Today was “Transition Sunday.” It is the brainchild of the United Methodist Church, North Georgia Conference, Office of Connectional Ministries. Try fitting that on a business card. This year, I am transitioning from being pastor of one UMC to being the pastor of another UMC in North Georgia. We UMC pastors are appointed yearly by our Bishop. Theoretically we could move every year, but practically most stay at least 3 to 5 years and sometimes longer.
As best I understand it, the idea of “Transition Sunday” is so that the moving pastor can have a one or two Sunday break moving from one place to the next. The benefit to the church is that they don’t experience emotional whiplash going from one Sunday of saying goodbye to saying hello just seven days later and all the potlucks and/or receptions that come with each occasion.
While my church didn’t seem wild about the idea of me having my final Sunday a week early, I mentioned that it would be a nice gift to me and the plans were set. I spent my free Sunday attending 9:45am worship at one of the other churches in my new community and also checking out the 11am “parking lot attendance” at a few other churches in town as well as my new church.
The day was one of the most impactful learning experiences in my eight years of ministry. We arrived at the 9:45am worship service about 15 minutes early and tried to figure out where to enter. Since it was a contemporary service, I figured maybe the service would be near the most modern-looking entrance. Of course, a regular visitor wouldn‘t think this way, which turned out not to matter since I was wrong. As I entered with my 11-year old son, a woman was setting up some snacks in the hall. I asked where the contemporary service was and she started to give me directions. I was excited when she decided to take me down the hall. Then she blew it. She only got me down one hallway before pointing me the rest of the way. Guess those cheese puffs couldn’t wait. Of course, it wasn’t as easy to find as she made it sound. You see, we had entered the building on the complete opposite end of where we needed to go. As we wandered, we passed the front of the Sanctuary where the early service was still going on. Fortunately I am a Pastor and I knew that wasn’t where we wanted to go. If I had been a less-churched visitor, the volunteer’s mistake of sending me on my own could have resulted in me walking into the very front altar area while the early traditional service was going on!
We finally found our worship service, although only because I knew what we were looking for. I spent 5 minutes at the information table looking at and taking every brochure they had. No one was there to greet me or assist me. No one noticed that I was very interested in what the church had to offer. We entered the service and sat down. People were talking with each other and seemed happy. In the five minutes before the service started, in a very small room with only about 40 happy people at the time, not one person greeted this man and his son. In the “greeting” time during the service, no one seated around us recognized us as new and only one lady asked our names.
I loved the atmosphere, the décor, the music and the sermon. This is a winning formula for those that are already there. They’ve got to find some way to be more visitor-friendly. We left during the singing of the last song so they didn’t have a chance to impress us after the service. Of course if I was a regular prospect, my mind was probably already made up. I left wondering if the lack of greeters and attention is by design, some seeker-sensitive thing?
We found our way back to the car by exiting out the first exterior door we found and walking around the building and we were off to our next church for the 11am service. We were running late and we pulled up to a crowded parking lot outside a very traditional Baptist church. I was somewhat surprised because the website looked all modern and contemporary. I once again had no idea where to enter. I figured the front Sanctuary doors were probably the place, but a small sign that read “Welcome Center entrance” pointed me a different direction. I never found another sign that continued those directions. As we drove through the crowded parking lot, we decided not to attend. I was surprised how intimidating the traditional Sanctuary was with its closed, solid doors. Being late, I just wasn’t brave enough to park and enter. Did I mention that I AM A PASTOR!!!! If I am intimidated to enter, how must real, live un-churched folks feel?
The whole experience at these two churches has left me a little shell-shocked. As a Pastor that desires to reach de-churched and un-churched people far from God, what am I to do with this experience?
Here are a few thoughts:
(1)The importance of relational evangelism. There are not many un-churched, de-churched people brave enough to drive up to a church to visit on a Sunday. We feel comfortable in our churches and think it is no big deal for a visitor. I am more committed now to finding more off-campus ways to engage people and build relationships before bringing them onto campus.
(2)If they are brave enough to show up at our church, we have to do all in our power to make it an easier experience.
(3)When you invite someone, pick them up or meet them in the parking lot! As we used to say at Roswell UMC, “don’t give them a compass and a map and say good luck.”
(4)Greeters are needed inside the building and even more so outside in the parking lot.
(5)I have long told my greeters that I never want to see them point. Walk them there personally and connect them with another person. To do this and still keep stations covered means that you have to have several greeters in every location.
(6)Nice looking, correct and informative signage is a must everywhere.
(7)Real, live people in the pews need to be friendly...without being overbearing and nosey. It is an art, the art of hospitality. So many churches have gone to a seeker-sensitive policy that leaves people alone when they visit because in the past folks in the pews have attacked visitors with all sorts of personal questions. As I have said to my congregation, “first time visitors are just dating us, they aren’t ready to marry us just yet.”
I would highly recommend a similar experience for all pastors and lay people as well. Send your lay people out to another church once in a while to see how being a visitor feels. I had forgotten.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Book review: Treasure Principle
I recently had the opportunity to re-read the Randy Alcorn one-million-selling classic, The Treasure Principle: Unlocking the Secret of Joyful Giving. I was first introduced to this book about seven years ago when I was just beginning my pastoral ministry. It has been a foundation for my preaching on giving ever since.
The book’s appeal is its simplicity and brevity. The concepts are easy to understand and yet profound. The foundational principle (#1) is that “God owns everything.” Sounds simple, but how many Christians live with this conviction? It changes everything!
My next favorite principle (#6) is that “God prospers me not to raise my standard of living, but to raise my standard of giving.” What a powerful antidote to the bigger and better American Dream lifestyle.
I wish that the author would have made a better connection to the giver participating in God’s Kingdom work presently happening on earth, but I understand that that is probably not his theological focus/priority.
I would recommend this book as a launching pad for deeper and broader study on biblical giving.
I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.
The book’s appeal is its simplicity and brevity. The concepts are easy to understand and yet profound. The foundational principle (#1) is that “God owns everything.” Sounds simple, but how many Christians live with this conviction? It changes everything!
My next favorite principle (#6) is that “God prospers me not to raise my standard of living, but to raise my standard of giving.” What a powerful antidote to the bigger and better American Dream lifestyle.
I wish that the author would have made a better connection to the giver participating in God’s Kingdom work presently happening on earth, but I understand that that is probably not his theological focus/priority.
I would recommend this book as a launching pad for deeper and broader study on biblical giving.
I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Book Review: Radical Together
Radical Together: Unleashing the People of God for the Purpose of God by David Platt (This title will be released on April 19, 2011)
Back in the summer, I spent several days on my beach vacation devouring a new book written by a young pastor of a rather large Birmingham church. The book, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream, spoke to my heart and more importantly challenged me. The author and pastor, David Platt, argued that Christians have replaced what’s radical about our faith with what is comfortable. Platt not only challenged the American Dream, but the American Church, declaring that we’re settling for a Christianity that revolves around catering to ourselves when the central message of Christianity is actually about abandoning ourselves.
Platt is back with a follow-up, Radical Together: Unleashing the People of God for the Purpose of God. He advances his original concepts that were applied to the individual believer, now incorporating them into the community of faith.
Platt does some fine work on the topic of the “tyranny of the good” (Chapter 1). While this seems to be a popular topic these days, I thought Platt covered the idea more thoroughly than I’ve seen elsewhere. “Good can hinder the best….We must be willing to sacrifice good things in the church in order to experience the great things of God.” The author reminds us our mission is not religious activity, but rather making disciples. And Platt not only writes about this, but his church is acting upon this conviction. This is a must read chapter for all church leaders and hopefully it will nudge many churches to put everything on the examining table and ask, “Are these programs and activities the best way to spend our time, money, and energy for the spread of the gospel in our neighborhood and in all nations?”
Radical Together by David Platt (Chapter 1)
In Chapter 3, Platt reminds us that the purpose of God’s Word (the Bible) is not a handy advice book for our every question and need, but rather is meant to transform people “into the image of Christ and to get people in touch with the Holy Spirit of God.”
In Chapter 4, Platt encourages churches to unleash their people- “equip them, train them, support them, and set them free to use everything God has given to them to make his glory known through them in ways you could never design or imagine.” Church pastors/leaders/staff should spend more time mobilizing people rather than organizing programs. The church must be intentional about equipping members to make disciples.
The book is a fast and easy read. Reading the first book first is highly recommended as the two work best together.
(I received an advance copy of this book free to review from WaterBrook Multnomah)
Back in the summer, I spent several days on my beach vacation devouring a new book written by a young pastor of a rather large Birmingham church. The book, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream, spoke to my heart and more importantly challenged me. The author and pastor, David Platt, argued that Christians have replaced what’s radical about our faith with what is comfortable. Platt not only challenged the American Dream, but the American Church, declaring that we’re settling for a Christianity that revolves around catering to ourselves when the central message of Christianity is actually about abandoning ourselves.
Platt is back with a follow-up, Radical Together: Unleashing the People of God for the Purpose of God. He advances his original concepts that were applied to the individual believer, now incorporating them into the community of faith.
Platt does some fine work on the topic of the “tyranny of the good” (Chapter 1). While this seems to be a popular topic these days, I thought Platt covered the idea more thoroughly than I’ve seen elsewhere. “Good can hinder the best….We must be willing to sacrifice good things in the church in order to experience the great things of God.” The author reminds us our mission is not religious activity, but rather making disciples. And Platt not only writes about this, but his church is acting upon this conviction. This is a must read chapter for all church leaders and hopefully it will nudge many churches to put everything on the examining table and ask, “Are these programs and activities the best way to spend our time, money, and energy for the spread of the gospel in our neighborhood and in all nations?”
Radical Together by David Platt (Chapter 1)
In Chapter 3, Platt reminds us that the purpose of God’s Word (the Bible) is not a handy advice book for our every question and need, but rather is meant to transform people “into the image of Christ and to get people in touch with the Holy Spirit of God.”
In Chapter 4, Platt encourages churches to unleash their people- “equip them, train them, support them, and set them free to use everything God has given to them to make his glory known through them in ways you could never design or imagine.” Church pastors/leaders/staff should spend more time mobilizing people rather than organizing programs. The church must be intentional about equipping members to make disciples.
The book is a fast and easy read. Reading the first book first is highly recommended as the two work best together.
(I received an advance copy of this book free to review from WaterBrook Multnomah)
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Book Review: The Next Christians
The Next Christians: How a New Generation is Restoring the Faith by Gabe Lyons
Unless you’ve had your head in the sand for the last few years, you know all about the numerical decline in the Christian Church. My denomination has studied it just about every which way possible. We flail here and there trying to find the “answer” to reverse our downward trend. It has left denominational leaders, pastors and church members in a constant state of angst.
As a second career pastor who recently hit the big 4-0, some days I have to wonder if this is what I want to give the rest of my life to. But then I venture out into the world as the hands and feet of Christ and those institutional challenges seem to fade into the background. I see several church members serving “the least of these” and making a real difference and I almost forget the many that will never do anything more than show up a few Sundays a month. I see the transformation of a faithful few. I start to see the Kingdom slowly coming about on earth as it is in heaven and my angst over the survival of the institution no longer dominates my every thought.
Gabe Lyons new book, The Next Christians: How a New Generation is Restoring the Faith, gives voice to what many of us in the trenches of the modern church are discovering as the Spirit moves in new ways. We don’t have to fret because “Christian America” has died. Was it ever that great anyway? Is it possible that a refocused Church changes the world? Lyons gives a hopeful report from the frontlines.
Lyons is one of many modern authors to remind the Church of the comprehensive Gospel (creation, fall, redemption, restoration), a Gospel that doesn’t leave out the beginning or the end. The Gospel begins with humanity made in the image of God and finishes with humanity working towards restoration of that image. The Good News is more than just individual salvation from sin. We aren’t just saved from something, we are saved to something. Redemption is the beginning of our participation in God’s work of restoration in our lives and in the world.
One of the most valuable parts of the book is chapter three where Lyons groups modern Christians’ interaction with culture into three broad categories: Separatist, Cultural and Restorers. I think the groupings help Christians to look inward and see how we live out our faith in the world. Lyons says the Next Christians are Restorers. They envision the world as it was meant to be and they partner with God to work towards that vision. Restorers combine the best of both Separatists and Cultural Christians and add the new dynamic of restoration.
Most of the book covers the six characteristics that set apart the next Christians:
Provoked, not offended
Creators, not critics
Called, not employed
Grounded, not distracted
In community, not alone
Countercultural, not “relevant”
I highly recommend this book. It gave language to so much of what I am experiencing in my ministry as I try to answer God’s call to be about the work of the Kingdom in my community. I plan to use it with the leaders in my mainline, traditional church.
