Pillar is working on getting a new logo to better reflect our purposes and ring in years 5-10 for us. To the right is the logo that I personally like the best. Follow the links below to see another 10 options… The goals with this logo are as follows… We want to freshen things up with an image that is able to stand alone black and white and doesn’t have a lot of detail… in a word, simple. The other goal is to reflect or passion to plant new churches. Please take a look at the following samples and let us know what you think in the comments section. All the logos were done by Matt Giedon at MWG Media Works – I highly recommend him if you are in search of a designer for web or print.

Sample 1
Sample 2
Sample 3
Sample 4
Sample 5
Sample 6
Sample 7
Sample 8
Sample 9
Sample 10

Below are a few resources for husband’s and dads who are hoping to do a better job at spiritual leadership in the home. The first two are from Resurgence. Happy learning!

Pastor Dad Book - Print and Read

Family Guide for Dinner Study - 1 Peter pages 68-186

Circle of Man Worksheet

In preparation for our upcoming sermons series “Man of the House” I have been thinking about the pastoral nature of the husband’s role in the home… The church almost never teaches on this subject and many varieties of Christian men exist within our churches. I have made a list of 50 christian men I have known from childhood to present (myself included). I dropped each of them into one of four categories that best described them.

• The Slug – is an easy going guy who doesn’t generally rock the boat. He doesn’t lead his family but is content to be led by his family. He has realized that following is far easier than leading so he lays low and hopes for the best. He is sometimes considered a good father/husband by others because he is involved in a lot of activities with his family. The passive man is found in both lazy and hard working versions. His wife tends to be the disciplinarian, the bookkeeper and the pacesetter on spiritual matters. On occasion he attempts to lead but surrenders quickly in exchange for peace.
• The Bear - throws his weight around in the house. His wife wonders if she is  his helper or his servant. The bear spends a lot of time at work and tends to keep every professional commitment while often sacrificing family commitments. His time away from work is dedicated to hobbies and media. When questioned, the bear generally responds with anger. He rarely says “thank you” or “I Love You”. The bear sees himself as a spiritual leader because he makes sure that his family is involved in spiritual activities such as church and mealtime prayers yet his family rarely observes any authentic spiritual devotion.
• The Ant – his good deeds and religious piety monopolize his life leaving no room for his ministry in the home. He cannot devote mental or physical energy to his wife and children without believing that he is robbing it from God. The ant is sure to make significant progress in his ministry but will achieve it at the cost of his family.
• The Dog – is able to be both strong and loving. He can lead the family and love the family. His spiritual devotion is interwoven with his devotion to his wife and children. He sacrifices himself in order to provide for them and protect them. He is chiefly concerned about how his actions will effect the spiritual climate of his household. He sees his wife and children as a flock that he is to shepherd and protect and lead. He embraces his role as a leader without lording over his family.  The dog sets the pace on matters of faith and direction yet is always a servant to them.

No.. I will not put the list of men in this blog… nor will I share the details of my observation… What I will say is that more than 1/2 of the Christian men I know best from childhood until present are not the spiritual leaders of their home that they should be. Here is how my little subjective experiment shook out:

• Slugs – 12
• Bears – 6
• Ants – 9
• Dogs – 22

So Christian men…. take a few minutes and place yourself in the category that best describes you.

Here are a few excerpts from emails I have received this week that really excite me about what God is stirring at Pillar…

“I enjoyed bible study last week, I took to heart what you said and have changed the way I pray.”

“The response I received today from the church just proves that God is at work in their [members at pillar] lives and they have a desire to see Christ preached to the lost.  I don’t believe I have ever come across a church that has a desire for God’s Word, personal discipleship, and evangelism the way Pillar does.  My family and I feel very honored to be apart of all that’s going here.”

“I like to think of myself as spiritual and through prayer I realized that it was a church that I was missing.  I’ve been searching for about a year for a church that has everything I’m looking for and was about to give up hope until the day I attended Pillar.  All this time and it was right under my nose!  I really like what I’ve seen and heard from my daughters Sunday School lessons to the message taught each week to the incredibly warm fellowship that I’ve witnessed.”

