pm

* Free entrance

* Food and drink for sale

* Games all over the church

* Biggest bouncy house the supplier has in stock

(1 Corinthians 16:8) "…a great door for effective work has opened to me…"

Other opportunities

* November worship conference

* November 19th Thanksgiving service

* Christmas decorations

* December 15th Christmas dinner / birthday

* December 23rd carol singing

* December 24th Carol service