“Organization” in the Church

I’ve been working a lot lately to prepare for some church / pastor equipping workshops I will be teaching next weekend. One of the topics is “Structure: How God Wants Us to Interact.”

One of the questions I’m going to ask is in the lines of the “chicken or the egg.” Which comes first?

How often can you think of a time in your own church experience that someone did a job and someone complained? It may not have been because of poor effort. Rather, it was due to a difference of expectations.

In that light, the issue we’ll seek to address at that point is how to define an objective BEFORE starting to do the task. It may sound like an obvious thing, but then why do we have so many problems? Why are there so many issues with “I know you did it and it worked, but it wasn’t what I expected.”

Any thoughts?

Yours in Christ,

Marty

New Year – Same “Changes?”

We’ve never done it that way before!

Change is a scary word. We all like the comfort and peace found in the familiar. Add a hiccup to our routine and the entire day can be thrown off…

And yet, change is a part of life. The world is constantly changing and in motion. We begin to change from the moment of conception. As we grow, we change. Even a rock changes under the elements!

Rather than discuss the reasons why we are so resistant to change, I’m just going to lay out a few simple steps to implementing change:

1. Educate prior to change. Let people know why you are doing something.
2. Model how to live with change. Even if you are struggling, let people see how you are accepting and adjusting.
3. Encourage the positive efforts people are making. Don’t glorify them. Rather glorify what God is doing through them.
4. Love. Even if some continue to resist, love them in Christ.
5. Take small steps. Small planned changes are easier to digest. People react to surprises but can respond to plans.
6. Listen well. Sometimes we don’t see an element someone else does so be sure to listen with open ears to questions or concerns.
7. Change. Don’t focus so much on a change in process that you are blind to the need to change the change or make adjustments!

God is in control. Remember to keep the focus front and center while being flexible on the form.

Yours in Christ,

Marty

Focus versus Form

Continuing on from yesterday…

There are two important distinctions in church ministry vision planning:

FOCUS and FORM

Focus is the point of attention or concentration.

Form is the way that focus is then given shape.

To illustrate, let’s take a quick look at what is commonly called the “Great Commission” found in Matthew 28: 19-20. Two distinct focuses (or foci) of this passage are “go” and “make disciples.”

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Great Commission

So, if a leadership team is looking for the mission of the church, it is clearly laid out here by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We are to go into the world. That’s evangelism. We are to make disciples – that is teach what Jesus has taught. That’s equipping. These two foci are crucial to the church. And, this is universal for EVERY church that believes the Bible is God’s Word.

The part that is then unique for each church is found in the discussion of form.

What are some of the forms of evangelism with which you are familiar? Evangelism Explosion (or E.E. taught by D. James Kennedy) is common. Contagious Christianitywas another form brought out by Willow Creek and Bill Hybels. Lifestyle evangelism, servant evangelism, open air preaching, etc… are but a few more of the numerous examples.

As with the different forms of evangelism, discipleship making also has numerous ways through which that focus can be accomplished. The Sunday morning worship service is one. A Sunday school class is another. Small groups, one-on-one discipleship, gender-based groups are a few more.

As you can see, the form depends on the focus for direction – but the form itself is fluid. What is used in one situation may be different in another. That is why it is so important to understand the difference.

As you think about your church and the vision you believe God has given to you, what are the foci of your leadership? What forms do those then take? Do you believe they are the most effective for reaching those who do not know the love, grace and mercy found in Jesus Christ? If so, what can be done to strengthen those efforts? If not, what can be done to change?

Maybe next time we should talk about change?

Yours in Christ,

Marty

**Side note – No where in this process of vision development is the Holy Spirit to be excluded. The leaders must be praying for unity and focus under the headship of Christ. The vision development process is meant to give order to the Body so the movement is as one.

Churches and the “I’m fine” Syndrome

I’m often asked what exactly LRM (Lay Renewal Ministries) is and does. Depending on the person to whom I’m speaking, the answer can be more or less involved. Since I know there are many degrees of reader familiarity, I’ll start with a broad brush in addressing how we serve leadership. Next week, I hope to address how we serve individuals. 