(I received this book free to review from WaterBrook Multnomah)
The Next Christians by Gabe Lyons (Chapter 1)
Unless you’ve had your head in the sand for the last few years, you know all about the numerical decline in the Christian Church. My denomination has studied it just about every which way possible. We flail here and there trying to find the “answer” to reverse our downward trend. It has left denominational leaders, pastors and church members in a constant state of angst.
As a second career pastor who recently hit the big 4-0, some days I have to wonder if this is what I want to give the rest of my life to. But then I venture out into the world as the hands and feet of Christ and those institutional challenges seem to fade into the background. I see several church members serving “the least of these” and making a real difference and I almost forget the many that will never do anything more than show up a few Sundays a month. I see the transformation of a faithful few. I start to see the Kingdom slowly coming about on earth as it is in heaven and my angst over the survival of the institution no longer dominates my every thought.
Gabe Lyons new book, The Next Christians: How a New Generation is Restoring the Faith, gives voice to what many of us in the trenches of the modern church are discovering as the Spirit moves in new ways. We don’t have to fret because “Christian America” has died. Was it ever that great anyway? Is it possible that a refocused Church changes the world? Lyons gives a hopeful report from the frontlines.
Lyons is one of many modern authors to remind the Church of the comprehensive Gospel (creation, fall, redemption, restoration), a Gospel that doesn’t leave out the beginning or the end. The Gospel begins with humanity made in the image of God and finishes with humanity working towards restoration of that image. The Good News is more than just individual salvation from sin. We aren’t just saved from something, we are saved to something. Redemption is the beginning of our participation in God’s work of restoration in our lives and in the world.
One of the most valuable parts of the book is chapter three where Lyons groups modern Christians’ interaction with culture into three broad categories: Separatist, Cultural and Restorers. I think the groupings help Christians to look inward and see how we live out our faith in the world. Lyons says the Next Christians are Restorers. They envision the world as it was meant to be and they partner with God to work towards that vision. Restorers combine the best of both Separatists and Cultural Christians and add the new dynamic of restoration.
Most of the book covers the six characteristics that set apart the next Christians:
Provoked, not offended
Creators, not critics
Called, not employed
Grounded, not distracted
In community, not alone
Countercultural, not “relevant”
I highly recommend this book. It gave language to so much of what I am experiencing in my ministry as I try to answer God’s call to be about the work of the Kingdom in my community. I plan to use it with the leaders in my mainline, traditional church.
(I received this book free to review from WaterBrook Multnomah)
The Next Christians by Gabe Lyons (Chapter 1)
Monday, January 24, 2011
The Outward/Externally-focused, Missional, Kingdom-focused, Church Movement
For the last five years, I have been a student of and a participant in the outward/externally-focused, missional, Kingdom-focused, church movement. Yes, a movement by many names.
As I see it, there are several activities happening as churches turn this direction. Here are the four main ones I see. Am I missing any?
1. Missional Communities
Exploding in several flavors and directions, most happening away from the traditional church. Tend to be small, home-based or restaurant-based groups. Tend to be different from traditional small groups by having service components or being evangelistically-focused to bring in new people and may contain worship elements.
Key Players:
Neil Cole is the lead speaker for “organic church.”
My preference is Hugh Halter and Matt Smay, authors of “Tangible Kingdom.” “TK Primer” offers help for existing churches to begin communities.
Alan Hirsch seems to be the theologian-in-residence for this movement.
2. Acts of Kindness / Servant Evangelism
Offers simple entry for existing churches turning outward or new churches starting up to become noticed in town. So simple that many long-time church members won’t see the value in it. Make sure the theology is well taught in advance. For hundreds of ideas, go here: http://www.servantevangelism.com/matrix/matrix.htm
Key Resources:
“Conspiracy of Kindness” by Steve Sjogren
“Servolution: Starting a Church Revolution through Serving” by Dino Rizzo
3. Community Service / Engagement
Working in the community food pantry/clothes closet, serving in schools…you get the idea. Unfortunately, this tends to be the stopping point for many churches.
Key Resources:
“Missional Renaissance: Changing the Scorecard for the Church” by Reggie McNeal
“The Externally Focused Church” by Rick Rusaw and Eric Swanson
4. Community Transformation
Really changing things in your town, bringing about the Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. Usually requires the entire Body of Christ working together which means collaboration amongst churches.
Key Resources:
“A New Kind of Big: How Churches of Any Size Can Partner to Transform Communities” by Chip Sweney
“To Transform a City” by Eric Swanson and Sam Williams
As I see it, there are several activities happening as churches turn this direction. Here are the four main ones I see. Am I missing any?
1. Missional Communities
Exploding in several flavors and directions, most happening away from the traditional church. Tend to be small, home-based or restaurant-based groups. Tend to be different from traditional small groups by having service components or being evangelistically-focused to bring in new people and may contain worship elements.
Key Players:
Neil Cole is the lead speaker for “organic church.”
My preference is Hugh Halter and Matt Smay, authors of “Tangible Kingdom.” “TK Primer” offers help for existing churches to begin communities.
Alan Hirsch seems to be the theologian-in-residence for this movement.
2. Acts of Kindness / Servant Evangelism
Offers simple entry for existing churches turning outward or new churches starting up to become noticed in town. So simple that many long-time church members won’t see the value in it. Make sure the theology is well taught in advance. For hundreds of ideas, go here: http://www.servantevangelism.com/matrix/matrix.htm
Key Resources:
“Conspiracy of Kindness” by Steve Sjogren
“Servolution: Starting a Church Revolution through Serving” by Dino Rizzo
3. Community Service / Engagement
Working in the community food pantry/clothes closet, serving in schools…you get the idea. Unfortunately, this tends to be the stopping point for many churches.
Key Resources:
“Missional Renaissance: Changing the Scorecard for the Church” by Reggie McNeal
“The Externally Focused Church” by Rick Rusaw and Eric Swanson
4. Community Transformation
Really changing things in your town, bringing about the Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. Usually requires the entire Body of Christ working together which means collaboration amongst churches.
Key Resources:
“A New Kind of Big: How Churches of Any Size Can Partner to Transform Communities” by Chip Sweney
“To Transform a City” by Eric Swanson and Sam Williams
Monday, January 10, 2011
Top Books I Read in 2010
The Hole in Our Gospel
By Richard Stearns
The Tangible Kingdom: Creating Incarnational Community
by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay
AND: The Gathered and Scattered Church
By Hugh Halter and Matt Smay
Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream
By David Platt
A Mile In My Shoes: Cultivating Compassion
by Trevor Hudson
Switch: How To Change Things When Change is Hard
By Chip Heath and Dan Heath
A New Kind of Big: How Churches of Any Size Can Partner to Transform Communities
by Chip Sweney
Change the World: Recovering the Message and Mission of Jesus
by Michael Slaughter
Transformation: Discipleship that Turns Lives, Churches, and the World Upside Down
by Bob Roberts Jr.
By Richard Stearns
The Tangible Kingdom: Creating Incarnational Community
by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay
AND: The Gathered and Scattered Church
By Hugh Halter and Matt Smay
Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream
By David Platt
A Mile In My Shoes: Cultivating Compassion
by Trevor Hudson
Switch: How To Change Things When Change is Hard
By Chip Heath and Dan Heath
A New Kind of Big: How Churches of Any Size Can Partner to Transform Communities
by Chip Sweney
Change the World: Recovering the Message and Mission of Jesus
by Michael Slaughter
Transformation: Discipleship that Turns Lives, Churches, and the World Upside Down
by Bob Roberts Jr.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Book notes: To Transform a City
To Transform a City
by Eric Swanson and Sam Williams
Reggie McNeal foreword
The missional church sees itself as the people of God (a who) already deployed across all the domains of culture. These life-place assignments have been made by a God who desires to plant the Incarnational presence of his Son everywhere.
Release the people of God (a who) to impact the world.
There is no reference in the NT to church as smaller than a city.
The scorecard can no longer be about how well our individuals congregations are doing. The condition of our communities is the scorecard on how well the church is doing at being the people of God.
Book
Called together a group of Christian leaders to fast every Thursday, then meet at his house at 7pm for a couple of hours of prayer followed by dinner at Denny’s.
Magic Bus tour of human service agencies in the city
We can partner with any organization that is morally positive and spiritually neutral.
Invited city leaders to lunch
Tell us what you do
Tell us your vision for a healthy city
Tell us 3 impossible things you need to accomplish that no person can do for them (we will pray for these)
p. 19 “Kingdom Assignment”
1. preach on parable of talents, handed out $100 to 110 people, asked them to multiply and give money to something God cares about.
2. preach on loving possessions. Challenged people to sell a treasure between Sept and Thanksgiving and bring proceeds to church for distribution
3. give 90 minutes over the next ninety days to serve the least of these (community service fair)
4. no church on a Sunday, instead serve. Celebration service in high school they worked in.
Personal letters of appreciation to teachers and staff
Way easier to catch a wave than make a wave. Catch wave of God’s movement and action.
God intends every one of his children to be living on mission, partnering with him in his redemptive mission in the world.
What if… the church showed the world an alternative story of a truly transformed life, infused with kingdom values lived out through missional actions?
Christian leaders, unable to motivate their church members to follow God’s precepts, still vocally demand that secular society live by them. How can we expect (or in some cases demand) others to adopt the values and ethics of Christians when we as Christ followers so easily flout them?
Ben Ecklu, Campus Crusade West Africa says, “If Christians are sixty to seventy percent of the population of Ghana, then we must own sixty to seventy percent of our country’s problems. If just the Christians did things differently…the city would change drastically.”
We can serve the city, love the city, and bless the city- but only God has the power to transform the city.
The critical mass to transform a community begins with just one person who is yielded to the Spirit of God.
Transformation comes through proclamation and demonstration of the gospel, both a verbal message and a lifestyle of love and compassion, good news and good deeds.
A minister of God’s grace to the community.
If we want to be Jesus’ followers then it may be a good first step to meditate and reflect on the passage that captured his heart- Isaiah 61.
We don’t serve to convert, but we serve because we are converted.
The most fertile ground for evangelistic conversations is a servant-rich environment.
Ron Sider- “Our social concern dare not be a gimmick designed to bribe people to become Christians. Social action has its own independent validity. We do it because the Creator wants everyone to enjoy the good creation. At the same time, when our genuine compassion also has an evangelistic dimension, we rejoice. Again and again, that is exactly what happens when we truly care for the needy and stand with the oppressed who seek justice.”
Leadership teams play a catalytic role instead of sponsoring and owning ministries. A catalytic leadership role in the community.
Churches- what can we accomplish together that we could not do alone?
We must never lose sight of the fact that we are kingdom workers, not just community volunteers.
Amazing story (p.66-68) of El Salvador becoming significantly more Christian, but the nation becoming worse off. “We settled for conversion rather than transformation.”
Jim Herrington – “The hope of the world is the church, not necessarily the local congregation.”
by Eric Swanson and Sam Williams
Reggie McNeal foreword
The missional church sees itself as the people of God (a who) already deployed across all the domains of culture. These life-place assignments have been made by a God who desires to plant the Incarnational presence of his Son everywhere.
Release the people of God (a who) to impact the world.
There is no reference in the NT to church as smaller than a city.
The scorecard can no longer be about how well our individuals congregations are doing. The condition of our communities is the scorecard on how well the church is doing at being the people of God.
Book
Called together a group of Christian leaders to fast every Thursday, then meet at his house at 7pm for a couple of hours of prayer followed by dinner at Denny’s.
Magic Bus tour of human service agencies in the city
We can partner with any organization that is morally positive and spiritually neutral.
Invited city leaders to lunch
Tell us what you do
Tell us your vision for a healthy city
Tell us 3 impossible things you need to accomplish that no person can do for them (we will pray for these)
p. 19 “Kingdom Assignment”
1. preach on parable of talents, handed out $100 to 110 people, asked them to multiply and give money to something God cares about.
2. preach on loving possessions. Challenged people to sell a treasure between Sept and Thanksgiving and bring proceeds to church for distribution
3. give 90 minutes over the next ninety days to serve the least of these (community service fair)
4. no church on a Sunday, instead serve. Celebration service in high school they worked in.
Personal letters of appreciation to teachers and staff
Way easier to catch a wave than make a wave. Catch wave of God’s movement and action.
God intends every one of his children to be living on mission, partnering with him in his redemptive mission in the world.
What if… the church showed the world an alternative story of a truly transformed life, infused with kingdom values lived out through missional actions?
Christian leaders, unable to motivate their church members to follow God’s precepts, still vocally demand that secular society live by them. How can we expect (or in some cases demand) others to adopt the values and ethics of Christians when we as Christ followers so easily flout them?
