A Different kind of church planter?

Just finished a long working lunch with my friend Jack. I've known Jack over five years. We were both involved in planting a new church. Both of us had pastored before but were involved in different ministries. Both of us love the movie Bucket List. One of my favorite scenes is the parachuting scene when Jack Nicholson tricks Morgan Freeman into exiting the plane. In the past twelve months Jack and I have experienced something similar. Both of us got shoved out of the plane----both of the ministries we worked for decided they could do it without us.

Now both of us are following the passions God gave us in exciting new ways. For my friend Jack, that meant planting a church. But Jack doesn't fit the profile or should I say stereotype for church planters these days. Why? Because Jack is in his mid-fifties and began his church with almost no other support. The good news is however God is blessing. People are hearing the truth, lives are being transformed. Things are going well. God provides....even when you're shoved out of the airplane!

Why Sunday Schools Are Closing

In the June 26th edition of The Wall Street Journal, Charlotte Hays bemoans the decline of Sunday in our culture. She writes, "By my own childhood, Sunday School was taken for granted." I certainly concur. My mother taught second grade sunday school in our church for twenty-two years. My Dad was a consistent outreacher for his adult class. My own memories of Sunday's as a child include Sunday School, worship and Sunday lunch (in the fall you can add Tom Landry's Dallas Cowboys!). I still remember Bill & Linda French's 6th grade class at First Baptist Church Carrollton, Texas. I don't remember a lesson they taught, but I knew they loved God, the church, the Bible and me.

Why are Sunday Schools closing around the country? There is no simple answer: lack of Christian education emphasis in seminaries, focus on worship at the expense of Sunday School and the fragmentation of the family. Yes, among the other social pathologies of the decline of the family is the negative impact of divorce on Sunday School and church attendance.

Can we reverse this trend? Yes! Will it be easy? No! Maybe the recovery of vital Christian education in the local church will begin with a return to sound biblical teaching concerning marriage and proper relationships. What do you think?

Lessons Learned

As I am now entering a new and exciting transition in ministry I thought I'd reflect on what I've learned after consulting with over 300 churches in the last fifteen years. I've been in mega churches, and small churches, urban, suburban and rural churches. I've reached five conclusions about healthy churches:

First, healthy churches understand their community and church context. Healthy churches understand their environment. They are students of their communities. Healthy churches understand their mission field is here and now. Their leaders mine demographic and psychographic data as a means to reach and disciple the people around them. But there is more: noble and healthy leaders understand their church culture as well. They take the time to understand their history, rythmns and DNA of the churches they serve. Unfortunately it took me a couple of pastorates to learn this! (and I've got the scars to prove it!).

Second, healthy churches execute an appropriate strategy for obeying the Great Commission. In nearly every church I visited and worked with were hard-working, Jesus loving, Bible preaching, faithful men and women. Most of them however are what I call adopters. That is they've adopted someone elses model, strategy, program and failed to understand their own ministry context. So what's the problem? What we need are hard-working, Jesus loving, Bible preaching, faithful men and women who are adapters. It's great to learn from others but we must strategically adapt what we've learned to match our own unique opportunities. I may try very hard to pattern my golf swing after Tiger Woods but realism demands I must realistically think and act strategically about how to get the ball into the hole!

Third, healthy churches share a life changing message with the world. Not every mega church is a healthy church. A church cannot be healthy if it is consumer driven sweetness all the time or a Carrie Nation rally gearing up for a fight. Regardless of size, healthy churches maintain a faithfulness to historic Christian teaching and resist the temptation to preach pop psychology or political correctness. Healthy churches know the importance of preaching the 'Whole Counsel of God' and that our message is 'Good News!'

Fourth, healthy churches are filled with healthy Christians who understand that the Christian life is a journey, not a destination. In healthy churches pastors and staff take Ephesians 4:11-12 seriously---to be equippers---so that the Body might be built up. Healthy Christians live out what they believe.

Finally, I've witnessed the growth of coaches and consultants. Used rightly this can be a great tool for a pastor and church. Technology has amped up this trend. With instant communication at our fingertips, coaching and consulting should continue to grow exponentially.