Of course, I’ll start with a story…

I was visiting a church one Sunday morning and mingling about during the fellowship time. While I was doing this, I overheard a woman speaking to a friend. She was relating how she had asked someone “How are you?” and the person actually told her! The woman sharing the story was befuddled and angry while I was confused. Wasn’t that the point of her asking? I guess not…

The response I’m assuming the woman wanted was “I’m fine.” It’s a safe response. It doesn’t require any effort or real reaction on our part.

When I talk to pastors or church leaders and ask them how things are going, the typical first answer is “Fine.” If I press the issue, the response can go a bit deeper – but usually towards the positive. I’ll hear the statistics on the “ABC’s” – Attendance, Building and Cash.

That’s not what I want to hear.

The real issue we need to discuss is two-fold:

• Are people coming to faith?
• Are people growing spiritually?

If the responses to those questions are negative or not what is desired, then we begin to delve deeper. As a ministry, we’ve developed a couple of tools that we have seen help churches identify some key benchmarks and set goals for helping believers grow in their walks.

The concept of benchmarks can be uncomfortable for some. Does this mean we are becoming “like the world?”

No. Paul was very clear in his letter to the church in Corinth that we need to grow. The progression of growth in a believer’s walk should be noticeable. In what ways? Here are three simple areas to set benchmarks and goals:

• Prayer – We move from a laundry list of our ‘wants’ to a seeking of God’s Will.
• The Word – We move from opening it on Sunday mornings to a regular reading and study.
• Application – We move from trying to ‘be nice’ to an active life of being the hands and feet of Christ.

So, how does LRM help in this process?

First of all, we approach each church as a unique church. (There are no formulas that will work for every church, so we shouldn’t pretend that there are!) Therefore, we speak with the pastor and leadership in an effort to determine exactly where they believe God is leading them and the church family.

We have a unique diagnostic tool we can use to assess and measure various levels of activity. (We do work with other tools also, but this is the primary one we suggest.) From this tool, we begin to prayerfully discuss and seek how they might move forward for God’s glory.

We meet with the leadership to begin to build or strengthen unity and focus. Depending on the situation, we may work through specific principles we find in our Biblically based leadership material (Basic Leader Training or Leadership Effectiveness Training). These principles are then applied specifically to the church in its unique setting and location. If these are not appropriate, then we take principles found in the Word and work to build a special program that will address where they are and where they hope to go as God leads.

I hope that gives you an introduction of the initial approach to discussing how LRM serves leaders in the church. Over the next few days, I plan to expand on the specific principles found in leadership development and training and how LRM partners with you.

Yours in Christ,

Marty

**See also the post on “A Story – SGCIS”

A Story – SGCIS

After a chance encounter at a pastor’s breakfast, Pastor Bob and Pastor Tom had been meeting together for several years. Although they were from different denominations, they both felt the call of God to reach the community with the message of salvation through Jesus Christ. Putting aside denominational differences, they met together, prayed together as brothers in the Lord and developed a deep friendship. 

 

Both churches they served had reached a plateau of 150. As they talked one morning, Bob realized that a family had left his church and gone to Tom’s. Likewise, Tom realized that a family had left his church and gone to Bob’s. This wasn’t the first time they had “swapped sheep.”

 

Neither could remember the last time they had a person profess faith in Jesus Christ for the first time. Feeling discouraged, they realized they needed to do something to have a greater impact. They found a survey tool and agreed to use it in their respective churches. What follows is their story…

 

A tale of two churches…

 

Monday morning

 

“Morning Bob.”

 

“Good morning Tom. Sorry I’m a few minutes late. I see Judy already has coffee ready.”

 

“No problem on the time. I was just enjoying my first cup. What did you bring this morning?”

 

“I received it in the mail yesterday. It is a sample packet for a survey tool I think we can use. A friend of mine who pastors a church on the coast suggested I take a look at it.”

 

“A survey? What kind of survey?”

 

“It’s called the Spiritual Growth and Community Impact Survey. It is a survey for the entire church to take during worship. There are only 36 questions – most of which are ‘yes’ and ‘no’ answers.”

 

The two pastors sat together, drinking coffee and enjoying breakfast. As they reviewed the survey, they tried to discern how their leadership teams and the congregation would respond. With some trepidation but clear resolution, both agreed to take it back to their leadership teams. Regardless of the reception, they both wanted to make the attempt to help their churches grow spiritually deeper and reach out more to the community.

 

 

Tuesday evening – Pastor’s Bob’s church

 

Mike practically leapt out of his chair. His fist pounded hard on the table.