Ben Ecklu, Campus Crusade West Africa says, “If Christians are sixty to seventy percent of the population of Ghana, then we must own sixty to seventy percent of our country’s problems. If just the Christians did things differently…the city would change drastically.”
We can serve the city, love the city, and bless the city- but only God has the power to transform the city.
The critical mass to transform a community begins with just one person who is yielded to the Spirit of God.
Transformation comes through proclamation and demonstration of the gospel, both a verbal message and a lifestyle of love and compassion, good news and good deeds.
A minister of God’s grace to the community.
If we want to be Jesus’ followers then it may be a good first step to meditate and reflect on the passage that captured his heart- Isaiah 61.
We don’t serve to convert, but we serve because we are converted.
The most fertile ground for evangelistic conversations is a servant-rich environment.
Ron Sider- “Our social concern dare not be a gimmick designed to bribe people to become Christians. Social action has its own independent validity. We do it because the Creator wants everyone to enjoy the good creation. At the same time, when our genuine compassion also has an evangelistic dimension, we rejoice. Again and again, that is exactly what happens when we truly care for the needy and stand with the oppressed who seek justice.”
Leadership teams play a catalytic role instead of sponsoring and owning ministries. A catalytic leadership role in the community.
Churches- what can we accomplish together that we could not do alone?
We must never lose sight of the fact that we are kingdom workers, not just community volunteers.
Amazing story (p.66-68) of El Salvador becoming significantly more Christian, but the nation becoming worse off. “We settled for conversion rather than transformation.”
Jim Herrington – “The hope of the world is the church, not necessarily the local congregation.”
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Book review: A New Kind of Big
A New Kind of Big: How Churches of Any Size Can Partner to Transform Communities by Chip Sweney (Baker Books, 2011)
In my final year of seminary (Fall 2005), I wrote a paper on collaboration amongst churches and particularly why so little actually happened. In my research, people told me I needed to talk to a man that was making it happen in Atlanta, Chip Sweney of Unite! Since writing that paper, I’ve had the opportunity to become a part of Unite! and it has changed my ministry and my church forever.
A New Kind of Big tells the story of how churches, large and small, have come together to achieve what they can’t on their own- community transformation. The book is an easy, quick read with real-world examples and stories. Whether a pastor or lay leader in a small or large church, this book will lead you forward in the Kingdom task that our Lord has given us.
Sweney contends that the local church has responsibility for the welfare of its community and leads churches step-by-step through the process of becoming a catalyst for community transformation. Sweney paints the vision for churches coming together as the Body to accomplish a task too large for any one church- taking a city from floundering to flourishing.
I gained four key revelations or reminders reading the book:
1. The emphasis on partnerships. So often a church wants to start and run a ministry by itself. Sweney advocates for the power of working alongside the experts already in the trenches, organizations that know the needs more intimately and have already strategized effective ways to help. It’s important to point out that churches shouldn’t just dump money and ask for an update every so often. Instead, churches should find a lay champion and engage its people in the ministry.
2. Real ministry is done through relationships: relationships with those in our community, relationships with other churches’ leaders, relationships with partners, relationships with the people we serve.
3. The Kingdom call to become an externally-focused church of influence in our city.
4. The concept of “Channels of Cultural Influence” (Chapter 10) – These eight channels- education, health care, business, art and entertainment, media, nonprofits, government, and law/justice- are the playing field for our Kingdom work. By leveraging the members of our churches who are already living and working in these channels, we can increasingly reflect the characteristics of the kingdom of God throughout society and that is when true community transformation takes off.
In my final year of seminary (Fall 2005), I wrote a paper on collaboration amongst churches and particularly why so little actually happened. In my research, people told me I needed to talk to a man that was making it happen in Atlanta, Chip Sweney of Unite! Since writing that paper, I’ve had the opportunity to become a part of Unite! and it has changed my ministry and my church forever.
A New Kind of Big tells the story of how churches, large and small, have come together to achieve what they can’t on their own- community transformation. The book is an easy, quick read with real-world examples and stories. Whether a pastor or lay leader in a small or large church, this book will lead you forward in the Kingdom task that our Lord has given us.
Sweney contends that the local church has responsibility for the welfare of its community and leads churches step-by-step through the process of becoming a catalyst for community transformation. Sweney paints the vision for churches coming together as the Body to accomplish a task too large for any one church- taking a city from floundering to flourishing.
I gained four key revelations or reminders reading the book:
1. The emphasis on partnerships. So often a church wants to start and run a ministry by itself. Sweney advocates for the power of working alongside the experts already in the trenches, organizations that know the needs more intimately and have already strategized effective ways to help. It’s important to point out that churches shouldn’t just dump money and ask for an update every so often. Instead, churches should find a lay champion and engage its people in the ministry.
2. Real ministry is done through relationships: relationships with those in our community, relationships with other churches’ leaders, relationships with partners, relationships with the people we serve.
3. The Kingdom call to become an externally-focused church of influence in our city.
4. The concept of “Channels of Cultural Influence” (Chapter 10) – These eight channels- education, health care, business, art and entertainment, media, nonprofits, government, and law/justice- are the playing field for our Kingdom work. By leveraging the members of our churches who are already living and working in these channels, we can increasingly reflect the characteristics of the kingdom of God throughout society and that is when true community transformation takes off.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
BLESS core values
At Austell First UMC, this is the grounding for who we are as a church, our vision for making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world:
Blessing our community is more than just loving our community. Through our actions, in cooperation with the Holy Spirit, we express God’s grace, the love of Christ.
Blessing involves God. Many citizens love and serve their community. Christians are the only ones that can bless their community.
BLESS core values
• God goes before us (prevenient grace)
• Generously BLESS others
• Servant hood (Jesus washing disciples feet)
Go to be a servant, not serve (we don’t take an agenda with us)
“When we serve others, we look strangely like God.” (Pastor Erwin McManus)
• Deliver radical love that amazes the world it touches (Randy Pope, Perimeter Church, Georgia)
• We want people to wonder why we are doing this.
Are church members living in such a way that they demonstrate something people far from God cannot live without? (Bill Easum) We want people to ask, “How can I get some of that. How can I be like that? How can I serve/love/bless like that?
• Being an asset to our community (they would be worse off without us)
□ Can you imagine the community being genuinely thankful for your church?
□ Can you imagine city leaders valuing your church’s friendship and participation in the community- even asking for it?
□ Can you imagine a large number of your church members actively engaged in, and passionate about,
community service, using their gifts and abilities in ways and at levels, they never thought possible?
□ Can you imagine the spiritual harvest that would naturally follow if all this were true?
(Pastor Robert Lewis, Fellowship Bible Church, Little Rock AR)
• A catalyst for community transformation (can’t do it all, but we can get it started)
• Bring healing to a hurting world
• Impact our city with the love of Christ
• Taking light into darkness
• The Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27) - the hands, feet, and heart of Christ in the world
• Reach the world for Christ by serving one person at a time
• Sharing God’s love in practical ways
• No strings attached. Blessing folks even if they will never set foot in our church.
• Blessings are gifts; they can’t be earned. Thus, we BLESS even those we may think don’t deserve it. Unreasonable grace.
1 Peter 3:9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing. You can give them back what they gave you. Or you can give them back what God gave you. (Steven Furtick)
• Move people one step closer to Christ. (SCALE)
• Leave the results to God. Trust God to take our efforts and do great work through them.
• God gets the credit
Matthew 5:16 Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
• BLESS is not what we do. It is who we are. Blessing is a lifestyle for Christians.
Blessing our community is more than just loving our community. Through our actions, in cooperation with the Holy Spirit, we express God’s grace, the love of Christ.
Blessing involves God. Many citizens love and serve their community. Christians are the only ones that can bless their community.
BLESS core values
• God goes before us (prevenient grace)
• Generously BLESS others
• Servant hood (Jesus washing disciples feet)
Go to be a servant, not serve (we don’t take an agenda with us)
“When we serve others, we look strangely like God.” (Pastor Erwin McManus)
• Deliver radical love that amazes the world it touches (Randy Pope, Perimeter Church, Georgia)
• We want people to wonder why we are doing this.
Are church members living in such a way that they demonstrate something people far from God cannot live without? (Bill Easum) We want people to ask, “How can I get some of that. How can I be like that? How can I serve/love/bless like that?
• Being an asset to our community (they would be worse off without us)
□ Can you imagine the community being genuinely thankful for your church?
□ Can you imagine city leaders valuing your church’s friendship and participation in the community- even asking for it?
□ Can you imagine a large number of your church members actively engaged in, and passionate about,
community service, using their gifts and abilities in ways and at levels, they never thought possible?
□ Can you imagine the spiritual harvest that would naturally follow if all this were true?
(Pastor Robert Lewis, Fellowship Bible Church, Little Rock AR)
• A catalyst for community transformation (can’t do it all, but we can get it started)
• Bring healing to a hurting world
• Impact our city with the love of Christ
• Taking light into darkness
• The Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27) - the hands, feet, and heart of Christ in the world
• Reach the world for Christ by serving one person at a time
• Sharing God’s love in practical ways
• No strings attached. Blessing folks even if they will never set foot in our church.
• Blessings are gifts; they can’t be earned. Thus, we BLESS even those we may think don’t deserve it. Unreasonable grace.
1 Peter 3:9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing. You can give them back what they gave you. Or you can give them back what God gave you. (Steven Furtick)
• Move people one step closer to Christ. (SCALE)
• Leave the results to God. Trust God to take our efforts and do great work through them.
• God gets the credit
Matthew 5:16 Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
• BLESS is not what we do. It is who we are. Blessing is a lifestyle for Christians.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Book Notes: Waking to God’s Dream
Waking to God’s Dream: Spiritual Leadership and Church Renewal (1999) by Dick Wills (now a UMC Bishop)
It is not what you are now that is important, but what God wants you to be and what you can be with faith.
A vision without a task is just a dream. A task without a vision is pure drudgery. When you combine a vision and a task it can become the hope of the world.
A vision is seeing not what is now, but what can be and will be in the future.
God put eyes in the front so that when we look backward, we get a stiff neck.
God selects one person to announce the vision on behalf of all the other people. God plants the vision secretly in the hearts of people. They cannot see the vision until the person God has chosen reveals it. Once the vision is announced, it must be confirmed by the people for whom the vision is given. God plants the vision secretly in the hearts of God’s people, even though they might not be aware of it. However, when it is announced, it wins acceptance from those committed to God because God has made it their vision, secretly, sometime before.
God is always ready to give a new vision when the old vision comes to maturity. Otherwise, the vision simply dies and perishes. Mainline denominations are declining because leaders have not been willing to listen to the God who is seeking to reproduce the vision for a new day.
I wanted to be a part of what God was blessing!
John Wesley was asked what could reasonably be expected of a Methodist preacher: “To reform the Nation and the Church and to spread scriptural holiness over the land.”
We had substituted meetings for ministry.
My weariness came from having left behind a daily walk with God, substituting in its place taking control and wanting to be successful in the eyes of others.
Went to South Africa- I began to wonder how these people, living under such difficult and violent conditions could have such joy?
Joy comes from walking with God and is not dependent on external circumstances.
An openness to begin the journey of choosing to be part of what God wanted to bless rather than my trying to get God to bless what I was doing.
So I began to pray each day for God to help me and my church be part of what God wanted to bless.
God blesses obedience. I understand obedience as choosing to seek and discern the will of God as a follower of Jesus. Obedience is to choose daily to give my life to God.
Belonging to my church for many people was like belonging to a club rather than to the church of Jesus Christ. Seldom did I sense people yearning for the things of God. Being a member of the church was simply synonymous with being a good citizen, a good American. What I would call “cultural Christians.” Christianity was to be learned, not experienced. Cultural Christians subscribe to a kind of hen house logic: “If you sit in a hen house, it will make you a chicken.” If you attend worship, you will be a Christian. Having a personal experience with Jesus Christ was replaced with simply attending worship.
I began to see my preaching as an invitation to become a follower of Jesus. I started preaching as though I were speaking to a group of people who knew nothing about Christianity. I was calling our people to make a choice to be fully devoted followers of Jesus and to claim the new life that I knew God wanted for each of them.
Jesus set out to change the world by choosing a small group of people to disciple.
Not my ideas, but a willingness to be part of what God is blessing.
In order to know if this vision was really a word from God or just a clever attempt by my imagination to speak on God’s behalf, I became convinced that I had to share the vision with the congregation for a year. 3-week sermon series to outline vision, then preached on it monthly. At first people were indifferent to this new vision. As the year moved along, I heard from laity in stronger and stronger ways that confirmed this new vision.
Lifted the vision repeatedly as pastor, asked each area to justify what it was doing by the vision.