“Thank You for bringing Coffee with a Cause to Locust Grove! Quite honestly being in the coffee “house” is like a little piece of heaven…sipping strong coffee, listening to PER, greeted by friendly Christians…it doesn’t get much better than this. I already feel like it is a place I can go when I need to seek physical and spiritual refuge and remind myself that God is the bottom line of EVERYTHING! Thank You and God bless all of you and the new church! YAY!”

This Sunday @ Pillar we begin a new series called, Man of the Hosue. I’ll be preaching to men for the next 5 weeks. We are exploring the importance for Christian men to embrace their God given role of spiritual headship in the home. We are asking the men of our church to do five things during the course of the series.

• Mealtime devotions with family
• Attend a Saturday morning accountability breakfast.
• Read booklet, “Pastor Dad” by Mark Driscoll
• Pray daily with kids & spouse.
• Serve communion to families on Sunday morning.

I’m getting ready to drop in on the Garmans for a few days  to catch up on the ministry in Iceland we started back in 2006. The Garman family is serving faithfully there and I am hoping to learn a little about loving Jesus by spending a few days with some real missionaries. This trip is going to be extra special because I have the privileged of traveling with my favorite 5 year old, Ruthe. Ruthe was 3 when we lived in Iceland and remembers very little of our time there but has agreed to accompany me on the trip in order to give the Garman girls a few days of love. If the technical gods are with us the Garmans will be joining Pillar Church (Via Satellite) this Sunday morning… so be there or be square. Please pray for the Garmans and the people of Iceland. The winter months are historically a difficult time for Icelanders with nearly 24 hrs of darkness and frigid temperatures. This year should be especially depressing given the collapse of the Icelandic economy earlier this year. You can read about the Garman’s and there adventures in Reykjavik HERE. If you love the Garman’s and want to send something with me make their winter a bit warmer please feel free to contact me sometime between now and thanksgiving or use the comments section of this post to write them a message.

About 3 months ago my life got very crowed. Jennifer learned she was having some pregnancy complications and was placed on bed rest, our church decided to partner with one of our church plants to open a coffee shop, I began an internship with the illustrious Mark Dever… add that to the fact that summer is the busiest time of year for our church and we found ourselves right in the middle the perfect storm of chaos.

This week it feels as if some glimpse of Normalcy has returned… the baby is healthy, the coffee shop is finished, the internship is going fine and church has settled a bit. So… I return, like an ashamed child to the blogosphere… all  my normal readers have written me off … I get it… but here I go again. Proving just how dirty Clint is.

I will beging with a pictorial introduction of two new births… Coffee With A Cause and Moses Owen Clifton.

My wife and I are expecting our fourth child (Moses) in October. A month ago the pregnancy took an unexpected turn and things have been a bit volotle for the past several weeks. Both Jennifer and Moses are doing fine but after two stints in the hospital and a “bed rest” order from the doctor my schedule has been dramatically adjusted. Please keep our family in prayer until Moses safely arrives.

During this time I also started an internship at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in DC. As you know CHBC is stacked with great leadership. Twice a year these guys bring in 6 interns from various parts of the world and load them up with sound ecclesiology and then let them loose. Dr. Dever is allowing me to participate in the internship reading and discussion this semester and the leadership at Pillar has given me extra time to focus on my studies with CHBC. Over the semester I hope to post some of the things I am learning here for you to benefit from also. If you are interested in learning more about the CHBC internship you can check out the CHBC website HERE or see that Owen Strachan includes the internship atop his list of “exceptional pastoral ministry internships” HERE

1. This week was great at Pillar. Great crowd and got to share what the Lord is up to in Bali..
2. One of our friends there got us some updated photos of progress on the house.
3. My family bought a mini-van four months after ours died along the capital beltway.
4. The fund raising for our Coffee With A Cause project is going well, we are at 30%. Learn more HERE
5. My wife got a zany photo shoot idea…
6. I have been preparing for my internship with Dr. Mark Dever… it starts in less than a month!
7. Today my kids got to sit inside a NASCAR race car and crank it up! Good times.

