Leadership

I felt like jotting down a few thoughts after seeing that my blogging friend Ben Arment turned his blog comments off due to time constraints. Seems folks were engaging him in some debate and it was hard for Ben to keep up. Recently, he was fielding some comments from others about church success and his well planned “Whiteboard Sessions” one-day conference he has coming up. It seems every time the subject of church “success” is discussed, it never fails that a lively debate ensues; usually dealing with such non-essential things as music styles and bible translations. Not that those things aren’t important, but they are NOT essential in the large scheme of what the function of the church should be.

So what IS a successful church? As a church planter, I am under pressure to raise money to stay on the field. I’m also under a lot of stress to build a church that will quickly pay its own bills so that we do not have to rely on others to survive. It does take time. We began this work nearly $30,000 in the hole. That was the debt load I inherited when I brought my family here from Missouri. All of that aside, one thing I have learned is what Nelson Searcy would call RTL’s, or “Radically Transformed Lives”, is the key to success in ANY church. I simply tell folks we are in the business of “Life Transformation”. Of course, that transformation must begin with our commitment to Christ and whether or not we have truly repented and given our hearts to him. But honestly, I measure my success these days by the lives I’ve seen the ministry of our church change. It’s a work in progress and always will be.

“We’re not about religion. Religion sucks. … And this is not your mom’s or grandma’s church.”

So ended the comment from a “pastor” after an opening service at yet another new “relevant”, “hip”, “post-modern” church. (add your own adjective). CAN WE PLEASE STOP THIS JUNK? Why is it that on the day that we set aside to recognize Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the world that I have to read about yet another church that’s wiping away the sins of the old….Here’s another comment:

“If you’re looking for a comfortable place to celebrate Easter, been
wounded by old-school church and are looking for something new, or just
curious what this new, modern church movement is actually all about,
come see us.”

Mind you, I consider myself part of what many would call the “modern” church movement. (Though I eschew labels) I do not, however, consider myself separate from the historic church of Jesus Christ. It may have many different flavors, it may have many different ways of “form” as far as church goes, but the “function” of the church never should change. Why people feel free to continually knock the older churches is beyond me. Are there problems with some in the older churches hanging on to power, trying to keep a 1950’s vibe going, and refusing to consider different styles? Surely but there are just as many problems in the hip, new “modern” church. Just ask the guys planting them that really have their hearts in the right place.

I am in a situation where our church meets in a school. We are looking at investing some money in a 24/7 location but where some of these other groups get the millions they do to found new churches is beyond me. I started with a handful of families and we’ve grown by about double in the short time I’ve been here. Nothing like the stories of 400 attending on opening night at some of these other venues but I really don’t care about any of that now. After experiencing and reading about some of the selfishness that goes on in people’s hearts regarding church, I’m reminded of the words Paul wrote to Timothy…

You should also know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control; they will be cruel and have no interest in what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act as if they are religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. You must stay away from people like that. They are the kind who work their way into people’s homes and win the confidence of vulnerable women who are burdened with the guilt of sin and controlled by many desires. Such women are forever following new teachings, but they never understand the truth. And these teachers fight the truth just as Jannes and Jambres fought against Moses. Their minds are depraved, and their faith is counterfeit. But they won’t get away with this for long. Someday everyone will recognize what fools they are, just as happened with Jannes and Jambres. (2 Timothy 3:1-9 NLT)

You might say I’m being harsh but isn’t what I’m reading slanderous? Ripping some other person’s choice of a house of worship and talking about the wounded makes me sick. There are plenty of people who get wounded in the “new” church too but by people who wish to make no claims of piety so they think that clears them from any judgment. Even worse are those who feel “called” to pastor but yet, can’t find a church who will hire them so they go off and start something new because they are too “forward thinking” for the old crowd. (sarcasm intended). Then, they preach to unsuspecting, “wounded”, unchurched folks and spew their venom about the “old ways” while smiling! It happens all the time. If that’s not you, GREAT. But I’ve read enough of it over the past few days that I know it’s out there. That mindset will never truly succeed. Oh, they might gather a crowd, but God will not be there and his spirit will not guide the poor, desolate souls looking for a drink of water in a parched dry land.

After the last comment I posted in italics, I noted a message that had been left of this person’s blog by a visitor. I think it sums up the situation perfectly…

“…if a particular congregation meets the needs of a particular individual
or family and changes their heart in the way that Christianity is
supposed to, I am not going to knock that particular church because of
its institutional structure.…Faith is personal, it probably should be kept in the
personal realm. Advertise for a particular church, but don’t knock the
church of others.”

Well stated.

May God bless you as you pause and reflect on Jesus’ willingness to go to the cross for your sins. Let us use Good Friday as it was intended. For our growth and not for tearing down someone else.

I need to be writing more. I know. Writing helps me to think clearly as I go through my day. I’ve made the choice that I will simplify where possible and ease stress in my life. My chest started hurting the other day as I was in the midst of something and I think my heart was saying “slow down” again! Time to reduce, time to simplify. To wit:

1. I’ve been gradually getting rid of my excess stuff on Craig’s List or Freecycle. I’m clearing out old books, excess computer stuff I no longer use but hung onto “just in case”, and I’m selling a lot of my prized book “sets” I used to use for sermon prep. Much of it I get online now and I’m planning in a ten year window so my wife and I can settle into a town home at some point with very little “stuff”. The money I’ve made selling all of this old stuff is being put back for a potential purchase of an Amazon Kindle reader. Then, I can get rid of more books as I purchase the ones I really want to keep for the kindle.

2. I got frustrated with my razor and threw it out. I’m so tired of “four blades, five blades, battery powered, etc…” The ads were killing me. I found my old twin blade “Atra” razor handle I used to use in the 80’s and guess what? My local K-Mart still stocks the blades for it. They are a lot cheaper too and the shave is still the same. Nobody at church has noticed that my face isn’t cleaner because I pared two blades from the cartridge and no longer need triple “A” batteries to make it shave even closer.

3. My wife’s brother died Saturday at age 43. It kinda put the whole salad of life into perspective. Especially as I watch her pack as I write this. Our church will continue long after God tells me I’m done. I tend to get quite forward focused and there’s nothing wrong with that but when it becomes my primary life force, I’m through. God let me know that Saturday. The church isn’t God. My relationship with God isn’t through the church, it’s merely strengthened there as I meet with other travelers on the journey and, as pastor, help them when they fall. I’m still driven to see the church be all that God wants it to be but even he (God) let me know that if I focus ONLY on that at the expense of other things, he will not bless it.

4. I’m through thinking that these church “conferences” are the end all they are marketed to be. With names like “Cut Loose”, “Roar Forward”, “Intensify” and other powerful sounding words like that, they are little more than time intensive, expensive, get aways. (Yes, yes, I made up the names so please don’t Google them looking for them…you know the ones I mean). I mean no disrespect to the guys planning them but as I’ve stated before, We should be able to get the same refreshment on the local level through a local conference. My worship guy and I are going to a similar type event that will be a half-day Saturday experience at my friend’s local Four-Square church. Lunch is included and I have my evening to go over my sermon. I don’t have the time, nor the money, to travel across the country for these events and in reality, the context of their ministry doesn’t necessarily fit mine. Are there things there that could potentially benefit us? Sure, but I should be able to get the same nuggets of wisdom by purchasing a DVD at a reasonable price. Truly, out of all of these that I’ve seen, the only cost effective seminar that has the church planter’s context in mind is the HUMANA event put on by Alex McManus (Erwin’s brother). I really don’t need someone else to “rock my world” as I’ve read many times. God is doing a good enough job of that as I submit to him in my daily devotions.

Perhaps I’ll write more but for now, that’s enough.

Good luck!

“Your church is so nice and friendly…it’s just that it’s a bit small and we need something bigger…”  Those are words I’ve heard many times over the years as a church planter.  Truth is…I’m sick of them.  Our culture feeds this myth of the large church and the consumerism mindset of shallow people.  Even in Christian blogging, I’m beginning to see it.  When I entered the blog world a few years ago, I was discovering other writers, men whose churches were similar to mine.  Even amongst some of the larger churches, I found solace from friends who understood because everyone starts somewhere right?

