TCT Roundtable Discussion: Pastoring Well in Uncertain Times

TCT Roundtable Discussion: Pastoring Well in Uncertain Times

• 00:00: Introductions

• 07:30: Keeping Our Eyes Fixed on Jesus in the Midst of COVID19: Meditations from Hebrews 12:1-2 by Jordan Thomas

• 23:06: Resources available for shepherding well at tctnetwork.org

• 24:58: Q&A across the regions on practical ways to shepherd well

  • 26:25: Are you continuing to preach through your current sermon series or have you placed your current book or series on pause and started something new in this time?

  • 28:19: Are you live streaming only the sermon or the whole service? Are you administering the Lord’s Supper over live stream, and if so, how?

  • 32:04: Video conferencing vs live streaming services

  • 33:33: Ways to strategically offer soul care; plans in place regionally

  • 44:44: Ideas for evangelism or Easter Service

  • 50:55: Has Shelter-in-Place changed your ability to live stream?

  • 53:08: Weddings and Funerals

  • 56:34: Where are you meeting for Counseling conversations?

  • 58:27: Further thoughts on “repeated weddings” at a later time

  • 1:02:57: Feeding the homeless

Additional Resources

Tools for Live Streaming Counseling, Small Groups or Corporate Gatherings

You have likely heard about instances of “Zoom-bombing” or hijacking Zoom meetings occurring to such a frequency that the FBI has gotten involved. The danger is largely related to how Zoom is being used more so than the security of the software itself. If your church is sharing your meeting links publicly such as on a website, then you will need to take a greater level of precaution and apply meeting controls which will eliminate the ability of attendees to share their screen or take control of the meeting. If you are keeping your meetings private to small gatherings, less precaution is required.

See here for an informative article written April 1, 2020 by Mike Snider at USA Today. We have copied tips from the article for using Zoom at the bottom of this resource page as well.

How to Livestream Your Sermon this Sunday Webinar hosted by Send Network. Download the slides to the webinar here.

Christ Redeemer Church Sample Livestream Instructions to Congregation

Want personalized help setting up a Zoom account for your TCT church? Contact our Director of Operations, and he will share insights from TCT’s use of video conferencing over the past five years and also help you setup your own account.

How to Livestream Your Church Service: A Practical Guide by Phil Thompson, TheGospelCoalition.org

These brief video tutorials will help you understand how to use Zoom, a reliable, affordable video conferencing software.

How To Join a Meeting (the download portion will only be required the very first time you use Zoom)

How to Use Zoom

Tips to control your Zoom meetings¹

• Don't make meetings or classes public. You can require participants to use a password, or the meeting manager can make participants first appear in the waiting room and be admitted individually.

• Invite with care. Do not share links to your meeting on social media. Email or text them directly to participants.

• Limit screen sharing. Hosts can prevent others from posting video by changing the screen sharing options to “Host Only.”

• Lock the door. You can close your meeting to newcomers once everyone has arrived. Hosts can click the Participants tab at the bottom of the Zoom window to get a pop-up menu, then choose the Lock Meeting option.

• Use your silencer features. You can disable video for participants and mute an individual or all attendees.

• Cut out the chatter. The host can disable the ability to text chat during the session to prevent the delivery of unwanted messages.

• Boot the uninvited. Hosts can remove a participant by putting the mouse over that name and choosing the Remove option. Allen says you can block people from rejoining meetings if they were removed.

• Preparation. Make sure participants have the latest version of Zoom's software, which was updated in January. That update added meeting passwords by default and disabled a feature allowing users to randomly scan for meetings to join.

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¹ Snider, Mike. “Zoom Issues: People Hijacking Streams, Possible Security Flaws.” USA Today, April 1, 2020. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2020/04/01/zoom-demand-zooms-but-problems-coronavirus-drives-stay-home-video-chats-zoom-has-issues-beyond-deman/5102150002/.

Additional Resources

3 Things to Remember When You're Feeling Anxious

3 Things to Remember When You're Feeling Anxious

Author: David Powlison, Crossway.org

Additional Resources

How Can I Avoid the Temptation to Isolate Myself in Suffering?

How can I avoid the temptation to isolate myself in suffering? answered by Director of Counseling Ministries Cecelia Bernhardt at CCEF.

Additional Resources

2019 P&W Retreat: Joy in Loss

Treasuring Christ Together Network
Pastors and Wives Retreat 2019
Kenny Stokes: Joy in Loss

Additional Sessions

2018 P&W Retreat: The Glory of God in Listening

The Glory of God in Listening | Kenny Stokes

CCEF Counseling Mini-Books

Mini-Books: A Ministry Tool

A series of small books dealing with a variety of counseling topics from OCD and Self Harm to Depression and Addiction. Written by a variety of authors and intended to aid in ministry settings. 

When People are Big and God Is Small

When People Are Big and God Is Small: Overcoming Peer Pressure, Codependency, and the Fear of Man

Overly concerned about what people think of you? Welch uncovers the spiritual dimension of people-pleasing and points the way through a true knowledge of God, ourselves, and others.

Author: Edward T. Welch

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Purchase online at CCEF

Relationships: A Mess Worth Making

Impossible? Idealistic? Not really. In Relationships: A Mess Worth Making, Tim Lane and Paul David Tripp show you how God does it, and how it can happen for you. They help you tackle the stubborn problems that plague many close relationships. They show you the deeper issues that drive our reactions, choices, and behaviors. And they show you how God steps in to help you build relationships that are all he intended them to be.

Authors: Timothy S. Lane and Paul David Tripp

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Buy online at CCEF

How People Change

What does it take for lasting change to take root in your life? If you've ever tried, failed, and wondered why, you need How People Change. This book explains the biblical pattern for change in a clear, practical way you can apply to the challenges of daily life. But change involves more than a biblical formula: you will see how God is at work to make you the person you were created to be. That powerful, loving, redemptive relationship is at the heart of all positive change you experience.

Authors: Timothy S. Lane and Paul David Tripp

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But online at Amazon

Suffering and the Sovereignty of God

In Suffering and the Sovereignty of God, contributors John Piper, Joni Eareckson Tada, Steve Saint, Carl Ellis, David Powlison, Dustin Shramek, and Mark Talbot explore the many categories of God's sovereignty as evidenced in his word. They urge readers to look to Christ, even in suffering, to find the greatest confidence, deepest comfort, and sweetest fellowship they have ever known.

Authors: John Piper and Justin Taylor

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Purchase or download at DesiringGod

Preparing for Marriage by John Piper

John Piper wants to help you faithfully walk the road to becoming husband and wife. Here you’ll find his counsel on practical topics like engagement, wedding planning, finances, and sex. But most importantly, John shares his single most important word on marriage: a vision grander than many of us have ever dared to dream, about what God is doing in every Christian marriage.

Author: John Piper

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Download or purchase at DesiringGod