As I read the NT, I could find only one place where the voting majority ruled (Acts 27). I believe the church was never meant to be a democracy. We in the church are to function under a theocracy. The only thing that matters is the will of God. We quit voting. We decided that if an activity focuses on our vision statement and is supported by Scripture, then those proposing the new ministry could begin.
In meetings, Wills asked committee to pray silently on an issue for ten minutes. What is God’s will in this issue? After ten minutes, he asked if anyone had a word from God that would be a negative, a concern, or a “not now” that the group should hear.
The greater the relationship, the fewer the rules.
Raise up and consecrate lay pastors to care for and lead the ministries of the church.
Administrative groups need to be seen as ministry and not business. Lay Pastors are the spiritual leaders for their action group in the church.
Lay Pastors are not chosen by the church or by the pastor of the church, but they are called by God.
The first requirement is that each Lay Pastor must commit to a daily time of prayer and Scripture reading.
Lay Pastors are the basic caregivers of the congregation.
As pastor, I submit myself to the authority of the Lay Pastor when I am on their turf (ministry area, small group).
Chad Walsh: “I suspect that Satan has called off his attempt to convert people to agnosticism. After all, if a man travels far enough away from Christianity, he is liable to see it in perspective and decide it is true. It is much safer from Satan’s point of view, to vaccinate a man with a mild case of Christianity so as to protect him from the real disease.”
People choose to be comfortable over choosing to be faithful.
Daily walk with God.
Individual change precedes organizational change.
Focus on leadership, not management.
Strive first the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33)
For spiritual leaders, the cross is not something laid upon us by God. It is something we must pick up. As a spiritual leader, as soon as we decide to fulfill the specific purpose God has for us, we pick up our cross. It is not necessary that we should know what God’s purpose is. It is necessary only that we decide to fulfill it. To pick up my cross, I must learn to lay down my right to myself. Gradually, it dawns upon a spiritual leader that good work does not produce fruit. Dying to self and doing God’s will produces fruit.
God unfolds revelation moment by moment.
It is not what you are now that is important, but what God wants you to be and what you can be with faith.
A vision without a task is just a dream. A task without a vision is pure drudgery. When you combine a vision and a task it can become the hope of the world.
A vision is seeing not what is now, but what can be and will be in the future.
God put eyes in the front so that when we look backward, we get a stiff neck.
God selects one person to announce the vision on behalf of all the other people. God plants the vision secretly in the hearts of people. They cannot see the vision until the person God has chosen reveals it. Once the vision is announced, it must be confirmed by the people for whom the vision is given. God plants the vision secretly in the hearts of God’s people, even though they might not be aware of it. However, when it is announced, it wins acceptance from those committed to God because God has made it their vision, secretly, sometime before.
God is always ready to give a new vision when the old vision comes to maturity. Otherwise, the vision simply dies and perishes. Mainline denominations are declining because leaders have not been willing to listen to the God who is seeking to reproduce the vision for a new day.
I wanted to be a part of what God was blessing!
John Wesley was asked what could reasonably be expected of a Methodist preacher: “To reform the Nation and the Church and to spread scriptural holiness over the land.”
We had substituted meetings for ministry.
My weariness came from having left behind a daily walk with God, substituting in its place taking control and wanting to be successful in the eyes of others.
Went to South Africa- I began to wonder how these people, living under such difficult and violent conditions could have such joy?
Joy comes from walking with God and is not dependent on external circumstances.
An openness to begin the journey of choosing to be part of what God wanted to bless rather than my trying to get God to bless what I was doing.
So I began to pray each day for God to help me and my church be part of what God wanted to bless.
God blesses obedience. I understand obedience as choosing to seek and discern the will of God as a follower of Jesus. Obedience is to choose daily to give my life to God.
Belonging to my church for many people was like belonging to a club rather than to the church of Jesus Christ. Seldom did I sense people yearning for the things of God. Being a member of the church was simply synonymous with being a good citizen, a good American. What I would call “cultural Christians.” Christianity was to be learned, not experienced. Cultural Christians subscribe to a kind of hen house logic: “If you sit in a hen house, it will make you a chicken.” If you attend worship, you will be a Christian. Having a personal experience with Jesus Christ was replaced with simply attending worship.
I began to see my preaching as an invitation to become a follower of Jesus. I started preaching as though I were speaking to a group of people who knew nothing about Christianity. I was calling our people to make a choice to be fully devoted followers of Jesus and to claim the new life that I knew God wanted for each of them.
Jesus set out to change the world by choosing a small group of people to disciple.
Not my ideas, but a willingness to be part of what God is blessing.
In order to know if this vision was really a word from God or just a clever attempt by my imagination to speak on God’s behalf, I became convinced that I had to share the vision with the congregation for a year. 3-week sermon series to outline vision, then preached on it monthly. At first people were indifferent to this new vision. As the year moved along, I heard from laity in stronger and stronger ways that confirmed this new vision.
Lifted the vision repeatedly as pastor, asked each area to justify what it was doing by the vision.
As I read the NT, I could find only one place where the voting majority ruled (Acts 27). I believe the church was never meant to be a democracy. We in the church are to function under a theocracy. The only thing that matters is the will of God. We quit voting. We decided that if an activity focuses on our vision statement and is supported by Scripture, then those proposing the new ministry could begin.
In meetings, Wills asked committee to pray silently on an issue for ten minutes. What is God’s will in this issue? After ten minutes, he asked if anyone had a word from God that would be a negative, a concern, or a “not now” that the group should hear.
The greater the relationship, the fewer the rules.
Raise up and consecrate lay pastors to care for and lead the ministries of the church.
Administrative groups need to be seen as ministry and not business. Lay Pastors are the spiritual leaders for their action group in the church.
Lay Pastors are not chosen by the church or by the pastor of the church, but they are called by God.
The first requirement is that each Lay Pastor must commit to a daily time of prayer and Scripture reading.
Lay Pastors are the basic caregivers of the congregation.
As pastor, I submit myself to the authority of the Lay Pastor when I am on their turf (ministry area, small group).
Chad Walsh: “I suspect that Satan has called off his attempt to convert people to agnosticism. After all, if a man travels far enough away from Christianity, he is liable to see it in perspective and decide it is true. It is much safer from Satan’s point of view, to vaccinate a man with a mild case of Christianity so as to protect him from the real disease.”
People choose to be comfortable over choosing to be faithful.
Daily walk with God.
Individual change precedes organizational change.
Focus on leadership, not management.
Strive first the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33)
For spiritual leaders, the cross is not something laid upon us by God. It is something we must pick up. As a spiritual leader, as soon as we decide to fulfill the specific purpose God has for us, we pick up our cross. It is not necessary that we should know what God’s purpose is. It is necessary only that we decide to fulfill it. To pick up my cross, I must learn to lay down my right to myself. Gradually, it dawns upon a spiritual leader that good work does not produce fruit. Dying to self and doing God’s will produces fruit.
God unfolds revelation moment by moment.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Prayers for Church, Community and Pastor
At Austell First UMC, we are building a praying church. We began by getting some people to agree to pray for the church and pastor on a certain day of each week. We now have each day covered by at least two people. We provided them with this prayer sheet and also gave it out to the entire congregation to pray as available. Credit goes to Terry Teykl for a great deal of this (www.renewalministries.com).
Consistent Prayers for AFUMC
Lord Jesus, we desperately seek and pray for a movement of God to happen in our church and in our community. Move powerfully in our midst. (Acts 2:2-4)
Lord, we yearn for spiritual revival in the lives of our people and in the life of our church. Make us new creations individually and also as a church. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Pour out your Spirit upon us. (Acts 2:17).
Lord, bless our church leaders with faith, vision, dreams, boldness, courage, and persistence. (Acts 4:31)
Lord, fill me and every person of AFUMC with the Holy Spirit so that we might act with boldness to fulfill your mission. (Acts 4:31)
Lord of the harvest, rise up laborers for the harvest within our church and send Austell First UMC new laborers to join your mission here. (Matthew 9:38)
Lord, provide mightily the needed resources to do your work in this community. (Malachi 3:10)
O Lord, give me and AFUMC a burden for those far from God. (Romans 10:1)
Thank you for your prevenient grace. We praise you Father God for the work you are doing to draw people towards you. May AFUMC be faithful to do our part in this work. (John 6:44)
Almighty God, open the hearts of the people of our Austell community (Acts 16:41) and open doors that we might share the mystery of Christ with them (Colossians 4:3).
Holy Spirit, add to our numbers those who become believers and turn towards the Lord. (Acts 11:21, 2:47, 5:14, 9:42)
Lord, pull our church together around our vision of BLESS. May it become who we are and not just what we do. May it glorify you. May it accomplish your purposes. Continue to lead and direct us in discerning how best to live out this vision. (Matthew 18:19)
Heal within our church any hurt feelings, past wounds, confusion, bitterness, or discouragement. Send a spirit of forgiveness. (Ephesians 4:31)
Forgive our church for how we have fallen short in your desires and dreams for us. (Romans 3:23)
By your power, Lord, bring about church renewal and revival at AFUMC.
By your power, bring about community transformation. In your name, allow AFUMC to be a catalyst for that community transformation.
Help us to not grow weary in doing what you desire Lord, for you assure us that we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:9)
Consistent Prayers for Pastor Brett
· Fill Pastor Brett with your Holy Spirit. Anoint him. Bless him.
· Speak to him powerfully this week as he prepares the sermon.
· Lord, bless him with faith, vision, dreams, boldness, courage, energy, and persistence.
· Lord, lead and guide Pastor Brett as he listens to you for direction for our church.
· Protect him from forces of darkness (spiritual and earthly) that wish to stop your mission here.
· Keep Pastor Brett focused on things above (Colossians 3:1-3)
· Clothe him with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. (Colossians 3:12)
· Bless Pastor Brett with the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22)
Consistent Prayers for AFUMC
Lord Jesus, we desperately seek and pray for a movement of God to happen in our church and in our community. Move powerfully in our midst. (Acts 2:2-4)
Lord, we yearn for spiritual revival in the lives of our people and in the life of our church. Make us new creations individually and also as a church. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Pour out your Spirit upon us. (Acts 2:17).
Lord, bless our church leaders with faith, vision, dreams, boldness, courage, and persistence. (Acts 4:31)
Lord, fill me and every person of AFUMC with the Holy Spirit so that we might act with boldness to fulfill your mission. (Acts 4:31)
Lord of the harvest, rise up laborers for the harvest within our church and send Austell First UMC new laborers to join your mission here. (Matthew 9:38)
Lord, provide mightily the needed resources to do your work in this community. (Malachi 3:10)
O Lord, give me and AFUMC a burden for those far from God. (Romans 10:1)
Thank you for your prevenient grace. We praise you Father God for the work you are doing to draw people towards you. May AFUMC be faithful to do our part in this work. (John 6:44)
Almighty God, open the hearts of the people of our Austell community (Acts 16:41) and open doors that we might share the mystery of Christ with them (Colossians 4:3).
Holy Spirit, add to our numbers those who become believers and turn towards the Lord. (Acts 11:21, 2:47, 5:14, 9:42)
Lord, pull our church together around our vision of BLESS. May it become who we are and not just what we do. May it glorify you. May it accomplish your purposes. Continue to lead and direct us in discerning how best to live out this vision. (Matthew 18:19)
Heal within our church any hurt feelings, past wounds, confusion, bitterness, or discouragement. Send a spirit of forgiveness. (Ephesians 4:31)
Forgive our church for how we have fallen short in your desires and dreams for us. (Romans 3:23)
By your power, Lord, bring about church renewal and revival at AFUMC.
By your power, bring about community transformation. In your name, allow AFUMC to be a catalyst for that community transformation.
Help us to not grow weary in doing what you desire Lord, for you assure us that we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:9)
Consistent Prayers for Pastor Brett
· Fill Pastor Brett with your Holy Spirit. Anoint him. Bless him.
· Speak to him powerfully this week as he prepares the sermon.
· Lord, bless him with faith, vision, dreams, boldness, courage, energy, and persistence.
· Lord, lead and guide Pastor Brett as he listens to you for direction for our church.
· Protect him from forces of darkness (spiritual and earthly) that wish to stop your mission here.
· Keep Pastor Brett focused on things above (Colossians 3:1-3)
· Clothe him with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. (Colossians 3:12)
· Bless Pastor Brett with the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22)
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Book Notes: Radical
Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream
By David Platt
Note: I highly recommend this book. These notes/quotes are great, but will be fully comprehended by reading the book.
We’ve replaced what’s radical about our faith with what is comfortable. We’re settling for a Christianity that revolves around catering to ourselves when the central message of Christianity is actually about abandoning ourselves.
Yes, you are abandoning everything you have, but you are also gaining more than you could have in any other way.