So why all of a sudden are we seeing this alarming trend in blogging that lists the “top churches” and “top blogging pastors”?  I’ve nothing against those guys.  I’m sure many are solid, sharp folks but it appears the very cliques we disdain in our congregations are forming on-line in the blogosphere.  Don’t believe me?  Take a look at the most popular pastors (you know them…they are in your feed readers) and check out their blogroll.  I keep seeing the same 10-15 names on every single blog!  Really?  These are the only guys you get insight from?  All across the country, it’s the same “top ten” on the blogroll.  Personally, I think the creation of tags has made the blogroll useless on a site.  One can list their favorite links in a post and update the post with new links and just tag it with favorite blogs if someone is interested in searching it.  I’m likely going to do the same thing on this site in the near future.

Back to the issue of “top tens”, we now have other sites featuring blogs from the same guys.  Really?  Like nobody has heard of these fellas right?  If you’re blogging as a church planter or “progressive, missional, (insert name here), etc..” type of pastor or layman, you know these folks already.  I understand the concept of viral marketing thoroughly.  This is a small microcosm of that.  I read a lot of productivity blogs too and have been turned on to new sites by the recommendation of others.  There’s nothing wrong with it.  I guess my thought is what criteria do we use to recommend these blogs?  Is it purely church size?  Does size matter?  It appears so.  I’ve yet to see anyone list a guy whose church is running 200 and he’s “knockin’ it out of the park” to quote one of the famous blogging pastors.  How about guys under 100?  Perhaps we need to subcategorize the church blogosphere so we can identify those guys that are “nailing it” that aren’t seeing hundreds and hundreds of folks come through their doors.

The reality is, the blogrolls we see today will be gone in five years.  The churches will likely still remain but will begin to transition into another category much like the favorite sons of the 90’s are doing.  by 2013, I’ll be nearing 47 years of age and by the church planting standards in the blogosphere, I’ll be a dinosaur.  The truth is, I’ll be entering my very best years and my dream is to have my graduate degree by then and enter the sweetest time of fellowship with Jesus I’ll have ever had.

Most of my favorite reads in the Christian blogging world aren’t even a blip on people’s radars.  Many aren’t subscribed to by 100’s but the meat of their words sure beats much of the pablum I read on a daily basis.  Here’s just a few…

Michael Quicke
Quicke’s blog is relatively new.  He is the writer of 360-degree preaching and 360-degree leadership.  He’s so new to this stuff (starting in his 60’s!), that he’s just using the blogspot format to get started.  A professor of preaching who has pastored a church that was thought to be dying revived, he has great wisdom in the scriptures.

Church Matters
This is the blog of the 9Marks organization.  I don’t always agree with EVERYTHING they write about, but I do believe this blog is spot on with many of its statements.  It makes some folks a little uneasy and angers others because they don’t want to be “attacked” but taking to heart what’s written here is good for us to chew on when we want to assess what it is we are doing.  Again, multiple authors post here so I do not agree with all of them, but I enjoy reading all of them.

John Atkinson
John is the small groups pastor at Bil Cornelius’ church.  Bil is the co-author of “Go Big” lest you think I’m against the mega-church which I’m not.  John’s blog is nice because the guy is transparent many times.  “I’ve been too busy to post”, “It rained on our cookout”, “People frustrate me”, etc…This is the kind of guy that I could hang out with at a hot wings place over a ball game and enjoy learning from.  His friend G. Brandon Cunningham also blogs and heads up men’s ministry at the church.  I include Cunningham in that offer of hot wings too.  Both are enjoyable reads when they can post and both are real in the struggles they face as Christians.

Terry Glaspey
Glaspey is one of my favorite writers.  I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing him twice when I worked in the broadcast industry and he is as nice in person as he comes across in his writing.  His book “Great books of the Christian Tradition” now re-released as “The Book Lovers Guide to Great Reading” was outstanding in its recommendations of classic Christian literature.  The books he recommends are not what you see being written about in the blogosphere.  With so many new books entering the publishing world each year, it’s getting harder and harder to pick good books from today’s writers but Glaspey’s book ensures you will get the sweet cream of the crop of writing centuries old with his reading lists.  He’s written other books but “Great Reading” is still my favorite.  His blog recently went online and I am so glad.  I think it will be another extension of his creative, humble, writing self that we’ll see on a semi-regular basis.

There are many others that I need to include.  But these are some you just don’t see getting any plugs in the blogosphere.  They deserve as much kudos as any other site I’ve read in the past year.  Enjoy..and ENOUGH ALREADY!

If you or your church is looking for an outstanding Easter outreach, let me recommend “Simple” by Robert J. Morgan.  You may have read Morgan’s books on the classic hymns and the stories behind them in the “Then sings my soul” series.  You might have heard of him when you’ve used the “Minister’s Annual” that’s printed each year by Thomas Nelson but I believe this little booklet is one of his best works ever.  Why?  Because it gives you a chance to put a quality resource into the hands of first time attenders and new believers that gives them the basics of the Christian faith without being wordy or “over their head”.

Click Here to visit the SIMPLE website and check it out yourself.

The video features an opening statement by a good friend, Matt Markins, who himself is in leadership at a church in Tennessee.  I know these guys personally and they will take great care of you if you choose to use this resource.  For those who might want to use this for a message series, sermon outlines are available also if you ask for them!  We used this last year with great results…so much so that I now keep a case of SIMPLE in my car along with my New Testaments, to give to people I meet.  A new study guide is available as well to help you in your efforts to use the materials in the book.

As a church planter, I review a lot of materials for use in guest follow up.  This is among the best I’ve seen.  Many of us blog about wanting to keep things “simple” in our ministries.  Well, this is a great tool to do that while still being very, very effective.

My advice?  Buy it, use it, use it again…and again…with each new guest that comes through your doors! (and no, I’m not being paid nor am I with the company.  I just endorse what I believe in.)

Check it out and let me know if I can help you by sharing with you how we used in here at our church!

“Zen to Done” is the ebook published by “Zen Habits” blog author Leo Babauta.  Over the years, Babauta has refined a productivity system that combines much of the best advice from systems developed by Steven Covey and David Allen but is essentially it’s own system of doing things.  In this aspect, I think any of us who try to refine our organization methods can relate with Babauta’s work here.  Even in the ebook, Babauta cautions that not all of his system may be of use to you.  He even offers a stripped down version of his method early on in the book to give you an alternative.

Let me first clear up a misconception that many (even myself at first) would have with “ZTD” as it’s known.  This is NOT “Getting Things Done” rehashed.  Those of you who have followed David Allen’s system for years (known as GTD by it’s devotees) will look and see similarities since Babauta willingly admits to modifying some of Allen’s methods.  Collecting tasks and organizing them into lists is nothing new that was just developed by Allen.  Doing it with the method he promotes is a bit unique but Babauta never claims complete creative genius here.  He simply shares what’s worked for him and in doing that, he has put together a system that’s uniquely his while incorporating some of the best of others’ works.  Followers of Covey’s “First Things First” and “Seven Habits” system will recognize the “Big Rocks” and “MIT’s” (most important tasks) in Babauta’s writing but there are other aspects of the book unique to ZTD and there is much here you can benefit from.

I think all of us have modified systems for our own personal use.  Not one system works exactly the same for each person.  I’ve read Allen, Covey, and more recently, Mark & Trapper Woods’ excellent book “Forget the Seven Habits and Break all the Rules” which outlines some interesting methods of time management.  ZTD allows enough flexibility to incorporate methods you’ve gleaned from these other books and use it in Babauta’s system.  Another plus, there are just 10 simple habits to learn and you are encouraged to take them one at a time over the course of the year to improve your productivity.  As a pastor, I’ve utilized much of Babauta’s advice and the ZTD system is one that I think could benefit anyone who’s made a new year’s resolution to get organized.  This is a system that’s flexible, easy to learn, and highly effective if you commit to it.  The book is fairly priced for all that’s in it. ($9.50 through PayPal). You can purchase it here.  Babauta recently released his copyright on the book so you can share it with a friend you think might benefit from his work.  The idea is that if your friend really does benefit from the book, he might feel led to make a donation to Babauta’s “Zen Habits” work that is featured on his blog.  If you read “Zen Habits” often, you’ll find all the nuts and bolts of his system without purchasing anything.  The book simply organizes and puts a nice copy of the entire method in your hands for cheap.  I purchased the ebook after putting it off for a while after I read about Babauta’s release of copyright.  I figured I owed him as much since I’ve benefited from his work.