I have created a tab above where I will display videos we have made for our ministry here in Virginia as well as projects in Indonesia and Iceland. Hope you enjoy. The tab above is marked, “Films”.

I know, I know… sorry.

Ok… a ton of stuff has happened since we last spoke. Let me give you a quick run down of what has happened (since I was too lazy to post it all as it happend).

5/15 – Jen and I went on a long overdue date and we had a great time. I have noticed with our last several dates we tend to do things that we do all the time, just without kids – I think we are turning into old people.

5/17 – Visited the Warren Tribe – Wow…  this amazing family, the Warrens. They have been coming to Pillar Church for the past few weeks… these guys are amazing. They have adopted 5 kids from Ethiopia and have three biological. – She home schools all of them, the are polite, and smart…  we spent three hours at their house with 11 kids and zero drama! The warrens make Jon & Kate look like beginners.

5/18-19 – Went to the innovate conference in Lynchburg. I went with low expectations and was pleasantly surprised. Francis Chan hit it out of the park.. WATCH IT

5/21 – My brother in law, Jonathan, who is serving in Iraq sent me EVERY book off of my Amazon Wish List… That is love.

5/22-23 – Went camping with some great friends along the banks of the Rappahannock this is the 4th year in a row we have done this trip – Good times.

5/24 – Pillage Softball Game – Well, we have been planning this for a while but we challenged Image Church to a game of softball after church – They showed up in their matching jerseys with $300 bat’s and a month of practice under their belt… – We didn’t have any of that stuff… we just prayed that the Lord would deliver us from our enemies. We won 13-12. SEE SOME PICS

5/26 – Learned that my friend Mark Stratton was killed by a suicide bomber while serving in Afghanistan. Mark left behind three kids and wife. Mark was an outstanding Christian, a loving father and husband and a patriot. I had the honor of writing a song for his funeral. Read the words HERE

5/26 – Had THIS surgery… ouch.

5/31 – Took my boys camping with some friends from Church..

6/6 – Got to officiate a wedding for some great friends Phillip & Elisabeth. They are going to manage Coffee With A Cause when it opens in October… These guys love Jesus and have committed their lives to His service. I cant wait to see what God does with them.

Ok.. now I’m up to date… Next week I head back to Indonesia.. to continue our work there.

Many of you have asked about Coffee With A Cause… I promise more info is coming soon, Stay tuned.

This year at Pillar we have allowed the kids to choose Bible stories and dramatize them for the congregation. This week they are putting on a ten minute deal called, “David’s Giant Faith” by the time they put on the production the kids have memorized and entire chapter of the Bible. This is a little video of the kids after dress rehearsal on Friday.

We don’t currently post our sermon audio but I wanted to pass along our Easter service for those who have expressed interest. I mentioned what a great celebration it was HERE.

Well I just have to let everyone know that Our Easter was outstanding at Pillar Church… We had the highest attendance ever at Pillar on Sunday morning, our band did an outstanding job and Jesus was the undisputed hero of the day.

I started the sermon on Sunday by pounding an 8 inch galvanized nail into a 12 foot cross. My point was to get everyones attention. I’m not really sure how well it worked but, as the guy pounding the nail, it sure got my attention. Easter this year also marked the 4 year anniversary for Pillar Church. I can honestly say that I am more excited today about the things that are happening at Pillar Church than I was just after our launch service. Tomorrow I am expecting an update on the “land deal” mentioned in previous posts. Ill be sure to let you know how that Goes. I’m taking a little break with my family this week, headed to a state park for some R&R. Have a great week.

People often say to me, “Your not like other pastors.” Honestly, I’m not quite sure how to take this… I think it’s a compliment. But I’m not exactly sure it is given that way. I think what people are trying to say is they think I should dress like that guy >>>> or they are saying,  “you portray yourself like a regular guy, not like a man of the cloth“

Here is the reason that I take it as a compliment:

So the goal is to “Equip the saints for the work of the ministry (Eph 4:2).” I think if a pastor the people who make up his congregation to do the “work of the ministry” he has to de-professionalize himself. Here’s what I mean… The pastor should function so that the people who benefit from his ministry honestly believe that they can bestow the same ministry on others. This guy has to constantly be removing himself from the position of “minister” and inserting others there.