We may not actually be worshiping the Jesus of the Bible. Instead we may be worshiping ourselves.
Bonhoeffer- “When Christ calls a man, he binds him come and die.”
The cost of nondiscipleship is profoundly greater for us than the cost of discipleship. For when we abandon the trinkets of this world and respond to the radical invitation of Jesus, we discover the infinite treasure of knowing and experiencing him.
The price of our nondiscipleship is high for those without Christ. It is high also for the poor of this world.
Christians shrink back from self-denying faith and settle into self-indulging faith.
The gospel does not prompt you to mere reflections; the gospel requires a response.
We desperately need to explore how much of our understanding of the gospel is American and how much is biblical.
The goal of the American dream is to make much of us, the goal of the gospel is to make much of God.
Would you say that your life is marked right now by desperation for the Spirit of God? Would you say that the church you are a part of is characterized by this sense of desperation?
The message of biblical Christianity is not “God loves me, period,” as if we were the object of our own faith. The message of biblical Christianity is “God loves me so that I might make him- his ways, his salvation, his glory, and his greatness- know among all nations.” Now God is the object of our faith, and Christianity centers around him. We are not the end of the gospel; God is.
Where in the Bible is missions ever identified as an optional program in the church? Jesus commanded us to go to all nations. We have taken this command, though, and reduced it to a calling- something that only a few people receive. We have assigned the obligations of Christianity to a few while keeping the privileges of Christianity for us all.
What if anything less than passionate involvement in global mission is actually selling God short by frustrating the very purpose for which he created us?
God is committed to providing abundant resources in support of those who are living according to his purpose.
Christians: we live decent lives in decent homes with decent jobs and decent families as decent citizens.
Disciplining Christians involves propelling Christians into the world to risk losing their lives for the sake of others.
While caring for the poor is not the basis of our salvation, it is the evidence of salvation. The faith in Christ that saves us from our sins involves an internal transformation that has external implications. If there is no sign of caring for the poor in our lives, then there is reason to at least question whether Christ is in our hearts.
No teachers (including Jesus) in the NT ever promise material wealth as a reward for obedience.
Jesus doesn’t give options for people to consider; he gives commands for people to obey.
Jesus never intended to be one voice among many; he intends to be the voice.
Set a cap on our lifestyles so that we can give more.
We are tempted to settle for throwing our scraps to the poor.
The logic that says, “I can’t do everything, so I won’t do anything,” is straight from hell.
I don’t want to miss eternal treasure because I settle for earthly trinkets.
Good coverage of “Will people who haven’t heard about Jesus go to hell?” Goal is not to try and find an answer to it; our goal is to alleviate the question altogether.
The will of God is for you and me to give our lives urgently and recklessly to making the gospel known among all peoples, particularly those who have never even heard of Jesus.
By David Platt
Note: I highly recommend this book. These notes/quotes are great, but will be fully comprehended by reading the book.
We’ve replaced what’s radical about our faith with what is comfortable. We’re settling for a Christianity that revolves around catering to ourselves when the central message of Christianity is actually about abandoning ourselves.
Yes, you are abandoning everything you have, but you are also gaining more than you could have in any other way.
We may not actually be worshiping the Jesus of the Bible. Instead we may be worshiping ourselves.
Bonhoeffer- “When Christ calls a man, he binds him come and die.”
The cost of nondiscipleship is profoundly greater for us than the cost of discipleship. For when we abandon the trinkets of this world and respond to the radical invitation of Jesus, we discover the infinite treasure of knowing and experiencing him.
The price of our nondiscipleship is high for those without Christ. It is high also for the poor of this world.
Christians shrink back from self-denying faith and settle into self-indulging faith.
The gospel does not prompt you to mere reflections; the gospel requires a response.
We desperately need to explore how much of our understanding of the gospel is American and how much is biblical.
The goal of the American dream is to make much of us, the goal of the gospel is to make much of God.
Would you say that your life is marked right now by desperation for the Spirit of God? Would you say that the church you are a part of is characterized by this sense of desperation?
The message of biblical Christianity is not “God loves me, period,” as if we were the object of our own faith. The message of biblical Christianity is “God loves me so that I might make him- his ways, his salvation, his glory, and his greatness- know among all nations.” Now God is the object of our faith, and Christianity centers around him. We are not the end of the gospel; God is.
Where in the Bible is missions ever identified as an optional program in the church? Jesus commanded us to go to all nations. We have taken this command, though, and reduced it to a calling- something that only a few people receive. We have assigned the obligations of Christianity to a few while keeping the privileges of Christianity for us all.
What if anything less than passionate involvement in global mission is actually selling God short by frustrating the very purpose for which he created us?
God is committed to providing abundant resources in support of those who are living according to his purpose.
Christians: we live decent lives in decent homes with decent jobs and decent families as decent citizens.
Disciplining Christians involves propelling Christians into the world to risk losing their lives for the sake of others.
While caring for the poor is not the basis of our salvation, it is the evidence of salvation. The faith in Christ that saves us from our sins involves an internal transformation that has external implications. If there is no sign of caring for the poor in our lives, then there is reason to at least question whether Christ is in our hearts.
No teachers (including Jesus) in the NT ever promise material wealth as a reward for obedience.
Jesus doesn’t give options for people to consider; he gives commands for people to obey.
Jesus never intended to be one voice among many; he intends to be the voice.
Set a cap on our lifestyles so that we can give more.
We are tempted to settle for throwing our scraps to the poor.
The logic that says, “I can’t do everything, so I won’t do anything,” is straight from hell.
I don’t want to miss eternal treasure because I settle for earthly trinkets.
Good coverage of “Will people who haven’t heard about Jesus go to hell?” Goal is not to try and find an answer to it; our goal is to alleviate the question altogether.
The will of God is for you and me to give our lives urgently and recklessly to making the gospel known among all peoples, particularly those who have never even heard of Jesus.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Book Notes: Switch
This the best book I have ever read on change (and I have read a lot). You need to buy the book to get the most out of it. tons of examples.
Switch: How To Change Things When Change is Hard
By Chip Heath and Dan Heath
For anything to change, someone has to start acting differently. Ultimately, all change efforts boil down to the same mission: Can you get people to start behaving in a new way?
Analogy borrowed from Jonathan Haidt’s book The Happiness Hypothesis
Imagine a person riding an elephant. Rider is our Rational side. Elephant is our emotional side. Rider has reins, but when elephant disagrees, the elephant wins.
You must do three things:
• Direct the Rider
• Motivate the Elephant
• Shape the Path
Direct the Rider: Follow the Bright Spots
Search for bright spots in the current culture!!! (successful efforts worth emulating) What’s working and how can we do more of it? (instead people usually ask, “What’s broken and how can we fix it? NO!) Clone the bright spots.
Knowledge does not change behavior. People need to act their way into a new way of thinking. Help them to see that they can do it.
Too much analysis can doom the effort. In tough times, the Rider sees problems everywhere.
Direct the Rider, show them where to go, how to act, what destination to pursue.
Relatively small changes had a big impact on a big problem. Big problems are rarely solved with commensurately big solutions.
Rider’s have a problem focus, when they need a solution focus.
Direct the Rider: Script the critical moves
Decision paralysis – more options, even good ones, can freeze us and make us retreat to the default plan. The more choices the Rider is offered, the more exhausted the Rider gets.
Change brings new choices that create uncertainity. Ambiguity is exhausting to the Rider- you may not know what options are available. Anxiety rises.
Big-picture, hands-off leadership isn’t likely to work in a change situation, because the hardest part of change- the paralyzing part- is precisely in the details.
Suggest a good place to start. Script the critical moves. Crystal-clear guidance.
You can’t script every move. It’s the critical moves that count. FOCUS on the critical.
Focus on what you can control- inputs. For instance, set some behavioral goals (ie: team will meet once a week and do…. Each salesperson will make 125 client calls each day.)
Direct the Rider: Point to the Destination
Destination postcard- a vivid picture from the near-term future that shows what could be possible. (inspirational, feeling) They show the Rider where you’re headed and they show the Elephant why the journey is worthwhile.
Need a gut-smacking goal!
When you’re at the beginning, don’t obsess about the middle of the journey (it will be different anyway). Just look for a strong beginning and a strong ending and get moving.
Motivate the Elephant: Find the Feeling
Find ways to help others see the problems or solutions in ways that influence emotions, not just thought.
Sequence of change is not ANALYZE-THINK-CHANGE, but rather SEE-FEEL-CHANGE.
Do they need to understand (rider) or be enthused (elephant)? Failure to change usually isn’t an understanding problem; it’s a feeling problem.
Motivate the Elephant: Shrink the Change
Make people feel as though they’re already closer to the finish line than they might have thought (people hate being at the starting line). Remind people of what has already been accomplished.
Shrink the change, lower the bar.
Starting an unpleasant task is always worse than continuing. Get people to try something small and if they like they will continue. (tell kids: 5-minute room clean-up, they will most likely work longer)
Think of small wins (victory motivates us to keep going). Hope builds! Make the advances visible. Celebrate incremental victories. “How can we move from a 2 to a 3?” (not: “how can we move from 2 up to 10”) Next step in the right direction. Seek small improvement one day at a time.
Big changes come from a succession of small changes.
Motivate the Elephant: Grow Your People
Because identities are central to the way people make decisions, any change effort that violates someone’s identity is likely doomed to failure.
Show them that they should aspire to a different self image. People are receptive to developing new identities. He may become, in his own eyes, the kind of person who does this sort of thing.
Identities grow from small beginnings. Start with a baby step. It will increase the likelihood that they will go for bigger step later.
Any new quest, even one that is ultimately successful, is going to involve failure. Elephants hate to fail. Create the expectation of failure- not the failure of the mission itself, but failure en route.
People with a growth mindset- those who stretch themselves, take risks, accept feedback, and take the long-term view- can’t help but progress in their lives and careers.
Praise/compliment effort rather than skill- “You really worked hard on that” instead of “You’re so good at”
To create and sustain change, you’ve got to act more like a coach and less like a scorekeeper. You’ve got to embrace a growth mindset and instill it in your team.
We will struggle, we will fail, we will be knocked down- but throughout, we’ll get better, and we’ll succeed in the end.
Reframe failure as a natural part of the change process. Failure as learning.
The Elephant has to believe it’s capable of conquering the change (need confidence and you can do that by shrinking the change and/or growing your people)
Shape the Path: Tweak the Environment
If you want people to change, you can provide clear direction (rider) or boost their motivation and determination (elephant). Alternatively, you can simply make the journey easier.
Often what looks like a people problem is often a situation problem.
Make the right behaviors a little bit easier and the wrong behaviors a little bit harder.
Shape the Path: Build Habits
Habits shifted when environment shifted.
Action triggers can have a profound power to motivate people to do the things they know they need to do. Preload the decision so that there is no cycle of conscious deliberation. (examples- call important client when you pour first cup of coffee each day. Go to gym after dropping off daughter at school.) Action triggers simply have to be specific enough and visible enough to interrupt people’s normal stream of consciousness. Action triggers create an instant habit. Habits are behavioral autopilot.
A good change leader never thinks, “Why are these people acting so badly? They must be bad people.” A change leader thinks, “How can I set up a situation that brings out the good in these people?”
Checklists simply make big screwups less likely.
Shape the Path: Rally the Herd
We try to fit in. Behavior is contagious.
Publicize the group norm.
Free-space: Small-scale meetings where reformers can gather and ready themselves for collective action without being observed by members of the dominant group. If you want to change the culture of your organization, you’ve got to get the reformers together. They need free space. They need time to coordinate outside the gaze of the resisters.
You’ve got to let your organization have an identity conflict. For a time, at least, you’ve got to permit an “us versus them” struggle to take place. It’s necessary.
Have members of your team rehearsed how they’ll react when they meet resistance from your organization’s “old guard”?
Every culture is shaped powerfully by its language.
Keep the Switch Going
Reward each tiny step toward the destination.
Reinforce positive behaviors.
Look for little rays of sunshine and celebrate.
Change isn’t an event; it’s a process.
To lead a process requires persistence.
Once the change started, it seemed to feed on itself. Snowballing
The more people are exposed to something, the more they like it.
Big changes can happen with very small steps.
As people begin to act differently, they’ll start to think of themselves differently, and as their identity evolves, it will reinforce the new way of doing things.
The people who change have clear direction (rider), ample motivation (elephant), and a supportive environment.
In our lives, we embrace lots of big changes- not only babies, but marriages and new homes and new technologies and new job duties.
Personal “supervised” behavior (making intentional choices, doing new things) is an exhaustible resource (we get tired, change is draining). Automatic behavior (non-change, routine) doesn’t sap our energy nearly as much. The bigger the change you’re suggesting, the more it will sap people. Change is hard because people wear themselves out. What looks like laziness is often exhaustion.