If you are looking to clear the clutter from your desk this year and feel more alert, energized, and in control, then pick up a copy of ZTD and read it in a night.  You’ll be glad you did.

I’m preparing to take the Strengths Finder 2.0 assessment sometime this week, perhaps as early as tomorrow.  I read this post from my blog reader and decided to take the author’s advice this weekend.  I had some Borders “bucks” earned (about $5) and a 30% off coupon so I picked up the book for about $8 Saturday morning.  I’ve read the introduction and reviewed the 34 strengths that are listed.  I’m just too tired to take the assessment right now.  I think going to head off to bed and take the time needed to do this tomorrow.  I’ll post my results after I receive my report.

There’s a Christian variation of the book that I’m very interested in.  “Living Your Strengths” was published a few years back and is similar in its assessment but puts the strengths together in a Christian perspective.  One of my goals for the church in 2008 is to do a better job organize our giftedness and putting it work for maximum benefit.  I think this book might be the key.  I’ll review them both and fill you in on what I’ve decided.  For now though, it’s time for bed.  I’ll write more later this week!

Nearly a year ago, I blogged on what I called “ChurchPlantSpeak”.  That is, the “expert” voices at the time who were explaining why so many church plants fail.  You can read the post by clicking here.

With 2007 drawing to a close and nearly a year passing since I wrote that piece, I first reflected on my feelings at the time and now, looking ahead, I see even more that confuses me on this whole issue of planting a church.  Here’s why…

In just a few months, I’ve seen the complete shutdown of two local church plants and fading of a few others.  I’ve had my own growing pains this year so I can related but in both cases of the church plant shutdowns I mention, the pastors’ abrupt resignations and moving out of state brought about situations that left their fledgling congregations with little choice but to fold up shop.  Leadership had not been cultivated and therefore, the church had no direction.  This is what I meant in my piece a year ago when I said it’s easy to build a crowd a mile wide in church today but so very often this large crowd is “an inch deep”, meaning they are spiritually very immature and at the first sign of hardship, they jump ship!

I’m more convinced then ever that we as leaders need to make leadership mentoring our top priority as we see our churches begin to take on new people.  That’s not to diminish evangelism and “soul winning” as it’s been called over the years.  But it’s my job as a pastor to train up folks to do this work also so that I can pour quality time into the lives of those who will help me sustain this work.  Think of Jesus.  He took his 12 disciples and spent the bulk of his ministry teaching them.  Yes he did many miracles…but the Bible is replete with stories about his training and teaching of the disciples.

I’ve not seen as many articles on the subject of why church plants fail like I did at this time last year.  Perhaps some of these men have been humbled to see that they are not beyond struggles also.  I still see the occasional post on what others need to be doing, etc…but by and large, many of the blogs I’m subscribed to now are more encouraging and understanding.  The “ChurchPlantSpeak” of ‘06 was far more spicy than that of it’s successive commentary a year later.

Rather than focus on any one thing…Here’s what is working for us….

1.  Prayer.  We pray fervently for God to bless our work.  My wife and I open our home once a month (small as it is) and we invite the entire church to come over on that evening (Usually, a Sunday evening) and enjoy snacks, a time of devotion, and then uninterrupted prayer for as long as it takes.  The “community” we are building in doing this is paying great dividends.

2. Leadership development.  As I mentioned earlier, my focus is still on new people and gathering a crowd but I have begun to say no to some commitments to give me time to pour my life into a few others (a few at a time!) that will not only support the church, but also LEAD in it.  Doing this has been wonderful for me.

3. Let your people know you care.  I’ve seen very little written in the blogosphere regarding this area.  What I’m talking about is writing notes and calling your people to let them know you are thinking about them.  I have a great pastor friend who told me if I could touch 10-15 people a week with a note of concern and care, it would do great things for me!  He was right.  I hand write notes so the person receiving knows I thought enough of them to take the time and not “cut and paste” something.  I also make brief calls (usually, no longer than 3 mins) just to check in on others and to make sure they are OK.  Another source is email so you can see that in under an hour, you can touch all these lives with the gospel.  That’s wonderful.

I have other thoughts to share on this but for now, I’m going to close.  Those three should give you food for thought and I welcome your criticisms and comments.

~Until next time

As a pastor and church planter I’m constantly looking for better ways to utilize my time.  Since there are no time clocks to punch and I am my only overseer, I’m probably tougher on myself on my use of time than I would be with an employee.  I keep a pretty wore out day planner and I combine both my personal and work calendars in it.  I like what Trapper Woods espouses in his book “Forget the 7 habits and Break all the Rules”.  Essentially, he says because we have to be flexible in both areas, we need to think of our days as fixed amounts of time that cannot be expanded and then, find the best balance of how we fill the amount of time we are given.  Also, he points to the fact that technology now blurs what is set apart as “work” time and what is considered “family” time and that each is different for each person.  In short, we need to make the most of the time we are given.  He then gives several helpful ways to account for our time.

I mention this because two excellent blog posts came across my desk today.  The first is from author Seth Godin.  His post: “(Are you) Getting in your way?” discusses our execution strategy and applies to everyone but has something to say to us as church leaders.  One quote:

“So, as a percentage of the time you spend at work, what percent would
you say qualifies as “marketing”? I’m going to count educating
yourself, networking, creating products, creating media, spending
money, building networks of sneezers, inventing great stuff, executing
great stuff, motivating front-line people and telling stories.”

I like this quote.  To me, it says: “How much of my time am I thinking about reaching others with the gospel message?”  Granted sermon preparation is the number one priority as set apart in the book of Acts.  But after that, where is my time going with people?  Am I building a network of “sneezers” as Godin asks?  By that, he’s speaking of “contagion” which means spreading the “germ” of the gospel.  Am I building a network of outreach to increase opportunities to share the gospel?  I think sometimes as church leaders, we get this turned around.  We think it’s our sole responsibility to be the lead evangelist when the bible tells us to train others for the work of ministry.  That doesn’t mean not doing it but it does beg the question “Am I building others to do this too?”  That’s the crux of Godin’s thought.  Using our time wisely.  Unless you want to be up at all hours of the day and night doing work that others could and should be doing, you need to be utilizing your time in “motivating front line people” as Godin states, building your network of evangelists to take your message, GOD’S message, out into the marketplace!

That ties in with second blog post.  On “lifehack.org”, Steve Pavlina writes about how to “Set an appointment with yourself”.  Among the questions to ask yourself during this appointment?

1. What are the results I’m getting in the different areas of my life?
2. What mistakes am I making frequently?
3. What do I need to stop?
4. What extra energy/money/time do I have to invest?
5. Where would that investment create the best returns?

We can again think in terms of the ministry here.  Have we analyzed our results lately?  Are they what we want both in our personal growth and in the development of our church?  What mistakes are we making then that we need to correct?  He then touches on time in numbers 4 and 5.  Again, ask yourself how you are wisely spending your time?  Are there things you are doing now that others could do to free you up to focus on the more important aspects of your main task?

So much of this advice applies to us if we take the time to prayerfully consider it.  Many times, pastors will turn up their noses at this type of information because it’s not “spiritual”.  It didn’t come from some great Christian author so why consider it?  The fact is, while we are not in the business world, conducting and managing ourselves as professionals honors God.  If we can glean the items that WILL work in our context, we can benefit greatly from them.  Consider that as you look at these articles and see how you can better use your time.  Can you free up some hours by better training and delegation?  If you can, how can you now use those free hours to extend and expand the vision for the church’s ministry?