 

“This is church!” he exclaimed. “You want to give people a test in the middle of a church service?”

 

“No, no” answered Pastor Bob, trying to remain calm. “This is not a test. It’s a survey. I simply want to help us get some more information so we can move forward.”

 

“We are moving forward,” yelled Mike. “We approved fixing up the children’s wing. We are launching a capital campaign to build a new fellowship hall. Choir is starting up again. We are supporting a new missionary family. There is a lot happening.”

 

“I know. And I don’t want to stop any of that activity right now. I simply think it would benefit the church if we could prayerfully take a look inside at the health of our church and how we are reaching out.”

 

Fred, ever the diplomat, motioned for attention. “Mike, I hear you and I certainly agree that we are very busy right now. But, if I’m hearing Pastor correctly, this wouldn’t take away from any of that. In fact, it might help us as we look towards plans for the new building and how it will be used. I think we should try this.”

 

“Well, I don’t. I vote no,” replied Mike angrily.

 

Pastor Bob lowered his head sadly. As the voices around him argued back and forth, he chastised himself for even bringing this up. He didn’t need any more of his leaders angry with him. Fred, noticing the slump of the pastor’s shoulders, called for attention.

 

“Friends, I don’t know if this will be a good thing for the church or not. Pastor obviously feels that it will help all of us and I feel inclined to support him. Let’s go ahead and put it to a vote,” said Fred. “All those in favor?”

 

The vote was 5 to 4. Although it wasn’t the ringing endorsement he had hoped for, Pastor Bob was nevertheless happy it was going forward.

 

 

Wednesday evening – Pastor Tom’s church

 

“Do you really think we need to do this Pastor?” asked Judy. “I mean, I’m not against it, but what will we do with the information? What if we aren’t doing well? I don’t know what we would do if we had more families leave because we changed things.”

 

“I understand your apprehension, Judy,” Tom replied. “But the survey is only going to provide us with information. It is up to us to determine what we are going to do with it.”

 

“Have you looked at some of these questions, though?” asked Bill. “As I understand it, we are supposed to make guesses about how people will respond.”

 

“Not quite, Bill,” said Tom. “We don’t guess how people will respond. We need to set some expectations for what we would like to see at our church.”

 

“OK – but I want to see 100% of these things. The first “yes or no” statement is: I am sure of my salvation through Jesus Christ. I want to have 100% of the people in our church knowing Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. Does anyone not want that?”

 

“I don’t,” said Joe.

 

Everyone turned to Joe in surprise.

 

“What do you mean Joe?” asked Rachel. “You can’t be serious!”

 

“I am. Everyone who joins our church must be sure of their salvation through Christ. And I do want people to give their lives to Christ. But I don’t want to have everyone visiting our church to already have that relationship. Would we really be doing outreach and evangelism if that were true? I want to see people visiting our church who are seeking that relationship. I want to see people every week who want to know more about Jesus. Maybe I’m wrong, but I think that is what a church that is really looking outwardly to fulfill the Great Commission would have on Sunday morning.”

 

The room grew quiet. Joe’s words had opened their eyes to something they hadn’t considered in a long time. Had they grown complacent to reaching out with the love of Christ?

 

“Pastor Tom? Could we have a time of prayer? After that, I’d like to vote,” said Judy.

 

The vote was unanimous. Every leader wanted to do the survey.

 

Missional?

In the course of church history, there have been many “movements” of God’s people. I believe you could easily define the most notable of these movements as the Protestant Reformation. It was through this movement that Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of Wittenberg – the “spark” that lit the fire.

Of course, a modern day “movement” within evangelical circles would note the “purpose-driven” efforts that began with the publication of The Purpose Driven Church in 1995. Through this book, many churches began looking again at the why’s and how’s of church efforts.

Lately, the “movement” I have seen growing is the missional movement. Although there are a few differing opinions of what missional really is, I’ll borrow the definition of Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in NY. He states missional is: adapting and reformulating absolutely everything [a church does] in worship, discipleship, community and service so as to be engaged with the culture around it(The Missional Church, June 2001).

Now, it would be easy to pick apart that definition. “Absolutely everything” is rather strong language. Does that mean we are changed by the culture? Should we not be seeking to change the culture? The tone of the definition posed might lend one to think that the Church is on the defensive rather than the offensive.