Once you break through to feeling, things change. Make audience feel the need for change.
Switch: How To Change Things When Change is Hard
By Chip Heath and Dan Heath
For anything to change, someone has to start acting differently. Ultimately, all change efforts boil down to the same mission: Can you get people to start behaving in a new way?
Analogy borrowed from Jonathan Haidt’s book The Happiness Hypothesis
Imagine a person riding an elephant. Rider is our Rational side. Elephant is our emotional side. Rider has reins, but when elephant disagrees, the elephant wins.
You must do three things:
• Direct the Rider
• Motivate the Elephant
• Shape the Path
Direct the Rider: Follow the Bright Spots
Search for bright spots in the current culture!!! (successful efforts worth emulating) What’s working and how can we do more of it? (instead people usually ask, “What’s broken and how can we fix it? NO!) Clone the bright spots.
Knowledge does not change behavior. People need to act their way into a new way of thinking. Help them to see that they can do it.
Too much analysis can doom the effort. In tough times, the Rider sees problems everywhere.
Direct the Rider, show them where to go, how to act, what destination to pursue.
Relatively small changes had a big impact on a big problem. Big problems are rarely solved with commensurately big solutions.
Rider’s have a problem focus, when they need a solution focus.
Direct the Rider: Script the critical moves
Decision paralysis – more options, even good ones, can freeze us and make us retreat to the default plan. The more choices the Rider is offered, the more exhausted the Rider gets.
Change brings new choices that create uncertainity. Ambiguity is exhausting to the Rider- you may not know what options are available. Anxiety rises.
Big-picture, hands-off leadership isn’t likely to work in a change situation, because the hardest part of change- the paralyzing part- is precisely in the details.
Suggest a good place to start. Script the critical moves. Crystal-clear guidance.
You can’t script every move. It’s the critical moves that count. FOCUS on the critical.
Focus on what you can control- inputs. For instance, set some behavioral goals (ie: team will meet once a week and do…. Each salesperson will make 125 client calls each day.)
Direct the Rider: Point to the Destination
Destination postcard- a vivid picture from the near-term future that shows what could be possible. (inspirational, feeling) They show the Rider where you’re headed and they show the Elephant why the journey is worthwhile.
Need a gut-smacking goal!
When you’re at the beginning, don’t obsess about the middle of the journey (it will be different anyway). Just look for a strong beginning and a strong ending and get moving.
Motivate the Elephant: Find the Feeling
Find ways to help others see the problems or solutions in ways that influence emotions, not just thought.
Sequence of change is not ANALYZE-THINK-CHANGE, but rather SEE-FEEL-CHANGE.
Do they need to understand (rider) or be enthused (elephant)? Failure to change usually isn’t an understanding problem; it’s a feeling problem.
Motivate the Elephant: Shrink the Change
Make people feel as though they’re already closer to the finish line than they might have thought (people hate being at the starting line). Remind people of what has already been accomplished.
Shrink the change, lower the bar.
Starting an unpleasant task is always worse than continuing. Get people to try something small and if they like they will continue. (tell kids: 5-minute room clean-up, they will most likely work longer)
Think of small wins (victory motivates us to keep going). Hope builds! Make the advances visible. Celebrate incremental victories. “How can we move from a 2 to a 3?” (not: “how can we move from 2 up to 10”) Next step in the right direction. Seek small improvement one day at a time.
Big changes come from a succession of small changes.
Motivate the Elephant: Grow Your People
Because identities are central to the way people make decisions, any change effort that violates someone’s identity is likely doomed to failure.
Show them that they should aspire to a different self image. People are receptive to developing new identities. He may become, in his own eyes, the kind of person who does this sort of thing.
Identities grow from small beginnings. Start with a baby step. It will increase the likelihood that they will go for bigger step later.
Any new quest, even one that is ultimately successful, is going to involve failure. Elephants hate to fail. Create the expectation of failure- not the failure of the mission itself, but failure en route.
People with a growth mindset- those who stretch themselves, take risks, accept feedback, and take the long-term view- can’t help but progress in their lives and careers.
Praise/compliment effort rather than skill- “You really worked hard on that” instead of “You’re so good at”
To create and sustain change, you’ve got to act more like a coach and less like a scorekeeper. You’ve got to embrace a growth mindset and instill it in your team.
We will struggle, we will fail, we will be knocked down- but throughout, we’ll get better, and we’ll succeed in the end.
Reframe failure as a natural part of the change process. Failure as learning.
The Elephant has to believe it’s capable of conquering the change (need confidence and you can do that by shrinking the change and/or growing your people)
Shape the Path: Tweak the Environment
If you want people to change, you can provide clear direction (rider) or boost their motivation and determination (elephant). Alternatively, you can simply make the journey easier.
Often what looks like a people problem is often a situation problem.
Make the right behaviors a little bit easier and the wrong behaviors a little bit harder.
Shape the Path: Build Habits
Habits shifted when environment shifted.
Action triggers can have a profound power to motivate people to do the things they know they need to do. Preload the decision so that there is no cycle of conscious deliberation. (examples- call important client when you pour first cup of coffee each day. Go to gym after dropping off daughter at school.) Action triggers simply have to be specific enough and visible enough to interrupt people’s normal stream of consciousness. Action triggers create an instant habit. Habits are behavioral autopilot.
A good change leader never thinks, “Why are these people acting so badly? They must be bad people.” A change leader thinks, “How can I set up a situation that brings out the good in these people?”
Checklists simply make big screwups less likely.
Shape the Path: Rally the Herd
We try to fit in. Behavior is contagious.
Publicize the group norm.
Free-space: Small-scale meetings where reformers can gather and ready themselves for collective action without being observed by members of the dominant group. If you want to change the culture of your organization, you’ve got to get the reformers together. They need free space. They need time to coordinate outside the gaze of the resisters.
You’ve got to let your organization have an identity conflict. For a time, at least, you’ve got to permit an “us versus them” struggle to take place. It’s necessary.
Have members of your team rehearsed how they’ll react when they meet resistance from your organization’s “old guard”?
Every culture is shaped powerfully by its language.
Keep the Switch Going
Reward each tiny step toward the destination.
Reinforce positive behaviors.
Look for little rays of sunshine and celebrate.
Change isn’t an event; it’s a process.
To lead a process requires persistence.
Once the change started, it seemed to feed on itself. Snowballing
The more people are exposed to something, the more they like it.
Big changes can happen with very small steps.
As people begin to act differently, they’ll start to think of themselves differently, and as their identity evolves, it will reinforce the new way of doing things.
The people who change have clear direction (rider), ample motivation (elephant), and a supportive environment.
In our lives, we embrace lots of big changes- not only babies, but marriages and new homes and new technologies and new job duties.
Personal “supervised” behavior (making intentional choices, doing new things) is an exhaustible resource (we get tired, change is draining). Automatic behavior (non-change, routine) doesn’t sap our energy nearly as much. The bigger the change you’re suggesting, the more it will sap people. Change is hard because people wear themselves out. What looks like laziness is often exhaustion.
Once you break through to feeling, things change. Make audience feel the need for change.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Book review: Missional Renaissance (Part 3 of 3)
Missional Renaissance: Changing the Scorecard for the Church by Reggie McNeal
Missional shift 3: From church-based to Kingdom-based leadership
• Bringing church into every domain of the culture
• Church as a catalyst to mobilize all the community
• Missional congregational pastors now pastor the community, not just the church
• Instead of being spiritual leaders in the kingdom of God, partnering with his mission in the world, we have created leaders to run the church.
• Kingdom leaders look for any way they can to gain entrance to people’s lives to “infect” them with God’s love for them, search for opportunities in the routines of people’s lives
• Congregations that are missional learn to celebrate this leadership choice by preparing people for their kingdom assignment and not tying them up with unnecessary club activities.
• Release people for ministry, empowering leaders to pursue their callings and passions
• God doesn’t need us to conduct his mission. We can’t pull off resurrection or life transformation. He has cut us in on the deal! Missional leaders discover what God is doing and then tell others about it.
• Many people in our culture will never be reached with the good news if we rely purely on the current church model for delivery.
Missional shift 3: From church-based to Kingdom-based leadership
• Bringing church into every domain of the culture
• Church as a catalyst to mobilize all the community
• Missional congregational pastors now pastor the community, not just the church
• Instead of being spiritual leaders in the kingdom of God, partnering with his mission in the world, we have created leaders to run the church.
• Kingdom leaders look for any way they can to gain entrance to people’s lives to “infect” them with God’s love for them, search for opportunities in the routines of people’s lives
• Congregations that are missional learn to celebrate this leadership choice by preparing people for their kingdom assignment and not tying them up with unnecessary club activities.
• Release people for ministry, empowering leaders to pursue their callings and passions
• God doesn’t need us to conduct his mission. We can’t pull off resurrection or life transformation. He has cut us in on the deal! Missional leaders discover what God is doing and then tell others about it.
• Many people in our culture will never be reached with the good news if we rely purely on the current church model for delivery.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Book review: Missional Renaissance (Part 2 of 3)
Missional Renaissance: Changing the Scorecard for the Church by Reggie McNeal
Missional shift 2: From program development to people development
• Are people better off for being a part of this church, or are they just tireder and poorer?
• We must change our ideas of what it means to develop a disciple, shifting the emphasis from studying Jesus and all things spiritual in an environment protected from the world to following Jesus into the world to join him in his redemptive mission.
• Shifting church members’ commitments to people and causes beyond the church
• If we aren’t careful, we can even turn the first missional shift, the move from an internal to an external focus of ministry into a new program of community involvement.
• Loving God and loving our neighbors cannot be fulfilled at church. Being salt and light cannot be experienced in a faith huddle. Engaging the kingdom of darkness requires storming it, not habitually retreating into a refuge.
• People are no longer going to let the church or church leaders provide the template for their spiritual journeys. People will accept help in shaping their spiritual path. In fact, they welcome it, especially from people they respect and trust, who seem to have their best interest at heart. (willing to be coached)
• Interviews designed to explore their spiritual quests, questions about what they would like to see God do in their lives.
• People development culture: Are people growing in every aspect of their life? Are they becoming more like Jesus? Are they blessing the world as the people of God?
• People need help debriefing their lives, stimulate those discussions
• Growing through service- Jesus deployed his disciples long before they were “ready.” He knew that the fastest way to develop them was to engage them in real ministry encounters.
• People often grow more in intergenerational environments. That’s why God created families. (do family mission trips)
• One of the goals of spiritual formation is to help people see God at work in their lives.
Missional shift 2: From program development to people development
• Are people better off for being a part of this church, or are they just tireder and poorer?
• We must change our ideas of what it means to develop a disciple, shifting the emphasis from studying Jesus and all things spiritual in an environment protected from the world to following Jesus into the world to join him in his redemptive mission.
• Shifting church members’ commitments to people and causes beyond the church
• If we aren’t careful, we can even turn the first missional shift, the move from an internal to an external focus of ministry into a new program of community involvement.
• Loving God and loving our neighbors cannot be fulfilled at church. Being salt and light cannot be experienced in a faith huddle. Engaging the kingdom of darkness requires storming it, not habitually retreating into a refuge.
• People are no longer going to let the church or church leaders provide the template for their spiritual journeys. People will accept help in shaping their spiritual path. In fact, they welcome it, especially from people they respect and trust, who seem to have their best interest at heart. (willing to be coached)
• Interviews designed to explore their spiritual quests, questions about what they would like to see God do in their lives.
• People development culture: Are people growing in every aspect of their life? Are they becoming more like Jesus? Are they blessing the world as the people of God?
• People need help debriefing their lives, stimulate those discussions
• Growing through service- Jesus deployed his disciples long before they were “ready.” He knew that the fastest way to develop them was to engage them in real ministry encounters.
• People often grow more in intergenerational environments. That’s why God created families. (do family mission trips)
• One of the goals of spiritual formation is to help people see God at work in their lives.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Book review: Missional Renaissance (Part 1 of 3)
Reminder: I am not a professional book reviewer. These are simply my notes from this book. If I had to have only one book to lead me in ministry (other than the Bible), this would be it. You really need to get the book and read it to get all the benefits. It is loaded with examples and deals thoroughly with the whole "scorecard" thing which I really won't recap here. While a lot of books are being written these days on the missional church (and I have read many of them), Reggie McNeal spells it out in real "rubber-meets-the-road" fashion for the existing traditional, mainline church. These are the principles that have brought new life to Austell First UMC as its BLESS AUSTELL vision begins to be a real catalyst for community transformation.
Missional Renaissance: Changing the Scorecard for the Church by Reggie McNeal
To think and to live missionally means seeing all life as a way to be engaged with the mission of God in the world.