“Pastor, we need to leave because we just feel we’re not being fed anymore.”  That probably is the most overused statement in the modern day church today would you not agree?  I’ve been convicted in this “feeding” thought after reading “The Divine Mentor” by Wayne Cordeiro.  I remember a time when I was told in one week that the message I preached on Sunday was “too deep” for one family while another told me the very same week that the message was “too shallow”.  Say what?  I also remember when I used to take this personally but now, I realize it’s normal and depending on the side of the fence you’re on, one response or the other will suffice when leaving a church.

In 2008, our church is going to increase its emphasis on “self feeding”.  I’ve been reading other blogs regarding Cordeiro’s book and the challenge it lays out and see a similar trend developing.  Pastor Phil Print has put together a couple of posts on this topic, including one you can read by clicking here.  Bob Franquiz also did a nice job reviewing this book as well.  If you’d like to check out the first few pages of the book, you can read the introduction at Crosswalk’s “First Chapters” site.

Teaching people of the importance of reading their bibles DAILY isn’t a popular idea for sure.  Oh, we give it lip service in our messages don’t we?  We sprinkle in thoughts while we speak about “taking the time to listen to God every day” and “praying every day” but do we really follow up on it?  Even in a traditional Sunday School or modern small group program do we hold folks accountable for their devotions?  One part in Cordeiro’s book that got my attention was a story he shared about a staffer at his church announcing that he was leaving because he wasn’t being fed anymore.  This was someone on staff!  Cordeiro quickly countered by asking the man about his devotions and when silence was the only reply, Cordeiro willingly accepted the man’s resignation.  This is the type of accountability we need at our churches today.  People who daily meet with God will willingly put selfish desires away and much of the pettiness that we see in our churches that have conflict would be decreased dramatically.  That is not to say that we would be conflict free.  Not at all.  But increased unity would bring about quicker resolution and a peaceful congregation would be the result.

The ideal would be to have everyone involved in a daily time of devotions.  Obviously, that will not happen but we have to strive to make it a part of the church culture and stress it every time someone asks.  Part of our follow up and welcoming procedure at our church is going to include some type of encouragement to get started journaling and reading the bible daily.  It’s still in the works for us as to what that’s going to look like. I know this.  It’s not going to have to be complex.  It’s pretty simple right?  We just want to stress to our people that “self-feeding” is the only way to develop spiritual strength.  All of the other ministries of the church will flow from daily time with our Lord.

More thoughts later..

Wayne Cordeiro’s latest book, “The Divine Mentor” is a great book on how to establish the regular habit of bible reading and journaling.  Sharing his own story of burnout and nearly leaving the ministry, Cordeiro establishes his own need as a pastor for not only regularly reading the bible but also journaling his thoughts and response to what he has read.  In today’s “give it to me right now” culture, the words of this book will both challenge and convict those who’ve been looking for the easy way to spiritual growth.  The truth is, there isn’t one.  If there was, everyone would benefit.  It’s only by sitting at the feet of Jesus every day that one can begin to attain the “mind of Christ” and allow the Holy Spirit to continually sanctify us.

Cordeiro shares his church’s popular S.O.A.P. acronym for bible devotions.  Scripture, Observation, Application, and Prayer are the foundation for this daily habit.  I’ve used this style for a while now since visiting a friend of mine’s church who uses the Life Journals Cordeiro produces and sells them to their attenders.  I picked one up to check it out and really enjoyed the simplistic yet effective nature of the journal.  Even a brand new Christian can follow along in the journal and have success in their devotions.

Cordeiro advises his readers to sit at the feet of the true mentors of our spiritual walk; those whose stories are shared in the pages of scripture.  He then asks that we allow the “Divine Mentor”, the Holy Spirit, to illuminate the pages of the Bible for us.  His message is a refreshing drink in a cesspool of books that seek only to improve our attitudes without connecting those thoughts with the only book that will help us in the long term, the Holy Bible. 

Cordeiro concludes his book with a Q & A chapter on how to effectively master the techniques he shares throughout it’s pages.  I was able to read it in pieces over a period of five days and looked forward to the insights shared by this very successful church planter and pastor.  I am going to recommend it to my church family and it’s thoughts have triggered a conviction of my own to focus on the book’s principles as a way of getting more families in the Word of God on a regular basis.

I would highly recommend “The Divine Mentor” to my readers and would love your thoughts on it when you’re finished with it!

Does having a building make a difference when establishing a church?  A recent article by a well-known church planter posed that very question.  To say the least, his comments left me a bit confused…To wit:

If you are truly trying to reach unchurched people with everything that is in you, it doesn’t matter if you have a building or not. Unchurched people do NOT care about buildings, they care about the fact that they had their lives changed.

In a perfect world, these types of observations make sense.  In mine, they do not.  We’ve met in a school for 18 months now after having met in a building (a very small one) that we sold in order to grow.  In my experience, I’ve met with families who’ve told me it DOES make a difference.  Yes they crave life change but they also crave security and once they see you have a building, it tends to legitimitize what you are doing.  Another quote:

I’ve heard the argument that people burn out being portabe. The truth is that church planters burn out being portable and therefore their people follow the leadership and they burn out on being portable. If your people are burning out on being portable than you have a vision issue. When people understand the vision and buy into the vision, they don’t mind being portable as long as the vision is being fulfilled.

What can I say here other than this statement is just not true.  For this person to make such a blanket statement assumes much from the many church planters I’ve cried tears with to see their vision blossom into reality.  Can we burn out?  Surely but it doesn’t have to be a vision issue.  Sometimes, people just get tired of the endless setup and teardown routine that takes hours!  Some of the churches I see in the blogging world build extensive sets and make huge productions out of their stage presence, including the church whose pastor wrote this.  I’m not knocking it nor am I against it but if the statement I quoted earlier is true; that unchurched people only care if their lives are being changed, then the extravagance at which many go through to make an impression is merely show because the unchurched don’t care about such things…It’s only window dressing.  They only care about their lives being changed right?  Do you see how this contradicts itself?

The second part of his comment, that the pastor may have a vision issue, does have some merit but it’s not true in all cases.  Many times, volunteers just wear out.  I know from experience it’s hard to keep going when there’s no end in sight.  Yes, the vision of changed lives is beautiful and meaningful but if it’s all you have…Many of your best volunteers will still burn out.  It’s not a vision issue with the pastor…It’s the reality that people arrive hours before the service, are wore out just sitting and trying to enjoy worship knowing that in an hour or so (a few more if you’re having two services) they will be at it again putting it all away.  It can sometimes be overwhelming to even the most blessed leader…Just ask Moses!  One final thought:

I will even venture to say that those who were NOT growing before moving into a building that started growing after moving into a building are simply experiencing “church hopper” growth. Those that were growing before moving into a building will continue to grow in a building but they would have grown no matter what.

I would venture to say there is some truth in that statement but a mission church inside a school (or movie theater, etc.) attracts far more church hoppers than those in a building.  Why do I says that?  Because I’ve seen more folks try to get in on the “ground floor” of new church startups figuring they can grow with the work.  Once they see the commitment and amount of work required for such an endeavor, they will either stay for a season and move on or they will just leave immediately.  Well known church planter and author Steve Sjogren calls these people “scaffolding people” because they are there in the early construction stages of a church but just as actual scaffolding goes down once the building is being completed, so these people leave as the church grows.

His article concludes with a rundown of some very successful (by the world’s standards) church plants that are portable.  I’m not saying these aren’t solid churches but I’ve not been in any of them so it’s unfair for me to say.  What I will say is that just because the handful of churches he mentions are large in size, doesn’t necessarily make them healthy and even if they are, it’s not a sign that they have it figured out and the struggling church of less than 100 that’s portable doesn’t.  That was the impression this article left on me.  That may not have been the author’s intention but it was how I perceived it.

More to come later…..