I don’t mean that the pastor/elder should live exactly the same lifestyle as the people in his church. In fact, his life should be noticeably distinct. He should be the guy who is living holy, advocating for righteousness and humbly walking with Jesus… but he should also be inviting other to join him in his distinction.

• When a father comes to you with a young boy who wishes to make Jesus his Lord you have a chance to blur the line. Ask the father to explain the Gospel to his son… When this son believes, further blur the line by having the father baptize his son.
• When your gone to a conference, preaching at another church or just on vacation… fight the temptation to  hire in your pulpit supply. Bring up a guy who has never preached. Make sure it’s a guy who loves Jesus and will study hard. Read his sermon before you leave, help him prepare… but let him preach.

You guys “of the cloth”… what are some of the ways that you have blured the line between shephard and sheep and how have you seen that work out?

Here is our promo for Easter.  I’d love to hear your thoughts. This has not yet been proof read so please let me know if you see any grammatical errors.  Thanks!

]]> http://dirtyclint.com/2009/02/23/whos-kingdom-will-grow/ Mon, 23 Feb 2009 21:36:34 +0000 clintclifton http://dirtyclint.com/2009/02/23/whos-kingdom-will-grow/

About a year ago Image Church relocated about a mile away from our current meeting location.. Now.. I know some pastors have a tendency to get bent out of shape about stuff like that but we have been really excited to see another church move into the community.

I remember about 8 years ago when I went into a community to start a new church. I set up a meeting with a local pastor to explain that God had called me there to join him in reaching his community with the Gospel of Christ. The guy was borderline hostile! He tried everything he could to convince us that we had missed God’s call and encourage us to go to another community!?! It was obvious that this guy was not interested in the growth the Kingdom of God in his community but was very interested in the Growth of his kingdom… He saw a new church as a threat to the “Success” of his church. I suppose this action grieves the heart of God.

The more I get to know Image Church and their pastor, Chris Rhodenhizer, The more thankful I am that God sent them to Dumfries. This week Chris came to Pillar, met some of the people that make up Pillar Church and shared from God’s Word. He did a great job and compelled us all to Listen closely to God.

My son (who is 7) is planning a fundraiser to benefit the orphans of Bali, the Indonesian Island where we have been working. Below are the details. If you are a Northern Virginia resident please make plans to attend.

What: Costume Party & Contest
When: Saturday, March 14th, 2009 @ 11:30am
Where: SBC (2202 Jefferson Davis Hwy Stafford VA 22554)
Who: Everyone is invited!
Why: To help the orphans of Bali, Indonesia

Kids Helping Kids is a special way that the kids at Pillar Church plan to help the orphans in Bali, Indonesia. We are having a Pizza & Costume party! Come dressed in your favorite costume, have a yummy lunch and help the orphans in Bali. For more info call 703-508-9985

Costume Contest Entry Fee – $2.00
Slice of yummy Pizza – $ 2.00
Can of Soda – $1.00

Other items will be for sale at the party so bring your piggy bank!

All of the money we raise will with go us on our next trip to Bali. We will use the money to buy food, shelter and clothes for the orphans of Bali.

Don’t forget to invite a friend!

One of my goals over the next five years is to see our church send out 20 church planters a year. I am quickly realizing that we will never reach this goal if we don’t settle on some foundational beliefs about how we will plant new churches. With that said, I have been drafting some of our core beliefs about church planting. Take a look over the first three and give some feedback.. Good, bad or ugly… I can take it.

Theology Trumps Methodology

We believe that too much training in methodology and not enough training in theology is detrimental to the church planter.  We operate with a fundamental belief that the more theologically grounded we are the better planters we are. This is not to say that methodology does not play a role in church planting but that the best church planting methodology flows from Biblical theology.

Churches Plant Churches

We think that the local church is the means by which God will expand His kingdom. Parachurch organizations are tremendous resources for the church planter and should be utilized to the extent that they are helpful. These organizations should never replace the local church as central authority in the church planting process.