3 views of nature of the Church (George Hunsberger)
1. A place where certain things happen (i.e. worship, bible study, fellowship)
2. Vendor of religious goods and services
3. A body of people sent on a mission (the book champions this one)
The missional church believes it is God who is on mission and that we are to join him, partnering in his redemptive mission in the world.
• God is always at work in the world.
• Find out what God is doing and join him in it. (Henry Blackaby)
• Rather than being attractional, the missional church will be incarnational. (Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch)
• Carry on Jesus’ mission in the world
• Hoist our sails to catch the breeze that’s already blowing.
• Be the people of God in an unmistakable way in the world.
• Wherever missional followers of Jesus are, the church is there.
The Bible presents a call to action, not just a lesson to be studied.
The act of blessing people frequently leads them to inquire something along the lines of “Why are you doing this?” Response: “I am a follower of Jesus, and I am blessing you because that’s what he came to do.”
Missional shift 1: From an internal to an external ministry focus
• The missional church engages the community beyond its walls because it believes that is why the church exists.
• Missional churches look for ways to bless and to serve the communities where they are located. Much of their calendar space, financial resources, and organizational energy is spent on people who are not part of their organization. These measures may or may not improve the church’s bottom line in terms of traditional measures (attendance may actually go down if people are released to mission).
• Moving to external focus pushes the church from doing missions as some second-mile project into being on mission as a way of life.
• Shift from the church at the center to the kingdom of God at the center.
• As the church engages the world, it finds Jesus, whose home is in the streets or wherever he has to go to connect with the people he is pursuing, meaning everybody.
• A kingdom-oriented approach seeks to leverage the gospel into people’s lives right where they live, work, and play. The church is wherever followers of Jesus are. People don’t go to church; they are the church. They don’t bring people to church; they bring the church to people.
• The church is connector, linking people to the kingdom life that God has for them.
• The role of the church is simply this: to bless the world. In doing this, the people of God reveal God’s heart for the world.
• Genesis 12:1-2 God to Abraham: I will bless you so that you can be a blessing to everyone else.
• Instead of having an evangelism strategy, I urge congregations and people to develop a blessing strategy.
• Instead of asking someone, “Can I pray for you.” Ask: “How can I ask God to bless you?” Our God just loves to show up and show off!
• We have to believe that God has the ability to draw people to himself through these blessing encounters.
• Encourage folks to live out their faith in the spaces/places they already occupy.
• If we don’t find a way to be the church where they are, many people who will never come to church will never experience it.
• Worship- gather to share tales of God’s work in the world
• Incarnational believers are in competition with the kingdom of darkness that steals life from people.
• Adopt a school – the quickest way I know to become connected to the community beyond your church
• Live your life with the idea you are on a mission trip
• Intentional blessing agent of the kingdom of God
• Missional Jesus followers believe that the way they demonstrate love and service will intrigue people to pursue getting to know the God who inspires such service.
• Jesus followers adopt an intentional life of blessing people
• Any and every follower of Jesus, not just a select few, can demonstrate God’s love.
• Church is not a part of life for the missional follower of Jesus; it is the way of life.
• Blessing others is an act of worship.
• We can no longer think and act like club members; we must think and act like missionaries.
• Be about building a better community, not a better church. “No child will go hungry in this county” vision.
Missional Renaissance: Changing the Scorecard for the Church by Reggie McNeal
To think and to live missionally means seeing all life as a way to be engaged with the mission of God in the world.
3 views of nature of the Church (George Hunsberger)
1. A place where certain things happen (i.e. worship, bible study, fellowship)
2. Vendor of religious goods and services
3. A body of people sent on a mission (the book champions this one)
The missional church believes it is God who is on mission and that we are to join him, partnering in his redemptive mission in the world.
• God is always at work in the world.
• Find out what God is doing and join him in it. (Henry Blackaby)
• Rather than being attractional, the missional church will be incarnational. (Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch)
• Carry on Jesus’ mission in the world
• Hoist our sails to catch the breeze that’s already blowing.
• Be the people of God in an unmistakable way in the world.
• Wherever missional followers of Jesus are, the church is there.
The Bible presents a call to action, not just a lesson to be studied.
The act of blessing people frequently leads them to inquire something along the lines of “Why are you doing this?” Response: “I am a follower of Jesus, and I am blessing you because that’s what he came to do.”
Missional shift 1: From an internal to an external ministry focus
• The missional church engages the community beyond its walls because it believes that is why the church exists.
• Missional churches look for ways to bless and to serve the communities where they are located. Much of their calendar space, financial resources, and organizational energy is spent on people who are not part of their organization. These measures may or may not improve the church’s bottom line in terms of traditional measures (attendance may actually go down if people are released to mission).
• Moving to external focus pushes the church from doing missions as some second-mile project into being on mission as a way of life.
• Shift from the church at the center to the kingdom of God at the center.
• As the church engages the world, it finds Jesus, whose home is in the streets or wherever he has to go to connect with the people he is pursuing, meaning everybody.
• A kingdom-oriented approach seeks to leverage the gospel into people’s lives right where they live, work, and play. The church is wherever followers of Jesus are. People don’t go to church; they are the church. They don’t bring people to church; they bring the church to people.
• The church is connector, linking people to the kingdom life that God has for them.
• The role of the church is simply this: to bless the world. In doing this, the people of God reveal God’s heart for the world.
• Genesis 12:1-2 God to Abraham: I will bless you so that you can be a blessing to everyone else.
• Instead of having an evangelism strategy, I urge congregations and people to develop a blessing strategy.
• Instead of asking someone, “Can I pray for you.” Ask: “How can I ask God to bless you?” Our God just loves to show up and show off!
• We have to believe that God has the ability to draw people to himself through these blessing encounters.
• Encourage folks to live out their faith in the spaces/places they already occupy.
• If we don’t find a way to be the church where they are, many people who will never come to church will never experience it.
• Worship- gather to share tales of God’s work in the world
• Incarnational believers are in competition with the kingdom of darkness that steals life from people.
• Adopt a school – the quickest way I know to become connected to the community beyond your church
• Live your life with the idea you are on a mission trip
• Intentional blessing agent of the kingdom of God
• Missional Jesus followers believe that the way they demonstrate love and service will intrigue people to pursue getting to know the God who inspires such service.
• Jesus followers adopt an intentional life of blessing people
• Any and every follower of Jesus, not just a select few, can demonstrate God’s love.
• Church is not a part of life for the missional follower of Jesus; it is the way of life.
• Blessing others is an act of worship.
• We can no longer think and act like club members; we must think and act like missionaries.
• Be about building a better community, not a better church. “No child will go hungry in this county” vision.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Book Review- Tangible Kingdom (Part Two)
Halter and Smay are veteran church planters that changed up their model and started a "faith community" in Denver, mostly by accident. It has multiplied. They tell their story and propose this model as a way to reach post-moderns (as opposed to the big attractional church.) I am excited about their new book coming out in April called "AND: The Gathered and Scattered Church" where they try to bridge the attractional/missional divide and propose that both models have something to offer.
Notice: I am not a professional book reviewer. When I read a book, I try to make a list of all the key quotes that spoke to me. Here they are (part two):
The Tangible Kingdom: Creating Incarnational Community, The Posture and Practices of Ancient Church Now by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay
Attractional model works when the church matches the culture. The greater the cultural distance from organized religion a person is, the greater the need for an incarnational presence of a gospel community. The incarnational approach tries to first create a people to which someone can belong so that they can feel or see aspects of the gospel lived out. They experience the good news, even before they know what it is.
The authors’ model is an inclusive Christian community of consistent “missional people” (individuals committed to forming their character and lifestyle after those of Christ and who are compelled to live out their faith in the context of community) along with “Sojourners” (temporary, spiritually curious but disoriented God seekers). Sojourners are welcome to be a part of the community and be as they are, no rules for them. We want them to be with us so that we can help them- on their own timetable- come to faith. As much as the missional people need some clear rails to run on (or “rules of life”), the Sojourners need only an environment in which they can be eyewitnesses to our life without feeling any pressure to be like us.
You first look for the Sojourner to confess interest, not belief. This is evidence that God is on the move in their hearts. As soon at the Sojourner expresses curiosity, I buy them a Bible and ask them to begin to read so we can talk more.
We use the word apprentice because it’s more accurate to the intent of what Jesus meant by his use of the word disciple.
Create belonging environments.
Become good news to people.
Be intentional and authentic in the places I find myself in.
Community more horizontal structure (collaborative team environment) than vertical (leader/pastor on top)
Leaders must call people beyond where they’ve been.
Hebrews 10:24 “And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds.”
God’s mission is not for the faint of heart. Looking for folks to roll up their sleeves and serve.
In existing churches, the authors recommend not leaving the church but rather starting a group and seeing if it can grow from there.
4 Practices/habits to attract Sojourners
(1) Leaving - Replace personal or Christian activities with time spent building relationships with people in the surrounding culture- dine with Sojourners, do things we love (hobbies) with Sojourners, look for chances to talk with neighbors, co-workers, etc.
(2) Listen
(3) Living Among- participating in the natural activities of the culture around you, with whimsical holiness (defined as being like Jesus with those Jesus would have been with). Whimsy is the posture we take that allows people to be themselves.
(4) Loving without strings- Shalom references one person’s desire to see the peace of God touch every aspect of another’s life. Blessing requires action. Blessing wasn’t just nice things you said to make people forget about their problems. It was actually doing something about their problems. Blessing without coercion (no strings attached) has a unique power to draw.
The Primary Spheres of Incarnational Community
Community – sharing friends, food, life.
Communion- sharing Scripture, Sabbath gathering, Soulace
Mission- benevolent action, spontaneous blessing, sacrificial giving, sending of leaders
Monthly community activity grid (gather 4 times): one evening for a party, one mission activity, twice for scripture/prayer
The goal of church is to grow missionaries.
Notice: I am not a professional book reviewer. When I read a book, I try to make a list of all the key quotes that spoke to me. Here they are (part two):
The Tangible Kingdom: Creating Incarnational Community, The Posture and Practices of Ancient Church Now by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay
Attractional model works when the church matches the culture. The greater the cultural distance from organized religion a person is, the greater the need for an incarnational presence of a gospel community. The incarnational approach tries to first create a people to which someone can belong so that they can feel or see aspects of the gospel lived out. They experience the good news, even before they know what it is.
The authors’ model is an inclusive Christian community of consistent “missional people” (individuals committed to forming their character and lifestyle after those of Christ and who are compelled to live out their faith in the context of community) along with “Sojourners” (temporary, spiritually curious but disoriented God seekers). Sojourners are welcome to be a part of the community and be as they are, no rules for them. We want them to be with us so that we can help them- on their own timetable- come to faith. As much as the missional people need some clear rails to run on (or “rules of life”), the Sojourners need only an environment in which they can be eyewitnesses to our life without feeling any pressure to be like us.
You first look for the Sojourner to confess interest, not belief. This is evidence that God is on the move in their hearts. As soon at the Sojourner expresses curiosity, I buy them a Bible and ask them to begin to read so we can talk more.
We use the word apprentice because it’s more accurate to the intent of what Jesus meant by his use of the word disciple.
Create belonging environments.
Become good news to people.
Be intentional and authentic in the places I find myself in.
Community more horizontal structure (collaborative team environment) than vertical (leader/pastor on top)
Leaders must call people beyond where they’ve been.
Hebrews 10:24 “And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds.”
God’s mission is not for the faint of heart. Looking for folks to roll up their sleeves and serve.
In existing churches, the authors recommend not leaving the church but rather starting a group and seeing if it can grow from there.
4 Practices/habits to attract Sojourners
(1) Leaving - Replace personal or Christian activities with time spent building relationships with people in the surrounding culture- dine with Sojourners, do things we love (hobbies) with Sojourners, look for chances to talk with neighbors, co-workers, etc.
(2) Listen
(3) Living Among- participating in the natural activities of the culture around you, with whimsical holiness (defined as being like Jesus with those Jesus would have been with). Whimsy is the posture we take that allows people to be themselves.
(4) Loving without strings- Shalom references one person’s desire to see the peace of God touch every aspect of another’s life. Blessing requires action. Blessing wasn’t just nice things you said to make people forget about their problems. It was actually doing something about their problems. Blessing without coercion (no strings attached) has a unique power to draw.
The Primary Spheres of Incarnational Community
Community – sharing friends, food, life.