What is D6?  D6 is a new initiative by the publishing arm of my denomination to get more families into the bible and to challenge parents to take the lead in teaching biblical truths to their children.  My friend Ron Hunter, who heads up Randall House publishing, took D6 on the road to this week’s “Catalyst” leadership conference and writes in his blog about the great response he had for the program. I know most everyone at Randall House and can tell my readers they are some of greatest servants of Christ you’ll find anywhere.  In short, “D6″ refers to Deuteronomy 6 in the bible and is the spot where Moses tells the nation of Israel to teach the Lord’s words to their children.  It’s a simple thought marketed well but sadly, many churches do not encourage this.  Oh we give it lip service but do we really follow through in our leadership to see to it that this is a staple of our church lives?  Is it any wonder then that youth leave the church in alarming numbers when they reach college age?  Kudos to Ron Hunter and staff for their work this week.  I’ve known of D6 for a while now (and I REALLY do have the T-shirt!) and think it’s an excellent challenge for churches and their families.  It’s nice to see my denomination move outside itself to share this stuff with others.

On another note for Catalyst, I’ve read a lot of blog posts regarding the event and am encouraged but what about the guys who can’t afford to go like me?  I don’t know how other church planters do it but with three kids, two of ‘em teens, and all the associated stuff that goes along with that, I can’t afford it.  I wish these conference folks would find a way to bring regional day long events to areas like Denver for the “little guys” who could then attend without worrying about hotel stays, meals, rental cars, etc..  As for Catalyst, if this stuff is all so great, why not make the sessions available as a podcast after the event and do so FOR FREE!  Make them available as a download about a week or so afterwards so many more can benefit.  If you’re worried about people attending, then make last year’s sessions available now and then promote ’08’s event by providing ’07’s sessions as a Podcast for those of us who have limited budgets.  Just a thought.

By now, many in the blogosphere have read about Mark Driscoll making some comments regarding his thoughts about certain aspects of the “Emergent” church movement. If you haven’t, no big loss. It fact, it’s probably a blessing. Just move on to something more important.

If you have, then let me say the same thing. Just move on with it. I read and respect much of what Driscoll has to say but in the large scope of things, it doesn’t matter whether you agree or disagree. If you put your thoughts out there in the blogosphere or in a podcast, you’re likely to get called out. Your chances of such grow exponentially if you’re a high profile guy like Driscoll. I doubt if I said the same things, it would have had nearly the limited impact it did in the blog world on some who apparently follow Driscoll’s every word.

I have bigger things to worry about. The church needs more people. It needs more salvations. It needs more baptisms. I don’t have time to play tit for tat with people who want to question others’ intentions. Oh, I might share my opinion on the culture and even within some things that alarm me in Christendom but I’m not going to take my time to call out every person I disagree with nor waste blog space carrying on about it. Driscoll has been taken to task for everything from overweight wives, out of control young men, “limp wristed” leadership (as he called it), and now this. Personally, I don’t care. Give it a rest. We need to be focused on winning the lost and discipling them into strong Christians. Everything else is just fodder really.

If you want to read some good leadership/preaching material, pick up copies of Michael Quicke’s preaching and leading books from Baker Books. Both are excellent reads.

I wake this morning to the crisp cool air of the coming fall season.  This is my favorite time of year.  Not very hot, not icy cold like the winter.  Just right for a good cup of coffee, my bible, and a journal.  That’s how I started this morning at about 5:45am as I sat out on my little concrete patio reading and reflecting in the quiet.  It brought to mind an old 4Him song I still enjoy listening to nearly 11 or so years after its release.  It’s called “Sacred Hideaway”.  I’ll not share the whole song with you but you can look up the lyrics and I’m sure for .99 you can download the song.  But as I pondered my day today (more on that in a moment), the quiet brought to mind the first part of the song:

“There’s a shadow I can’t see

He is watching over me”

I so much feel this cover as I wake each day.  How can I explain having all my needs met each week, each month, each year?  Soon, the quiet time of reflection ends and I must begin the task of waking my children, preparing my calendar and task lists for the day….Ahh, how good the coffee tastes when it’s quiet and it’s just you and Lord….The song continues:

“Just beneath what lies between

“I have found a secret place

“Flaming arrows deep in flight

“Still within this life

No. Sometimes like Elijah, I just need to hide under the broom tree for a while until God visits me and reminds me that there’s much worse that could be happening.  I could be in a country where my calling could mean I could die any day and never feel the embrace of my wife and children again. No…I will go.  My heart is burdened for these families.  I’m tearing up as I write somewhat cathartic this morning.  Thank you Jesus for loving me and loving our church.  Help me to be the leader you called me to be.  Amen.

Seth Godin has an excellent post on his blog today. Since today is Labor Day, he writes about the work habits of today compared to those of years past. While this is written more from the business perspective, church pastor/leaders have much to benefit from his thoughts. To wit:

The meaning of hard work in a manual economy is clear. Without the leverage of machines and organizations, working hard meant producing more. Producing more, of course, was the best way to feed your family.

Those days are long gone. Most of us don’t use our bodies as a replacement for a machine — unless we’re paying for the privilege and getting a workout at the gym. These days, 35% of the American workforce sits at a desk. Yes, we sit there a lot of hours, but the only heavy lifting that we’re likely to do is restricted to putting a new water bottle on the cooler. So do you still think that you work hard?

The ways we work change. When I was younger, I was more of the mindset of the manual worker that Godin quotes. Just work harder and the results increase. That may be true in some jobs but not in pastoral ministry. I see many pastors beating themselves up by trying to grind out what they did 20 years ago with more intensity and the people they are trying to reach have changed. Needs haven’t changed. They still need God but the ways in which we reach them HAVE changed. Peter Senge wrote a great book several years ago called “The Fifth Discipline” which again is a business book but speaks of systems thinking. The key in Senge’s book and the crux of Godin’s thinking is that we must be constantly learning from our outside environment (the things that drive people both to and away from church for the purposes of this discussion) and finding ways to learn and adapt to overcome those obstacles. If we are constantly mindful of the changing world around us, we can be successful in reaching people. Again, this is spiritual work so not EVERY aspect of business applies here but why not use the best thinking in that arena to increase the percentages of those we CAN reach. This thought was reinforced by another quote from Godin in the same post:

Robyn Waters, the woman who revolutionized what Target sells — and helped the company trounce Kmart — probably worked fewer hours than you do in an average week.

Notice, he mentioned the success here. Target still lags behind Wal-Mart in retail sales but what it has done is establish itself as a niche retailer. I will shop my local Target stores for this very reason. There are many things I find in a Target store that never show up on Wal-Mart shelves and that’s OK. Wal-Mart claims the lion’s share of my retail dollar because I’m on a budget and have to save money and for the things Wal-Mart does sell, they usually have the best price. Target is competitive because they offer me choices I can’t get at Wal-Mart. I buy clothing, gifts, certain beauty items my wife likes, and other niche items from Target.

To put this in the church perspective, I realize I’m not going to have a church that’s everyone’s cup of tea. In fact, my loyalty to the historic doctrines of my denomination will cause me to say NO to many a good idea if it doesn’t fit within the context of those principles I see as vital to the sucess of the church. That doesn’t mean I can’t have a church that’s constantly learning, growing, and changing to meet the needs of a lost community we need to reach. You can do all of those things while staying true to your principles. It just takes HARD WORK as Godin states. The problem for many pastors I know is that it’s easier to coast and continue doing the routine things they’ve always done rather than embrace a new paradigm and making it work in their church context. Nobody wants the extra work and/or the risk that goes with it. My favorite quote from Godin’s article makes a fitting closing for my thoughts:

Hard work is about risk. It begins when you deal with the things that you’d rather not deal with: fear of failure, fear of standing out, fear of rejection. Hard work is about training yourself to leap over this barrier, tunnel under that barrier, drive through the other barrier. And, after you’ve done that, to do it again the next day.

Isn’t Jesus worth it?