Overgrowth is Undergrowth

Fidelity to Christ is the Goal of the church, not growth. We seek to plant churches that view the luring work of the Holy Spirit as the only hope for church growth. Additionally, it is best that a steady stream of equipped saints are dispersing from every local church to spread the gospel to places where Christ is not yet known.

Tomorrow morning is our state of the church address. This is the update video we will show to celebrate all that has happened.

So I’m reading a book for school that taught about the Law of Seven Touches.. The book states, “the church that contacts the most people, the most times will have the most growth”… This sounds like marketing 101 to me and makes me want to run for the hills… However, we are having the “back door” problem I mentioned a few posts ago. So, I have decided to take the advice of my evangelism professor and implement the Law of seven touches and see how it goes.

Touch #1- Advertisement or personal invitation to church (Before Sunday)
Touch #2- First Time Guests Booklet given at Church (Sunday)
Touch #3- Follow Up Form Letter from the Pastor delivered to home. (Sent Monday) (attached for your review’s and suggestions)
Touch #4- Bread Delivery (Mid-week)
Touch #5- Weekly Church Email (Thursday)
Touch #6- Phone call from the Pastor (Thursday)
Touch #7- Postcard to the home saying – Hope to see you back this Sunday (Sent Wednesday to arrive Friday)

Click on the pic to see a draft of our visitor letter. Feedback welcome!

I know that many are wondering about the “Big Ask”. Although I can’t yet divulge the details, I can say that our church asked for several acres of property from an unnamed organization. We have been meeting in a school for the past four years and have committed to focus our resources on church planting here and abroad. We located a property in the center of our community that we believe would provide permanence to our migrant congregation and serve as a hub for church planting. The “unnamed organization” accepted our request and very optimistically promised to join us in researching the possibility. Over the next several weeks we will be researching the cost of construction. Please join us as seek God’s will in this matter.

I heard Ben Arment talk about “The Big Ask” one time…. The big ask is when you ask for something that you have no right to ask for from someone who has no obligation to give it to you.  Tomorrow I will make the biggest ask since the day I asked my father in Law to give his daughter to me. I’m feeling a little like this right now.

At Pillar Church we have a bit of a back door issue. What I mean is, the vast majority of those who visit Pillar Church never return. For example, in 2008 we only retained around 20% of those who visited. This is up slightly from 15% in 2007. In an attempt to close the door we have created a good follow up system, improved our Sunday morning environment, enhanced our childrens ministry and started a youth group. We got better coffee and placed smiling greeters at the door. Still, our back door is standing open.

I have created an anonymous survey that is emailed to those who attended only once then didn’t return for a month. Hopefully this will help us to understand why our door is floppin’ in the wind. Take a look at it and feel free to comment your thoughts. I ask that you refrain from actually taking the survey (unless you are one of the people who visited and chose not to return) this will help us keep our results pure.

Pillar Church Exit Survey

I’m teaching through the book of James right now and he makes this comment about rich people…

Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. James 1:9-11

So it begs the question?? Am I a rich man?

When we think of the rich, we generally think of as those who live in mansions, have butlers and spread Grey Poupon on their lunch meat. But don’t be deceived; in a world where 10 million children die each year from hunger and malnutrition, we are very rich men.

There are actually two answers to this question. Both place the majority of American citizens squarely in the affirmative. First, every American is a rich man. A 2006 Panorama study published by The Nielsen Company says that approximately 90% Americans claim to own at least one automobile. This is compared to 8% auto ownership worldwide. Additionally, two-thirds of American homes built today have a two-car garage. The majority of those garages are insufficient to park the number of automobiles owned by those who live in the home. By anyone’s standards, Americans are among the richest, most prosperous humans that have ever inhabited planet Earth. In this right, as Americans, we must consider ourselves in the category of the “rich”. So when James warns the rich man in verse 10, he warns the American. The American Christian would be foolish to flippantly dismiss himself from the James’ warning.

Second, even by American standards most of us are considered middle and upper class. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services publishes its annual poverty guidelines. In 2008 the U.S. government proposed the following as standards of poverty for all Americans.

Family Size    Poverty Line
1    10,400
2    14,000
3    17,600
4    22,200
5    24,800
6    28,400
7    32,000
8    35,600