Communion- sharing Scripture, Sabbath gathering, Soulace
Mission- benevolent action, spontaneous blessing, sacrificial giving, sending of leaders
Monthly community activity grid (gather 4 times): one evening for a party, one mission activity, twice for scripture/prayer
The goal of church is to grow missionaries.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Book Review- Tangible Kingdom (Part One)
This will be at least a two parter. Halter and Smay are veteran church planters that changed up their model and started a "faith community" in Denver, mostly by accident. It has multiplied. They tell their story and propose this model as a way to reach post-moderns (as opposed to the big attractional church.) I am excited about their new book coming out in April called "AND: The Gathered and Scattered Church" where they try to bridge the attractional/missional divide and propose that both models have something to offer.
Notice: I am not a professional book reviewer. When I read a book, I try to make a list of all the key quotes that spoke to me. Here they are.
The Tangible Kingdom: Creating Incarnational Community, The Posture and Practices of Ancient Church Now by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay
Missional and incarnational- two words that describe ancient faith communities in the Book of Acts who lived a countercultural, communal experience that always influenced the cultures they found themselves in.
We leaders need to model a new way of life, live Christ’s alternative ways in the world again. Make the Kingdom of God tangible.
Jesus asked us to accomplish the proliferation of global blessing and the making of apprentices of Jesus (people that look, act, and sound like he did!)
Christians must learn to live the gospel as a distinct people who no longer occupy the center of society, build relational bridges that win a hearing.
To move forward, we can’t keep everything we’ve always had. Ancient faith communities were lean. When you don’t have all the “stuff,” you’re left with a lot of time to spend with people.
Don’t throw out the church folks that won’t necessarily see the vision and “do,” they can help support the old and new structures that will allow others to go out.
We can’t try to fix church from the inside-out, we must go out and then let church reemerge as a reflection and the natural outgrowth of our missional way of life.
Missional has an inseparable twin. It’s called incarnational.
Non-Christians find it highly offensive when Christians try to tell them truths without any tangible relationship.
1 Thessalonians 2:8 So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves
Our posture with sojourners (temporary, spiritually curious but disoriented God seekers) must be correct. When posture is wrong, we are perceived as enemy. When correct, we are perceived as an advocate. Sojourners belong before they believe. Belonging may be a long process.
Correct posture- caring in a way that touches another soul, person to person, rather than trying to fix that person from a position of superiority. John 8 – Jesus “bent down” to physically get on the adulteress’ level. He lowers himself and becomes her advocate. He challenges her to sin no more, but not before he postured himself as her advocate.
Jesus doesn’t need for us to stick up for him; he needs us to represent him, to be like him, to look like him and to talk like him, to be with people that he would be with.
Pre-institutional church – small groups of faithful countercultural people did incredible things to influence their world from the margins. Their lives exposed and challenged the present value system with new Kingdom values.
People will always be interested in good news if it is observable.
Community open to all- I trust that as we continue to provide him a place in our community he too will prefer our views because of what he sees in us.
Jesus knew that the only people who would find his news to be bad news would be people who didn’t want to lose control of their lives. Everyone else would view his gospel as an attractive alternative to the life they were experiencing.
Blessing – the life of God flowing tangibly onto his people.
Notice: I am not a professional book reviewer. When I read a book, I try to make a list of all the key quotes that spoke to me. Here they are.
The Tangible Kingdom: Creating Incarnational Community, The Posture and Practices of Ancient Church Now by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay
Missional and incarnational- two words that describe ancient faith communities in the Book of Acts who lived a countercultural, communal experience that always influenced the cultures they found themselves in.
We leaders need to model a new way of life, live Christ’s alternative ways in the world again. Make the Kingdom of God tangible.
Jesus asked us to accomplish the proliferation of global blessing and the making of apprentices of Jesus (people that look, act, and sound like he did!)
Christians must learn to live the gospel as a distinct people who no longer occupy the center of society, build relational bridges that win a hearing.
To move forward, we can’t keep everything we’ve always had. Ancient faith communities were lean. When you don’t have all the “stuff,” you’re left with a lot of time to spend with people.
Don’t throw out the church folks that won’t necessarily see the vision and “do,” they can help support the old and new structures that will allow others to go out.
We can’t try to fix church from the inside-out, we must go out and then let church reemerge as a reflection and the natural outgrowth of our missional way of life.
Missional has an inseparable twin. It’s called incarnational.
Non-Christians find it highly offensive when Christians try to tell them truths without any tangible relationship.
1 Thessalonians 2:8 So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves
Our posture with sojourners (temporary, spiritually curious but disoriented God seekers) must be correct. When posture is wrong, we are perceived as enemy. When correct, we are perceived as an advocate. Sojourners belong before they believe. Belonging may be a long process.
Correct posture- caring in a way that touches another soul, person to person, rather than trying to fix that person from a position of superiority. John 8 – Jesus “bent down” to physically get on the adulteress’ level. He lowers himself and becomes her advocate. He challenges her to sin no more, but not before he postured himself as her advocate.
Jesus doesn’t need for us to stick up for him; he needs us to represent him, to be like him, to look like him and to talk like him, to be with people that he would be with.
Pre-institutional church – small groups of faithful countercultural people did incredible things to influence their world from the margins. Their lives exposed and challenged the present value system with new Kingdom values.
People will always be interested in good news if it is observable.
Community open to all- I trust that as we continue to provide him a place in our community he too will prefer our views because of what he sees in us.
Jesus knew that the only people who would find his news to be bad news would be people who didn’t want to lose control of their lives. Everyone else would view his gospel as an attractive alternative to the life they were experiencing.
Blessing – the life of God flowing tangibly onto his people.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Internal Church PR
Good PR (public relations, promotion, word-of-mouth) is vital not just outward to your community but also inward to your congregation.
Why?
• builds congregation morale (if you aren't highlighting all the great stuff happening, stuff that may not be seen by everybody, people will tend to focus on the one or two things they don't like. Overwhelm them with the positive ways that God is working through this church.)
• increases financial giving (people give to a winning cause)
• increases servant/volunteer participation (people serve where a difference is being made)
• exposes people to the mission
• enhances and grows the mission
• develops promoters
It is amazing how many church members miss our promotion and communications. You've got to hit every avenue repeatedly and then do some more. You may be sick of it, but that's because you are involved every moment of every day. Your people aren't. Most of them don't go to bed thinking about the church like you do.
Essentials:
1. Spotlight positive things happening in Printed Bulletin and Newsletter, Electronic Bulletin and Newsletter, Facebook, Website, Bulletin Board
•Roswell UMC– “Celebrations” section in each bulletin and newsletter
•Austell FUMC - “Counting our BLESSings: A Report on How We Blessed Our Community” section in each bulletin and newsletter
•Pictures. Pictures. More Pictures.
•Testimonies, thank you notes printed, newspaper stories
2. During worship
•Pre-service slides with pictures from church activities and mission (let’s people see what they missed and feel good about all that is happening at this church)
•Sharing our Praises during the Offering
•Read thank you notes aloud
•Pastor tells how money is changing lives/making an impact as lead-in to Offertory prayer
•Mission Moment: Austell FUMC – “BLESS Profile” (different mission of the church highlighted each week. Also used to educate congregation about the outside organizations/schools we are involved in)
•Testimonies (live or video)
•Use Holy Communion offering to collect for a different mission each time (great way to do required/suggested UMC offerings)
3. Church financial giving statements
Do them more often and include a celebration letter highlighting how people’s giving is making a huge difference!
WARNING: Think long and hard about how you will communicate negative information.
Action Steps
** Find a consistent way to spotlight positive happenings in your bulletin and newsletter. Call it something that people will look for (i.e. Celebrations)
** For those with video in worship, pre-service slides every week with pictures of church happenings. For those without video, get a TV and put the digital pictures on a running loop in the Narthex or post them on a poster board and easel.
** Weekly Mission Moment in worship. The discipline of doing this weekly will let people know that mission/outreach is who we are, not some fad.
BONUS: All three of these things will stretch the pastor and the church to do more mission/outreach, if for no other reason than you don’t want to repeat the same thing every single week!
Why?
• builds congregation morale (if you aren't highlighting all the great stuff happening, stuff that may not be seen by everybody, people will tend to focus on the one or two things they don't like. Overwhelm them with the positive ways that God is working through this church.)
• increases financial giving (people give to a winning cause)
• increases servant/volunteer participation (people serve where a difference is being made)
• exposes people to the mission
• enhances and grows the mission
• develops promoters
It is amazing how many church members miss our promotion and communications. You've got to hit every avenue repeatedly and then do some more. You may be sick of it, but that's because you are involved every moment of every day. Your people aren't. Most of them don't go to bed thinking about the church like you do.
Essentials:
1. Spotlight positive things happening in Printed Bulletin and Newsletter, Electronic Bulletin and Newsletter, Facebook, Website, Bulletin Board
•Roswell UMC– “Celebrations” section in each bulletin and newsletter
•Austell FUMC - “Counting our BLESSings: A Report on How We Blessed Our Community” section in each bulletin and newsletter
•Pictures. Pictures. More Pictures.
•Testimonies, thank you notes printed, newspaper stories
2. During worship
•Pre-service slides with pictures from church activities and mission (let’s people see what they missed and feel good about all that is happening at this church)
•Sharing our Praises during the Offering
•Read thank you notes aloud
•Pastor tells how money is changing lives/making an impact as lead-in to Offertory prayer
•Mission Moment: Austell FUMC – “BLESS Profile” (different mission of the church highlighted each week. Also used to educate congregation about the outside organizations/schools we are involved in)
•Testimonies (live or video)
•Use Holy Communion offering to collect for a different mission each time (great way to do required/suggested UMC offerings)
3. Church financial giving statements
Do them more often and include a celebration letter highlighting how people’s giving is making a huge difference!
WARNING: Think long and hard about how you will communicate negative information.
Action Steps
** Find a consistent way to spotlight positive happenings in your bulletin and newsletter. Call it something that people will look for (i.e. Celebrations)
** For those with video in worship, pre-service slides every week with pictures of church happenings. For those without video, get a TV and put the digital pictures on a running loop in the Narthex or post them on a poster board and easel.
** Weekly Mission Moment in worship. The discipline of doing this weekly will let people know that mission/outreach is who we are, not some fad.
BONUS: All three of these things will stretch the pastor and the church to do more mission/outreach, if for no other reason than you don’t want to repeat the same thing every single week!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
3 Faith Factors in Comeback Churches
Ed Stetzer and Mike Dodson wrote a book entitled, Comeback Churches: How 300 Churches Turned Around and Yours Can Too. They researched churches that had declined or plateaued but then turned it around. Below are some notes from just one chapter of this book.
Comebacks happen when churches are renewed spiritually.
3 Faith Factors of Comeback Churches
1. A renewed belief in Jesus Christ and the mission of the church
2. A Renewed attitude of servanthood
3. A more strategic prayer effort
1. A renewed belief in Jesus Christ and the mission of the church
People who experienced the reality of Jesus on a daily basis motivate their churches to grow. As people are renewed in their beliefs, their actions changed.
Find out what God is calling you to do and do it.
Think in missionary ways about your context.
Your mission determines everything else.
Church grows a heart for its community.
Church grows a heart for those far from God.
Many churches love their traditions more than their community or those far from God.
Fishing (evangelism) lesson – you can’t clean them before you catch them.
2. A Renewed attitude of servanthood
A comeback church realizes its reason for existing is about more than itself and its preferences. They care more about the community than their own preferences. Every church should be contemporary (not necessarily talking about the music). Repent of any traditional idolatries.
Philippians 2:3-8 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross.
3. A more strategic prayer effort
1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing.
Pray for things that matter. Pray for boldness and for a movement of God’s Spirit within the community and in the lives of those who are far from God is part of an effective outreach strategy. Pray for the church to be led to a deeper passion for the community.
Comebacks happen when churches are renewed spiritually.
3 Faith Factors of Comeback Churches
1. A renewed belief in Jesus Christ and the mission of the church
2. A Renewed attitude of servanthood
3. A more strategic prayer effort
1. A renewed belief in Jesus Christ and the mission of the church
People who experienced the reality of Jesus on a daily basis motivate their churches to grow. As people are renewed in their beliefs, their actions changed.
Find out what God is calling you to do and do it.
Think in missionary ways about your context.
Your mission determines everything else.
Church grows a heart for its community.
Church grows a heart for those far from God.
Many churches love their traditions more than their community or those far from God.
Fishing (evangelism) lesson – you can’t clean them before you catch them.
2. A Renewed attitude of servanthood
A comeback church realizes its reason for existing is about more than itself and its preferences. They care more about the community than their own preferences. Every church should be contemporary (not necessarily talking about the music). Repent of any traditional idolatries.
Philippians 2:3-8 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross.
3. A more strategic prayer effort
1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing.
Pray for things that matter. Pray for boldness and for a movement of God’s Spirit within the community and in the lives of those who are far from God is part of an effective outreach strategy. Pray for the church to be led to a deeper passion for the community.
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