There is an excellent post on the “Fast Company” expert blog today.  It deals with Leadership and what people desire in their leaders.  Culling it down to its essentials, the post’s main point asks if we are inspiring our people to do their best or merely motivating them to perform at a higher level.  What’s the difference?  You might ask.  Well, according to this article and my own experience, motivating people can prove to be an expensive task both financially and, in the case of church work, spiritually.  This article is aimed at business types but as a former secular business leader and now pastor, I look for the similarities that can be put to use in our churches.  Here are a few quotes from the post and my thoughts follow:

In speaking of commonalities between the 20 somethings and 60 somethings (in age) here’s a key quote:

There were quite a few commonalities between the 20 year olds and the
60 year olds, one of which was they wanted to be respected. The younger
age group wanted to be respected even though they were the new up and
comings and the older, pre-retirement aged group wanted respect because
of their experience and wealth and depth of knowledge and weren’t
quite ready to be put out to pasture just yet.

…and really, who wants to feel useless?  When I was a newly married 21 year old man selling advertising for a local radio station, I would easily get upset when business owners would tell me I was too young for my profession.  I wanted to be respected for my maturity (even though I had a lot of it to do!) at that point and judged based on the product I was selling.

Is leadership trying to motivate staff or inspire them to do their best
all the time? There is a huge difference between motivating and
inspiring. The first comes from an external influence such as perhaps a
raise, a bonus or award or even to meet stiff deadlines. Motivating is
expensive energy. Ultimately the cost could very well be exhaustion and
burnout. Inspiring one to be their best, do their best and recognize
and speak to their and each other’s best brings a whole new level
of energy to an organization.

As spiritual leaders, inspiration should be our main goal in this equation.  In the early days of our church plant, I tried to motivate my volunteers by bringing breakfast to our meetings and/or setup for church.  I gave them Starbucks cards all the time to purchase coffee on their way in as a “thank you”.  I provided them large meals at the end of the year to celebrate our work.  All of these are good and fine but they DO NOT substitute for inspiration.  I missed this point in the past but no longer. 

So…do you motivate or inspire?  Choose carefully!

As I was reading my blogs this morning I came across Eugene Cho’s excellent blog detailing the crisis in Afghanistan with the terrorist Taliban group holding Christian Korean hostages.  Already, Korean Pastor Bae Hyung Kyu has been martyred.  He was leading a group from his church into this dangerous territory to help people and died a martyr for his faith.  I hope the Taliban understand what they did by killing this man who by all reports was a good man, pastor, father, and leader.  The South Korean people are not easily bullied and their Christian conviction is admirable.

We have a large Korean contingent here in Denver and my hope as a church planter is to soon be in new location where we can house not only our church but to plant a Korean work inside the place also.  The Korean people have a beautiful culture and I pray that we as a nation stand with them in opposition to this brutality.

Thank God for the blogosphere also for providing better coverage of this event that the news organizations we see every day which seem to want to focus on Lindsay Lohan and the partisan infighting in the U.S. government.

Seth Godin has an excellent piece on his blog today about a Verizon memo advising its stores in how to criticize the coming of Apple’s IPhone Friday.  It’s suspected many people will want to cancel their Verizon plan and switch to AT & T just to have access to an IPhone (Since AT & T is the only cellphone service that will use the IPhone).

One comment in particular sums up Godin’s thoughts and got me to thinking about the church:

“If someone is going to switch carriers and you’ve done your best to
denigrate their choice, you’ve not only lost a customer, you’ve also
lost credibility and respect going forward. (Because your criticism of
the phone is also criticism of my judgment.)”

How many times have we been in a situation where churches are being discussed and we offer our professional opinion on their ministry style?  When I was in my late 20’s/early 30’s, I was probably more guilty of this than I am today.  Occasionally someone will ask me about church xyz and what I think of them.  If it’s a good friend and asked in confidence, I may share a concern or two I would have but even at that, I’ve decided (a long time ago) not to even worry about it and usually reply: “I don’t go there obviously so I can’t comment accurately and besides, I have my own church to worry about and build”

It’s easy for us to look at any other church and long for certain things they do that attract new people while we are still small and growing.  I am surrounded by not one but three large churches (one mega church) and many other good sized ones are within a 10 minute drive of the church plant I am pastoring.  From each one, I could pick a program or ministry and say “I want that” but what that does is detract me from the laser like focus I need to make THIS church plant successful.  When someone comes to our church for a time and then decides to leave to one of these churches (much like Verizon’s worrying its customers might switch to AT & T), I take the time to thank them for their time with us and pray for their decision and that they will find their place of service with the new church.  I’ve gotten to know many of the pastors of these works and try to mention the pastor by name as I talk to our soon to be departed. “Oh, you’re heading to Pastor Jon’s church.  That’s a great church…dynamic kids ministry and wonderful music to boot.  I’m sure you’ll find something there you will like.”  And I’m sincere as I do this.  Rather than long for a specific program or ministry from another church, I’ve realized they have their own headaches and problems and I wonder if I’d want all that with that one program or am I content with the people God’s given me?

I’ve told our leadership to focus on what we do best and do it better than anyone.  For us, it’s all about relationships and restorative fellowship with our church family.  Much like Godin advises in his article, when a family is struggling with a decision like a church switch, I’ve elected to point out the benefits of our church while not denigrating another.  “If you stay here, you’ll be helping build something from the ground up.  We have great people, a solid kids ministry, biblical preaching that helps build those relationships we talk about every week.  Now if you go to Pastor Mike’s church, it’s a great work but you’ll have to start over and build new foundations, relationships, and get to know people before you can really plug in and serve.  They have a lot of folks serving already and we could really use your sweet spirit here but if you choose to go, you can rest assured you’ll leave with my blessings and prayers for your spiritual future.”

It’s time for us not to worry about what the other guy offers but to focus on the selling points that make US a great church.  You don’t have to knock another church to make yours look better.  In fact, if you do, you’ll only look worse.  Instead, focus on the benefits of your congregation while sharing the realities of moving to another church.  The decision is so much more important than who your cell phone carrier is but the principle Godin espouses is one many church pastors could stand to learn from!

This weekend is our last for a traditional Sunday School class. Starting in August, our church will be organized around the small group model. I’m going to purchase the book “Go Big for Small Groups” by Bill Easum and John Atkinson. I see no reason for reinventing the wheel and have been reading small group advice by Andy Stanley’s small group pastor, Dr. Henry Cloud, and now this book has come across my radar as I finished it’s earlier companion work, “Go Big”.

The truth is, our morning small groups (as I called them!) were NOT growing. The only families that attended were the ones who were at church to practice with the worship team and it took a tremendous amount of man hours for my volunteers to staff a program for just a few people. Better I thought to utilize those hours and build a terrific Sunday morning worship experience for everyone while offering a K-5 children’s worship program during our regular morning worship time. Of course, I’ve lost a family over it. They feel we are just cutting too much with the removal a few years ago of our old Wednesday night service. They thought small groups should just replace that and that we should keep the Sunday School hour but the fact is, it wasn’t working and was a financial and emotional drain on our church. June 24th is our first day operating without a Sunday School. We plan to have a few church events like a picnic in the park, and movie night out while we wait for the official launch of these groups in August. I would appreciate your prayers for us during this time of preparation.

I’ve been reading the book “Go Big” by Bill Easum and Bil Cornelius to give me some additional inspiration as we move forward with plans for the next phase of growth for our church plant. I had to laugh at one comment that was made in the book. Apparently, Bil C. was having a conversation with Ed Young Jr. of Fellowship Church in Grapevine. As the two were comparing notes, Young told Cornelius “Bil, I have the same problems as you. It’s just that there are more zeroes on the end of mine!” Interesting indeed!

I talked to a church planting friend of mine who’s a few steps ahead of me further north in Colorado. Great guy. He just signed a 1.3 million dollar loan for his church for the first phase of their building project. His church numbers 300 at current and meets in a school much like ours does. Talk about a faith building experience. I was impressed with his commitment to see the project completed. God directed him to some land and they got it at below market value several years ago and now, he’s building! There’s hope!!