I only stated those things to point out that it would be easy to argue with that approach. However, that would be missing the point.

As I see it, the point of missional is to be engaged with the culture. Too long has the church focused on programatic ministry rather than ministry itself. We follow schedules rather than thinking about the reasons why we are doing these things.

Let’s take a sacred cow in many churches – VBS. Should a church do VBS each year? Personally, I think yes. It is a tremendous way to reach out in the community. You are engaging children in the truth and love of Jesus Christ. However, that does not mean it should always be done in the same way.

A missionally minded church would take a deeper look at how they were using VBS.

• Is it a drop-off center for parents to get free child-care? If so, then it is programatic.
• Is it an effort to connect parents and children together throughthe church and draw them closer to Christ? If so, then it is more missional.

Examples of ways to make it missional would be:

• Hold a one-week evening VBS with dinner where parents stay and participate
• Offer connection points that draw in parents for engagement other than a concluding program
• Host a one-day VBS blast for the entire family on a Saturday

Missional VBS programs would also seek to engage points of culture with the program. Rather than discussing service, they would seek to do service. (Be honest – your first thought was about liability, wasn’t it?)

Anyway – this is going on way too long. I’d encourage you to think about the ministries of your church. Are they programatic or missionally driven? Does your leadership understand the vision that God has given to the church? Do the hearts of those in the church bleed for the lost?

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Maybe everything is great. Maybe there are a few small planned changes that can be made. Maybe it is time for a complete overhaul.

You’ll never know unless you ask.

Yours in Christ,
Marty

From Turnips to God

Prepare for ping-pong thoughts…

For my birthday last year, I donated blood.

While that may seem like a very strange thing to do, donating blood has long been on my list of things I’d like to do. Why not? It’s not like I really need all of the stuff that is currently flowing around my body. If – through a few minutes of my time – I might be able to help someone else, I’m glad to be able to do so. I’ve donated every 8 weeks now for the last 18 months or so.

However, I don’t qualify for “super-donations” – also know as apheresis.  Somehow, they take the platelets while putting the rest of the stuff back in your body. Unfortunately, for some reason, my blood doesn’t have the right make-up.  

Pretty cool stuff though…

LRM has been working in partnership with over 25 churches on a special survey process (Spiritual Growth and Community Impact Survey). Through this survey, over 400 leaders and 5,000 individuals have the opportunity to measure and assess their levels of outreach and growth.

The wonderful thing about this survey is the ability of the church’s leadership to cut through all the garbage. There is no “he says / she says” attachment. It is a clear cut and direct way to be honest. Then you get to have fun and set some goals to grow forward.

Powerful stuff…

I was reminded this morning of a time when I went into an abandoned ice cream factory with some friends. The cooler area – where we had once enjoyed spending time watching the workers in freezing cold temperatures – was now empty and a bit spooky. While it was exciting for the three of us to be in the empty building, I had a moment of panic at the thought of being stuck inside.

Scary stuff…

As all of these thoughts were ping-ponging around inside my head, another one emerged: “You can’t squeeze blood out of a turnip.”

You see, during all of this rather cool, very powerful and slightly scary statistical analysis, I’ve been both impressed and disappointed. Great spiritual foundations / poor spiritual foundations. Great outreach / poor outreach. Healthy perspectives / unrealistic perspectives.

The big question for each church will be the ever so powerful “SO WHAT?”

If you can’t squeeze blood from a turnip, what can you do with numbers? How can you pull the essence from those numbers and turn it into something that that gives life? How do you take something that appears to have limited use and make it count for something? How do you take a church that is stagnating or a church that is growing and make even better things happen for the glory of God?

First and foremost, the greatest thing of all, is that this is in God’s hands. God will do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine. God can take a group of miserable sinners and transform them so that they become a powerful and incredible testimony of His grace and glory.  

So – – – We pray. We seek Godly wisdom. We seek Godly counsel. We pray some more. We get to work.

Bob Fenn told me that his mentor, Fred Smith, used to tell him – God will never do anything for you that you can do for yourself. God will do everything for you that only He can do.

So what? So let’s do it! Let’s take an honest look at who we are, where we are and where we are going. Let’s seek God’s direction for the next step. Let’s do everything we can and not worry about the rest. If it is part of God’s plan, the outcome is already certain. Remember – LIFE was already given through Someone else’s blood.

Yours in Christ,

Marty