Music wise, I’ve been all over the map. I’m currently listening to the new “Maylene and the Sons of Disaster” album simply titled “II”. My 13 year old son is heavy into this group and had me listen to a country flavored instrumental at the end. These guys are Christians but not of the garden variety you find at the local retail outlet. Dallas Taylor who fronts this band is very up front about his struggles and the realness of his faith. They play at clubs and secular spots all over the country. They have a great field to reach. I was impressed with this guy and his friends from the moment they befriended my son at a local club where they played. They noted my kid was only 12 at the time and wondered what he was doing there. They were impressed when he rattled off their music and then spent the next few minutes teaching him some riffs from his favorite songs. (he plays guitar). Cool guys. Some of the stuff here is quite loud but I enjoy them. Knowing them makes it even better. These are the type of guys you want to hang with on a porch somewhere in Alabama with catfish frying, cornbread cooking, and a HUGE jug of sweet tea on ice!

For those of you checking out my other blog, “The Productive Pastor”, it’s been a busy week, I’ll add some new stuff there very, very soon!

No, I didn’t attend NHCC in Orlando. Given the silliness of the flap that’s developed in the blogosphere over the Mark Driscoll video that was shown there, I’m glad I wasn’t. (If I could’ve left, I would have attended the “Q” conference anyway). It appears the more feminist wing of Christianity feels the need to point its finger at Mark every time there’s a supposed slight. Check the video out, here’s a link:

Driscoll Video

So please, tell me where Driscoll slights women in this video? I asked my wife, who knew nothing about the controversy, to watch this and give me her opinion. She smiled at points and said, “Boy, he’s raw but he’s dead on…more men should watch this!” Wow, so here’s my wife agreeing with the guy. I asked her if she felt this was a knock at women in ANY way and she said, “NO, why?” I told her and she just shook her head and said “People are going to hell every day and we want to make an issue with this?” I agree. Like him or not, Mark Driscoll makes you think. Men do not like an emasculated Jesus. Jesus was not that way. Despite all of the efforts of certain sects of Christianity to make Jesus this feminine type, touchy feely type of savior, this was still the same guy who cleaned out his Father’s house with a cat of nine tails and took a beating none of us could ever take. He was a man’s man and truth be told, most women want that type of a guy. They don’t want some limp-wristed, soft-spoken sissy that can’t keep up. That’s not the Jesus I see in the bible. He was caring when he needed to be but he was also firm and to the point when he had to be. He got angry, shouted at the religious leaders, and let’s not forget, he built things out of wood for a living. He did this back in the days of no power tools. His physique was probably pretty solid.

So why the fuss? I respect Bill Hybels but from what I’m reading, he decided to poke at this video when he came up to speak at the conference after it was shown. His response, and the pressure from the left-side of the table, resulted in a ton of DVD’s being sent home with the Acts 29 guys (Driscoll’s Church Planting Network) who spent a considerable amount of time and money producing, replicating, packing, and hauling this 8-minute piece only to have Hybels and his politicos keep it from being distributed. For that, I’m VERY disappointed. If I were Driscoll, I would sue the group for my expenses if they don’t reimburse him. This was an open conference and he was asked to do this. The NHCC officials had time to review this and could have come to a decision prior to what was done. If Bill Hybels had a beef with Driscoll, then let them talk about it privately in Matthew 18 fashion. Not from a public forum at the NHCC. Some may defend Hybels comments as generic but given their content and the manner in which they were presented, I would have sent him a letter encouraging him to NEVER do that again if he wants to be a part of this event.

As for the controversy itself, other blogs are presenting a video featuring women in it sprinkled with quotes from men to make them look like sexist pigs. I’m amazed that these more gentler souls who want to take the high road would go to the trouble to make a video, claim the moral high ground, and then say what a shame it is for Driscoll to be doing what he’s doing. Men and Women were made different. They physically ARE different. Thank God! I don’t want to be married to a lady that resembles LOLA from the Kinks rock song of the 60’s. Why can’t we celebrate our differences and relish them as God’s creation? As for women serving in the church, I have countless women who are wonderful servants and care-givers, truly pastoral in their duties and I recognize them as such. The bible clearly outlines this ministry but our church doesn’t recognize women as heads over a church. Is that so bad? Why is that so horrible? Many churches still believe this way and it’s not a sexist thing. It’s an interpretation of the bible and I tend to subscribe to it. I fellowship with women pastors. I had breakfast with one this morning and prayed for her leadership and her church even though I don’t agree with her position, that’s her denomination’s preference and I’ve got bigger things to worry about. So do the Driscoll bashers who want to crucify this guy every time he opens his mouth.

Folks, show some Christian grace and love and leave it alone. He did nothing wrong. He said nothing wrong. If anything, he said many things that needed to be said to church leaders about gathering their men. We need more of this in our churches to have the kind of Godly leaders in our homes that the bible speaks of. Good words Mark!

Fast Company magazine tipped me off to a neat little free tool that you can use to prepare an online organizational chart.  CogMap is an organization chart wiki that allows you to create and edit organizational charts and then publish them for people to view online.  Companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo have their charts posted online but not many churches are featured…yet!

A few weeks back, Ben Arment blogged about the idea of organizational charts and had some good ideas.  I’ve always liked the idea of preparing ahead of growth and one of the key concepts shared in Michael Gerber’s excellent book “The E-Myth” was the idea of preparing an organizational chart with the future of your company (or church) in mind.  Put together positions that you want to have and place your name in each space if need be.  Then, begin to add new people to your chart as you train and work out specific job duties for them.  This is what I do and it allows me the flexibility to change the chart and move things around as I go.  I’ve always been one to see the church grow in “fractals” similar to Wayne Cordeiro’s church in Hawaii.  You can read about that system in this fine book. 

Check this tool out, sign up, and put your chart together.  I’m looking forward to seeing some new churches on the site soon!

Is it just me or are we all of a sudden seeing an inordinate number of churches preaching “sex” series all at the same time?  This seems to be more predominate in the newer churches, at least from what I can see on the blogosphere.  Usually, the series lasts between four and six weeks, has a companion website, and as soon as word gets out, a TV station runs a piece on the church which makes it onto the church website within days of airing complete with the cameo of the pastor saying the same thing to the camera…”Well, these are the things people have questions about and we’re not afraid to tackle the tough issues…” or some variation thereof.  Of course, there’s always a few interviewees smiling and saying “Yes, this isn’t like church of yesteryear”…

Mind you, I’m not criticizing the idea so much as I am making an observation so please don’t try to label me as one type of Christian or another.  From what I can gather, it seems this trend started when Granger Community Church presented it’s “Pure Sex” series at this time last year.  All of a sudden, a whole group of people were influenced to do the same thing…I’ve even seen many churches ripping off the graphic of two pair of feet under the sheets…Not the exact same picture mind you, but a clone of it nonetheless.  Prior to this series, I hardly remember reading anything about such a trend in message series.  It seems many are pushing the edges of what they need to do to reach out during these series’ also.  Incorporating secular music with sexually suggestive lingo into the worship to “connect” and make a point. Hmmmmm okay…I’m not one to point a finger if it’s having an impact.  I’ve even considered a similar series myself but in my prayer time, I’m challenged to look for the deeper reasons that people suffer in this area.

People crave relationship.  That’s why sexual sin is so rampant in our society today.  Lust is predominant but it was the same in Jesus’ day.  Nothing has changed.  The bible has plenty to say on the subject within the whole context of relationship.  Statistics show that women engage in sexual activity as part of the entire emotional connection that they crave while men are predominantly driven by images and visual stimulation.  For them, sex is important too but it’s more raw in its desire than what a woman experiences.  That’s why so many girls get hurt by boys who are looking for the next conquest while they are trying to hang on to a relationship.  We see this played out every day in our churches.  I have families and I know you do to who are broken with single moms (or dads) trying to raise kids because we didn’t address the issue of relationship within the context of sex.  I know many of these types of series’ I’m talking about address such issues but I think the shock value is more appealing than what many leaders would let on.  Being on the “cutting edge” looking like the rebel in a sea of dry-rot religion is enticing.  Much of what is contained in these series’ could be integrated into a message series on relationships and a much more panoramic view that can be ‘edgy’ without overdoing it.  My friend Jason in Arizona is doing such a series.  Believe me, there’s plenty he’s saying about the issue of sex but he’s also incorporating conflict, dating, the differences between men and women, romance, and money.  I’m impressed with his presentation.  I listened to the first message in the series while I walked at my local park a few days ago.  I usually do a series on relationship beginning on Mother’s Day and ending on Father’s day each year.  I try to incorporate all sides in this starting with the husband/wife relationship, kids, money, sex, and even seniors since so many families are now caring for an elderly loved one.  It works and our families almost expect it at that time of year.

Again, don’t get me wrong.  I’m not being critical.  I just think the shock value of such a series is gone now.  Many churches around me have already done this.  If I see one more news piece about such series’ I think I’ll puke because it’s the same story.  I’d much rather hear the larger picture story about how the church is impacting it’s little world right where it’s at.  Are lives being changed?  Marriages restored?  Kids being loved like they should?  Social justice being done?  I loved what Erwin McManus said at the recent Humana 2.0 conference in Florida last month: “A church can be successful and have no effect in the world.â€?  I pray that’s not the end result for all of us.

I took a day off from my church today.  Nothing personal.  I just had a busy week traveling to a missions conference and I got back late Thursday.  I had plans with the kids Friday and Saturday so I scheduled another person to preach and the family and I traveled to downtown Denver to hear Dr. Jim Shaddix preach at the Riverside Baptist Church.  I haven’t done this in well over a year.  I told my wife it almost felt sinful just leaving and taking the whole group with me.  Every member of my family is so vital to the work at our church plant but it felt nice to actually sleep in a bit later than usual, get up and enjoy a NORMAL breakfast, and then drive in the pleasant weather to downtown and just blend in with the crowd.  I’ve loved Dr. Shaddix’s work for a long time.  His book on preaching is one of the finest I’ve read to date and his messages are always chock full of information.  It’s not necessarily the style that I preach in but I enjoy his insight into God’s Word.

As I considered the rest I enjoyed, I stumbled across this post from Bob Franquiz’s blog tonight.  His book review on “The Rest of God” is spot on in its admonition to all of us to heed the need for a Sabbath.  I’ve denied myself this for many years but as I danced with my youngest daughter last night at the annual “Daddy-Daughter” ball, I’m reminded that I’m now 40 and my “baby” is 8 and growing up quickly.  My oldest turns 16 in a few months and it seems like only yesterday she was 8.  Sometimes in the business that is church planting, we neglect the very ministry we were called to first.  That doesn’t mean being lazy but I’ve stopped scheduling appointments by the dozens so as to leave my calendar open for my son’s hockey games (he’s 13) and my daughters’ dancing recitals.  There’s band concerts that I couldn’t attend a few years ago but not any more.  And there’s also that wonderful time in the evening when I can go spend time with my love and light in this world, my wife Rebecca.  Jesus gave her to me as a gift and a precious one at that.  I’m thankful she’s so good about understanding the need for me to be places as a church planter but sometimes, I’ve taken advantage of that for stuff that could wait another day or two.  I did this just to get another thing off of my “Next Actions” list.  (Getting Things Done junkies understand this)

Thanks Bob for centering some of my thoughts.  I have a wonderful church family here.  My sound man called me just to see if I enjoyed myself on my first day off in “a hundred years” as he put it.  The church hummed along just fine without me.  That’s as it should be.  I’m looking forward to being back in the pulpit again next week but it was a refreshing time away if only for one day.

As we enter 2007, the blogosphere is full of hype for church planters.  Already, I’ve read more top ten lists than I care to read this year and all of 2008 combined.  Some observations:

1.  From what I’ve read, many “experts” feel denominations are on the way out.  Too much baggage I’m told.  People don’t want rules, they want Jesus unfettered.  The problem is, most of those folks who agree with that type of statement likely aren’t very successful in their personal lives because they’ve not learned much about personal responsibility or restraint or else they would have no problem understanding that there are reasonable “expectations” when coming to church and that a denominational tag can be a good thing.  To me, this discussion is much different than the “naming” issue that comes up often.  In that argument, people are criticized for not having the denominational tag in their actual church name.  Andy Stanley is Southern Baptist.  A quick run through of the NP website will locate that data, if you’re interested.  I don’t need him to put it in his name.  But to say that denominations as a rule are on the way out is irresponsible.  Take a look at the long established churches in a neighborhood and you’ll see denominations rule the day.  We’ve had 20+ years of megachurch, non-denominational churches to see some lasting fruit and while there is some, it’s not nearly as evident as in the denominational churches.  Do I agree with every denomination’s doctrine?  Nope but that doesn’t negate the impact of denominational influence in the church planting spectrum.

2.  The “launching” seems to be more important than the church itself.  If I’ve read one blog about how to do this, I’ve read 100,000.  Please, we don’t need years of planning, making sure every single team member is in place, having every little thing we need, having a “community” pastor, a “young singles” pastor, a teen pastor for kids with bleached hair, etc…  JUST DO IT.  Get the thing rolling.   Rick Warren started Saddleback with his family and his new insurance agent along with a handful of others.  Steve Sjogren is probably the best church planter I’ve ever read and he just went for it!  He put a core group together through bible studies or whatever and he launched!  He didn’t have to go to every single church growth conference available and then network like a corporate executive to make sure the pieces were in place.  Read his early stuff about starting in Cincinnati and read about how it’s really supposed to be done.  Besides, most of the folks you start with will leave you within the first two years of the plant.  That’s also from Sjogren’s work and I’ll tell you, he’s right.  Of the families who helped my wife and I empty the U-Haul when we arrived in Denver from St. Louis, one remains!  ONE.  The point is, launch with what you have.  You may not have strobe lights, smoke machines, and the best children’s program but people’s eternal future is at stake here.  No where in Acts do I read of the early church having networking conferences and preparing children’s ministry programs.  They just met each other’s needs and gave the rightful praise to God as they submitted to the apostles’ teaching.  I remember using a short story as an illustration of over planning in a sermon once.  Back in the Civil War, a group was trying to cross a dangerous area and it was determined a bridge was needed.  While the leadership of the group appointed the engineer types to plan and construct this bridge, another group just went for it and built a functional crossing.  When the leadership of the group came back and commented about how swiftly this bridge had been built, they asked to speak to the engineers about their quick work but alas, THEY WERE STILL PLANNING.  It was the other group that made the difference.  The moral?  Some planning is needed yes.  But to what extent and how much?  Get out there and start making a difference.  Stage sets, lighting, and all that cool music can wait.

3.  Is it just me or do I see little of Jesus in these posts and more about the “things” of church?  It’s nice to brag on your group or talk about the sermon series you’re putting together but is anyone getting saved?  I’ve read about all the cool church planter blogs out there but as yet, the ones most talked about have little or nothing about decisions or discipleship.  No testimonies about someone getting saved.  Are they not giving invitations?  Are they not offering a chance to respond?  I know there’s some debate in this area and that many consider a checked box or a raised hand a decision but do we follow up on these folks?  Do we confront them with the truth of the Savior to bring about a personal response?  Church plants are supposed to be about reaching people with the gospel and changing their lives but I read little about this in the blogs I read.

4.  Can we cease with using slang words like “crap” or is that the mark of someone who’s utilizing their freedom in Christ?  I’m not old nor do I consider myself old-fashioned (I’m only 40 as of this writing) but I would never use the word “crap” in my blog nor would I during a sermon.  One night I was visiting a friend’s church plant in another part of Denver and I spent my time during the message putting check marks on my outline for how many times I heard the speaker use the word “crap” during a sermon.  When my friend came over and asked about the marks, I told him point blank that this was the most memorable takeaway I could take with me from the sermon.  Nothing else the speaker said mattered because he had lost me when he told me to get the “crap” out of my mind.  To me using words like that shows a total lack of preparation.  You’re not “cool” when you say stuff like that.  Call me a fusty old man but I use the latest technology, have great music from an awesome worship team, and I DO NOT have to tell folks about all the “crap” in their lives.  Sorry, perhaps this is just a sore point for me.

Coming soon, a list of blogs I read that I rarely see quoted.  No, not a top ten list.  Just some ideas for you to read to give you a different perspective on this whole church planting work instead of the corporate prattle that seems to be at the top of most search engines these days!

Be blessed